Aparna Prathasarathy is a junior at Barnard College studying Political Science and Human Rights. She was originally born and raised in New Jersey, but moved to New York City for college. Her parents have been in the country for roughly 30 years and initially came to the United States separately for their masters and PHD programs. The object featured is an old camera that originally belonged to Aparna's grandfather. While no longer functional for its original purpose, she now uses it as a piggybank in her dorm. 

Aparna sees her parents as a model of the American Dream. They came to this country and bettered themselves and their family. That notion makes animosity against immigrants even more difficult to understand. "It's hard ... to shallow the fact that people don't want us here." Aparna remarks that a lot of the times when she observes South Asian culture in New York City, it's heavily diluted to appease Western palettes. This happens quite literally in the case of cuisine. She notices, South Asian restaurants focus more on giving the "feel" of Indian culture than utilizing native flavors and dishes. To her, appreciation looks a lot more like appropriation when it comes to the city's reception of South Asians. 

Whether it be the "weird mash of Hindi and English," "Rutgers Indian frats", or "Bollywood dance teams" the children of South Asian immigrants are constantly finding ways to redefine their culture. Much like her grandfather's camera, just because something no longer has the same function does not mean it cannot be repurposed. 

– Mira Goodman

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant