The Indian-American Community in Fort Wayne interviews focus on those Indian persons who have either permanently or temporarily made Fort Wayne, Indiana their home. These people have moved to Fort Wayne mostly for job-related purposes but have stayed on for other reasons: the excellent education system, the nice environment, and friendly community. The interviewees, some of whom were born here or have spent most of their lives here, share a common respect for Indian religious and social customs, diet, and language. These interviews thus provide keen insight into the ways Indian-Americans shape their lives in the American context and how they combine Indian and American culture.
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Chakravorty, Pradeep
Chakravorty, Sharmila
Dhawale, Shree
Dixit, Prachi
Dixit, Sunil
Gangadhar, Meera
Gangadhar, R.
Ghosh, Bipasha; Ghosh, Sudip
Lingaraj, B.P.
Mantravadi, Meena
Mantravadi, R. V. Prasad, Dr.
Pathak, Sunit; Pathak, Koruna
Usman, Sushil
Interviewee: | Anonymous |
Call number: | 99-025 |
Date(s) of Interview: | October 5, 1999 |
Physical Description: | 21 pp.; 2 cassettes, 1 7/8 ips, 75 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Restricted; Interviewee is to remain anonymous. |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steven |
The interviewee, a seismologist at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, was born in pre-partition Calcutta, India, and came to the United States in 1969 to pursue graduate studies, receiving a PhD in geophysics from Texas A&M University. After receiving his degree, the interviewee went back to India to work for the government and get married. He then came to Canada for post-doctoral work, worked for some time in Texas and settled with his wife and two sons in Fort Wayne. Now that his sons have grown and left the home, the interviewee and his wife devote much of their free time to spiritual pursuits. They meditate on a daily basis, practice Kriya Yoga, and read books on Hindu spirituality. The interviewee claims that spirituality has helped him relax. He also discusses the ways he has tried to pass Indian traditions, both cultural and religious, on to his children. He discusses the cultural changes he has observed in America since he has been here, especially in regards to racial discrimination he has experienced over the years. The interviewee also spends time contrasting Indian and American culture.
Indian Institute of Technology
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort
Wayne
Sangam
Texas A&M University
Bangladesh
Calcutta, India
Canada
East Bengal, India
Texas
geophysics professor
seismologist
Hindu temples
Hinduism
Indian community associations
Indian educational system
Indian traditional dress
Kriya Yoga
earthquake research
geological research funding
grant writing
gurus
immigration
multilingualism
national politics
naturalization
racial discrimination
spirituality
Interviewee: | Anonymous |
Call number: | 99-043 |
Date(s) of Interview: | April 29, 2000 |
Physical Description: | 40 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 105 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Restricted; Interviewees are to remain anonymous. |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steven |
The interviewee, who was born and raised in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India, and his wife, born in 1949 and raised in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, were married in 1965. He came to the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago in 1969 to pursue a master's degree in automobile engineering. He then went worked for GM, received an MBA from the University of Detroit, worked for Volvo in North Carolina and presently works for Navistar in Fort Wayne where he has been happily employed since 1987. She recieved her four-year degree and computer science degree in the United States, is employed by IBM. The interviewees enjoy the economic, social and educational benefits of living in the United States but miss friends, family and many cultural aspects of India, and thus are considering returning to India upon retirement. Regardless, they travel frequently to India, maintain their Hindu faith, mother tongue, participate in local community events, and integrate American and Indian traditions into their daily lives. They discuss the different ways their children have reacted to thier Indian heritage, and the ways they have tried to pass on the values and customs that are important to them.
General Motors Corporation
IBM Corporation
Illinois Institute of Technology
Lincoln National Life Insurance Company
Navistar International Corporation
University of Detroit
Volvo Group
Bangalore, India
Chicago, Illinois
Detroit, Michigan
Madras, India
Oriville, North Carolina
Rhode Island
automotive engineer
computer programmer
Hinduism
Indian community associations
Indian educational system
Tamil culture
caste system
citizenship
immigration
international travel
marriage customs
multilingualism
naturalization
parenting philosophy
puja
racial discrimination
spirituality
Interviewee: | Anonymous |
Call number: | 99-042 |
Date(s) of Interview: | April 11, 2001 |
Physical Description: | 35 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 76 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Restricted; Interviewees are to remain anonymous. |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steven |
The interviewees were born in 1968 in Calcutta and in 1969 in Madhya Pradesh, India, respectively, and are native Bengali speakers. They received their BS and MS degrees at Jabalpur University, married in 1994, and shortly thereafter had their son. For work purposes, they lived in England for a few years and then moved to Fort Wayne in 1998. Presently they are not certain if the will stay permanently in the United States because they are quite close to their respective families in India, especially their elderly parents. One of the interviewees works as a consultant for International Harvester Company, is concerned about how his son will grow up in the United States and worries that he will become too "Americanized." The couple considers themselves "conservative Indians," meaning that they adhere to certain orthodox religious and social customs that are particular to India. They often converse in Bengali, wear traditional dress, participate in Sangam, visit India as often as possible and try to instill a respect for India and its customs in their son. It is very important to them that they be able to maintain this type of lifestyle if they decide to stay permanently in the United States.
