WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.300 [NAVINCHANDRA SANGHAVI]: (speaks to someone in the background) 00:00:04.300 --> 00:00:25.900 [JOEL GONZALEZ]: --with Navin Sanghavi part of the Indo American Heritage Museum's Masala Chat Oral History Project. The interview is being conducted on April 21st (2016) at the residence. Joel Gonzalez will be the interviewer for the Indo American Heritage Museum. And I’m going to start with the first question. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:26.800 [NS]: Excellent. 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.000 [JG]: Please state and spell your first and last name, please. 00:00:31.400 --> 00:00:50.600 [NS]: My first name is N A V I N C H A N D R A. Short is N A V I N. Last name is Sanghavi, S A N G H A V, like victor, I. 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:53.900 [JG]: Thank you. When and where were you born? 00:00:54.500 --> 00:01:07.400 [NS]: I was born in a small city in Gujarat, which is about 150 miles northwest of Bombay, or Mumbai now. 00:01:07.700 --> 00:01:18.000 [JG]: Oh, Mumbai, yeah. 00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:22.400 [NS]: Yes. It was a city controlled by one of the big kingdoms, Gaekwads. 00:01:22.600 --> 00:01:28.000 [JG]: Okay. What languages did you speak growing up? 00:01:29.300 --> 00:01:46.400 [NS]: Before I came here I used to speak Gujarati, that is my mother tongue, Hindi and English. I studied French in high school, but I'm not fluent in it. 00:01:47.600 --> 00:01:49.600 [JG]: And was that like in grammar school, high school, or? 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:50.600 [NS]: High school. 00:01:50.600 --> 00:01:51.000 [JG]: High school? 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:51.600 [NS]: Yes. 00:01:54.500 --> 00:02:00.600 [JG]: So, since you were talking about schools, where did you go to school in India? 00:02:01.600 --> 00:02:30.500 [NS]: The first four years I was in my hometown which is Amreli. I studied until grade four then I migrated to Bombay, where my family was, and I studied there for--till high school and the first two years of college. The college was for inter-science, which is the entrance exam for various profession. 00:02:31.600 --> 00:02:47.900 And I did the--I did the inter-science and went to a college in Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and became a mechanical engineer. 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:53.100 [JG]: Did you already know you wanted to be a mechanical engineer since, since you were little? 00:02:53.300 --> 00:02:55.000 [NS]: Yes, I was, I was. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:59.850 [JG]: What attracted you to being a mechanical engineer? 00:02:59.900 --> 00:03:04.800 [NS]: At that time the, again, it was something like a fad. 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:05.800 [JG]: Okay **laughs** 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:24.300 [NS]: Students, you know, they all talk about, “What do you want to be?” and say, “Okay, I want to be an engineer” or somebody says, “I want to be a chemist, or doctor,” or something. And the fad at that time mechanical engineer was considered to be the elite. So that’s what I selected. 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:29.700 [JG]: Okay. Did you family practice a particular religion, in India? 00:03:29.800 --> 00:04:01.800 [NS]: Yes. We, my mother, specifically, followed Pushtimargiya. P U S H T I. Pushtimargiya. For which there was a little exhibit in the Art Institute of Chicago recently, like it ended in January, I think. Yes, we did follow that. We were totally vegetarian, all of us, the whole family. 00:04:02.700 --> 00:04:19.600 And, somewhat it is restrictive in the sense that there are some rules that, of course, we as children did not follow, but my mother did follow. She used to fast on so many days every month and things like that you know. 00:04:22.900 --> 00:04:29.900 [JG]: Um, you said, you said you had siblings. If so, how many. Can you please state their names as well? 00:04:29.200 --> 00:04:37.000 [NS]: Yes, yes. I have, I had, three elder brothers and one younger brother so we were five in total. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:38.100 [JG]: Wow. All brothers? 00:04:38.600 --> 00:05:01.000 [NS]: All brothers. Yes, yes. Two have passed away, the eldest and the youngest. One of them is in United States, in California, and another one is in Mumbai. And the majority of their children are also all settled in Mumbai. 00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:11.000 [JG]: Oh, okay. From what you can remember, in your childhood, how was how was your life, what was your life like in India? 00:05:12.200 --> 00:05:45.900 [NS]: We lived in four bedrooms, I mean four rooms. It is what you call tenement? And **coughs**, excuse me, and the total square footage was something like about 250 square feet. And we shared the lavatories and things like that and five brothers, mother, father, and my oldest brother was married so he had his children. 00:05:46.600 --> 00:06:16.300 And it was, and later on we got a-- And our, my father's office was also in-house, in the tenement. So, during the daytime one of the rooms was devoted to the office, and at night it was converted into bedroom. And somehow or the other, we managed to you know sleep. Our life was very--quite comfortable. 00:06:17.200 --> 00:06:38.900 My father was fairly successful, and we did not have any problem as far as the food is concerned, clothing is concerned. In fact, he was considered to be one of the richest person in our hometown, in those ’30s and ‘40s. 00:06:39.100 --> 00:06:40.300 [JG]: What did he do for a living? 00:06:40.400 --> 00:07:00.700 [NS]: He did, he was a freight broker and shipping and clearing agent. And he had lots of communications with the American companies as well as British companies and the other companies--shipping, so you know, international trade is where he was involved with. 00:07:01.900 --> 00:07:03.900 [JG]: And your mother, what was her profession? 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:36.700 [NS]: She was a housewife. She was virtually, virtually illiterate. She was married at the age of, I think she say 13 or 14 and she had gone through the school up to third grade, but she was very, she was very, how do we say, very interested in reading. 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:59.400 And, reading and writing and other things. So after, and sometime after she got married she started writing, she writes, started, you know, reading, and she learned how to read and write. She used to read basically religious books. 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:17.800 [JG]: Um. So this next question is kind of, as far as, your education. You said that you went to that inter-science school. You said for two years, right? 00:08:17.900 --> 00:08:18.300 [NS]: Yes. 00:08:18.400 --> 00:08:21.400 [JG]: This is while you were still in India, and then you made the transition-- 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:30.850 [NS]: To an engineering college in India. And I spent three years there, to get my engineering degree, in mechanical engineering. 00:08:30.850 --> 00:08:35.000 [JG]: Mechanical engineering. When did you come to United States as an immigrant? 00:08:35.200 --> 00:09:11.200 [NS]: I left India in December of ’62, 1962. I had a friend in Germany so I stayed with him for a few days, like about maybe a week or so. Then I traveled to England, and I stayed there for a couple of days. And then I took a ship, Queen Mary, from Southampton to New York. 00:09:11.300 --> 00:09:14.200 [JG]: Oh, wow. What was that experience like? 00:09:14.600 --> 00:09:18.300 [NS]: That was very, **laughing** quite interesting. 