Interview

Grandmother (from Dad’s side)
Age: 69

How was it like to emigrate from India to U.S?
It was difficult to migrate to a very different country.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to speak English.
Everything here was very different and strange.
U.S was just like a open field with no restriction like those in India.
Very few Indian were living in U.S at that time so I felt isolated.
A majority of Indians were at that time living in New Jersey.
Missed all my friends and relatives
People behaved strangely with me because I could not speak English.
The experience was bitter and harsh.

How was it like in India when you were growing up?
Very poor country. The resources were scarce.
Washrooms were to be shared publically and had to wait in a long line.
Gathered waters at public wells then used to bring it back to home.
A large number of family members used to sleep in a single room.
Earning money was a big problem and women had no right to work outside their living place.

Is there a difference between a female and a male?
Male is the man of the household
The role of the male was to provide the family of its needs.
A woman is to stay at home, upbringing the children, taking care of other family members and cook food along with doing other household chores.
Take care of husbands and obey their every command without any objection.

Being an Indian living in a foreign environment; do you think your status have increased over the time?
Now people accept me for who I am.
People give us more importance because we are Indian who contribute a majority in their countries economic prosperity
We are not ill treated and discriminated like earlier. We are treated as an equal American.

What have India achieved that made our status as a Indian more prominent/important?
Being very advanced in the field of research and technology.
More and more people are receiving education in India.
Indian men are very hard working and dedicated persons faithful to their jobs.
Because of this more people identify the newly emerging prominence of Indian people.

POEM

They ask me to write down
My race
And I think
And think
Very seriously
And consider
Writing down the
Truth
And have my answer read

I have a grandmother
A mix of Indian and Srilankan
Making me 0.5 of a Srilankan.
My hair dark as chocolate
My face resembling to those of my kind
Half of my family who immigrated to U.S
Hoping to make a fortune
English, a distant language of mine
“Karti peecha” everywhere in this modern world.

Having a few friends when young
White being a rare color in India
Afraid of losing our “sanskriti”
Being forced to follow the “Sirf Hindi” rule at home
Disney cartoons, HBO movies was in Hindi
Mom and Dad being the only word spoken in English
Relatives calling me an