Leela Singh immigrated to New York from India in 2021, arriving as the pandemic was approaching its height. She came with her mother and father. The reason for immigration was to adjust to the American system of education with the end goal of being more competitive for US college admissions. Currently, Leela is a rising sophomore at Wesleyan University. 
While she is loving her college experience in Connecticut, she misses the cooking in the city. In fact, she still use one of the objects she brought from New Delhi, an oven mitt with floral patterns. The mitt is from her parent's store, "The Shop", which specializes in Indian attire and home goods. The mitt is worn away from cooking "mallu khana" (traditional South Indian food) or "sarson da saag with roti" (Punjabi cuisine). Back in New Delhi, the family could afford a cook at home for all of their meals. In the city, this is much more of a luxury. 
The family gets ingredients from Apna Baazar and Patel Brothers, however, they have boycotted the latter due to the chain's links to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Besides Apna Baazar, their staple ingredients come from the Costco in Long Island City.  Just a short walk across the Roosevelt Island Bridge, Leela can buy whatever ingredients she wants, including a growing selection of traditionally Indian cuisine, in bulk from Costco. Much to her family's chagrin, every haul includes a jar of naga pickle, as Leela is notorious for having the highest spice tolerance among them and insists on it being included in every meal!

– Mira Goodman

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant