Thirunarayan

=Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan=

Podcast
media type="custom" key="12457408"

BIOGRAPHICAL/GEOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, alias Prasad, is an immigrant from India. He came here in 1984 for a PhD. in Computer Science at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He now works at Wright State University as a professor in Computer Science. He lives with his wife, a son and a daughter in Dayton, Ohio and enjoys astronomy as a hobby. He believes that immigrating to America is one of the best decisions he has made in his life.

Dr.T.K.Prasad came from the Republic of India. It is located in southern Asia and is one of the worlds growing powers. With a population of over 1 billion people, it is second in population only to China. It has a strong foothold in the global software market and has a lot of companies coming to it. Though most of it is a rural farm land, there are giant cities here and there. india is a very strong economy there and it is one of the leading nations today. It is allied with America. It is also part of the rotating Security Council in the UN. Overall, India is a modern emerging super power.

=Creative Writing=

By: Vidur Prasad
Saturday, May 7th, 1983 Today was the day I took the decision. After much deliberation, I decided that the best course of action for me would be to go to the USA to continue my studies. My parents are kind of sad that I am going to leave, but they understand that it is necessary. I am really happy that I am studying for my Ph.D. at a good University. Anyway, I am getting ready to move to go to New York and get my degree there. My friend is also going there so it will be easier with the transition.

Saturday, December 8th, 1984 These last few months were amazing for me, I have arrived at New York. Now that I am here, I am starting to settle down and I have started arranging my things in my new apartment. I live on campus and I have started taking courses for my Ph.D. degree. I am really happy about how well things are going right now. I have gotten a couple of close friends that are in the same boat as me. In fact, some of them also immigrated from India. Well, I think things have gone very well until now.

