Letter from a grandson to his Thatha

Thatha is grandfather in kannada and tamil. Predictably, he doesn't use email. Here's the looong letter (minus embarassing personal stuff) verbatim for others like me to relate to or unlike me to bash :




919, E. Lemon St., Apt # 210,
Tempe, Arizona, USA
12/21/07



Dear Thatha,

Season's Greetings to everyone at Tumkur, and a warm hello!

Its been such a long time since I wrote a letter on paper that I now find it easier to express myself typing out my thoughts (partly because I can make frequent edits, and largely because sometimes I myself find it hard to understand my writing, let alone others!). I hope you saw the pictures I sent, so here are the thousand words to describe them:

Well, its been nearly four and a half months since I first landed in America – Los Angeles to be precise. A lot of things have changed for me since then and I'd like to think mostly for the better. I don't know where to start, except at the beginning. Everyone seems to ask me about my first reaction (shock?) on arriving here. For one, the cars all go in the wrong direction! But thats just one of the several things that Americans do differently, but not always better.

Aside from cars, the streets are deserted for the most part. Noone walks here, except Indian parents visiting their children or students like me who have no choice. Even I got bored of walking, so I bought a bicycle to get around. Unlike India, there won't even be anyone whom you can ask for directions if you're lost, that is especially true in Arizona, which is mostly a desert. Any travel has to be planned out completely in advance with maps, directions, and in my case, bus schedules!

The roads here are usually very wide, with up to 6 lanes each way on busy freeways. But there are parts of the city I live in (Tempe) that remind me of India. Tempe is a suburb around 15 miles from Phoenix, the capital of Arizona. Arizona is in the south-west of America, with California on the west, Nevada and Colorado on the north, New Mexico (the state) on the east, and the old Mexico (the country!) on the south. Most of Arizona is very dry, hardly gets any rains as it's on the leeward side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The weather is a bit extreme, like Delhi, only drier – Summer highs go up to nearly 50 C , while winter lows are usually around 5C.

The people in the land of Hollywood and George Bush are quite unique. I find they are very candid in expressing their thoughts, which can be a good thing. Also, most of them are quite open to people from other countries – after all, they are a nation of immigrants. (By the way, Arizona has a few American Indian (Native American) reservations, haven't had a chance to visit any yet though). What is commendable is how they provide equal opportunity to everyone – there's not a single building that doesn't have assistance for the elderly and disabled. Women work in far greater numbers, and in all sorts of professions. My barber is a lady! Americans are much more liberal in comparison with Indians, in dressing, communication and the values they share. Professors wear shorts to beat the hot weather, and they're addressed as 'professor' or even by their first name. They consider it offensive if you call someone you know 'sir' or 'madam'!.

Indians don't change completely when they get here though. They do enjoy the American way of living, but they don't compromise their principles completely. At least, first generation Indians like Chechu uncle stay loyal to their roots and religion. I had a great time with him in my first week in the US, getting over the jet lag and getting used to the sights and sounds. I had been to Las Vegas, the casino city, to visit dad's cousin Sheela. They even had a homa at their home, complete with vadyar and mantras.

I guess mum would have told you that I've settled into a two-bedroom apartment with two roommates. We share the costs, cooking and cleaning duties. Mum tried to teach me cooking when I was India, but I didn't really learn anything new until I came here. I guess necessity is the mother of invention, or in my case, discovery of recipes by trial and error. We get most Indian groceries here – the Indian store is about as far as the Shetty angadi from the Tumkur house! All our shopping and household chores is done on weekends.

There is a sizeable Indian community here, nearly 800 students across all disciplines, including the second generation Indians , mostly in undergraduate. We spend time together visiting places, watching kannada movies and cricket matches on the internet. So I don't get homesick much, I've been out of home for more than four years now, but I do sometimes long for good old home cooking and spending time with all of you and my friends. But life goes on, so we have to accept new things and move on, while keeping our fond memories with us.

There are a lot of people from the Iyengar community here, we keep meeting every so often at the Kannada Sangha. All my cousins and uncles here have invited me to visit them in the corners of the USA. Will go when the weather gets better. Most of Northern USA is frozen over in the winter. I plan to get a drivers license during the winter break. One of dad's distant relatives lives in Phoenix, he offered to take me in his car.

Wish you all a happy new year!

Love,



Varun.