Amita Nayyar

Interview and Profile by Tara Bhattacharyya

Video Recording by Tara Bhattacharyya

Interview conducted on 4/23/09, Camp Hill, PA

Amita Nayyar was born in New Delhi, the capital of India. In the late 60s, Amita’s father came home one day with a U.S. visa, which he won in a lottery, entitling him to emigrate to the United States. That moment changed Amita’s life., bringing her to the US by age 8. She grew up on Long Island, New York, and later went to college and medical school. She is now a practicing psychiatrist, living with her husband and two sons in Camp Hill. PA.

Her father, a professor in Shakespearian literature, came to America to study for his Ph.D. Amita’s father came to New York City with only $18 in his pocket. Not knowing anyone in New York or having place to stay, Amita’s father resorted to the Y, and could only afford to spend $1 a day on pizza and a soda. Six months later, Amita’s mother came to America, followed by Amita and her brother arriving later, in 1972. The first few years in New York City, there were no Indian grocery stores. Amita remembers a middle-eastern store where her mother would often buy imported goods to prepare imitation Indian meals. At the time, Amita’s family did not have the luxury of having Indian grocery stores to purchase Indian products to prepare meals or to watch Bollywoodd films from home; they instead had to improvise with other ethnic stores to maintain their culture.

For Amita, America was a country she could never have imagined, from the journey on the plane to America, to her first time at a grocery store. She still recalls her plane trip from India, thinking that she was flying over vast fields of snow, not realizing that the plane had climbed above the clouds. She remembers her first visits to American grocery stores, being overwhelmed with so many items on the shelves and the quantities one could purchase, a significant contrast to India of her early childhood where staples, such as milk, were rationed. At the same time, other aspects of her experience were not that different. In India, she had attended a Catholic school, and after arrival in New York, her parents once again sent her to Catholic school. Since Amita came to America at a young age, Amita assimilated easily to American culture, and she learned how to balance her two identities.

Amita explains how she would be American during the week at school and with her friends; however, once the weekend came she connected with her Indian culture. At school, she and her brother were the only Indian children. As she progressed to high school on Long Island, she recalls that she was probably among two or three Indians in a graduating class of 600.

Meanwhile, Amita’s parents developed a large group of Indian friends, mainly Punjabis, and would often go over to each other’s homes and enjoy home cooked Indian meals. Amita’s mother would often search for Bollywood films in select movie theaters during the weekend and “would travel an hour and a half just to go see a Hindi movie, and the possibilities of samosas, because you know they were not available. I remember my parents making samosas at home. They would have a party and make 20o samosas. It’s not like today when you can go to Oak Tree Road (Edison, NJ) or Jackson Heights (Queens, NY) and get anything you want.”

Although Amita is a Hindu, she and her family did not attend temple in America when she was growing up.

“[We] weren’t very ritualistic with religion, we didn’t go to temple; they didn’t do it back home. And I think the culture just kind of gets infused in your system, you know it wasn’t something that was forced on us, I think we kind of just lived a certain way.”

After college, Amita lived in India for five years, attending medical school there. She recalls, “I went there as an Indian and came back an American. I realized there that I’m just not that Indian… I went through this phase of being a person without a country because I wasn’t really Indian and didn’t feel 100% American.”

Throughout Amita’s home today, there are elements of India, from the deities to the Indian tapestries hung on her walls. Amita explains that the importance of her Indian culture is being family oriented. There is an emphasis on having family meals and being with each other during the weekends. Amita’s parents still live in New York, and often visit Amita and her family, giving lessons on Hinduism to her children and teaching them Hindi and Punjabi. However, Amita does not want to pressure her children in learning these languages, but instead wants them to be aware of their heritage and the family values. Aside from having the family close, Amita states her “Indian-ness” creeps in when it comes to education. Amita and her husband place importance on their children’s present and future education. They currently send their sons to Catholic school, and talk with them about attending college in the future. However, Amita states that she does not pressure her children into becoming doctors and lawyers, like many Indian parents are famous for doing. Instead she wants her children to succeed in a career they are happy in, whether it is being a professional football player or a musician.

When asked how she identifies herself, Amita immediately states she is a New Yorker, “Because that’s what my identity is and that’s where my formative years were. And I think that living New York had a huge influence on who I am.” Amita continues to connect to her Indian culture from teaching her children Indian values to the meals she prepares. Like most second-generation children, Amita is always balancing her cultural identities, switching between her “Indian-ness” and “American-ness,” “My heritage is also American now,” she notes. Amita’s experience as a young immigrant allows her to feel equally comfortable in both her Indian and American identities.

