Despite fond memories of her family back in New Delhi, Sapna Patni is here to stay in the city! While family picture shows a seemingly female-dominated image, the reality of the dynamic is far more complicated. Sapna asserts that New York City offers a freedom and autonomy to women that her daughter, and many second generation Indian immigrants take for granted. From the clothes young people here wear to the relationships we have to men, New York could not be more different to New Delhi. 

Despite the country's conservative attitudes towards gender roles, Sapna is a living symbol of defiance. The women in her family are highly educated and accomplished, Sapna has a Double Masters from India and came to the United States largely to pursue her MBA. She has the same expectations for her own daughter. In fact, the family moved to Battery Park City so they could be closer to her high school, Stuyvesant High School, one of the premier public high schools in the country. 

Still, Sapna maintains one traditional women's task: cooking. She loves to cook Indian food for her children, getting groceries from Indian grocery stores like Apna Bazar and Patel Brothers (while she usually noting that there is an excellent Apna Bazar in Jersey City). Over her 23 years living in the United States, she has learned to cook new "American" cuisine, but still makes Indian food the majority of the time. 

– Mira Goodman

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant