Indian roots & American Life

My American 🇺🇸 life rooted in Indian 🇮🇳style is the compliment I get the most on my social media messages. Such generous words are humbling. Honestly, I don’t feel like I’m doing anything extraordinary. It hasn’t been a conscious choice or a carefully planned strategy. It’s simply evolved over time, like a river finding its natural course between two landscapes. It was not about choosing one culture over another. Instead, it’s about letting the best of both shape who I am.

America taught me the beauty of individualism and personal freedom – the permission to explore my natural interests, celebrate my uniqueness, and pursue dreams without judgment. This culture gave me the courage to discover my authentic self and the freedom to fail, fail again and try again. But I also learned that this beautiful individualism can become untethered and lonely, sometimes turning ego-driven when personal achievement becomes the only measure of worth. 

Meanwhile, growing up in India emphasized community first, the wisdom of spiritual life through rituals and the power of belonging to something larger, but that comes at a price of never truly exploring oneself and the fear of judgment. There, I learned that your life isn’t just your own – it belongs to your family, community, and the generations who will follow.

These worldviews might seem contradictory, but slowly I began to see how they complement each other. American individualism helped me discover my authentic self, while Indian values gave that authentic self a purpose beyond personal fulfillment. This integration isn’t always easy – some days it feels like I don’t fully belong in either world, but  I’m learning that this in-between space isn’t a problem to solve; it’s a gift to embrace, like a river doesn’t choose either banks but flows in between. Living between two cultures isn’t to perfectly represent either one, but to let the best of both create something new – a way of living that’s both deeply rooted and freely chosen.

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