Hewlett-Packard Company
International Harvester Company
Sangam
Calcutta, India
England
Madhya Pradesh, India
Saudi Arabia
homemaker
project consultant
Hinduism
Holi
Indian educational system
Indian foodways
Indian traditional dress
bindi
dating customs
immigration
multilingualism
parenting philosophy
servant's duties
visas
Interviewee: | Anonymous |
Call number: | 99-033 |
Date(s) of Interview: | November 19, 1999 |
Physical Description: | 50 pp.; 3 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 165 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Restricted: Interviewees wish to remain anonymous. |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steven |
The interviewees discuss their lives in India and the United States. They both grew up in and around Bangalore, India and were both educated there. They moved to the United States initially for his career and have since decided to remain in America to raise their family. They compare their families in India, where both of them lived in extended family households, to their nuclear family lifestyle in America. They discuss the importance of religion and spirituality in their lives and the ways they have tried to pass these values on to their children. They discuss the initial difficulty they had in adjusting to life in the United States, especially the technology, which greatly differs from India. Finally, the couple describe the importance of Sangam, the Indian community association in Fort Wayne, in their lives, and the differences between Indian culture as it is practiced in the United States and in India.
Sangam
Bangalore, India
Bombay, India
homemaker
mechanical engineer
program analyst
Brahmin caste
Gandhi assassination
Gita
Gujarati culture
Indian Independence Movement
Indian dance
Indian educational system
Indian foodways
Indian music
ashram
caste system
marriage customs
multilingualism
parenting philosophy
religious traditions
Interviewee: | Anonymous |
Call number: | 99-040 |
Date(s) of Interview: | March 15, 2000 |
Physical Description: | 36 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 148 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Restricted: Interviewee wishes to remain anonymous |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steve |
A business professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne this interviewee was born in Surat, India and grew up in Bombay, India. His undergraduate education was completed in Bombay at St. Xavier's College, after which he worked in his father's business for two months. However, he was quickly disillusioned and started his own small business. He then attended the Indian Institute of Management and earned the United States equivalent of an M.B.A. He was then offered a place at Indiana University School of Business in Bloomington, Indiana to pursue a doctoral degree. In 1968 he moved to Indiana, with his wife following soon after and they have remained ever since. He discusses his cultural identity as an Indian Muslim and a member of the Bohra community. He talks about his sons and their achievements, and his efforts to impart Indian values and traditions that he feels are important. He discusses the reasons he had chosen to remain in the United States, among them being religious discrimination against Muslims in India, greater economic opportunity in America, and what he refers to as the "ease of living" in America as opposed to India. He also discusses the ways he tries to follow Indian customs in America.
Sangam
Eigenmann Hall
Indian Institute of Management
Indiana University School of Business
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort
Wayne
Middle Tennessee State University
Bloomington, Indiana
Bombay, India
Calcutta, India
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Surat, India
business professor
Dawoodi Bohra community
Gujarati culture
Hindu-Muslim conflict
Indian Muslim culture
Indian attorneys
Indian educational system
Indian private schools
Islam
family business
golf
magnet schools
marriage customs
parenting philosophy
religious discrimination
tennis
Interviewee: | Chakravorty, Pradeep |
Call number: | 99-031 |
Date(s) of Interview: | November 14, 1999 |
Physical Description: | 30 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 80 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steven |
Pradeep Chakravorty, a foundry manager at Amcast Auto in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was born and raised in Bombay, India. Born the son of a famous Hindi film director, Chakravorty had an affluent and privileged childhood and young adulthood. After attending Indiana Institute of Technology for his undergraduate education, he went back to Bombay and married, came back to the U.S., and worked and lived with his wife in Chicago where they had their first child. Thereafter, they returned to Bombay so that Mr. Chakravorty could start up his own engineering company, and after having two more children, they returned to the United States, after his company ultimately failed. Presently, he and his family live in Fort Wayne. He talks of his efforts to teach his children Bengali, his native language, and pass on Indian traditions and values. He outlines his involvement in Sangam, the Fort Wayne, Indiana Indian community association, and a Bengali association. He discusses the differences of running a business in America and India, and the advantages and disadvantages of living in America as opposed to India, and his decision to become an American citizen and raise his family here.
