Walking into a local eatery a few months ago, I was led to a table beside Yellow Gandhi and a bright-eyed 13-year-old I’d never met. Yellow is an old friend, but this was introduction to Milan, her grandson. “Anand’s son?” I asked. Yes, she replied. He’d had a half-day at school, and the two had
The year’s end was fast approaching; social calendars were filling up. Yet, when Hema Rachmale, Anita Rajpal and Seema Shah, three enterprising women, invited the seniors at the Bharatiya Temple on a field trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts, elders, middle aged couples and even a teenager or two eagerly responded. Two buses would
On a sunny fall morning, I turned into a wooded driveway to find a gentleman waiting with a bright, welcoming smile. After weeks of planning, numerous texts, missed phone calls and several garbled messages, we were finally meeting in person. Both of us are busy grandparents, so finding the convenient time had been a bit
This is the second of a two-part series from The Indian Scene. Last week, we told the story of one family and a life-changing diagnosis. This week, we’ll follow them as they navigate their new normal, and explore the financial and logistical realities of Alzheimer’s and caregiving. A difficult thing about Alzheimer’s disease is that
Even as we meticulously mark the dates on our calendars and stay connected with families in India or here, there is a tinge of sadness for many of us as we try hard to create a festive mood in the Western context. For the Desi crowd, the holidays usually coincide with Diwali season, and our
Since the sixties, when immigrants from the Indian subcontinent started streaming in, they have learned to carve out their own paths for each of life’s stages. These unsung pioneers of modern America are often not given credit for their adventurous spirit. With no elders to guide them, and lacking extended family or community support, these
Usha Ram has always felt prepared to stand on her own two feet. That’s why, she tells us one blustery February afternoon in the living room of her Bloomfield Hills home, the 75-year-old OB-GYN didn’t think twice before shoveling her own driveway the night before. It’s the kind of roll-up-your-sleeves pragmatism that was instilled in
For nearly four decades, Dr. Srinivasan Venkatesan and Ambuja Venkatesan have nurtured Indian cultural and religious activity in metro Detroit area with care and devotion. Dr. Venkatesan holds a Ph.D. in Material Science and served as a vice president at a photovoltaics manufacturer for most of his career in Detroit. He retired from active professional
Many of us came to the U.S. with little money, hoping to receive an education or to build our lives in a new environment. Along the way, we encountered endless problems and seemingly infinite obstacles. But now — reaching senior status and having achieved financial security, raised responsible children, built temples, lived in comfortable homes,
There were a few things that shocked Ramesh Verma when he arrived in Ann Arbor from Delhi in April of 1972. The weather — sometimes the biggest challenge for immigrants from warmer countries — wasn’t one of them. He’s seen colder. The recently appointed Novi city councilman remembers his days as a platoon commander working