Interview and Profile by Lia Choyce

Video Recording by Sunnie Ko

Interview conducted on 4/27/09, Harrisburg, PA

Sagar Patel is a second generation Indian-American born and raised in Harrisburg, PA. His parents immigrated to America from Gujarat, India in the early 1970s, to pursue education and the dream of a land of opportunity.

Sagar believes his parents were attracted to the US for opportunities in education and careers. Sagar’s father came to Harrisburg and attended Harrisburg Area Community College. After receiving a degree in accounting he returned to India and married Sagar’s mother. Sagar’s father was sponsored by a family member and eventually all of Sagar’s family was able to immigrate to America. By moving to America, Sagar’s parents gave him opportunities he may never have had if they had stayed in India, because as Sagar described, “They were raised in a village where they wouldn’t have a pair of shoes to walk in.”

As a second generation Indian-American however, Sagar faced some difficulties with identity:

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“With the second generation, there’s a lot of conflicts. Or just questions, and so many different perspectives that they get exposed to that sometimes it’s hard for them to really figure out who they are. Like, who am I? What do I believe in? You know, not really just with religion, but you know, do I want to follow in [the] footsteps of my parents…”

Some of the challenges Sagar’s parents faced after arriving in America were similar to struggles he later had to work through, as a child with two cultures. Balancing the two cultures was a difficult task for both Sagar and his parents, and he says, “Struggle is always there. Meaning that it’s hard sometimes—there’s always cultures with misunderstandings. There’s a lot of stereotypes with Indians, and there’s a lot of stereotypes with Americans also.” As an example, coming to America meant arriving in a society where vegetarianism was not the norm, and his parents found it difficult to find food options that didn’t include meat. Growing up, Sagar had to explain to friends and classmates why he didn’t eat meat. However, he believes that these cultural differences are getting easier with globalization: “No doubt it’s much easier now. The world has gotten smaller to an extent, meaning that a lot of people know each other’s cultures much better. The stereotype isn’t as much there as it used to be. So it was hard, but I’m just thankful that the new generation, it’s not going to be as difficult.”

To maintain the balance, Sagar learned Indian traditions through communication with his family: family dinners, speaking Gujarati at home, hearing stories of life in India, and through explanation of the traditions and festivals the family celebrated. Language in particular is very important to how Sagar’s family maintains their Indian roots as he says, “We really believe that language is the basis of culture.” He describes keeping culture and tradition alive as a struggle, but one that is extremely worthwhile. He firmly believes his parents had a strong influence on how he formed his identity as an Indian-American, and that they gave him core Indian values:

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“Yeah, and that’s a struggle, it is a struggle because you know, you don’t have many resources, you don’t really have anyone telling you that this is the right thing to do. It’s much easier just to kind of forget about it, or just go with the flow and not really worry about your own culture. But they just had that strong upbringing; religious upbringing, family upbringing, that they didn’t want to let go. Not only did they not want to let go but they wanted to teach their children and I’m really proud of my parents for that.”

Sagar and his family identify religiously as part of BAPS Hinduism. This sect of Hinduism believes in preserving Sanatan Hindu Dharma, or the core Hindu beliefs. Sagar also say that BAPS promotes family harmony and volunteerism, or giving back to the community in some way. When Sagar’s family first arrived here, there was only a very small community of South Asian families, and he said that religious teachings were up to the family to maintain. As he got older however, there was a small community of BAPS followers, and devotees would host gatherings at their house for prayers. Eventually, the BAPS temple in Harrisburg was built as the community grew larger.

Sagar is now involved with the BAPS temple in Harrisburg as a youth leader that teaches children some of the subjects they offer, such as Gujarati, instrumental music, culture, and BAPS Hinduism. To describe the community nature of the temple, he says, “To tell you the truth a temple is not just a temple, a house of worship per se, in our community we feel that a temple is more of a community center.” In terms of this community center aspect, he also feels that religion is a significant way to maintain culture for South Asian immigrants:“And I think I can speak in general that any Hindu temple is there to preserve that culture…I am very thankful that I have this different perspective, this different culture that I’m part of. It actually helps me strengthen the American culture also, I can respect that more because I have different perspectives.”

At home, his daily rituals include performing aarti and puja. Aarti is a ritual where a small candle is lit and circled before the deity while singing traditional Hindu songs. For Sagar, puja involves taking 10-15 minutes out of his day to read scriptures and pray to God. He also celebrates the festivals in Hinduism, and goes to the temple for aarti whenever he is able to.

Sagar has visited India only three times, most recently two years ago. Despite this, his connection to the culture is so strong that he feels completely comfortable when he is there, almost as if he’s returning:

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“For me, it feels like I’m returning somewhere. You know, I think of myself as just as comfortable in Indian culture as much as the culture here. So it’s like transitioning, I’m not saying I transition effortlessly, but it’s kind of like you have to, whether it be if you’re at work one minute and you’re at home you speak in another language totally different, that kind of thing. Since we practice it here, I don’t feel that it’s a problem going there, we actually find it very fun and very interactive, and like a learning experience to get deeper into your culture and religion. But it’s not something where it’s different or a different world. It is a different world, literally, but for me it’s something that I’m comfortable with.”

Profile by Ashley K. Peel

Video Recording by Susan Rose

Interview conducted on 4/16/09, Carlisle, PA

Mr. Mukund Kulkarni

Mukund Kulkarni left his hometown Maharashtra, India to pursue his education in the United States. Mukund came to the United States in July 1976 at the age of 28. He took a transnational flight to JFK airport in New York City to begin his new life with five dollars in his pocket, a love for reading, and an educational dream.

While in India, Mukund received his Master’s in economics and worked in the research department of a bank for four years. Mukund states that this job was “financially a very cushy job,” and that he was very satisfied with his lifestyle in India with his family and friends. However, Mukund says that his “desire to get a Ph.D.” propelled him to come to the United States:

“So, I was afraid to give my job up and go back as a poor graduate student, and I could have gotten my PhD there. That was not a problem; very good schools in India. So, I thought I needed to go to a country where no one would know me and [the] United States became the one. So I resigned my job and came here. I did my MBA and then I did my Ph.D.”

Mukund worked very hard at his studies in order to achieve his Ph.D. His area of study was mathematics and economics. He realized “finance was the natural thing [to] do…” Mukund received his MBA, and later he was offered many job interviews from colleges and universities. Mukund says,

“And so I did my Ph.D. I had tremendous number of interview calls, and calls for visiting the campus for interviews. My Ph.D. was not done yet. So, the first school I went to that made me an offer was the one I took. I didn’t worry about how the school was or whatever, because I had a wife and I had a child at that time, [and] my wife was not allowed to work.”

With a wife and two daughters to support and a new job, Mukund completed his dissertation for his Ph.D., achieving one aspect of his dream.

In his first academic position, Mukund received excellent teaching evaluations and praise for his research. Soon, he faced an important career decision, whether to continue teaching or take a job offer from the federal home loan bank board in Washington D.C. He expresses this transformative experience and how he made his ultimate decision:

“So the coordinator for the course called me one day and said, ‘You know Mukund I know you have a very good offer from federal home loan bank board, but if you were to ask me, and you’re not asking me, I would strongly suggest you chose teaching as a profession.”

Mukund chose teaching, and since that point, Mukund has had a successful academic career. He received an appointment as a professor of finance at Penn State, Harrisburg in 1985. Currently, he is Senior Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.

For many years, Mukund was very involved in the Hindu community of Central Pennsylvania, but at present he dedicates more time to political issues. Mukund expresses his views on religion by saying, “I am a religious person, but not a person of religion. So to me that is not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing, people are good and they could be good for any religion…To me, religion is boring…Let’s talk what Obama’s policy is, or what’s happening in Afghanistan. To me, that is more interesting.” Mukund noted that although he has been very involved in the H.A.R.I. temple throughout the years, he no longer goes regularly. Mukund believes in accepting individuals for who they are, regardless of religion. He has a diverse group of friends, who are not all Hindus or Indians.

Mukund has been active in the Central Pennsylvania Indian community through Asian Indian Americans of Central Pennsylvania (AIACP), an organization that deals with local, national and international political issues which specifically affect the Indian community. Mukund is one of the four founders of AIACP in 1991. AIACP developed after the Indian community gathered together to fight a bill in the US Congress to sell F16 fighter jets to Pakistan. Mukund explained the community’s stance on this issue, “Indians around the country felt that this was the wrong thing to do…[so] in order to make that point known to the US Congress, we hired two buses here and some of us went to Washington, D.C. and we went to see our local congressman.” This mobilization caused the community to recognize that it had the ability to respond to issues that affected them, and several community members establish AIACP to help the community organize for the future.

Coming to America was a transformative experience for Mukund. He accomplished his dream for his education and career, and became truly immersed in the politics of America. In doing this, Mukund changed his own life and impacted his community. He has also helped a lot of students who, like himself, have immigrated from India or elsewhere with their own dream of education. As he has accomplished so much in America, Mukund explains that now America is home: “[I] went to India over the Christmas break. After the plane landed in Philadelphia…I felt like, ‘Oh I am home.’”