Amcast Automotive
General Motors Corporation
Indiana Institute of Technology
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort
Wayne
Sangam
Taste of India Restaurant
Chakravorty, Primod
Bombay, India
Calcutta, India
Chicago, Illinois
Gas City, Indiana
automobile manufacturer
engineering supervisor
foundry manager
restaurant owner
1947 Partition
Bengali culture
Diwali
Dussera
Hindi culture
Hindi films
Indian automobile manufacture
Indian community associations
Indian film
Indian foodways
Indian traditional dress
computer science
education
immigration
leisure activities
marriage customs
multilingualism
naturalization
overpopulation
parenting philosophy
student visas
Interviewee: | Chakravorty, Sharmila |
Call number: | 99-032 |
Date(s) of Interview: | November 14, 1999 |
Physical Description: | 36 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 90 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Margolin, Amy |
Sharmila Chakravorty was born in 1959 and was raised in an affluent family in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. Shortly after beginning her BA in History, she met and married Pradeep Chakravorty and moved to Bombay. After a brief move to Chicago, Illinois, the couple returned with their first child to Bombay where he worked and she completed her BA. Eight years later, in 1988, the Chakravortys returned to the United States with their children and settled eventually in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Presently, Sharmila Chakravorty works part-time as a customer service representative and is working towards an associates's degree in business. Outside of work, she is quite involved in her children's lives, maintains extremely close ties with friends and family in India, and continues to speak Bengali and upkeep her Hindu values and customs at home and in the larger community. She also describes racial discrimination she had encountered while working in customer service and the religious persecution her daughter has suffered being a practicing Hindu. Mrs. Chakravorty compares life in big and small cities in India and the United States.
Sangam
University of Bombay
Chakravorty, Primod
Tagore, Rabindranath
Bangladesh
Bombay, India
Calcutta, India
Chicago, Illinois
Joplin, Missouri
customer service representative
Bengali culture
Diwali
Hindi films
Hinduism
Holi
Indian community associations
Indian dance
Indian educational system
Indian film
Indian foodways
Indian music
Indian traditional dress
immigration
marriage customs
poverty
puja
racial discrimination
religious discrimination
Interviewee: | Dhawale, Shree |
Call number: | 99-038 |
Date(s) of Interview: | January 26, 2000 |
Physical Description: | 31 pp.; 2 cassettes, 1 7/8 ips, 87 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Hickey, M. Gail |
Shree Dhawale, an associate biology professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, came to the United States in 1972 with her husband who was at that time pursuing a PhD. She was born and raised in Madhya Pradesh in East Central India. She and her husband spent several years in New York, Maryland, and Ohio, where she earned her PhD, before settling with their son in Indiana. In this interview, Dhawale speaks frankly about discrimination that she and her son, Ravi, have faced, his recent engagement to a fellow Indian medical student, her vegetarian diet, commitment to Indian customs, and frequent travel to India.
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort
Wayne
Columbus, Ohio
Madhya Pradesh, India
Maryland
New York, New York
biology professor
Hinduism
Indian educational system
Indian foodways
Indian weddings
caste system
dowry
marriage customs
parenting philosophy
puja
racial discrimination
vegetarianism
zoology
Interviewee: | Dixit, Prachi |
Call number: | 99-036 |
Date(s) of Interview: | December 11, 1999 |
Physical Description: | 24 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 70 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steven |
Prachi Dixit, born in 1962, came to the United States as a bride in 1984. She spent two years in Boston, Massachusetts, a year in Bloomington, Indiana, and then ten years in South Bend, Indiana where her husband, Sunil, earned his PhD. While there, the Dixits had children and Prachi worked in day care and as a Kathak dance teacher. She and her family maintain very close ties to Indian and Hindu traditions. They are practicing vegetarians, participate frequently in Indian community-wide activities, and travel often to India to visit her family. She speaks of the differences of living and raising children in India and America. She also speaks of her traditional Indian wedding and the dowry, and contrasts them with American wedding customs.