Monday, August 28th, 1989 Today was the day my life seemed to have started to stabilize. I just got hired as an assistant professor in computer science at Wright State University. I have decided to move to Dayton, Ohio and live in an apartment. I cannot believe that I am finally done with my education. I have decided that it has paid off to work hard because now I can live nicely for the rest of my life. Sunday, December 18th, 2032 Today was a great day for me to reflect on my experiences on coming to the United States of America. I have just retired from work and I am sitting back and reflecting on my life. I see how my family and I benefited from coming here. The list of benefits is pretty long. I have learned a lot from when I came here to now and I have learned a lot about myself and about life throughout this time. I feel that I am very lucky in that I have been able to experience things on both sides of the world. I believe that coming to USA for education and career has been one of the best decisions I have taken in my life.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Vidur- Hello, my name is Vidur Prasad, and today I will be interviewing you on the subject of immigration. So what is your name? T.K.Prasad- Hi, I am T.K.Prasad and I [am] welcome to be your subject. Vidur- Lets get right to it, so what country have you immigrated from? T.K.Prasad- I immigrated from India, Hindustan Vidur- When did you come here? T.K.Prasad- I came here in 1984 Vidur- So what was the main purpose of coming here? T.K.Prasad- I came here for higher studies. Vidur- Exactly how long have you been here again? T.K.Prasad- I came in 1984 more than 20 years Vidur- So 27 years. Basically I am going to ask you how life was like before immigrating here. So what type of job did you have before coming here? T.K.Prasad- Actually before coming here I was a graduate student I completed my bachelors in electrical engineering and then I did my masters in computer science. Then I joined here for my PhD in computer science at Stony Brook in New York. Vidur- So you did your entire education in India? T.K.Prasad- No I did all my education until masters in India. Vidur- You were born and brought up there correct? T.K.Prasad- I spent 23 years there and the remaining 27 years in the United States. Vidur- Okay so what really attracted you to America what really made you move? T.K.Prasad- When I moved here I had two choices, either take an up a job in India or take up higher studies in the United States. And I decided to pursue a research and later a teaching career. So I decided to take up, work on the Doctorate at Stony Brook. Vidur- I want to know what your life was like in your old country. So what are some things you did for fun? T.K.Prasad-I actually used to enjoy watching movies, listening to songs, playing ping-pong or table tennis as we used to call it. Vidur- Do you still do that here in America? T.K.Prasad -Ya I certainly do, I watch movies, listen to songs, play ping pong off and on, go for swimming, and have fun, and then work also of course. Vidur- Education was what pulled you to America, so I want to know how education was back in India. T.K.Prasad- Actually India education was pretty good it was just that I wanted to pursue research and which was much nicer to pursue here and that’s why I came here, but on the other hand I did go to pretty good schools in India and I got trained quite well. Vidur- How would you compare the Indian education system with the American education system? T.K.Prasad- I think the education systems are kind of different, in the sense that the part that I did in India was more regimented where I did some standard courses, while when I came here it was more conducive toward research and exploratory things that I benefited from being here. Vidur- What was your home like what culture or tradition or religion did you follow? T.K.Prasad- Actually in India I was supposed to be born as a Hindu but on the other hand, I was born in south India and I lived in North India or Western places and I have a very cosmopolitan outlook. And so I grew up at a place different from where I was born and I went and studied in different places so I don’t associate myself with one particular place. Vidur- Of course you had lots of friends in India right, do you still speak to them do you still have connections with them? T.K.Prasad- I do have my undergraduate and graduate buddies for who are reasonably well spread out and there are many in the west coast and many in the east coast who I speak with occasionally and I exchange emails with and I meet them in conferences. Vidur- So you said that lots of your friends came with you to the U.S. T.K.Prasad- Several of them did migrate after their undergraduate degree. And then some like me after their master’s degree to pursue a doctoral program. Vidur- So you are saying that this is fairly common for people to come for PhDs from countries like India. T.K.Prasad- Actually in the universities I went to it was not uncommon thing for those who wanted to take higher education instead of a job. Vidur- What are some games you played, sports you followed? T.K.Prasad- In India I used to follow cricket and then followed tennis such as Wimbledon, French open, and the Australian open and the US Open and things like that. After coming to US I do watch tennis sometimes and basketball sometime and super bowl usually, but I don’t follow any sport on a regular basis. Vidur- You said you came for education. Lots of people are coming into the United States like political refugees for things like religion and persecution. What is the government like in your country? T.K.Prasad - I think that the Indian government is a well known democracy, it has actually worked similarly to what you see here and so as far as government is concerned, I can only say all the benefits I have reaped over all the support they give to institutions I went to for my undergraduate and my graduate studies so I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Vidur- So now I want to know what the culture is like, what are the key ingredients and what is the food like? T.K.Prasad- I grew up in Gujarat so I have taste for western Indian food, and then I am also native of Bangalore, so South India so I enjoy south India food, I enjoy movies from different states. I speak 5 different languages, although not proficient in them, that is 5 Indian languages apart from English. And I enjoy all the festivals and all the color and gala of marriages and the other interesting things that go on that is in stark contrast with the celebration that goes on here. Vidur- What type of traditional clothing and things do you wear? T.K.Prasad- I think I do wear anywhere from Salwar to Jubba and paijama to lungi. Vidur- What is that? T.K.Prasad- The lungi is some kind of a wrap (laughs) that I wear around the waist, which is very traditional that has some interesting colorful prints that you may not necessarily consider as common here. Vidur- So what was the weather and climate like in India? T.K.Prasad- Weather and climate are quite nice. It is more temperate. It was warmer compared to here. When I was in Gujarat that is a place like Vadodara, the places would get cold and warm as the seasons change. While in Madras, the climate was always hot, hotter and hottest. Vidur- Well, from what I heard you say, this is like the exact opposite from America. So, how did you adjust to the weather? T.K.Prasad – When I came here, the first time I saw snow, was in the winter of 1984. It was pretty rude awakening to begin with and again I enjoyed the fall colors, which was again unique to this area, which I had not seen earlier. But, I do enjoy the variety of weather that this place has to offer. Vidur – Now, we have a perspective of what India is. How did you feel leaving, what was your total feel of India when you were there? T.K.Prasad- When I was there I did enjoy in addition to the local culture and my student life, I had close ties with my family. My parents used to live away but, I when I went to graduate school in Bangalore, I had my grandparents and other relatives live close by and I did keep close contact with my family and acquaintances and relatives which was actually quite nice. Vidur– What was immigration process like? Starting with how did you come to decide that you were leaving to go to America? T.K.Prasad - I think the choice of coming here wasn't difficult because I wanted to pursue higher education and there were more opportunities here and then after finishing my graduate studies and getting a doctorate I joined Wright State University as a faculty member in Computer Science Department. And then, I got my green card and choice of being a citizen was more being able to pursue additional resources and research with defense department and Air Force and things like that. And those are the additional benefits that you get as a citizen as opposed to a non-citizen. It allowed me more avenues for furthering my research here. Vidur – Did you have any trouble becoming citizen? T.K.Prasad – Actually, my application for citizenship was pretty straight forward, given that we had enough evidence for all the achievements that I had. Vidur – As you were immigrating here, what was the picture of America, was it the shining Golden country? T.K.Prasad – Interestingly, I was pretty well versed in what to expect primarily, because we had seen a number of movies had heard of lot of things from our seniors who had already come here and other things and it was not something that I was completely dark about. Vidur – How did it actually feel when you walked here and they said, “Welcome to the United States.” T.K.Prasad – I think it was an interesting experience. There were lots of contrasts in terms of freedom that you enjoy and in terms of all the amenities that you have and things are quite streamlined and quite disciplined. Those are the things that stand out in stark contrast in some of the chaotic things that you see there. But, there is order in the chaos and that is quite interesting. Vidur –Where exactly did you land in U.S.A.? T.K.Prasad - I actually flew into John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. I went to school in Stony Brook, New York which is on Long Island about 40 miles from JFK in fact. Vidur – What is it like in America for you; I want to know how is your experience now at this stage. Do you think it was a good decision coming here? T.K.Prasad – I think for what I wanted to do, this was actually the best decision I have taken. Like I said that I wanted to pursue a career in research and education, and things like that which I managed to do quite well and I enjoy the diversity that this place has and other stream lined things that certainly make me concentrate on what I do as opposed to spend enormous amounts of time doing mundane things. Vidur- What exactly have you done – Do you have children in the U.S.A.? T.K.Prasad – Yeah, I have two kids. You are one of them and your sister. You are Vidur and your sister Neeti. Vidur – Do you think that it was a good decision bringing them here and you think they benefited out of it? T.K.Prasad – I certainly think that the education system and the culture and other things that they have been exposed to here is certainly beneficial and I don’t see anything wrong in that. Vidur – You work for Wright State University. Is this life style better or nicer than the lifestyle in India? T.K.Prasad- I think that it is not very easy to say that one is better than the other. I think it is a package deal. In India, you are closer to your family and many things of cultural in nature that actually stand out and are interesting and enjoyable if you like those sorts of things. On the other hand, from a professional perspective that the things that the United States has to offer were good for me and the career that I wanted to pursue. And, so it is a good mix for me and fortunately for me I have been able to enjoy the best of both the worlds by going back and forth in vacation and so in some sense, it has been a pretty good deal for me. Vidur – What is your favorite memory of India that you enjoy here? T.K.Prasad – In think that in India, in general when I think about going back in time you think of all the good times I had with family and all the nice foods that we enjoyed and all the festivities that you participated in and all the movies and the songs that we saw. So, all these are the things that sort of come to my mind. Vidur – Basically, you are saying, you kind of have a better life in terms of work and how you actually live your life but when it comes to culture, your family, your hobbies, you kind of lost some of that in India? T.K.Prasad- I shouldn't say that I lost it, but I did reduce some of that and it has got replaced by other interesting pursuits here. Vidur– You said you have new pursuits here but you have not lost as much as the things in India. So, how do you keep your culture alive in the U.S. A. when you are so far from home?