Drs. Nirmal and Renu Joshi

Nirmal and Renu Joshi

Interview and Profile by Kesang Nepali

Video Recording by Tara Bhattacharyya

Interview conducted on 4/2/09, Mechanicsburg, PA

Drs. Nirmal and Renu Joshi are from the capital city of India, Delhi. Nirmal grew up in the hill resort town of Nainital and went to a Catholic school there. Renu was born, brought up and studied in Modinagar, a city close to Delhi. They met in medical school in Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh and married after graduating. Nirmal came to the US in 1986, Renu followed a year later. They have two children whom they adore, one in college and the other still in high school. They are proud that they have raised their children to be American and yet retain their Indian identities.

Nirmal’s father was a surgeon in India. Renu’s father worked in the railways and her mother was a school teacher. Coming from highly educated backgrounds, it seemed only natural to them that they would pursue a high level of academic success.

Their initial reason for migration was to further their careers in medicine, to achieve more economic stability and also to escape the red tape and bureaucracy which was prevalent in India. The opportunity to live in a more free and open society was also what appealed to the Joshis. Renu, particularly describes that the feeling of “I can do anything here in America” was the charm of the country. They are now very successful physicians in the Harrisburg area.

They were prepared to face the American work environment before migration, with help from Nirmal’s brother, who was living in the US. But they were surprised by the quiet social environment that people led in the US. They saw no people on the road, there were no daily family gatherings and things were “inherently very quiet” in comparison to India. They missed the Indian culture, with a large family structure and the bustling social activities. But they quickly settled down in their new home in the urban Maryland area. They faced yet another culture shock when they moved to the suburbs of the Hershey area, which was even quieter and had almost no Indian population in comparison to where they had lived in Maryland. But again, they adapted well and loved the quietness of this new area. In time the Indian population in the Hershey area grew and they found themselves as busy as any other Indian family in India engaged in cultural, religious and social activities.

Some of the other surprises they had were at work when they initially arrived in the US. They were unfamiliar with certain American medical slang and so, had some very amusing experiences . They acknowledge that they are keeping up with the new American non-medical vocabulary with the help of their children.

They did leave the US in 2000 to live in India permanently with the hopes of raising their children in a more Indian style. To their surprise, they found that India had changed. They realized they were able to raise their children to be more Indian in the US, than by living in India.They also found a lack of morals in the work environment and disrespect for women and the poor that led them to believe that they had not made the best choice in moving back to India. Considering all of this, they migrated back to the US for the second time after living in India after a year and a half.

Both Nirmal and Renu’s parents visited often and their mothers later moved to the US. They feel that their parents have also played an important role in teaching their children the Indian values and culture. Although most of their families are now in the US, they still feel an unexplainable bond with India and visit at least once a year. Nirmal says “…I get this thing about once a year, about….just wanting to go back…it’s beyond visiting the country…” Even their children love visiting India and are proud of their Indian heritage.

Nirmal has gone beyond visiting their homeland by creating a mini-museum with a wall dedicated to his life in India. From old Bollywood records to posters of Indian actors and singers and his old school uniform, he has displayed all the important memorabilia of his life before he came to the US. A beautiful painting of the Nainital lake in the center of this wall shows him the “window to his past,” so he is never far from his homeland.

The family maintains their cultural and religious roots by visiting the HARI temple often and offering prayers every morning in their home shrine. They are very Indian in the sense that they have family and relatives visiting all the time, engage in the Indian community’s activities, speak Hindi at home, eat Indian food and pass on the values and morals they believe are necessary for their kids to be truly Indian. Nirmal feels that the home his family has created here might be in fact “ better than home (India)”. They are very comfortable with their lives here and identify themselves as Indian, Indian- American and Hindu.

Shrine at home

Renu says that they have done a full circle: leaving India for the US, going back to live there and again coming back. So they are now very confident that they would like to spend the rest of their lives here. Nirmal says, “Home is where really where you’ve made it to be. This place has given us so much. It’s a tremendous country that has given us so much that in keeping with our Indian roots, to be thankful for what we have and who has given that to us, I think is very much…in the same spirit that we treat America as our home.…roots will never change.”

Lakshmi Shrikantia is an Indian-American born in the city of Hyderabad, India. After dreaming of immigrating to the United States, she and her husband packed their entire life and started a new life in the year 1988. Since then, they have established a comfortable life in the United States, have raised a family, and have embraced a new identity while maintaining their Indian culture.

Lakshmi Shrikantia

Education was the initial reason Lakshmi wanted to immigrate. Her studies in computational linguistics were not readily or easily available in India at the time. Thus, she saw more opportunity to flourish as a student and person in the United States. After completing her undergraduate and graduate work in India, Lakshmi decided she wanted to earn her PHD in the US. Conveniently enough, her husband shared the same dream.  The couple moved from India to England where he pursued his masters  and after completion moved to Canada and finally to the United States where they have since lived.
Because she had family within the U.S, Lakshmi had a good understanding of what life was going to be like prior to her immigration. However, her brother-in-law’s letters could not have explained exactly what to expect or the difficulty of incorporating Indian culture into day to day life here.

