Writer Shoba Narayan was born in India and came to the U.S. as a student. She settled down in the U.S., became a citizen, wrote for publications such as Time, Newsweek, Gourmet, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and authored a book, while her husband Ram had a successful career on Wall Street. After 20 years in the U.S., the family moved back to India in 2005. This is their story.
A honest account of every immigrant's dream. It is an illuminating read. I was mildly surprised when I read that she took her daughter to a Temple although she herself is an agnostic.
I wasn't surprised that motherhood changed me. After all, I, an avowed agnostic, had suddenly started taking my child to the Hindu temple in Flushing, Queens, so she could be exposed to her faith.
This had me thinking. For most Indians Indian culture is woven around places of worship. I wondered what I would do to teach Indian culture to my daughter Nidhi Nova. I would certainly take her to places of worship as a cultural and historical tour. I would tell her that people come here to assuage their fears, to express their wonder, to ask for divine intervention in their lives, to feel connected to their heritage. I would tell her that they come here for those reasons because they have not yet discovered science. They are yet to hear the exhilarating and humbling truth of our existence.
For someone who lives by rational thought and science, home is all the world, because science is the true common heritage of the modern world. Science may have just a few hundred years of history compared to Vedas, Bible or Koran. But it has brought together and has connected people all over the world like no other shared enterprise in all the history of humankind.
Some day, I may return to India. But, it will not be for the temples, it will not be because my children may miss out on a culture that soaks up on faith and ignorance. It will be for a society that looks forward to the future, it will be for the company of minds that can see the past for what it is and move on to better things. It will be for a culture that shines in the light of science. And, no, we will not wait for that to happen. We will make it happen.
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Very good. I am happy that you would like to be back for the reasons that you mention. I don't know why so many Indian people, especially abroad, feel that their roots lie in silly observances. Their roots should lie in the shared experiences and daily life. I have taken our little one to the temple when she was small just because there are lamps, lights, flowers and interesting things to look at. After she has grown up a little, like me she has also lost interest in temples!
>Their roots should lie in the shared experiences and daily life.
Indeed. Can't agree more.