Name of Show: The Nich. O. Las’ Show
Complete Show Length in Minutes: 6-7
Episode 1: Topic: Experiences in India before transition, during transition, and after transition
Intro Music Clip: Title: Karsh Kale “Distance” Minutes: 2
Intro: For this project, I interviewed my business partner, Raj Gajaphati. He is an Indian immigrant who has been living in the United States, with his wife, for the past 18 years. My purpose for this interview was to discover how someone who grew up in a foreign country with tight cultural and religious beliefs can migrate and adapt to the loose American society and for what reasons.
First question: “How was life in your native country, India?”
Raj:“India is also a democratic country, like the U.S. and there’s a lot of differences in terms of culture, language, beliefs. Here in the U.S., for transportation we use cars and things like that, but typically in India, transportation is bicycles, motorbikes, buses and trains. Very few people had cars when I was growing up. They were usually for people who were very rich. I grew up in a middle class family were we used to walk from place to place. Also from a religious perspective, we had a lot of holidays because of our belief (Hindu). “
“What inspired your want to come here, instead of continuing living there?”
“Well, the U.S. is the land of opportunity. That is one of the biggest dreams for a lot of people like me who come the U.S. We see the opportunities in this country and we know that if you’re willing to work hard for your dream they will come true and the U.S. is probably one of the few countries that are very open to immigrants.”
Segment Music Clip: Lupe Fiasco “Superstar” Title: The transition from India to the U.S. Minutes: 2
“How was your transition from India to America when you first arrived here and your wife, Kamala’s, view of it?
Raj:“Well, when I came to the U.S. that was about 18 years back in 1991. Although I was very comfortable speaking the U.S. language, because that was one of the recognizable languages we used back in India, there were a lot of differences in terms of slang that I used back home in India, and certain phrases that are used in the U.S. In fact, there were a few questions and things that I heard when I came to the U.S. that I didn’t know how to respond to, but it was a gradually process. I had some friends that were already hear in the U.S. that gave me an orientation, like how to respond to certain phrases and what they really mean. For example, there are certain phases that people say in India that mean something completely different hear and it is the same back home. When my wife came here my wife’s transition was very easy and smooth, because I was here in the country for a few years and she also had a lot of family who lived in the U.S., so she probably knew more about this country than I did when I first came hear. But, because there were so many people in her family that have come ahead of her, she learned from their experiences, so it was a lot easier for her to transition into the American way of life.”
“
“Also, what was your family’s reaction when they found out that you wanted to move over here?”
Raj:“They were very supportive, because everybody back home understands the opportunities that are in the U.S. For immigrants who aspire to become better and more success, they understand that this is a great place to come and get their dreams fulfilled. My family help me support me get my masters degree and Kamala’s family was also very supportive of her coming here.”
End Segment Music Clip: Karsh Kale “One Step Beyond” Title: Living in the U.S. Minutes: 2
Ending: Minutes:
“What have been your experiences in the U.S. so far?”
Raj:“I have had a phenomenal experience in the U.S. Kamala and I have already seen some of our dreams starting to come true. We still do a lot of things that we did back in India. Of course as time goes by, we have become more mature to understand why we do what we do, there are some things that we have tweaked a little, but overall we are very excited about life.”
“Do you think that Americans embrace immigrants as well as we claim to do?”
Raj:“I have actually been to quite a few countries, like the U.K. and Singapore and a lot of places like that and I definitely feel that the U.S. is more accepting to immigrants and they have a lot of opportunity to anyone, not only people who were born here. America is one of the few countries that don’t discriminate anymore against immigrants.”
“For the last segment of this interview I want you to define the American dream from an immigrant’s perspective?”
Raj:"To me, the American dream means that opportunity exists for everybody and the most important thing is to believe in the dream that you want to achieve. You need to have complete faith so that even when other people do not believe in that dream, you have enough belief in that dream and can you be committed to that dream and do what is required to make that dream a reality.”
Ending Music Clip: Title: Common “Forever Begins” Time: 30 seconds
Complete Show Length in Minutes: 6-7
Episode 1: Topic: Experiences in India before transition, during transition, and after transition
Intro Music Clip: Title: Karsh Kale “Distance” Minutes: 2
Intro: For this project, I interviewed my business partner, Raj Gajaphati. He is an Indian immigrant who has been living in the United States, with his wife, for the past 18 years. My purpose for this interview was to discover how someone who grew up in a foreign country with tight cultural and religious beliefs can migrate and adapt to the loose American society and for what reasons.
First question: “How was life in your native country, India?”
Raj:“India is also a democratic country, like the U.S. and there’s a lot of differences in terms of culture, language, beliefs. Here in the U.S., for transportation we use cars and things like that, but typically in India, transportation is bicycles, motorbikes, buses and trains. Very few people had cars when I was growing up. They were usually for people who were very rich. I grew up in a middle class family were we used to walk from place to place. Also from a religious perspective, we had a lot of holidays because of our belief (Hindu). “
“What inspired your want to come here, instead of continuing living there?”
“Well, the U.S. is the land of opportunity. That is one of the biggest dreams for a lot of people like me who come the U.S. We see the opportunities in this country and we know that if you’re willing to work hard for your dream they will come true and the U.S. is probably one of the few countries that are very open to immigrants.”
Segment Music Clip: Lupe Fiasco “Superstar” Title: The transition from India to the U.S. Minutes: 2
“How was your transition from India to America when you first arrived here and your wife, Kamala’s, view of it?
Raj:“Well, when I came to the U.S. that was about 18 years back in 1991. Although I was very comfortable speaking the U.S. language, because that was one of the recognizable languages we used back in India, there were a lot of differences in terms of slang that I used back home in India, and certain phrases that are used in the U.S. In fact, there were a few questions and things that I heard when I came to the U.S. that I didn’t know how to respond to, but it was a gradually process. I had some friends that were already hear in the U.S. that gave me an orientation, like how to respond to certain phrases and what they really mean. For example, there are certain phases that people say in India that mean something completely different hear and it is the same back home. When my wife came here my wife’s transition was very easy and smooth, because I was here in the country for a few years and she also had a lot of family who lived in the U.S., so she probably knew more about this country than I did when I first came hear. But, because there were so many people in her family that have come ahead of her, she learned from their experiences, so it was a lot easier for her to transition into the American way of life.”
“
“Also, what was your family’s reaction when they found out that you wanted to move over here?”
Raj:“They were very supportive, because everybody back home understands the opportunities that are in the U.S. For immigrants who aspire to become better and more success, they understand that this is a great place to come and get their dreams fulfilled. My family help me support me get my masters degree and Kamala’s family was also very supportive of her coming here.”
End Segment Music Clip: Karsh Kale “One Step Beyond” Title: Living in the U.S. Minutes: 2
Ending: Minutes:
“What have been your experiences in the U.S. so far?”
Raj:“I have had a phenomenal experience in the U.S. Kamala and I have already seen some of our dreams starting to come true. We still do a lot of things that we did back in India. Of course as time goes by, we have become more mature to understand why we do what we do, there are some things that we have tweaked a little, but overall we are very excited about life.”
“Do you think that Americans embrace immigrants as well as we claim to do?”
Raj:“I have actually been to quite a few countries, like the U.K. and Singapore and a lot of places like that and I definitely feel that the U.S. is more accepting to immigrants and they have a lot of opportunity to anyone, not only people who were born here. America is one of the few countries that don’t discriminate anymore against immigrants.”
“For the last segment of this interview I want you to define the American dream from an immigrant’s perspective?”
Raj:"To me, the American dream means that opportunity exists for everybody and the most important thing is to believe in the dream that you want to achieve. You need to have complete faith so that even when other people do not believe in that dream, you have enough belief in that dream and can you be committed to that dream and do what is required to make that dream a reality.”
Ending Music Clip: Title: Common “Forever Begins” Time: 30 seconds
