“You should write about your first day in the US,” someone told me once.

This person was someone who had Indian origins but had lived here and worked here for over thirty years. They had a Green Card, and a faraway look in their eyes, as they said, “I wish we could remember those days – it must have been so amazing for you to have had that experience recently.”

It took a lot for me to keep a straight face. I’m not sure what their experience was, but for me, my first day, or even my life in the US so far, are nothing that are particularly “special.” For me, it is just life.

The life in India that I’d left behind was not one of hardship, and the life I came to in the US was not a bed of roses. I don’t feel the need to “celebrate” either of them.

Yes, when I came here, I had been apart from my husband for six months, and so I was excited to see him. And I arrived in peak winter, in 2014, so I did enjoy all the snow. However, I had grown up in Mumbai, and was living in Chennai, when I moved to a tiny town in Pennsylvania. Every time the local librarian, who I had made friends with, would describe the heavily wooded, far from crowded, and quiet suburb as “urban” I would look around bewildered, because my definition of urban was extremely different.

Every time she would offer to help me navigate experiences like going grocery shopping or going to the doctor, I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and tell her that we did have sprawling superstores and doctors in India too.

Over the years, I’ve come across more of such casual ignorance and unintentional, but yet, annoying racism. From questions about the bindi I wear, to strangers approaching me to tell me how much they enjoyed their trip to India, I’ve experienced it all, and I’ve heard stories that are far worse, and which have me living with a constant sense of not belonging.

The one thing about me that living abroad has changed, is that I’ve become more aware of issues of social justice, and am far more vocal about them than I used to be.

And I have learnt that there are as many stories as there are people who come here. There is no ‘one’ way to be an immigrant. Each experience is unique.

In From An-Other Land, Tanushree Ghosh captures that diversity with her eloquent and impactful prose.

The fifteen interconnected short stories in this book, provide us with a range of perspectives, that shatter many stereotypes about NRIs. Yes, there are the IT professionals and doctors, with their grand homes and manicured lawns, but there are also taxi drivers, and homemakers, whose life hangs on a precarious balance.

There are stories here that you haven’t heard before, and stories that are all too common, but they certainly are not the stories one expects to hear. There is nothing clichéd about the themes and issues explored in these pages.

I love how the book has been structured. In the first chapter, the author introduces us to all the characters, and gives us a peek into their motivations in going to the US, as they stand in a line, waiting to get into the airport. Then, in each following chapter, she focusses on one of them, and tells us their story, after they’ve lived here for some time. In the last chapter, she takes back to the life of each character, showing how their lives have intersected since, answering some questions we may have had about them, and leaving others unanswered.

What emerges is a kaleidoscope of truths – the triumphs and the tears; the highs and the heartbreaks.

The sexually and emotionally starved homemaker; the widow who likes to people watch; the restaurateur with a painful past, who helps a black woman with her own pain; the mother with post-natal depression, who can’t stomach her privileged life anymore – these are many other memorable characters populate the pages. They stay with you, long after you’ve turned the last page, and intrude into your thoughts, at random moments. They make you wonder about the stories behind the many faces you see at the grocery store, or the cinema, or at the tourist spots.

The book is by no means an easy read. It is not overly gory, or gloomy, but it does lay things out starkly. As one gets invested in the people one is reading about, one can’t help but empathize with their inner turmoil, and that leaves one feeling a bit thoughtful. There are stories that make you smile too, but even there a mirror is held up to the world that forces one to engage deeply.

Tanushree’s perceptiveness and empathetic attitude shine on every page.

 When I go to India, I tell everyone here that I’m going “home.” When I return, I say the same thing to people in India. The idea of “home” has expanded for me. In some way, From An-Other Land, spoke to this sentiment in me. I greatly enjoyed reading it, and am looking forward to more from this author.

About the author

Vijayalakshmi Harish is the author of Strangely Familiar Tales (2020). Her poetry has been published with Reading Hour, Maudlin House, and Here Comes Everyone. She has stories in the anthologies, Kunti’s Confessions & Other Short Stories, When Women Speak Up, No Apologies, and Sharing Lipstick, published by Women’s Web.

She also writes for Women’s Web on issues at the intersection of pop culture and feminism.

She has previously worked as a marketing executive and as a soft skills trainer, and has a Master’s degree in Applied Psychology.

She is also a voracious reader, enthusiastic gardener, and a fan of all things mythological and magical.