Biography
“India didn’t want us to leave, either. The government had banned the written examination that a doctor needed to pass before America would grant a work visa. Only a pittance was allowed to be exchanged into dollars for travel abroad. There was a much deeper resistance at work, however. India is a mother culture that actually mothers, that holds its children tight and very reluctantly lets go. As young — and eager to prove ourselves — as we were, we heard tears being shed behind us at the Delhi airport, and not just by our parents. Our choice to step away made us neither fully Indian nor fully American. We had seized a double fate.”
…
“Today a double fate is more common than ever. By current estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, 20 percent of Americans have at least one parent who was born abroad. The fabric of America has changed, bringing mixed feelings on all sides. So a double memoir made sense for the Chopra brothers. Doubleness remains true for us forty years on, piling up richness and loss, consternation and clarity. Like everyone else, we can look back on lives unlived. The life we did live feels symbolic, however. Brotherhood is universal. A self gets built, two selves find an orbit around each other, a society absorbs them into a collective fabric that is never the same tomorrow as it was yesterday.”
- Deepak & Sanjiv Chopra
Born in India on July 15th, 1998, I was given the name Arsh Chopra, which means sky in Hindi. I am a Finance and International Business major, here at the University of Georgia. While Athens is a new home for me, I’ve spent a majority of my life in the Alpharetta area. However, moving has always been a big part of my life. Before I had even turned 8, my family had moved to and from over 7 different countries. Being an immigrant was central to my family’s identity.
In fact, it was so central that even refer to us lovingly as his “little aliens.” We had experienced cultures from around the world and, more predominantly, in the U.S, so it was incredibly thrilling to be able to research and understand our story in relation to those who had come before us.
On September 5th, 1999 my family moved from India to Australia. That movement sparked over 6 years of immigrating from one country to the next. We lived everywhere from Southeast Asia to Europe, until finally, we arrived in the United States. Having moved so often during my early childhood years, it had been hard for me to establish a relationship with other peers, so I had relied on my relationship with my mother and father as we moved from country to country. Looking back I think it gave me a sense of belonging and importance for family ideals, but at the time I felt almost restricted.
When we finally arrived in the U.S, I was beyond excited. I know we planned to stay for quite a while, although I was skeptical given our family history. Soon, however, it became obvious that we were going to be here for a while, and I was quick to assimilate into the new culture. I quickly opened room in my life for new traditions. Everything from Christmas to Football. I was awed by it all.
For a long time I was happy. Traveling from place to place I had never really felt like I fit in anywhere, but for the first time I started to feel that this new world was a place I could truly call home. But, as I grew older, that sense of novelty started to fade and the differences started to become more prominent. As hard as I tried, I was never treated the same way my other friends were. It was always subtle, but I could tell I would never be like them. Although, I could celebrate their traditions and imitate their values, that just wasn’t what my family was about. We had our own traditions and values that set us apart. I resented it for the longest time.
Growing older changed my perspective. I learned to embrace those differences. Those set of values, cultures, traditions, and shared history was my identity. It was who I am. But that wasn’t the only thing. I wasn’t just an Indian. I was also American. Both those experiences, those encounters, transformed me into the person I am today. It was the shared identity of an Indian American. The double fate of a “little alien.”