“…the difficulties would be from the culture. How do we incorporate the culture and the same values that we were raised with in [my sons.] And for me, the other difficulty was I guess, just trying to see how can I adapt the way of life that we were raised with here in this part of the world? How do I make the best of both worlds work?”

Perceptions
Audio: “Perceptions”- Lakshmi shares her thoughts of the United States before immigrating and then the reality.

Regardless of the struggles, Lakshmi has found her own way of living and balancing the two cultures. The Shrikantias are Hindu but still practice the general festivities of Christmas, a Christian holiday. However, this does not take away from their Hindu roots.
“We are not Christians but we do celebrate Christmas with the trees and gifts, but at the same time celebrating all the festivals that we used to celebrate in India and explain to [her sons] the significance and meaning of them and although it’s a school day you wake them up at 4:00 in the morning so that we finish praying together as a family and do all the traditional ceremonies before they are off to school.”
Since moving to Central Pennsylvania, Lakshmi has become involved in the Hindu American Religious Institute (HARI) in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. One of  her motivation to do this derives from a realization she had while living in Toronto, Canada. She observed that there were many types of people coming from different ethinicities, races and religion. This diverse community made her children question why they were not going to church as the other children around them were. Lakshmi had a small temple in her own home and had always thought that to be sufficient means to help her young children understand their religion. However, the reality of it became clear. Her children needed a place to go where they could understand their religion and relate to other children of the Hindu religion.
“I’m like ‘OK, I need to put in more effort and take them… That’s when I need to get involved, I need to make sure that my boys when they grow up they know where they are coming from and they know what their culture and religion is.”
She is now the Sunday School director and also conducts religion discussion groups for adults. Her involvement also stems from her desire to help other Indian children in America understand their religion. She also refers to the HARI temple as a “community center” which acts a place for small weddings, baby showers and group discussions. Temples in India, by contrast, are solely used for religious practices.

Lakshmi (on left) explains speaks to the Lived Religion class from Dickinson College about the HARI Temple

Although Lakshmi is involved with the temple, she is not consumed by it. Going only every Sunday, she finds that she mostly interacts with neighbors and other friends. Lakshmi stresses the importance of being open to people from all different types of backgrounds.  Even when living in India, she learned about various other religions in order to “have a better understanding of the people [she] was interacting with.” When growing up, she had friends who were Muslim and Christians, and she often asked questions about their religious practices.
“I would always go to their house and wish them on their, it’s called ‘Ramadan and Eid.’ I would go to their houses and learn more about their traditions and how they  handled it…”
This practice of accepting those different than her began during her childhood in India and has translated to her life in the United States.
Lakshmi Shrikantia identifies herself as an Indian-American and continues to encompass her Indian values and share her knowledge with her own children as well as the Indian community at the HARI Temple. She enjoys life in the US and looks forward to visiting her home country every other summer. For her, the US is a fast moving country where anything is possible. “The sky is the limit, actually.”

american-dream2
Audio: “American Dream” -Lakshmi discusses her belief in the said American Dream.

Interview by Ashley Peel

Profile and Video Recording by Tara Bhattacharyya

Interview conducted on: 3/31/09, Carlisle, PA

Bupinder Sahi was born into a Sikh family in a part of the Punjab which became part of Pakistan after the partition between India and Pakistan in1947. During partition, Bupinder and his family were forced to move to New Delhi. Being the youngest amongst his brother and sister, Bupinder’s father pressured him into having a good education, just like his siblings. Bupinder knew he wanted to study outside of India to achieve a better education in mechanical engineering.

In June of 1970, at the age of twenty-five, Bupinder came to America by himself, to study for his Master’s in mechanical engineering. Although he was a newly married man, Bupinder and his wife decided that it would be best for Bupinder to come to America by himself until he was settled in with a job and a place of his own for his wife to come and live. Bupinder came to America with only fifty-eight dollars in his pocket, which was given by his father. Landing in Newark International Airport, Bupinder knew no one nor had a place to stay. Spontaneously deciding to go to Baltimore, Maryland, Bupinder had a chance encounter with a stranger who knew an old classmate of his who was living at the time in New York City. Immediately Bupinder phoned his old classmate, and his friend insisted on having Bupinder stay with him until he found a place of his own. Left with only fifty dollars after purchasing a bus ticket for New York City, Bupinder’s friend generously paid for his rent and food expense. The second day of Bupinder’s arrival in New York City, he went to a job agency at 4:30 in the morning. Landing a temporary job at a department store in the storage unit, Bupinder earned $1.90 per hour. He worked hard to save money for a place of his own and a plane ticket for his wife. After six months being in America by himself, Bupinder landed a job in Brooklyn at AT&T, allowing him to save enough money for his wife to come live with him.

Working at AT&T, required Bupinder to go back to school to earn a Master’s in mechanical engineering. Fortunately for Bupinder, the company paid for his tuition at Brooklyn Polytechnic. Soon after, Bupinder’s son was born. Bupinder and his family packed up for New Jersey to be closer to their friends. Finally, Bupinder and his family moved to Harrisburg when he received a job at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. Living in Harrisburg, he and his wife have been very involved with the Indian community. He recalls that in the early years, social gatherings occured weekly, allowing people in the Indian community to reminisce about times in India and connect with their culture, “predominately Indian songs and Indian jokes, and ethnic jokes or just sort of an old memory lane, and that’s what most of the gatherings are about.” Bupinder shares stories of the community, such as starting a Bollywood film collection, where families were able to enjoy watching Bollywood films in their own home, before satellite television or Netflix became available. The Indian community often had annual picnics, where they enjoyed eating Indian foods and playing cricket in the park. Bupinder jokes about the Indian food at these social gatherings as the biggest attraction. The community also provided moral support. Not only did the Indian community offer great social gatherings, but also created a second “home” for many people. Close friends of Bupinder’s are like family to him, which relates back to his own culture in India where friend’s children call adults “aunty and uncle.” However, Bupinder notes, once the Indian community started to expand, people began dividing into subgroups.

“And if a kid comes home and the parents aren’t home, it’s just natural that they would drift away to the neighbor’s house or the guy across the street and [say], ‘I’m hungry, aunty, I didn’t eat my lunch yet,’ and they’d be treated just like their own kids and same thing over here. So that creates a bond.”

When it comes religion, Bupinder comes from a Sikh family, where traditionally the men grow out their hair and beard, and wear a turban. However, after four months living in America, Bupinder decided to shaved off his beard and hair “out of curiosity.”

In the beginning of living in America, he and his family would often travel to New York and D.C to attend the gudwara. Over the years, gudwaras have been established in areas outside of the major cities, in such places as the rural area between Allentown and Harrisburg, where Bupinder and his family used to visit once a month. With the burden of driving every weekend, Bupinder and his family stopped attending the gudwara and now practice their religion at home. Bupinder claims he is not a very religious person; however, he does his own prayers each morning at home. He notes, “I don’t need to go to temple or somewhere just to prove myself whether I am religious.” When transmitting his religious values to his son, Bupinder states that Sikhism is all about discipline and equality for all human beings. According to Bupinder, the important Indian values include being a good person and doing good deeds in life. Bupinder thinks of himself as an American, since he has lived in this country for over 32 years. When asked about his future plans, Bupinder states, “my future plan is that I am looking forward to my retirement…[and] looking forward [to] having grandchildren.”

Interview and Profile by Lia Choyce

Interview conducted on 3/26/09, Harrisburg, PA

Kanti and Hansa Jasani are from Baroda, in Gujarat, a state in the western part of India, attending college there as well. Mr. Jasani’s degree is in Textiles, and Mrs. Jasani’s degrees are in Economics and Banking. Mr. Jasani immigrated to the US in 1969, and 5 months later Mrs. Jasani joined him. They have lived in the U.S. for 40 years now, raised a family, and maintained and added to their cultural identities.

The impetus to come to the US was the graduate education Mr. Jasani hoped to receive: “Well obviously my very big desire to go to NC State to pursue the graduate degree, and to work for Burlington, which was the largest textile industry in the world. It was the main reason for coming to the USA. And fortunately I was able to accomplish both while I was going to NC State, and working…at Burlington, which was satisfying to me.” They first arrived in Raleigh, North Carolina to study at the NC State University for Mr. Jasani’s graduate degree, and stayed with a host family, whom they fondly described as being very warm. On his experience being in a US college, Mr. Jasani says, “One big similarity was that the university where I came from was very much of the same caliber as the NC State University. All the education in English, as opposed to many universities in India…are not all in an English medium education. So that was once getting to classes, or grasping on what’s being taught was not a challenge for me at all, because all the education was in the English medium in India, at the University where I came from.”

After arriving, the Jasanis stayed in touch with family through letters, “….we did communicate through the letters, always, which was very good because in the letters you can write so many things, what you are doing, things like that.” Because of the huge expense calling home transcontinentally in the early 1970s, they called very rarely, and didn’t return to India for 5 years. However, they do mention that it was not a month in between two letters, which highlights the length of travel between India and the US, including plane travel to get to the US of over 24 hours.