Whispering Meadows School
Agra, India
Bloomington, Indiana
Boston, Massachusetts
New Delhi, India
South Bend, Indiana
Kathak dance instructor
preschool teacher
Hinduism
Indian dance
Indian music
Indian weddings
Kathak dance
acculturation
birth ceremonies
caste system
dating customs
dowry
gift registry
marriage customs
naturalization
parenting philosophy
racial discrimination
singing
vegetarianism
yoga
Interviewee: | Dixit, Sunil |
Call number: | 99-037 |
Date(s) of Interview: | December 11, 1999 |
Physical Description: | 32 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 110 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steven |
Dr. Sunil Dixit, born in Uttar Pradesh, India, came to the United States in 1964 when he was eight years old. He spent his early teenage years in Texas and later teenage years in Berkelely, CA, where he began his undergraduate schooling. He finished his degree at Louisiana State University, went to MIT for two years, and Notre Dame for his PhD work in physics. Dixit, his wife, and two children maintain a vegetarian diet, and follow Indian value systems in an American context. Though Dixit has not visited India since 1995, his wife and family visit frequently. He speaks of his interests in Hinduism and the misconceptions that is associated with practicing Hinduism.
Ford Motor Company
Indiana University Cyclotron Facility
Raytheon Company
Sangam
Agra, India
Austin, Texas
Berkeley, California
Bloomington, Indiana
Boston, Massachusetts
Louisiana
Martinsville, Indiana
South Bend, Indiana
Uttar Pradesh, India
grocery store manager
nuclear physicist
software engineer
Brahmin caste
Hinduism
Indian community associations
acculturation
caste system
gurus
marriage customs
naturalization
parenting philosophy
physics
racial discrimination
theoretical physics
vegetarianism
Interviewee: | Gangadhar, Meera |
Call number: | 99-029 |
Date(s) of Interview: | October 23, 1999 |
Physical Description: | 44 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 110 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Margolin, Amy |
Meera Gangadhar, born in 1953 in Vancouver, Canada, was raised in Karnataka, India. Though she did an advanced degree in the sciences, Mrs. Gangadhar did not pursue it as a profession. Presently, she lives in Fort Wayne with her husband and teenage son. Her two daughters are on the East Coast attending Ivy League colleges and preparing for medical school. Mrs. Gangadhar devotes most of her time to her children, but also maintains various Hindu religious rituals, talking specifically about how Hinduism is not merely a religious notion but a part of one's daily life. Also important to her are the foods and festivals of South India and her frequent visits to India. She also discusses the benefits as she sees them of raising a family in American as opposed to India. She speaks of her efforts to maintain Indiana cultural and religious traditions in America, the Hindu community in Fort Wayne and other places she has lived, and cultural difference she has noticed between India and the United States
Sangam
Bangalore, India
Binghamton, New York
Canada
Chicago, Illinois
Dharwad, India
Karnataka, India
South Bend, Indiana
homemaker
substitute teacher
Diwali
Hinduism
Holi
Indian community associations
Indian film
Indian foodways
Indian traditional dress
Shaivism
astrology
horoscopes
immigration
international news coverage
international travel
jyotish
marriage customs
parenting philosophy
puja
racial discrimination
vegetarianism
yoga
Interviewee: | Gangadhar, R. |
Call number: | 99-028 |
Date(s) of Interview: | October 23, 1999 |
Physical Description: | 30 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 105 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steven |
Dr. R. Gangadhar, a pathologist at Parkview Hospital, was born in April, 1945 in Bangalore, India. Gangadhar came to South Bend in 1971 to do his residency in medicine, moved to Texas and finally, in 1976, came back to Indiana and has been there ever since. Dr. Gangadhar has three children, two of whom are already planning on following in his footsteps. He and his family often travel to India and participate in local Indian American functions. He discusses his parenting philosophy and his attempts to teach his children Kannadar, his native language. He discusses his love of the medical field, and how practicing medicine in India and the United States differs. He speaks of his involvement in Sangam, the Fort Wayne, Indiana Indian community association. Finally, he outlines the advantages of living in America and raising his children here.
