This simple, disarming ice-breaker often makes me reflect on my identity and origins. My grandparents were farmers and shepherds in the foothills of Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh in south India. My grandfather moved to Mumbai to work in a mill in the ’40s. My Dad was born in Mumbai and so was I. When I was growing up in Mumbai, since people knew my native tonue wasn’t Marathi- I got the question, “what’s your mother tongue” which was another way of asking where my people came from. The answer, of course, was Telugu and Andhra Pradesh. Then, when I started traveling across India, people asked me again – “Where are you from?” and the answer to them was – “I am from Mumbai”.
I spent most of my life in Mumbai. When I was 32 years old, I moved to the United States in search of better prospects. Studying in Dallas at a university that hosted students from across the globe, I naturally got the question again. My answer then changed from “Mumbai” to “India”. Two years later, I moved to Los Angeles and started working here. I met my wife here and have been calling this place home for almost 6 years now. So now when we travel to other parts of the US or the world, when someone asks me – “where are you from?”…. I take pause. My mind wonders and wanders. What’s the right answer here? Andhra Pradesh? Mumbai? India? Los Angeles?
They are all part of me. I still mostly feel like a Mumbai lad, but Los Angeles is my new home. Thanks to my wife and in-laws, I now feel like I belong here. So my answer these days is “Los Angeles”. And what if someone in LA asks me this question? Nobody here has actually asked me this question 🙂