In these five years, Mr. Jasani began working for Burlington, and in 1972 they moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, where they became involved with the Lion and Lioness clubs, where they organized fundraisers such as bake sales and Christmas tree sales. They later moved to Glass Falls, New York, and continued to work in community service, and joined the Rotary club as well as an organization that worked with the handicapped. In Glass Falls they did such projects as renovating both a boy scout camp and a canal, and helped in other areas as community needs arose. The experience proved to be fulfilling for them as Mrs. Jasani describes: “I got involved with the school, but it was rewarding when you get involved with the community; at the same time we [also] maintained our old culture too. And so, that’s like a blending, that was good.”

Although the Jasanis don’t believe they faced any grave challenges when they moved to the US, they certainly had some difficulties—a lack of warmth in the community, learning to become more independent, and even finding vegetarian food in restaurants. Vegetarianism is a core value of Jainism, as a part of the religion’s belief in nonviolence. In some instances, they didn’t find their beliefs respected, as a visit to the Grandfather Mountain illustrates: “In fact, the places won’t even make a grilled cheese. So, what do you eat? You eat plain bread, and a slice of cheese, and they don’t want to even take the time to make a grilled cheese for you.” Often, in restaurants, they would only be able to eat cooked vegetables and bread, but as they put it, they improvised.

They managed to maintain their culture through involvement with local Indian families and religious practices, like Diwali and Navaratri. In this way, they explain,“You don’t lose your identity, you have to maintain your identity. All you do is create an identity, you create your place in the community, you create your position in the country, you create….By making everybody feel comfortable, by being a part of it, you become part of it, and then your identity’s maintained. You don’t lose your identity, by being part of a group, you become an integral part of a group.”

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The Jasanis identify as Jain, and described coming from strongly religious families in India. However, coming to the US allowed them to explore a new dimension to religion, by allowing them to become better acquainted with the tenets of the religion and becoming involved in all aspects of religious activities. They feel that they are more religiously conscious of the meaning of their rituals, and don’t make superfluous visits to the temple just to maintain rituals: “That way in India, we go to temple because we’re supposed to go to temple…the rituals were more important in India, here it is important, but I think I see it with the meaning.” They see this change as for the better, and they also have taught classes on religion to toddlers through adults, so what they have learned they have put into practice.

In the same vein, both strongly believe that learning both cultures is important, and that their identity has remained unchanged in how they perceive themselves. There has been a world of difference in terms of experience between India and the US, and Mrs. Jasani talks about one of her greatest changes in coming to America as the exposure to the varieties of culture. Not only has she learned about the variety of cultures present in the US, like religious or ethnic cultures, but also her exposure here in the US to other Indian immigrants from a variety of places in India taught her more about the cultural diversity in India. She even included this cultural awareness into some of the most important things she taught her daughters as “learning to respect different cultures and different people…and don’t go by the first impression”

The Jasanis have now lived in Central Pennsylvania for 16 years, and in the US for 40 years. They have two daughters, and one grandson. When speaking about the important ways the second generation learns Indian culture and values, they agreed: “You expose children to that. You explain to them what’s important about that, and so they learn out of it, and naturally they can choose some of it, and some things they will enjoy more than other things, you know. This is how you maintain the culture. You teach them the language, as best as you can communicate in your own language, as often as you possibly can so that they stay in touch with it. Take them to visit family in India, or visit families here in the United States. We have a number of families now. They come here—they joined [us] here since we came. So, you go visit them, so everyone gets to know each other and creates a bond, and that bond is what really creates the warmth, and that’s what helps you maintain the culture. And that is what is important—America is a melting pot, it doesn’t say you have to give up your culture. You take the benefits of it”

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Mr. Jasani still does consulting in textiles, and Mrs. Jasani recently retired from her job. They still return to India every two years, and when asked about which country they feel more comfortable in, Mrs. Jasani answered: “See, let’s put it this way, home is here, but our heart is still Indian.”

Interview and Profile by Ashley K. Peel

Video Recording by Tara Bhattacharyya

Interview conducted on 3/25/09 in Camp Hill, PA

Ashok and Maya Shukla

Ashok and Maya Shukla immigrated to the U.S. from Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat, India. Ashok came to the United States around 1966, and Maya came in 1969. They both came to explore new life and the educational opportunities present in America. They currently reside in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. They have created a life in America together with their community and family, and America is now their home.

Ashok came as a student to continue his study after receiving a Master’s in economics in India. He expresses that educational achievement is a major value in his family.

