I will share the story of my handsome husband, NK (who prefers to go by his initials only), and his immigration to the United States. NK immigrated in 1999 from Chennai, India, when he was 29. He began his life in the USA, in Sunnyvale, CA. Much of his education was in English, so speaking the language was natural for ... Read More »
Khushwinder (name changed for anonymity) was happy to talk about his life. He said “I am feeling like a celebrity doing this interview. Nobody has interviewed me before. I am feeling very special.” I was also happy to see him ready for this interview. Then I asked him how his family was and where he belonged from. He started talking ... Read More »
The first thing I noticed when starting the interview was that It was kind of awkward. My dad and I haven’t talked deeply about his experience in coming to America, although I was excited to see where we would end up and how far back time would take us. I started ... Read More »
I sat on the edge of the bed waiting for Mama to settle herself in the room. She sat down with her cup of green tea in her hands which she drinks at least twice a day. Her bedroom was quite small and crowded, but we had no other place but here to have a conversation without our guests and ... Read More »
Take me back to when you were still living in your home country? I lived with my mother, father, younger sister, and older brother. We lived in a small house because we were a middle-class family. My sister and I would even share our clothes at times because we didn’t have many. But I never complained because I knew how ... Read More »
“We have now blended our culture with American culture, but that does not make us any less of either group?” *Note: My Grandma does not speak English and my words are rough translations of what she told me. Some words that exist in Punjabi do not exist in English, so I did ... Read More »
At age 81, Vimala Vajjhala (maiden name Bhagavatula) has experienced the wonders and difficulties of two vastly different nations, living as a dual citizen of India and the United States. Brought up in a small village called Bobbili in South India, Vimala described a simple but enjoyable life. (6 sisters, 1 brother) Her family impressed social values of obedience, work, ... Read More »
My mother was born in Andhra Pradesh, India. From the beginning, she was keen to learn about the world around her. Growing up, her three siblings would walk her to school in the morning. After school, she’d pick up something to eat at the family restaurant and then run to the library, eager to ... Read More »
It was 1 am, April 1989 when my father landed in Detroit. Born in a small Indian village about an hour from the coast, the first thing that stood out was the weather–it was bitterly cold. Luckily, it wasn’t too long before a friend of a friend, also an immigrant from the ... Read More »
My mother, Vinaya Kavathekar, grew up in Pune, India. Unlike my own experience growing up in America, her culture and the traditional values of India were instilled into almost every part of her daily life. Yet, she had surprisingly little attachment to them. Vinaya always resented the way she saw women treated where she came from, despising the way she ... Read More »