What It's Like to Grow Up as an Indian American

The Evolution of An Identity
Indian American Immigrants
from the Early 20th Century to the Present
A Fictional Family History
DIYA DAS

Preserve native culture or assimilate into America's melting pot? Indian immigrants respond to this age old dilemma.

Identity Crisis

They are known as the turbaned tide. Novelist DIYA DAS explores the journey made by Indian immigrants from the subcontinent to America's shores. Weaving the narrative as historical fiction, the novel focuses on a young girl who uncovers the American roots of her Indian family tree.

The story unfolds in three venues. The protagonist discovers a Californian ancestor, a scholar-turned-farmworker who participated in the 1917-18 Ghadr movement to gain Indian independence from Great Britain. She then follows the voyage of a doctor aunt who immigrated to Chicago in the 1970s and was also a newspaper columnist. Finally, the narrator explores how to merge her Indian and American identities as she attends a Hindu festival in New York City.

The novel is filled with rich cultural details, solid historical references and fitting literary allusions. Diya's research ended up taking her on a personal journey. The narrator's odyssey mirrored that of the author. Where facts and imagination did not create a coherent story, Diya employed elements of her own life as a first generation Indian American immigrant.

$9.95
ISBN:9780979504563
5.5" x 8.5"
92 pp
2007

Have a question or a comment for Diya Das?
Email her at diya@tribute-books.com

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• indian
• american
• india
• america
• immigrant
• identity
• assimilation
• assimilate
• melting
• pot
• teenage
• youth

[pinoypusa]

The problem is, much of India has urbanized and moved on, except for the so called 1st generation Indians in the United States, they are stuck in a time wrap. If you had returned to India, you would find most modern Indian youth behave, and think very differently. Your future lies n the United States, therefore learn to assimiliate, and accept the good values that your new nation has given you.

[ipfcsnobs]

There's nothing "retarded" about an arranged marriage. Arranged does not necessarily mean forced.

If marriages are forced on somebody, that's one thing .. but marriages arranged with the will of the boy/girl in question is just a social convention.

[cmjproductions1986]

@kritikalmass3

What's wrong with maintaining your culture while living in another country? That's a good thing... You don't need to change like that. You should have respect for your roots...

[cmjproductions1986]

@11mac11s

This is SO TRUE... The western obsession amongst Indians is disgusting and is a reflection of their inferiority complex...I don't get it because their culture is awesome and their history is ever greater! Look at most of the bollywood movies these days that are so blatantly westernized! And this fair skin obsession...WTF!?!?

[cmjproductions1986]

@ipfcsnobs

I agree and obviously it's working pretty good since the divorce rate in India is pretty much nonexistent...It's a normal way of life and nobody is complaining... Yeah love marraiges also happen but their is nothing wrong with arranged marraiges

[nattynativekid17]

@11mac11s that's so true. it's sad

[11mac11s]

I dated an Indian-American women, and I loved her, but she secretly hated herself because she wasn't white. I'm not white either, so she sub-consciously destroyed out relationship out of confusion by cheating with a random white guy. I left her. She tried getting me back, but I had to let her go.

Indian-Americans are lost and confused. They all want to be white, and most of them hate themselves.

[Lally1330]

Mate, if u got troubles wid america thn go bak to india, if u got wid india thn stay where u r in states nd if u cant resist bof of'em thn all ma habibi's com over to australia. But the thing is y u guys spitting in d same plate u eating(america) nd who u think u r to insult ur parents in frnt of random internet freaks. I heard frm lot of grls nd boys of indian or pakistani or bangla origin saying dere mum a bitch or father a pathatic dog nd shit wen dey wid frnds. I mean why coz dey raised u f

[TruMalu4Life]

@rudge1982 prolly in ur neighborhood man but not mine...

[TruMalu4Life]

@pinoypusa fuck that...american culture is fucked up in the end of the day..

[TruMalu4Life]

@kritikalmass3 yes and America isnt a good country....yall found it by accident, drove off the natives that werent massacred, brought over African slaves and made life hell for their descendents. Not to mention ya fucked with the Chinese when they built ya railroads and imprisoned the Japanese during WW2. SO YES WE INDIANS R HERE TO TAKE YA DOUGH ND REVERSE THE RESULTS OF THE LAST 500 OR SO YEARS. and i hope that for every word i write another Mexican hops over to this side.

[ItsSpikeHere]

@ipfcsnobs With all due respect, I don't agree with arranged marriages because I think that we as people are capable of finding and choosing the one we love rather than having our parents choose for us. It kind of undermines the idea of finding love when your love is chosen for you, and how is it supposed to succeed if you don't even know the person to be right for you?