“He (referring to his father) put faith in our education a lot more and he was very strong on education, you had to be educated to go ahead in life…that’s how I came to this country…”

Ashok was sponsored by his brother who came first to the U.S. for his education. Ashok explains that once his brother settled in the U.S., “He then invited me, or sponsored me to come to the United States and I followed him, and then the whole chain started.” Ashok began his Master’s at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. He wanted to continue his education in order to receive a Ph.D. in Economics, however, he didn’t finish it because he was supporting his family. After graduation he became a professor of economics and business statistics at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, PA for three years. Later, in 1972 Ashok came to Harrisburg and has lived there ever since. Initially he began working for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and eventually began teaching at Penn State, Harrisburg.

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“My decision was to come to study here. I intended to go back, actually right after my study, I intended to go back, but then Maya came here and we got married. We both decided to stay a little longer, then a little longer became so long that we are still here.”

Maya grew up in Porbander, a small town in India, recognized as “the birth place of Mahatma Ghandi.” Maya went to high school in Porbandar and Ahmedabad for college, “which is a big city like Philadelphia.” Ahmedabad is also where she met her future husband. Maya came to the United States at the age of twenty-four in 1969. Maya has her Master’s in accounting and auditing and Bachelor’s in law from India. Maya explains that part of the reason she stayed was because Ashok was here, “We got [married], and then there was less desire to stay apart…” Upon arrival, Maya began working in a bank, in order to help financially support her family. Ashok and Maya have two sons who were born and raised in the U.S. Learning new things was a large aspect of her immigrant experience:

Maya highlights that America’s diversity has been a major aspect of her experience. Maya has interacted with people from all parts of the world, and she enjoys that. “For me [what is] important is good people, and good people can be in any race.”

H.A.R.I Temple

The Hindu American Religious Institute, otherwise known as the H.A.R.I. Temple, located in New Cumberland, PA, was created for their community as a religious space for worship in 1975. Ashok explains that many Indians within the community contributed to the establishment; “everybody pitched in within our community.” Ashok explains that within the community they have people of Jain faith, followers of Krishna, followers of Shiva, and followers of goddess Durga. The number of deities at the H.A.R.I. Temple illustrates the religious diversity of the Indian Hindu community: “We establish the different deities, so that we all can go at one place and worship…whatever deity you feel…this is a universal temple, in a sense that you go there, close your eyes and whatever deity you want to bring in your mind, you can go and worship. It’s that open.” Ashok and Maya both uphold their Hindu values, which are a part of their individual identities. Ashok and Maya identify as Saivites, which is one of the four major sects of Hinduism. They reveal that Hinduism is a major part of their immigrant experience. “Hindu religion is basically a way of life…”

They have passed on their religious values to their children. Ashok expresses that teaching his children the values of Hinduism was very important.”We have [taught] them faith in humanity, faith in culture, [and] faith in values.” Passing on values to children is important to the community because in order for a religion to exist, “you need faith, you need the people who follow that faith, and you need the establishment that will cater to that faith.” Therefore, in order to sustain their faith, the members of the HARI Temple hold Sunday school for the children in the community. Ashok states that most children that attend are American born. The school teaches “Hinduism as the traditional Hinduism…[the] culture…[and] we teach them values.” Ashok also notes that his boys learned the rituals from going to Temple and watching him.

In connection to their immigrant experience both Maya and Ashok agree that in America they have experienced religious diversity. Maya states, “I think America is the only country which has tolerance for all religions.” Ashok agrees, “…We have never faced any situation where we would be discriminated because we are Hindus. I have visited and she also has visited…Islamic communities and Jewish communities, Christian communities, even Atheist communities.” Both Maya and Ashok Shukla appreciate the religious diversity in America, and believe in the respect of all religions.

Ashok and Maya identify as Indian, but their home is where their family is, in America. They explain how their experience has influenced their identity: “We are Indian[s] [who] became Americans because we accepted this country as our home country now.” Both Maya and Ashok consider home to be where their community, friends and family are located. They have family dinners at least 3 times a week. Moreover, Maya emphasizes why America is their home, “Our parents, all his brothers and sisters and my family they are in America…so our home is here.” In relation to their community Ashok reveals how it adds to their concept of home, “we do want to live here within the community that we have created ourselves, which may be Indian or non-Indian,” and we feel blessed.

While Ashok originally planned to return to India after his studies, the future plans for the Shukla family are to stay in America. “I don’t plan to change my living from here to India…the reason I don’t intend to is because my entire family is here.” Although, India is still a large aspect of their life and they go to visit almost every year, America is their home. As Ashok states, “My life began here, I started my life here.”