Bangalore Medical College
Parkview Hospital
Sangam
Texas Medical Center
Bangalore, India
Binghamton, New York
Canada
Columbus, Ohio
Karnataka, India
South Bend, Indiana
Texas
pathologist
Diwali
Hinduism
Indian community associations
Indian educational system
Indian medical profession
Indian professional schools
capitalism
dairy farming
family business
local politics
multilingualism
naturalization
parenting philosophy
socialism
Interviewee: | Ghosh, Bipasha; Ghosh, Sudip |
Call number: | 99-027 |
Date(s) of Interview: | October 20, 1999 |
Physical Description: | 27 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 80 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steven |
Sudip Ghosh is from Assam but raised in Bombay, and Bipasha, his wife, is from Calcutta, India. Both call Bengali their native tongue. The Ghoshes did graduate work in the United States, at Michigan State University and Ohio State University. Thereafter they came to Fort Wayne where Sudip works as an electrical engineer and Bipasha works as a developmental engineer, both for General Electric. The Ghoshes, though not particularly politically or socially active, agree that the United States' news coverage of India is poor. They maintain Bengali as their primary language, participate in Sangam functions, enjoy Indian classical music. They discuss the advantages and disadvantages of living in India and America, and the factors they are considering in regards of making a permanent residence in the United States or returning to India.
Bengali Association of Chicago
General Electric Company
Robert Bosch Corporation
Sangam
Calcutta, India
Akron, Ohio
Assam, India
Bombay, India
Budapest, Hungary
Chicago, Illinois
Detroit, Michigan
Gujarat, India
developmental engineer
electrical engineer
American media
Diwali
Hinduism
Holi
Indian community associations
Indian educational system
Indian foodways
Indian music
Indian politics
Indian traditional dress
Internet
acculturation
atomic bomb testing
customer service
harmonium
immigration
local politics
multilingualism
physics
Interviewee: | Lingaraj, B.P. |
Call number: | 99-041 |
Date(s) of Interview: | April 11, 2000 |
Physical Description: | 17 pp.; 1 tape, 1 7/8 ips, 45 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steven |
Dr. Lingaraj, a professor of business administration at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, was born in 1940 and raised in Bangalore, India. He came to the United States in 1962 for graduate studies, first in Kansas and then at the University of Pittsburgh. After teaching for four years at Marquette University, he went back to India for a time during which he married. He and his wife returned to the United States in 1978, but in 1987 his wife and children returned to India for six years to take care of his ailing parents. He feels those years in India gave his children a distinct advantage, in that upon returning to the United States, they were more capable in the classroom and better connected to their native linguistic and cultural traditions. Although his family enjoys living in the United States and actively participates in Indian American community-wide events, Lingaraj and his wife plan to move back to India when they reach retirement age.
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort
Wayne
Sangam
Bangalore, India
Cincinnati, Ohio
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Rochester, New York
Topeka, Kansas
Wisconsin
business administration professor
Diwali
Hinduism
Indian community associations
Indian educational system
local politics
mechanical engineering
Interviewee: | Mantravadi, Meena |
Call number: | 99-034 |
Date(s) of Interview: | December 11, 1999 |
Physical Description: | 33 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 105 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Hickey, Gail |
Meena Mantravadi, a homemaker in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was born in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India into a family of intellectuals and musicians, and thus she had a privileged childhood. While doing her master's degree in English literature, she met and married her husband who was working in Dublin, Ireland at the time. They came together to Chicago, Illinois so that he could do his medical residency. Thereafter they settled in Fort Wayne where they raised their three boys. Mantravadi is very proud of her sons and devotes a large part of the interview to discussing their education, independence, and linguistic skills. The Mantravadis are observant Hindus and have had an auditorium and altar built in their house so as to facilitate Hindu lectures and devotional meetings. Mrs. Mantravadi claims that except for certain cultural losses, she is able to practice her religion and maintain customs just as easily here as in India. She also speaks of the Indian community in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the activities she participates in.
American National Bank
Benares Hindu University
Canterbury School, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Theosophical Society
Unitarian Church
Besant, Annie
Montessori, Maria
Chicago, Illinois
Madras, India
homemaker
Diwali
Hinduism
Indian educational system
Indian foodways
Indian music
Indian traditional dress
Indian weddings
Montessori schools
crisis management
dating customs
family traditions
family values
marriage customs
multilingualism
parenting philosophy
veena
Interviewee: | Mantravadi, R. V. Prasad, Dr. |
Call number: | 99-035 |
Date(s) of Interview: | December 11, 1999 |
Physical Description: | 34 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 105 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steven |
Dr. R. V. Prasad Mantravadi, a radiation oncologist and Indiana University School of Medicine faculty member, was born in 1945 in Andhra Pradesh, India. In 1972, Mantravadi, having completed his M.D., went to Dublin, Ireland to further his training, and then travelled to the University of Illinois where he completed his final year of residence. Dr. Mantravadi and his wife spent several years in Chicago before moving to Fort Wayne with their three sons. In raising his children, Dr. Mantravadi has emphasized the importance of education and spiritual life. He has demonstrated this importance by sending his children to private schools and taking the entire family on yearly Hindu-based retreats. He also contrasts his childhood in India to the childhood his sons have had in the United States. He speaks of his involvement in Sangam, the Indian community association in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and his desire to see Indian Americans participate in more community service.
Canterbury School
Fort Wayne African American Cancer Alliance
Fort Wayne Bhajan Society
Indiana University School of Medicine
Royal Marsden Hospital
Sangam
University of Illinois School of Medicine
Andhra Pradesh, India
Chicago, Illinois
Dublin, Ireland
Glasgow, Scotland
Madhya Pradesh, India
Orissa, India
medical professor
radiation oncologist
Bhajan culture
Diwali
Hinduism
Indian educational system
Montessori schools
Telugu
cricket
foster parents
gurus
hazing rituals
medical education
medical research
multilingualism
naturalization
parenting philosophy
private schools
public schools
puja
racial discrimination
radiology
soccer
spirituality
vegetarianism
volunteerism
Interviewee: | Pathak, Sunit; Pathak, Koruna |
Call number: | 99-030 |
Date(s) of Interview: | October 30, 1999 |
Physical Description: | 69 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 95 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steven |
Sunit and Koruna Pathak live with their 10 year old son in Fort Wayne where Sunit works in the computer software industry and Koruna works in the travel industry. Sunit was born and raised in Calcutta, West Bengal but did his undergraduate and graduate work in the United States. Koruna was born and raised in Malaysia, but received her college education in Calcutta. The Pathaks are very attached to their Indian and Malaysian heritage. The family makes it a point to visit their families as often as possible, to speak some Bengali with their son, and follow Indian custom and value systems in their home in Indiana. They also speak of the importance of Indian community associations, especially Sangam in Fort Wayne. They discuss the challenges of adapting to American culture and their reasons for remaining long term in America.
Calcutta University
Sangam
United Airlines
University of Georgia
University of Texas
Amarillo, Texas
Bloomington, Indiana
Calcutta, India
Cincinnati, Ohio
Denver, Colorado
East Bengal, India
Georgia
Houston, Texas
Los Angeles, California
Malaysia
Santa Barbara, California
Ventura, California
computer software developer
newspaper editor
teacher
travel agent
British colonialism
Hinduism
Indian community associations
Indian educational system
Malaysian Bengalis
boarding school
extended family
immigration
international travel
marriage customs
multilingualism
naturalization
parenting philosophy
Interviewee: | Usman, Sushil |
Call number: | 99-039 |
Date(s) of Interview: | March 15, 2000 |
Physical Description: | 28 pp.; 2 tapes, 1 7/8 ips, 100 minutes; index |
Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
Access Status: | Open |
Interviewer: | Sheehan, Steve |
Sushil Usman was born in Agra, India and was raised and schooled in Lucknow, India. When he was still young, his father converted from the Muslim faith to Christianity and became a Methodist minister. He speaks of his chosen career in sociology, and his career path which led him first to the University of Minnesota and finally in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He speaks of upbringing as a Christian, which he describes as very strict. He speaks of the adjustments he has had to make living in the United States. He talks about his marriage and his children, and the values and traditions he has tried to pass on to them. He also discusses the Indian community associations he has been involved in over the years, especially Sangam and the Sangam Charitable Foundation in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Sangam
Sangam Charitable Foundation
University of Minnesota
Rose, Arnold
Agra, India
Lucknow, India
Minneapolis, Minnesota
social worker
sociology professor
parenting philosophy
1947 Partition
Indian Christians
Indian community associations
Indian educational system
Indian independence
Malkana Indians
Methodist church
dating customs
glass ceiling
racial discrimination