T.K.Prasad- Actually, thankfully for me I do have family and friends with similar interests here. And, I am pretty broad minded in the sense of in the kinds of things that interest me, I think I can enjoy those pursuits in more diversified way here. In that sense, I am not at all bored or not missing anything. There are too many things that one can pursue in interesting ways and I am never at loss for that. Vidur – Do you ever miss India like all the memories that you had back there, whole family, do you ever miss it? T.K.Prasad- I think, fortunately for me I do go back and forth and so my travels to India are punctuating my normal routine so in that sense I feel fulfilled. But, then if I do not go back there for two years, then I do feel that something is missing and I would like to go which I have managed to do in the past. Vidur- How is India changed from when you left it to when you go back now? T.K.Prasad – That is one of the very interesting questions you asked me. Surprisingly, when I came here, the differences were quite stark but, then when I go back I feel that there are a lot of things that I see here are being nicely incorporated in the life styles there. So, the things you see here the things that are popular here do show up in India with rather minimal delay. So, there are a lot of people who feel at home when they go back and forth. In fact, there are lots of people who have gone back and so the differences have actually reduced. Vidur – You are saying that India is becoming Americanized? T.K.Prasad – I am saying India is becoming Americanized and America is becoming Indianized in the sense of cultural things are actually going back and forth so we are truly getting globalized and you can see that on a pretty broad basis. Vidur – So, you feel as immigrants go from one country to another immigration is becoming very common across the world. You are saying that the world is starting to unite and becoming more similar to each other.

T.K.Prasad- Definitely it is not the case that there are some things that are dramatically missing in one place over the other. You can miss it for some time but you do find it without too many hassles.

Vidur – Have you considered going back to India?

T.K.Prasad- Actually, I have considered, it is more that I don’t want to do major shift as opposed to just coast along with things that are alright. There is nothing that is really turning me off here or making me pine for India that would make me completely uproot myself from here and go back there. But, there is nothing I could certainly see myself going and living there. In that sense, it is not that I cannot do it. It is just that I have not found any so strong a reason to take this giant step.

Vidur – How has America changed from when you came here in 1984 to now?

T.K.Prasad- The major difference I see is in the progress that I see in the age of internet and all the electronic devices and things like that have impacted how we do business on a routine basis, the way it has incorporated itself into our daily life that seems pretty astonishing.

Vidur- How do you feel when you go back to India?

T.K.Prasad- Surprisingly, these are the kinds of things that are becoming common place there also. But then I do find the cultural aspects and other things in the native place that are nice to experience.

Vidur- When you return to India and you go vacationing, how do you feel when you see your old family and your old culture, your old life?

T.K.Prasad – Actually the interesting thing is when I go back there, my old context comes in and I do enjoy being with my family and friends and then we recount our old days and feel nostalgic about them. There are good-shared memories that I continue to enjoy.

Vidur- How have you changed from when you immigrated from India to now?

T.K.Prasad – I think I have become more broad-minded and much more educated and of course with age comes wisdom. I think I have certainly improved in many ways.

Vidur– Do you feel that America is still the land of opportunities where immigrants come to have a better life?

T.K.Prasad- I think America continues to be the land of opportunities even now especially in the sorts of education and other things that are readily available to people at large. So, I would continue to believe that people will aspire to come here as immigrants and help out themselves and hopefully the country also.

Vidur – Because you are an immigrant, do you feel that you have a different outlook on the world from someone and American who is born and brought up and lives in America?

T.K.Prasad – Fortunately, I could say that even in India, because I have been brought up at several places in India, I was reasonably broad minded that has only improved as I have come here and have seen various cultures. So I have a better understanding of what people think about and why. I don’t need to necessarily subscribe to everything to be able to better understand what different people actually think and believe and pursue.

Vidur – If you could change one thing in American immigration system, what would it be? T.K.Prasad – If they can make the process more streamlined for legal immigrants that will certainly be great and reduce the delays. And, I don’t think they should encourage illegal immigrants. But, the legal immigrants should be allowed to pursue their dreams.