00:09:18.300 --> 00:09:18.700 [JG]: Yeah? 00:09:18.700 --> 00:09:25.900 [NS]: Yes. It was quite interesting, because you get to know people when you are there for several days together. 00:09:25.900 --> 00:09:26.800 [JG]: Yeah, close quarters. 00:09:26.800 --> 00:09:47.400 [NS]: Yes. Close quarters. And of course the issue, the major issue of course was, even in the ship, the food, because I was a vegetarian. So they were not really, you know, equipped to do that but somehow or the other we managed to get by. 00:09:47.500 --> 00:09:52.600 [JG]: Yeah, okay. And you said you landed in New York. 00:09:52.600 --> 00:10:20.300 [NS]: In New York, yes. I stayed in YMCA for a few days, looked around and moved around and what not. And I had a relative so I visited him. And from there I went to Boston, where one of my father's business associates was there. So I was his guest for like about three, maybe four days or so. 00:10:20.900 --> 00:10:29.700 And he showed me what he was doing with the material that he was importing from India, and it was a good experience. 00:10:29.800 --> 00:10:36.300 [JG]: Okay. What would you say, I guess, was one of your main reasons that brought you to the United States? 00:10:38.200 --> 00:11:05.700 [NS]: The reason was to get an advanced degree in engineering. That was the major consideration. And I had some friends of mine who had already gotten admission at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. So I was in communication with them. They more or less arranged to get me admission in Kansas. 00:11:05.900 --> 00:11:09.500 [JG]: Okay. And that’s where you began to study? 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:10.600 [NS]: Right, right. 00:11:11.100 --> 00:11:12.200 [JG]: What city is that? 00:11:12.800 --> 00:11:18.600 [NS]: It’s Lawrence, Kansas. It's about I would say 17, 18 miles from Kansas City. 00:11:18.700 --> 00:11:22.200 [JG]: Okay. What was that experience like in--? 00:11:22.300 --> 00:11:25.000 [NS]: That was terrible. **laughs** Terrible! 00:11:25.300 --> 00:11:25.700 [JG]: Terrible? 00:11:25.800 --> 00:11:29.600 [NS]: Yeah **laughs** The reason is-- 00:11:26.300 --> 00:11:30.800 [JG]: Oh my goodness. Oh, please. Please explain, yeah 00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:40.000 [NS]: The reason is-- Okay, from Boston I came to Chicago. I have friends here also. 00:11:40.100 --> 00:11:40.800 [JG]: In Chicago, already? 00:11:40.800 --> 00:12:10.600 [NS]: Yeah, yeah. So I stayed with them for a few days and then I flew into Kansas City when I was, somebody was going to, my friends were going to pick me up but somebody else was there. She say that I'll give you a ride to Lawrence. So I went there and my friends were here looking for me in Kansas City. But anyway, finally we settled down. 00:12:11.400 --> 00:12:41.500 And, the reason was that at time it was pretty cold. January, January 3rd or 4th or something like that. And, I was really not equipped to, you know, the clothings and other things were not really there. And also--that was one. And where we stayed we had to kind of climb a mountain kind of thing to go to the classes. 00:12:42.400 --> 00:13:02.700 And, you know, **laughs** because I was not equipped with the proper clothing, you know, it was kind of hard. Also again, another issue was again, our food situation because-- But since we had a lot of Indian friends there, so we managed it, pretty well. 00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:10.000 [JG]: ...And you were there for how long, at, in Kansas? 00:13:09.500 --> 00:13:11.400 [NS]: It was a year, it was one year. 00:13:11.400 --> 00:13:13.600 [JG]: Okay, and then you got your degree? 00:13:13.700 --> 00:13:15.400 [NS]: Yes, I got my degree. 00:13:15.400 --> 00:13:21.900 [JG]: You got that degree. And, did the school help you find a job or did you already have something lined up? 00:13:22.400 --> 00:13:49.100 [NS]: No. School did not have anything for me. What happened was that I happened to meet a young lady during that one year, in Wisconsin, who happened to be my first wife. And she was doing her Ph.D. in Los Angeles. 00:13:50.500 --> 00:14:21.900 So she asked me to come over there to search for a job. So I took a flight from, I guess, Chicago. I came to Chicago from Kansas to Chicago and then to Los Angeles, and that was also a rough thing Studies-wise, majority of the courses were okay. 00:14:21.900 --> 00:14:53.600 but we as an Indian always thought that our mathematics is very good, but we found out that that was not the case. It was more rigorous than it was in India. So that was another struggle that I had to face, was studying. And I did take a couple of courses during summer months in Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. That's where I met my first wife. 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:57.300 [JG]: Okay. And you were, you happened to be up there for-- 00:14:57.300 --> 00:15:00.300 [NS]: For summer courses. Summer courses. 00:15:00.200 --> 00:15:02.200 [JG]: You took some extra courses in, in Wisconsin? 00:15:01.800 --> 00:15:09.000 [NS]: Right. Right, right. It was part of the curriculum, that had to take certain courses, which I did. 00:15:09.300 --> 00:15:16.400 [JG]: Okay. And then after LA, how long did you stay in LA for? 00:15:16.800 --> 00:15:49.400 [NS]: I reached LA in ’63, January, I believe. And, it was a tough time over there because majority of the companies in LA were like defense-oriented. And at that time they were, very, you know, strict about, you know, non-Indians, I mean non-citizens and non-permanent visa, you do not hire. 00:15:50.200 --> 00:16:18.100 However I got hired somewhere, **coughs** excuse me. Again, that job didn’t last long. Within a week she fired me **laughs**. Because you see our training in India was not as vigorous as it is here, especially in the undergraduate part. We can do the advanced courses. 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:51.200 But the basic courses like drafting, like machine design, things like that, we were not that good, that was not our training in, back in--So she fired me. So, I was unemployed for a couple of weeks, and then I found another job. Maybe two or three months I stayed there. Again they laid off. Another job, another lay off. Then finally come September I was-- 00:16:51.500 --> 00:17:21.400 My girlfriend, at that time, she helped me a lot. You know, because I didn't have a job, so she loaned me money, and, you know, everything else. I used her car and, you know, and basically we had a good time also, you know. But, then in September I said, “Okay, I cannot stay without a job.” So I called friend of mine who was in Chicago. 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:42.800 He says, “Come on over here there are plenty of jobs.” So that's where I started, I mean, I came here September ’63. And I joined Hotpoint, which is a company or division of General Electric. 00:17:42.900 --> 00:17:43.800 [JG]: Okay. You said, Hotpoint? 00:17:44.200 --> 00:18:13.400 [NS]: Hotpoint, H O T P O I N T. They manufacture the appliances like refrigerator, all kinds of things. So I worked there for several years maybe like about, it’s like 16, 18 months or so. And then I was, I got a job with the Controls Corporation of America. 00:18:13.900 --> 00:18:43.700 And that was manufacturing in the appliance controls. And I was doing very well there, however they would not give me a raise, so after a while I say forget it. So I joined another company, Littlefuse, and I stayed there for a while. I wanted to visit India again, because I’d gotten married in the meanwhile, in Chicago. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:19:14.900 Our marriage took place at one of the places in downtown, with a Hindu Brahmin, you know, who does all the ceremonies, and what not. And we had a very nice reception at the International House at the University of Chicago. I would say in those days we had maybe like a couple of hundred guests, for dinner and all that. 00:19:15.700 --> 00:19:34.900 And, what it was is that, friends, we all did the cooking and everything else and very, very helpful. We had a very nice, how do we say, community of our, you know, Indians, who helped each other in that way. 00:19:38.300 --> 00:19:47.000 [JG]: And then, if we could go back a little bit. You said you were still in Chicago with that last company that you had said and then you had-- 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:47.600 [NS]: Littlefuse 00:19:47.800 --> 00:19:48.500 [JG]: Yeah, Littlefuse 00:19:48.700 --> 00:20:03.500 [NS]: Yeah. Then I went to India, with my wife, and I had first child. My first child is a daughter. And we stayed in India for roughly, I think, two or three months. 00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:05.600 [JG]: Okay. What prompted you to move back to India? 00:20:07.100 --> 00:20:37.300 [NS]: No, just to see. Because my parents wanted to see how my wife is, how my child is and all that. So that's the reason why when we went there. We were there for like about, I think, three months, two to three months. And returned here and Littlefuse guy says that, “You know, you were gone for so long” and so on and so forth. 00:20:37.300 --> 00:21:07.300 So laid me off. So, at that time I joined another company which is known as National Video...What they used to do is manufacture color CRT, cathode-ray tubes for the TV. And I was there for quite some time, I think about two years or so--more or less two years. 00:21:08.500 --> 00:21:31.400 And in December of ’68, my father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, myself, my wife and the child, we took a tour of South America. That was for about a month or so. **coughs** 00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:35.700 [JG]: Where did you go in South America? 00:21:36.100 --> 00:21:53.800 [NS]: We went to, first of all, Jamaica, then Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, then British Guyana, and returned to Chicago. 00:21:53.800 --> 00:21:56.900 [JG]: How was the trip? What do you remember most about it? 00:21:56.900 --> 00:22:24.000 [NS]: Oh, fantastic! **laugh together** We loved the sightseeing, the majority of it. And the interesting part was the cultural thing, I mean everybody spoke either Spanish or Portuguese. We didn't know any. But still we were able to manage our stay and move around and do all that thing. 00:22:25.300 --> 00:22:49.900 But on my return here, a friend of mine picked me up from the airport. He wined and dined me, and then he says, “Navin, I have here, something here. I don't know what it is.” So he gave me a telegram. He says--and my boss has sent this telegram saying that I'm laid off. 00:22:49.900 --> 00:22:50.800 [JG]: Oh my goodness. 00:22:50.800 --> 00:23:20.100 [NS]: Oh my goodness, that’s right. And, so I go there and you know, picked up my stuff, whatever it was and pay checks, whatever. Eventually I was unemployed for like about a last couple of weeks. And I joined Western Electric, which is part of AT&T. And, I worked there for 32-plus years. 00:23:20.100 --> 00:23:25.900 [JG]: Oh wow. So, that was the majority of your work here in the United States? 00:23:23.600 --> 00:23:27.600 [NS]: Right. Right, exactly, exactly. 00:23:27.700 --> 00:23:30.000 [JG]: How would you describe your time there? 00:23:30.700 --> 00:23:48.300 [NS]: Wonderful. Excellent. Yes. I lived at that time in an apartment complex in South Side. I used to commute to Cicero plant. And then we purchased this place in 1973. 00:23:48.600 --> 00:23:49.200 [JG]: This one right here? 00:23:49.300 --> 00:24:16.400 [NS]: Yes. The reason for that was that my wife used to work at the University of Chicago. So that was near--or commuting-wise it was easier for herk, and so it was for me. Plus the most important part why we chose this place was that the school system over here was considered to be one of the best. So, I have two daughters. 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:44.400 Actually, yeah, two daughters. So we wanted to, you know, give them good education. And that was main purpose and in our life, my wife and myself both. The work at Hawthorne, Hawthorne Works, is where this plant is known as, which was a pioneer in time and motion study. 00:24:44.400 --> 00:25:15.900 And the other stuff that, that included the welfare of the employees and so on and so forth. And it is the historical studies that were made there. And I worked in Merchandise department for a number of years. And, I used to do the industrial engineering type of studies, to see how productive the people are. Basically it was for the clerical work measurement. 00:25:16.600 --> 00:25:46.400 Because it was a huge staff of like about over a thousand people, clerical, all they were doing was receiving orders from various telephone companies, you know, fulfilling it and shipping it out and all that. So there was a huge warehouse there. And about ’74--‘74 I guess, is-- I joined them in ’69. 00:25:47.100 --> 00:26:13.400 ’73, ‘74 there was a big problem with the oil, there was a war between Israel and Egypt, I guess, and therefore they raise the price of oil from two dollars a barrel to whatever, okay? So there was a huge recession going at that time. 00:26:13.900 --> 00:26:42.400 So in ’74 through ‘77 myself, one big higher-up director, a couple of secretaries, and one or two supervisors out of the-- And what had happened was that in the meanwhile the warehousing was scattered around the country. Instead of one place at Hawthorne, it was in seven different regions. 00:26:43.200 --> 00:27:17.400 But the beauty of a company was that they saved my job. They would not, you know, let me go even though there was a lot of layoffs in the manufacturing part of it, but because the people in our merchandising department were like a family. You know, everybody knew everybody and they help each other and that was a wonderful, wonderful thing. 00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:50.300 So for about, from ’74 through ‘77, virtually I had no work. But our company kept me on. At that time the--one of the things that I did over there was we receive at that location a lot of material that was unused by the telephone companies, excess material for example. 00:27:50.600 --> 00:28:20.700 And there was like several million dollars worth of material sitting there, and there were some decisions made by somebody that we are going to junk it. So I saw all that and I said this is all a big wasteage of money and all that. So I said okay. So, I go to my big director and say, okay, let us do this, this, this, and we saved a lot of money for the company as a result. 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:45.300 So, and also I was involved with the mechanization and computerization of our clerical works that were going on. So, in ’77, my title was changed to plant engineer, okay? Where I was in the manufacturing part of it, of the company. 00:28:45.800 --> 00:28:47.900 [JG]: Wow. And how was that like? 00:28:48.500 --> 00:29:07.600 [NS]: That was also very good. Everybody, everybody was very helpful, very congenial. Most of them were congenial. Very nice, very nice. It was a, it was a--that era will not come again. 00:29:07.600 --> 00:29:09.100 [JG]: **laughs** Why do you say that? 00:29:09.700 --> 00:29:23.400 [NS]: Because, you know, the people respected you. People liked you. You, you know, managed to get along with everybody. You know, and they helped you, that that was the most important part. 00:29:25.800 --> 00:29:44.100 [JG]: Did you, um. How do you think you were treated, I guess you could say, as far as like-- I know you said you kinda, you know, were bouncing around at first, trying to look for work. But, for the most part how do you think you were treated as far as like advancement, or you know, by your bosses, or? 00:29:44.500 --> 00:30:15.900 Okay, one of these, couple of places that I left because I was, I thought I was, not getting the advancement that I deserve, okay? Again the AT&T or Western Electric, they thought very highly of me as an intellectual, as a person to, you resolve the issues and problems. 00:30:15.900 --> 00:30:42.800 but they were kind of slow in promoting. So from there I went to Hawthorne, I was there for several years, and to come to Indian Hill Park, Indian Hill, which is another Bell Labs location here in Naperville, so. And I spend most of the time there as a software engineer. 00:30:43.300 --> 00:31:10.300 And the beauty of the company was they would find jobs or they would train you to do jobs. Otherwise, most other companies, you know, they say, “Okay, we don’t want you anymore because we got whatever we wanted out of you.” But in this company they helped us move along. 00:31:10.700 --> 00:31:40.600 And I was one of the pioneers in, and president of Asian-American affirmative action kind of thing. Because majority of the Asians-- that is Chinese, Koreans, us Indians, and others felt that we were not getting the supervisory jobs. So we had quite a bit of actions there. 00:31:40.600 --> 00:31:52.200 And as a result, I’m sure, many of my colleagues, and many of my, you know, friends got promoted eventually. 00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:54.700 [JG]: And that’s at that Bell Labs in Naperville? 00:31:54.400 --> 00:32:07.300 [NS]: Bell Labs, yes, in Naperville. Lisle, Naperville. There was a big complex. There were like 12-13,000 people there. There were like about six or eight huge buildings. Yeah. 00:32:08.300 --> 00:32:16.100 [JG]: And, um. So when you started that organization you started to see changes, I guess you could say, after that? 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:47.300 [NS]: Yes, yes, yes. And at the same time, of course, the-- Good part of the engineers who work in Bell Labs, they were highly educated. PhD’s, master’s, whatever, whatever, you know. And, they would excel at whatever job they were given. So many of my friends were PhD’s and we worked together-- 00:32:47.300 --> 00:33:17.700 **clears throat** Excuse me. And that’s also helped get promoted, you know. Many of them are in a very high position also, right now. And I also participated in Save the Children organization. That we collected money, and send it overseas. 00:33:18.600 --> 00:33:47.900 To educate, give money to the educational foundations of who’s, whatever you know. Along with that there was another Indian Association of Indians and I was also participating in that. That was basically to find, find deserving NGOs in India. We would collect money from here 00:33:47.900 --> 00:34:13.500 And we would we would give them some money, not all, but some money so that they can do their work. So what we would do is we will receive their applications as to what they plan to do, what not, how much money they need and we will discuss, discuss, discuss, and finally we say, “Okay. This is a deserving placement.” And so we would give them the money. 00:34:13.500 --> 00:34:16.200 [JG]: Oh wow. That’s really interesting. 00:34:16.200 --> 00:34:31.200 [NS]: Yeah. Along with that, back in ’82, we and some friends of ours started a Hindu temple in Lemont. 00:34:31.200 --> 00:34:36.500 [JG]: Yeah! Uh, uh. Is it Dr. Dharmapuri? 00:34:36.500 [NS]: Doctor? 00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:30.000 friends are fireworks start at a Hindu temple in Lemont 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:52.000 dr. Okay so we started of course I was one 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:57.000 of the participants but we were the Pioneer in collecting 00:34:57.000 --> 00:35:01.000 the money and starting that Temple that was back in 00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:04.000 the 81 82 see anything like that I was there 00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:16.000 Financial secretary treasurer so that was some contribution there how 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:17.000 do you feel what I'm at that time when you 00:35:17.000 --> 00:35:20.000 were you know you don't trying to like raise money 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:22.000 for the temple and you know I'm going to provide 00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:26.000 some sort of like you know I was like religious 00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:35.000 center right right for the community actually wanted what was 00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:41.000 happening was that before that we used to meet in 00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:46.000 some off like we were $90 a week and already 00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:51.000 on a monthly basis and we were together there have 00:35:51.000 --> 00:35:59.000 religious ceremonies and lectures and what not we did not 00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:03.000 find much of a problem as far as the getting 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:09.000 got any zoning approval for the for the temple or 00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:12.000 because it wasn't a secluded place so nobody really bother 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:18.000 but I understand there were some some other places they 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:25.000 had some problems it was only about it wasn't like 00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:36.000 to know know know know what the 70s 80s and 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:49.000 90s for being straightforward hard-working and things like that so 00:36:49.000 --> 00:36:54.000 many of them were doctor's going to like 38% of 00:36:54.000 --> 00:37:00.000 all doctors in USA are Indians so that way you 00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:05.000 know that there was a lot of so-called power if 00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:08.000 you want to call that you know that they didn't 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:14.000 give that much hard time if we could maybe just 00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:17.000 backtrack a little bit and we discuss a lot socially 00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:20.000 about your work I kind of want to go back 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.000 to your like your initial arrival kind of just talked 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:29.000 about do you have any expectations when you came to 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:34.000 United States at first you know yeah like what I 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:45.000 expect you know things like that if any if any 00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:55.000 you know what we majority of us when we came 00:37:55.000 --> 00:38:01.000 here we found that CD system in India as far 00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:06.000 as the thirties are concerned I would say kind of 00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:11.000 cruel in the sense that you have one example if 00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:13.000 you clear it then you go to the next year 00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:18.000 next you know where is in here at the it 00:38:18.000 --> 00:38:21.000 is based on the coursework you know this semester or 00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:25.000 this quarter you take so many courses and you have 00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.000 to be going to his right away as opposed to 00:38:29.000 --> 00:38:33.000 waiting for a year to get the final exams I'm 00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:39.000 like in India so when we came here that was 00:38:39.000 --> 00:38:43.000 a big shock because we have to work every every 00:38:43.000 --> 00:38:47.000 day over there in India UniFirst 810 months of the 00:38:47.000 --> 00:39:04.000 year you have fun last one or two months. Thing 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:09.000 was that although I was not that Keen but many 00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:13.000 of my friends called that they they could not get 00:39:13.000 --> 00:39:19.000 dates okay we were in we also I was a 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:26.000 member of the international Club at the campus University so 00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:32.000 we had quite a few people but still you know 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:35.000 when we talk to each other and find out if 00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:44.000 this was one of the problems they that talk and 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:54.000 I tonight well the other expectation that we would get 00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:58.000 a job right away and we'll make big money that 00:39:58.000 --> 00:40:03.000 was not there I mean you know you had you 00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:06.000 started from a law and because you know first of 00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:11.000 all your Foreigner so you know your first of all 00:40:11.000 --> 00:40:13.000 you don't get hired and if you did get higher 00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:20.000 the the play scale was kind of funeral I don't 00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:28.000 think I could. What will besides those challenges I know 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:31.000 you know about no try to find a job making 00:40:31.000 --> 00:40:35.000 it you know as far as I pay did you 00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:38.000 did you face any other challenges may be like linguistically 00:40:38.000 --> 00:40:48.000 or no not an issue but some of the people 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:51.000 that my classmates over in Kansas that had a little 00:40:51.000 --> 00:41:02.000 bit of Transportation was an issue because right away you 00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:06.000 cannot purchase a car because you don't have money okay 00:41:06.000 --> 00:41:10.000 and majority of the money that I had to pay 00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:13.000 for my living expenses and other things came from India 00:41:13.000 --> 00:41:18.000 my father sent it okay so when we got the 00:41:18.000 --> 00:41:23.000 job or salary at that time was like about 500 00:41:23.000 --> 00:41:31.000 $600 a month so of course the cost like $1,500 00:41:31.000 --> 00:41:35.000 you can buy a nice and walks so but still 00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:41.000 you know we were very much concerned about what would 00:41:41.000 --> 00:41:46.000 happen to us if we lost a job because if 00:41:46.000 --> 00:41:48.000 you are in India you know your parents are there 00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:53.000 your cousins are there your butt over here you're on 00:41:53.000 --> 00:41:58.000 your own nobody except it's of your friends you know 00:41:58.000 --> 00:42:01.000 yeah and they did would have definitely but you know 00:42:01.000 --> 00:42:05.000 they can only have so much you know you can 00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:07.000 stay with them for a number of days or weeks 00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:11.000 or months and that we did that so that that 00:42:11.000 --> 00:42:18.000 was not an issue but he stayed before my wife 00:42:18.000 --> 00:42:24.000 came from Los Angeles here we stayed within a two-bedroom 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:32.000 apartment maybe five or six guys you know we bad 00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:35.000 I mean going to sleep in a bad and things 00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:46.000 like that so where where was your first place that 00:42:46.000 --> 00:42:53.000 you lived here in Chicago and how was it Lada 00:42:53.000 --> 00:42:59.000 me and just about the intersection of Eisenhower and Laramie 00:42:59.000 --> 00:43:05.000 Street which is a few blocks west of Cicero I 00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:07.000 think it has four or five blocks up at 8 00:43:07.000 --> 00:43:11.000 something that it and that's where we were five or 00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:17.000 six guys in one apartment two-bedroom three-bedroom apartment and I 00:43:17.000 --> 00:43:30.000 gave you no Transportation was an issue especially inventor otherwise 00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:34.000 it was pretty good you know some of our friends 00:43:34.000 --> 00:43:39.000 had cars and whatnot so we're getting the groceries and 00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:45.000 other words you know laundry in a laundromat laundromat wasn't 00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:52.000 big new thing for us okay wait I guess or 00:43:52.000 --> 00:43:54.000 you don't have to go do your laundry with a 00:43:54.000 --> 00:43:56.000 couple days and then go to your yes yes yes 00:43:57.000 --> 00:43:59.000 did you guys have one near your house or your 00:43:59.000 --> 00:44:10.000 right right how did you spend your leisure time when 00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:16.000 you weren't working basically I watch TV in the beginning 00:44:16.000 --> 00:44:25.000 and many of times we would go out and have 00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:28.000 some friends who have car we will meet somebody we 00:44:28.000 --> 00:44:30.000 would go out for a movie or something like that 00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:35.000 but that that is all we did yeah did you 00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:50.000 have a favorite TV show at that time now did 00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:52.000 you did you face any challenges as far as like 00:44:52.000 --> 00:44:58.000 maybe making friends with people who aren't Indian you know 00:44:58.000 --> 00:45:05.000 well that we are somewhat our I mean look at 00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:11.000 this way we would if you want to be really 00:45:11.000 --> 00:45:19.000 friendly with American Born people it was really difficult it 00:45:19.000 --> 00:45:24.000 was really difficult and by and large I don't think 00:45:24.000 --> 00:45:28.000 I have any close friend American close friend I had 00:45:28.000 --> 00:45:35.000 one such a friend other than that you know it 00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:40.000 at work you have work-related things now you ready are 00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.000 in one department or one organization you have very good 00:45:44.000 --> 00:45:51.000 congenial congenial love you in a relationship but once once 00:45:51.000 --> 00:45:55.000 it goes in some somewhere else he doesn't care about 00:45:55.000 --> 00:46:03.000 you or you don't care about him either you haven't 00:46:03.000 --> 00:46:06.000 and then you haven't really changed careers correct you know 00:46:06.000 --> 00:46:15.000 you always kind of been an engineer. Barry Company that 00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:19.000 you did for 4. Control Corporation was very very nice 00:46:19.000 --> 00:46:23.000 very nice people and you know I was doing very 00:46:23.000 --> 00:46:28.000 well or there whatever challenges that they gave me are 00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:31.000 problems that they gave me I was able to resolve 00:46:31.000 --> 00:46:34.000 it and you're on my bosses and their bosses were 00:46:34.000 --> 00:46:37.000 very happy with me except that they would not give 00:46:37.000 --> 00:46:41.000 me a raise already so so that that was the 00:46:41.000 --> 00:46:48.000 thing that I said okay and other than that when 00:46:48.000 --> 00:46:52.000 I was with electric I kind of hated the job 00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:55.000 because you know for 40 years or so there was 00:46:55.000 --> 00:47:01.000 nothing to do so I said I'm breasting yeah but 00:47:01.000 --> 00:47:05.000 in retrospect I see that you know the people that 00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:10.000 we were with and the the most feared that we 00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:19.000 had was fantastic you even loveseat are you a US 00:47:19.000 --> 00:47:23.000 citizen now can you walk me through can you tell 00:47:23.000 --> 00:47:26.000 me a little bit about what prompted you to become 00:47:26.000 --> 00:47:31.000 a citizen in the process they took we have to 00:47:31.000 --> 00:47:35.000 get a green card first of all in order to 00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:45.000 get a job here yeah yeah so the company that 00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:48.000 whatever you work for they were sponsor to get you 00:47:48.000 --> 00:47:53.000 a green card which my company did General Electric Theater 00:47:53.000 --> 00:48:04.000 High Point, okay did my one of my cousin brother 00:48:04.000 --> 00:48:08.000 nephew was bugging me that he wants to come to 00:48:08.000 --> 00:48:12.000 the United States so why don't you do something about 00:48:12.000 --> 00:48:17.000 it so and my wife she work for federal government 00:48:17.000 --> 00:48:21.000 okay so she have to take citizenship for some reason 00:48:21.000 --> 00:48:27.000 I guess and so if you ask me that okay 00:48:27.000 --> 00:48:30.000 if your sponsor your brothers then I can come with 00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:36.000 my his father or you know so that's what he 00:48:36.000 --> 00:48:42.000 wanted to do so 81 I apply for the citizenship 00:48:42.000 --> 00:48:45.000 and within 6 months or so I got this issue 00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:54.000 which is very simple and easy satellite change after that 00:48:54.000 --> 00:48:57.000 for you or or ones that any changes yeah yeah 00:48:57.000 --> 00:49:07.000 it did not make it so the others next questions 00:49:07.000 --> 00:49:12.000 are are kind of more about like Community you know 00:49:12.000 --> 00:49:15.000 and like your personal interest I know we already talked 00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:25.000 about it in the Temple LDS temple are there any 00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:29.000 other community centers religious centers that you like to participate 00:49:29.000 --> 00:49:34.000 in or if we're still do or have I used 00:49:34.000 --> 00:49:39.000 to do this idea development services which you know recently 00:49:39.000 --> 00:49:42.000 money from here to tonight so that was that and 00:49:42.000 --> 00:49:49.000 when I went there were any occasions that's a some 00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:57.000 somebody from India came a lecturer somebody so I will 00:49:57.000 --> 00:50:02.000 raise for the electors or something and get together with 00:50:02.000 --> 00:50:09.000 me also those days in the 60s and 70s since 00:50:09.000 --> 00:50:13.000 I work Community was very small we were very very 00:50:13.000 --> 00:50:17.000 close a group of about eight or ten people very 00:50:17.000 --> 00:50:22.000 very close we would be you no parking around every 00:50:22.000 --> 00:50:26.000 weekend more or less play Czarface play Sergeant Place yellow 00:50:26.000 --> 00:50:31.000 things like that and whenever they were some disasters in 00:50:31.000 --> 00:50:36.000 India we would collect money we would collect clothes what 00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:51.000 the weather was acquired besides the temple in on you 00:50:51.000 --> 00:50:54.000 know if not collecting uniform waiting for you know for 00:50:54.000 --> 00:50:59.000 India are there any other connections that you use to 00:50:59.000 --> 00:51:04.000 preserve your Indian Heritage well yes. We used to go 00:51:04.000 --> 00:51:09.000 to India almost every other day because we were very 00:51:09.000 --> 00:51:13.000 much wanted our children to have the culture of India 00:51:13.000 --> 00:51:18.000 so we would stay with my father-in-law and my two 00:51:18.000 --> 00:51:25.000 daughters we used to be used to stay there and 00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:31.000 therefore they got some cultural their food heavy some things 00:51:31.000 --> 00:51:39.000 like that yeah I lost my wife yeah I lost 00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:48.000 my wife did not 91 okay she had asthma and 00:51:48.000 --> 00:51:52.000 then she got an asthma attack she passed away and 00:51:52.000 --> 00:51:58.000 at that time right after that I started doing some 00:51:58.000 --> 00:52:06.000 meditation thing like we passionately call it like it is 00:52:06.000 --> 00:52:16.000 a Buddhist technique of meditation which is dogmatic in the 00:52:16.000 --> 00:52:18.000 sense that you have to be able just to do 00:52:18.000 --> 00:52:21.000 this or anything like that anybody can do it but 00:52:21.000 --> 00:52:27.000 what it does is it supposed to give peace of 00:52:27.000 --> 00:52:31.000 mind and you're not blind your you know, so whatever 00:52:31.000 --> 00:52:35.000 you want to call so I attended that and then 00:52:35.000 --> 00:52:42.000 I used to be used to arrange for that would 00:52:42.000 --> 00:52:48.000 take like about it is a course where one goes 00:52:48.000 --> 00:52:53.000 there for 10 11 days stays that glorious about the 00:52:53.000 --> 00:53:06.000 evening meditation technique and rent a place in advertising and 00:53:06.000 --> 00:53:10.000 you know I got the people and we conducted courses 00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:16.000 like that several courses like that eventually we we we 00:53:16.000 --> 00:53:22.000 purchased land somewhere near Rockford and there is no sector 00:53:22.000 --> 00:53:27.000 going on right now like every every 15 days there 00:53:27.000 --> 00:53:31.000 is like about 50 people male and female will come 00:53:31.000 --> 00:53:36.000 out there for 11 day courses and also I was 00:53:36.000 --> 00:53:43.000 to maintain my Heritage and especially the religious thing you 00:53:43.000 --> 00:53:54.000 say Jimmy a mission in Route 83 n m a 00:53:54.000 --> 00:54:01.000 y a mission and what their their thoughts are of 00:54:01.000 --> 00:54:11.000 the vedanta teachings of Hinduism what it does and not 00:54:11.000 --> 00:54:17.000 I was somewhat involved with that participated in the back 00:54:17.000 --> 00:54:22.000 to this year and they're also in dog back in 00:54:22.000 --> 00:54:29.000 95 I think yeah chinmaya Mission had a really good 00:54:29.000 --> 00:54:37.000 match so many people from Chicago and United States and 00:54:37.000 --> 00:54:42.000 some from India we went to that are for places 00:54:42.000 --> 00:54:46.000 in India that is considered to be kind of secret 00:54:46.000 --> 00:54:52.000 that we I did and one of the teachers ever 00:54:53.000 --> 00:54:58.000 Swami they call he was the main person do you 00:54:58.000 --> 00:55:02.000 know with us all the time so we will go 00:55:02.000 --> 00:55:05.000 to the store we went to this for places every 00:55:05.000 --> 00:55:09.000 evening he will be giving you a lecture on what 00:55:09.000 --> 00:55:19.000 that was very interesting yes pretty sure a lot of 00:55:19.000 --> 00:55:32.000 those sites that the really ancient Mali has okay and 00:55:32.000 --> 00:55:38.000 very considerate did your did your religious Outlook change after 00:55:38.000 --> 00:55:44.000 that or know we were in the same thing at 00:55:44.000 --> 00:55:50.000 that time was giving the lecture they were very nice 00:55:50.000 --> 00:55:56.000 ready you know that open mind about many things here 00:55:56.000 --> 00:56:13.000 very very nice interesting very interesting now back to India 00:56:13.000 --> 00:56:35.000 Saturday in a cell 110 traded to the right person. 00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:42.000 She is totally American the older one she is married 00:56:42.000 --> 00:56:55.000 to an Indian doctor doctor doctor and she is very 00:56:55.000 --> 00:57:02.000 intelligent person but for whatever reason me and her we 00:57:02.000 --> 00:57:07.000 get get so that that is a yeah that is 00:57:07.000 --> 00:57:15.000 a disappointment so but the order says she has a 00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:20.000 daughter so they they provide heard the doctors my granddaughter 00:57:20.000 --> 00:57:26.000 cultural things in fact they have a small temple in 00:57:26.000 --> 00:57:33.000 the house in Florida and the young lady is recycling 00:57:33.000 --> 00:57:37.000 aware of our prayers and whatnot every day so that 00:57:37.000 --> 00:57:41.000 is very good where is my both of them or 00:57:41.000 --> 00:57:45.000 vegetarian I think the older ones are still vegetarian but 00:57:45.000 --> 00:57:50.000 the one who is married to Chinese is not and 00:57:50.000 --> 00:58:10.000 that is a bit disappointed about that The Way We 00:58:10.000 --> 00:58:21.000 Were like to emphasize the way we we consider our 00:58:21.000 --> 00:58:31.000 children are the best investment ever give you examples of 00:58:31.000 --> 00:58:37.000 what we did for example my wife but not she 00:58:39.000 --> 00:58:45.000 she was PhD in Biochemistry and she worked at University 00:58:45.000 --> 00:58:51.000 of Chicago and also at Northwestern University okay so commuting 00:58:51.000 --> 00:58:55.000 from here was like a approximately an hour and she 00:58:55.000 --> 00:59:02.000 had kind of bad asthma for many many many years 00:59:05.000 --> 00:59:10.000 so she would come home like at around 6 or 00:59:10.000 --> 00:59:13.000 so she will prepare the food you don't because you 00:59:13.000 --> 00:59:18.000 are a vegetarian and then she will take care of 00:59:18.000 --> 00:59:23.000 that children do their studies the work and they say 00:59:23.000 --> 00:59:32.000 she she would go through all the homework and give 00:59:32.000 --> 00:59:37.000 them best education that we can possibly give and whatever 00:59:37.000 --> 00:59:45.000 we were going like say they had. Play flute classes 00:59:45.000 --> 00:59:56.000 piano classes math classes drama classes gymnastics come home I 00:59:56.000 --> 01:00:01.000 would be doing that you're not taking them here there 01:00:01.000 --> 01:00:06.000 and our evening our life was that of course we 01:00:06.000 --> 01:00:11.000 have struggled you don't come in here but our children 01:00:11.000 --> 01:00:15.000 would not have to struggle so and education was one 01:00:15.000 --> 01:00:21.000 of the most important thing in her you're my lucky 01:00:21.000 --> 01:00:27.000 lady the older one she was a valedictorian 860 some 01:00:27.000 --> 01:00:37.000 students also almost valedictorian she was number two in the 01:00:37.000 --> 01:00:45.000 class and both of them that became MD the thing 01:00:45.000 --> 01:00:53.000 that happened was anytime they needed anything for education there 01:00:53.000 --> 01:01:00.000 was no bar so now that the older one was 01:01:00.000 --> 01:01:05.000 going to medical school so whenever she felt like eating 01:01:05.000 --> 01:01:08.000 every Indian food my wife will be better if she 01:01:08.000 --> 01:01:11.000 says even though you are tired whatever it is going 01:01:11.000 --> 01:01:14.000 to give it to her I mean that there was 01:01:14.000 --> 01:01:18.000 so much of dedication especially my wife especially my wife 01:01:18.000 --> 01:01:24.000 in fact that you know that was one of one 01:01:24.000 --> 01:01:29.000 of the things that the very last day she went 01:01:29.000 --> 01:01:34.000 to give her a key for something in University of 01:01:34.000 --> 01:01:44.000 Chicago and that day she got the Motts not Kelly 01:01:44.000 --> 01:01:50.000 also my in-laws used to come here every other year 01:01:50.000 --> 01:01:53.000 we used to go there every year every other year 01:01:53.000 --> 01:01:56.000 they were come here and there were stay with us 01:01:56.000 --> 01:02:03.000 for a month to month after an apostrophe I was 01:02:03.000 --> 01:02:10.000 of course of working and in the in the medical 01:02:10.000 --> 01:02:15.000 school and she did not like the food at the 01:02:15.000 --> 01:02:20.000 hostel and whatnot so she will say Fat Daddy I 01:02:20.000 --> 01:02:23.000 want to go have this phone so I come back 01:02:23.000 --> 01:02:28.000 come from work around 5:30 or so 6:30 because the 01:02:28.000 --> 01:02:32.000 food gyro because I was Bachelor that take it over 01:02:32.000 --> 01:02:36.000 there and give it to her and but the end 01:02:36.000 --> 01:02:39.000 everything that they wanted anything they want it for her 01:02:39.000 --> 01:02:47.000 for education and I paid majority of their fees how 01:02:47.000 --> 01:02:56.000 to read which was pretty pretty high okay I used 01:02:56.000 --> 01:03:00.000 to pay like about 40 Grand a year and Seema 01:03:00.000 --> 01:03:03.000 she was little but two years later and she was 01:03:03.000 --> 01:03:08.000 in Northwestern and her expenses were like closer 40 50 01:03:08.000 --> 01:03:12.000 thousand a year eight years for both of them school 01:03:12.000 --> 01:03:16.000 is very expensive for a lucky Lee God is great 01:03:16.000 --> 01:03:18.000 and you know we were able to manage somehow you 01:03:18.000 --> 01:03:22.000 know my wife and myself so that that was but 01:03:22.000 --> 01:03:26.000 through us all that that's the most important part is 01:03:26.000 --> 01:03:33.000 to make your children it'll be somebody so that's what 01:03:33.000 --> 01:04:00.000 they're right right right right just trying to go back 01:04:00.000 --> 01:04:04.000 a little bit I think you know we're pretty much 01:04:04.000 --> 01:04:10.000 almost done you know we've talked a lot you've answered 01:04:10.000 --> 01:04:17.000 a lot of questions that are in here already so 01:04:17.000 --> 01:04:19.000 if we can just kind of keep going kind of 01:04:19.000 --> 01:04:22.000 what you were talking about you said you were yeah 01:04:22.000 --> 01:04:26.000 it was Bachelor for 7 years okay and I took 01:04:26.000 --> 01:04:29.000 care of her Jiggy she was doing a residency and 01:04:29.000 --> 01:04:36.000 all that so I may be twice three times a 01:04:36.000 --> 01:04:41.000 week every weekend I will be with her and we'll 01:04:41.000 --> 01:04:45.000 go to restaurant together movies what not and whatever the 01:04:45.000 --> 01:04:49.000 expenses were and I was by the grocery for her 01:04:49.000 --> 01:04:53.000 car but I buy a car for her you name 01:04:53.000 --> 01:05:02.000 it and that's all that I not not not on 01:05:02.000 --> 01:05:26.000 our hearts then in 98 okay I was sitting like 01:05:26.000 --> 01:05:30.000 this once upon a time okay and I was not 01:05:30.000 --> 01:05:34.000 really keen on getting married or anything like that but 01:05:34.000 --> 01:05:38.000 I got up and I got a cramp here and 01:05:38.000 --> 01:05:41.000 I was all by myself here in this room and 01:05:41.000 --> 01:05:46.000 so I sought started thinking that I need somebody so 01:05:46.000 --> 01:05:51.000 