Before I went to India, I read hundreds of books on a variety of topics and even studied some languages. I learned about a lot of things, most specifically the differences between America and India. It was fun and exciting to learn about how people express life differently than me, and of course that was one of the reasons that I wanted to experience India for myself. More importantly, another reason I wanted to go to India was to learn about the daily life of people in India, what makes the people who they are, so I could also relate to them. Relating to others and finding common ground binds us together. This is the feeling I come away from after reading Victoria Parker’s book "We're from India".

In the book, the readers meet Surya, Choti and Subodh, three Indian children, and get a chance to experience what a day in the life of a child in India is like. Victoria has chosen to share stories of these three children who grow up in different geographical areas in cities, villages and small towns.

Though we do notice differences in their stories and in the photos - the clothes are different, the food and eating habits are different, the way chores are done is different and the physical environment looks different, we realize that kids in India, like the kids in America, do the same things. Kids in India go to school, they help their family with chores, some kids live with their parents and some with extended family like grandmothers and grandfathers, they enjoy hobbies such as playing games, crafts, spending time with their friends and music, they learn things from their parents, and the list can go on.  For instance, Surya likes to play games, one being carrom, the Indian form of billiards, as shown in the YouTube video at the end.

Each child’s small story highlights their own unique personality and life. Just like each child in America is an individual with unique qualities, so is each child in India. Though we are all unique, we all have similarities that bind us. We can relate to one another. The balance between these attributes is highlighted throughout this book.

With thirty-two pages, and large, intriguing photographs, the narrations are done in as few words as possible. It is noticeable that because of this, words were also chosen very carefully. I particularly appreciate the choice of words such as ‘many’, ‘some of’ and, ‘most people’ as compared to ‘all’, ‘everything’ or ‘everyone’, because the former convey the reduction of sweeping generalizations. The method of identifying the photos helps the reader to easily figure out what’s in the picture, especially for items we may not have seen before in America.

**The YouTube video, provided by carrom clips on YouTube, in this article and the book are not related except for being referenced in this article.

http://www.youtube.com/user/carromclips

(Author, Jennifer Kumar, is a cross-cultural coach, helping people plan for their moves between India and America. You can reach her for personalized or small-group coaching services at authenticjourneys@gmail .com )

Visit her Blog : http://authenticjourneys.blogspot.com/

Image Courtesy: www.amazon.com

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