Suburban Sahibs : three immigrant families and their passage from India to America / S. Mitra Kalita.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kalita, S. Mitra, 1976-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

East Indian Americans--New Jersey--Middlesex County--Social conditions.

East Indian Americans.

East Indian Americans--Cultural assimilation--New Jersey--Middlesex County.

East Indian Americans--New Jersey--Middlesex County--Biography.

Immigrants--New Jersey--Middlesex County--Social conditions.

Immigrants.

Immigrants--New Jersey--Middlesex County--Biography.

Asian American families--New Jersey--Middlesex County--Case studies.

Asian American families.

Suburban life--New Jersey--Middlesex County--Case studies.

Suburban life.

New Jersey--Emigration and immigration--Case studies.

New Jersey.

India--Emigration and immigration--Case studies.

India.

Middlesex County (N.J.)--Ethnic relations.

Middlesex County (N.J.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (187 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, 2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

From movie theaters showing the songs and gyrations of "Bollywood" to valedictorians named Patel and Shah, signs are everywhere that Middlesex County, New Jersey is home to one of the largest Indian populations in the world outside India. By tracing the migration of three families, this book delves into how immigration has altered the American suburb, and how the suburb, in turn, has altered the immigrant. In this updated edition, journalist S. Mitra Kalita shows that although the reception from long-time residents has not been entirely welcoming, Indians have come to achieve economic success and their desire for political and social parity continues to grow stronger. She traces the evolution of the suburb from a destination for new arrivals to a launching pad for them. In the late nineteenth century, tourists descended upon Edison to gawk at its Christmas lights displays. Today, thousands of Indians from all over the United States arrive in the same bedroom community to celebrate their own festivals of lights and colors. Suburban Sahibs attempts to answer the question of how and why they arrived, and offers a window into what America has become: a nation of suburbs as well as a nation of immigrants.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Prologue: A New Year

Chapter 1: Deported from Home

Chapter 2: The Patels' Journey

Chapter 3: A Gold-Paved Entry

Chapter 4: Exercising Rights

Chapter 5: Wanting More

Chapter 6: Shaky Ground

Chapter 7: Destructive Times

Chapter 8: Standing Room Only

Chapter 9: Downturns

Chapter 10: Under a Mango Tree

Chapter 11: Meeting Elephants

Chapter 12: Farewells

Chapter 13: The Festival Family

Chapter 14: Classified

Chapter 15: The Victor

Epilogue

Notes

Selected Bibliography

About the Author.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [171]).

ISBN:

0-8135-5886-7

0-8135-3523-9

OCLC:

70758440