Kavitha Rajagopalan was a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship and has a masters in international affairs from Columbia University. She happens to be the twin sister of
Sri, my meditation "guru" (he would abhor that description). The Rutgers University press has published
Kavitha's book "Muslims of Metropolis." It is billed as the story of three immigrant families in the West. I had the opportunity along with three of our children to attend a book reading by
Kavitha at
Sri's condo. This was a fascinating way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Much better than, say, watching the
Talledega 500
NASCAR race.
Kavitha is a brilliant woman who has devoted her life to the study of international relations and immigration. I can't wait to read her book. From hearing her comments and readings, it is clear that she has allowed herself to go deep into the lives of those she studied so that she can bring a clear and objective portrait of the lives of Muslims living in the West. As a Hindu,
Kavitha is often asked to comment on the obvious, that is the lives and times of Hindi living in the West. But, thinking outside the box, she sought to understand the Muslim diaspora and to bring that to light in her book. We learned that the stories of Muslims in the West are as diverse as each individual who helps to comprise those stories. We are forced to release our stereotypes of Muslims. We learned that Muslims who have come to the West have reflected on that "accomplishment" with varying degrees of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. We hear that as in many migrations, the decision to migrate is often made by the male, and, as we know, Islam is a very male dominated society. It is apparent that women may experience the same degree of helplessness in the immigration situation (or perhaps a greater degree) than they do in normal home life in their original country. We learn of the juxtaposition of modern society in Islamic countries and the paradoxes that are created. I will have some lengthy videos of
Kavitha on my
youtube,
www.youtube.com/nosyfieldstone. In the meantime, I look forward to reading
Kavitha's book and becoming more enlightened by the fascinating work of this important writer and anthropologist.
Kavitha Rajagopalan was a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship and has a masters in international affairs from Columbia University. She happens to be the twin sister of Sri, my meditation "guru" (he would abhor that description). The Rutgers University press has published Kavitha's book "Muslims of Metropolis." It is billed as the story of three immigrant families in the West. I had the opportunity along with three of our children to attend a book reading by Kavitha at Sri's condo. This was a fascinating way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Much better than, say, watching the Talledega 500 NASCAR race. Kavitha is a brilliant woman who has devoted her life to the study of international relations and immigration. I can't wait to read her book. From hearing her comments and readings, it is clear that she has allowed herself to go deep into the lives of those she studied so that she can bring a clear and objective portrait of the lives of Muslims living in the West. As a Hindu, Kavitha is often asked to comment on the obvious, that is the lives and times of Hindi living in the West. But, thinking outside the box, she sought to understand the Muslim diaspora and to bring that to light in her book. We learned that the stories of Muslims in the West are as diverse as each individual who helps to comprise those stories. We are forced to release our stereotypes of Muslims. We learned that Muslims who have come to the West have reflected on that "accomplishment" with varying degrees of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. We hear that as in many migrations, the decision to migrate is often made by the male, and, as we know, Islam is a very male dominated society. It is apparent that women may experience the same degree of helplessness in the immigration situation (or perhaps a greater degree) than they do in normal home life in their original country. We learn of the juxtaposition of modern society in Islamic countries and the paradoxes that are created. I will have some lengthy videos of Kavitha on my youtube, www.youtube.com/nosyfieldstone. In the meantime, I look forward to reading Kavitha's book and becoming more enlightened by the fascinating work of this important writer and anthropologist.
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