I asked my brother in India to advertise for a 01:05:51.000 --> 01:05:57.000 bride. Not so he did advertising I went there a 01:05:57.000 --> 01:06:03.000 couple of times to interview these ladies rainbow at this 01:06:03.000 --> 01:06:06.000 wifely week and if you don't like each other so 01:06:06.000 --> 01:06:13.000 she comes here as a on I know what you 01:06:13.000 --> 01:06:19.000 called love engagement Visa okay and we got married here 01:06:19.000 --> 01:06:30.000 in Jimmy emission quite a quite a good options and 01:06:30.000 --> 01:06:33.000 what not her father also came from India to you 01:06:33.000 --> 01:06:37.000 know give away the bride so that was very nice 01:06:37.000 --> 01:06:40.000 so we are married for about the what is it 01:06:40.000 --> 01:06:47.000 now in 98 so about 18 years now just before 01:06:47.000 --> 01:06:51.000 I went to India and we finalized with her I 01:06:51.000 --> 01:06:55.000 had a heart problem so I got to Heart the 01:06:55.000 --> 01:07:02.000 surgery bypass surgery and my brother told her that this 01:07:02.000 --> 01:07:06.000 is what has happened to Naveen if you don't want 01:07:06.000 --> 01:07:09.000 to be you know what is fine with us you 01:07:09.000 --> 01:07:14.000 know what she says no that's okay but and we 01:07:14.000 --> 01:07:18.000 travel we used to travel and we still travel you 01:07:18.000 --> 01:07:22.000 know what are the hours for places yes yes I 01:07:22.000 --> 01:07:28.000 travel to we were in Burma Myanmar we were in 01:07:28.000 --> 01:07:38.000 Japan and Korea and North Korea sorry Japan and Indonesia 01:07:38.000 --> 01:07:49.000 Bali River in Malaysia Singapore then we were recently in 01:07:50.000 --> 01:07:58.000 pseudonits Sri Lanka before that we went to Turkey before 01:07:58.000 --> 01:08:04.000 that we went to Paris so every 2-3 years we 01:08:04.000 --> 01:08:08.000 take a trip about a month six six weeks months 01:08:08.000 --> 01:08:10.000 and we go to India you know it's on the 01:08:10.000 --> 01:08:18.000 way what's your favorite place to travel to Isle of 01:08:18.000 --> 01:08:30.000 Myanmar good people you know that that was a really 01:08:30.000 --> 01:08:39.000 nice and if you don't mind me asking all your 01:08:39.000 --> 01:08:46.000 second wife to work from home she is an underwriter 01:08:46.000 --> 01:08:56.000 for a Allstate insurance company for Property and Casualty so 01:08:56.000 --> 01:09:00.000 these last questions are kind of more you know about 01:09:00.000 --> 01:09:03.000 like your experiences and you know your memories I did 01:09:03.000 --> 01:09:11.000 I give you what you were looking for covered a 01:09:11.000 --> 01:09:20.000 lot of the questions that are in here if you 01:09:20.000 --> 01:09:24.000 could say anything to Future Generations like future immigrant Generations 01:09:24.000 --> 01:09:28.000 what would you tell them that you've learned from your 01:09:28.000 --> 01:09:36.000 experiences I know you had mentioned about your your nephew 01:09:36.000 --> 01:09:48.000 you know right right right that comes from India for 01:09:48.000 --> 01:09:53.000 example I would say that they they must work hard 01:09:53.000 --> 01:09:58.000 culture in India is like I'm kind of laid back 01:09:58.000 --> 01:10:02.000 kind of attitude which is not what it is here 01:10:02.000 --> 01:10:06.000 you have to work hard definitely work hard and only 01:10:06.000 --> 01:10:10.000 when you work hard you will and the other other 01:10:10.000 --> 01:10:16.000 thing is the Young menial tasks such as you clean 01:10:16.000 --> 01:10:21.000 the toilet or cooking or cleaning those things we do 01:10:21.000 --> 01:10:30.000 not do in India we have so those things who 01:10:30.000 --> 01:10:35.000 are the kind of feel do I have to do 01:10:35.000 --> 01:10:40.000 all these things so I say you know you have 01:10:40.000 --> 01:10:42.000 to you know where I can do you have to 01:10:42.000 --> 01:10:50.000 do all these things and be simple show off that 01:10:50.000 --> 01:10:53.000 I have a degree this or degree that or whatever 01:10:53.000 --> 01:10:56.000 you know because there are so many other people who 01:10:56.000 --> 01:11:01.000 have the same thing and it just does not and 01:11:01.000 --> 01:11:05.000 you can you can preserve your culture if if you're 01:11:05.000 --> 01:11:11.000 really pick if you want to okay specially food especially 01:11:11.000 --> 01:11:22.000 the religious ceremonies functions that we have we have singers 01:11:22.000 --> 01:11:25.000 coming from India dances come from India have a go 01:11:25.000 --> 01:11:29.000 and you know we participated know that lots of people 01:11:29.000 --> 01:11:35.000 do this but my fear is that just like my 01:11:35.000 --> 01:11:41.000 daughter she is no longer considered as an Indian immigrants 01:11:41.000 --> 01:11:49.000 daughter has an American American of course my grandchildren gone 01:11:49.000 --> 01:12:01.000 that that would be difficult but some of these are 01:12:01.000 --> 01:12:06.000 there organizations that try to imbibe in in the youngest 01:12:06.000 --> 01:12:09.000 judge in fact the chinmaya mission that are like about 01:12:09.000 --> 01:12:14.000 400 students come there every Sunday to learn about the 01:12:14.000 --> 01:12:26.000 culture learn about the religion that something that I've learned 01:12:26.000 --> 01:12:29.000 in the past couple interviews that you know in the 01:12:29.000 --> 01:12:31.000 initial wave you know what you know when you guys 01:12:31.000 --> 01:12:34.000 got to do with that stuff wasn't here that was 01:12:34.000 --> 01:12:51.000 nothing to the Future right actually came here they were 01:12:51.000 --> 01:12:56.000 hardly any Indian grocery stores or any restaurants or anything 01:12:56.000 --> 01:13:01.000 like that so now you know there are hundreds of 01:13:01.000 --> 01:13:08.000 restaurants and shops in Martinez that's a lot of you 01:13:08.000 --> 01:13:12.000 know you can buy anything that you want from in 01:13:12.000 --> 01:13:17.000 this country you don't have to go to India and 01:13:17.000 --> 01:13:22.000 this is the last question is there anything that you 01:13:22.000 --> 01:13:25.000 would like to add that maybe we talked about you 01:13:25.000 --> 01:13:26.000 want to add to it or something that we haven't 01:13:26.000 --> 01:13:28.000 talked about that you want to add. If not as 01:13:28.000 --> 01:13:34.000 part of its interview one thing that I I have 01:13:34.000 --> 01:13:38.000 noticed over the years let's see if there is a 01:13:38.000 --> 01:13:43.000 mixed message marriage okay Indian boy and American Girl or 01:13:43.000 --> 01:13:49.000 something like that for whatever reason they kind of drift 01:13:49.000 --> 01:14:00.000 away from the culture exception is a dorky I mean 01:14:00.000 --> 01:14:05.000 she's very very much Indian okay but if you if 01:14:05.000 --> 01:14:09.000 you look at some other they don't have many Indian 01:14:09.000 --> 01:14:14.000 friends for example in the in the intimate friends and 01:14:14.000 --> 01:14:23.000 they don't want to get associated with India which is 01:14:23.000 --> 01:14:29.000 a which is a shame I don't know why but 01:14:29.000 --> 01:14:35.000 that's that's a that is the tendency I cannot figure 01:14:35.000 --> 01:14:46.000 out why it is difficult I don't know I think 01:14:46.000 --> 01:14:48.000 people feel like they need to choose one but you 01:14:48.000 --> 01:15:00.000 know they don't have to say our friends children they 01:15:00.000 --> 01:15:04.000 are married to American okay just like my daughter she's 01:15:04.000 --> 01:15:08.000 totally American she hardly has any of my Indian friend 01:15:08.000 --> 01:15:13.000 she had to participate in any Indian functions ceremonies of 01:15:13.000 --> 01:15:16.000 looking like that if I could you try to say 01:15:16.000 --> 01:15:21.000 something about it she doesn't want to hear pictures of