An Indian immigrant's story

Madhuri Sharma's memoir/ travelogue 'Through The Eyes of an Immigrant' has a level of intimacy that makes the reader enter her life effortlessly from the first page.

The book starts with a dizzying commentary where she arrives in the US thirty two years ago imagining it to be a country where "poverty, squalor and hunger were virtually non -existent."

She arrives in New York with her doctor husband, and two young daughters and has been advised by friends and family in India to be a "cultural ambassador,"  "remember her less fortunate relatives back home" and guard her husband against "blonde women."

New York welcomes the family who come with baggage which includes Indian spices, coconut graters, cast iron griddles, satin cushions, bedspreads and idols of family deities.

The experience begins. Madhuri learns about tipping, opening a can, living on $800 dollars a month in a tiny apartment and being a chauffeur, cook and maid to the family. Her warm, friendly nature earns her many friends and laughs as when she comes to the hospital to pick up her husband and is hurriedly  rushed into a cubicle where the doctor prepares to suture her head. You guessed it…She was wearing vermilion/sindoor in the parting of her hair.

Anecdotes, reflections, flavor the book and in between she inserts Indian history, explains Hindu rituals, festivals, and easily free falls into mantras and poetry with an easy flow of narrative. There are no piercing insights, or dizzying, profound commentary on  Americana.

However she does indulge in her musings on America's greatness, ingrained weaknesses in the system and wonders if the American dream will dissolve into a fantasy.
She and her husband travel with a compelling urge to places around the globe - Tahiti, Morocco, Europe, and Australia being just some of the touristy locations. The itinerary is detailed as she writes of canal tours in Copenhagen, swaying with a belly dancer on the floor in Morocco or exploring islands in Bora Bora. Sharma quotes poetry, with prolific abandon. I came across a snippet from Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, well how often does one read Gray?

There's Milton too. "Time will run back and fetch the age of gold…" Sharma informs us of the indigent Polynesian homes where the dead are buried at the front doorstep as they are too poor to afford a cemetery. A Lutheran church which resembled a space ship in Finland interests her as well as museums, palaces architecture, Viennese tortes, patatas bravas, Madrid bollas and Berber pizza.

This is a rambling, gentle book a warm hearted, affectionate blend of honesty, adding grace and depth to an immigrant's life. There are no dramatic seismic events or confrontations with disillusionment, struggles, frustration or heartbreak.

Sometimes life in America appears to be in apple pie order, with everything falling into the right envisioned place. Even the daughters make right choices in their marriage and do not suffer from angst nor do they soul search a confused desi identity. The glass is always half full for Madhuri Sharma.

I looked in vain for an exploration of the history of emotions and a more imaginative contents page. I wanted to meet more characters, vexing situations, and frustrations in the immigrant's life. People who inhabit you even when the book is finished.

A little sharp edged take on living in America. Though she is amusing at times her earnestness gets in the way. Though Sharma writes in a detached, solemn style shelives her best life and reflects it in her book - a spectrum of experiences. The cover design was superb.

Madhuri Sharma was born and raised in India. She has a Master's degree in chemistry and has been a lecturer and research associate. She lives in Albany New York.

Publishers Vantage Press New York
Cover design Mumtaz Mustafa