Vidur– I am just going to go to education. How would you compare the opportunity in terms of education from India to U.S.A.?

T.K.Prasad – I should give this answer in 2 parts. An average Indian may not necessarily have had access to the kind of education that I had when I was in India. But, I did get the best possible education compared to good schools here and I have nothing to complain about. And, in terms of research potential and doing research, I think the U.S. Universities offer lot more than the Indian universities and for that matter other places in the world.

Vidur – Jobs. The types of jobs, the opportunities of jobs, the basic climate of jobs. Is that different from America to India?

T.K.Prasad– Again in terms of University professor jobs, I am not sure that it is significantly different, but still the fact that you are closer to the place of action is something that will help us out.

Vidur- Civil Rights. Because you are an immigrant, some people might consider you an outsider. How is civil rights, racism ever affected you in any way?

T.K.Prasad – That is another thing that is in stark contrast from India and here. In India, you have caste system and that has had some repercussions in how the society behaves and all the turmoil’s. Similar things, we see here in racism, but as far as my experience is concerned, because I grew up in University environment, I have fortunately not run into any of those things.

Vidur– In America and in India, do you think what is really the focus in each of those countries and how would you compare, what is the American dream, what is the Indian dream, what are the citizens trying to achieve?

T.K.Prasad– I think in terms of pursuit of happiness all the people have similar goals, maybe there are some aspects that are easier to accomplish when you are in United States, while there are some other aspects that are easier there. For example, there if you have money, there are a lot of things that become easier while here if you follow the rules then things become easier. So, there are interesting compare and contrasts between the two cultures and the way things operate.

Vidur- Do you feel by taking the Indian culture and by taking the American culture, and kind of making a fusion that has benefited you, do you feel that you have gotten the best of both places?

T.K.Prasad – In fact I have considered myself in a pretty unique position in that being able to enjoy best of both of the worlds and being able to appreciate best of both the worlds and I would say that the people who are just there, or you kids who haven't experienced that place can necessarily understand the plusses and the minuses of the two places. So, I certainly have enjoyed the fusion and that is something we have exploited for our happiness.

Vidur – You basically feel immigrating to U.S. is a great decision and it has helped you in a variety of ways and you encourage future immigrants to come here?

T.K.Prasad– Personally, I do not have any regrets. On the other hand, the whole process is a package deal, so you win some and you lose some. So, there is nothing specific that you can do to get only the positives of one culture and give out the negatives of the other culture. And so, if it is a balancing act, then I think I have done a pretty good job of it.

Vidur- Thank you for your time. Do you have any other remarks or anything you have to say about immigration? The whole experience of life thereand here?

T.K.Prasad – I think I feel the way I grew up and the places where I have been and the exposure that I have had to U.S. culture through various other media outlets had prepared me for a pretty smooth transition and that is what I have finally accomplished. I have pretty good memories of the way things have happened. I am pretty happy with how the whole thing happened.

Vidur- Thank you for you time. Thank you for participating in the interview. Have a nice day.

T.K.Prasad – Thank you.

ANALYSIS
Dr. Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan who is more commonly known as Dr. Prasad, has a story that is similar in many ways to what we learned in class. He immigrated from India for a higher education in America. This is similar to what we learned in class because people came here for a better life. Dr. Prasad also decided to settle here after his education was done because he liked life here. This was similar to a lot of people who came here to settle down and live here. Something different in the interview from what we learned in class was that usually people immigrate to get away from the bad things in their old country while Dr. Prasad decided to come to America because it was suited to what he wanted to carry on as his career. I learned that immigrants come to America for a variety of reasons. In the eyes of some immigrants, America is the light at the end of the tunnel and helps lots of people all over the world. Overall, Dr.Prasad had a smooth and nice transition to America and in his own words, // “I think for what I wanted to do, this was actually the best decision I have taken [in my life].” //