Ms. Mridu Sekhar (Masala Chat Project)

Description

Mridu Sekhar, 69, is a retired owner of a successful healthcare technology consultancy and active participant in Democratic politics. The interview includes discussion of how geopolitical history during the Cold War and the Indo-Pakistani war affected her personally and professionally. She discusses experiencing isolation as the only woman in her cohort of Physics PhD’s at Boston College, and having to rely on the counter clerks at Marshall Fields for guidance on American cultural and workplace norms. Mridu believes Indian heritage is about family, food, and the land, more than religion and worries about too much fragmentation in the Indo-American social sector. She describes the joy of being in retirement and volunteering her time to worthy causes. Other topics discussed include: description of a Hindu wedding ceremony, the importance of women’s education, racism in American history, the importance of teaching the history of immigration, secularism in Indian culture, and the Obama presidential campaigns.