When your life is a series of relocations, geography and culture cease to be backdrop and instead become primary life lessons. For those who have migrated to the United States, we often carry the weight of roots and memories that our children, raised in a different soil, find confusing. To move is to constantly recalibrate your identity against a new horizon.

The Perennial Outsider

My own journey has been defined by the feeling of being an outsider, even within my home country. Identity is often dictated by those watching you:

• In Delhi, I was a Madrasi.
• In Madras, I was a Golti.
• In Goa during the 1970s, I was simply called Indian, as the shadow of Portuguese rule still lingered in the local memory.
• In Hyderabad, I was the Delhi cousin.

The Nuance of Discrimination

There is a nuanced irony in the immigrant experience. In many ways, the overt discrimination I faced in India was more rigid than what I have encountered in the West. I recall a North Indian accounts officer who refused to approve my expense account specifically because of my South Indian heritage, laughing as he signed the papers for my colleagues right in front of me.

In contrast, the friction I encounter today often stems from unconscious bias rather than malice. It is the flight attendant in the 1990s who expressed surprise at my English proficiency until she saw the novel in my hands, or the fast-food worker in Florida struggling with my accent. In those moments, I have learned that pointing to a number on the menu is not a defeat; it is a practical bridge.

The Philosophy of Intent

I have found that assuming positive intent is a powerful tool for emotional resilience. I remember the curiosity of strangers on Indian trains—people who would share their dinner with me before asking deeply personal questions about my origin, caste, or income. Their curiosity was not an intrusion, but a form of engagement.

By being less sensitive to the minor frictions of cultural misunderstanding, we gain the clarity to focus on the good people who far outnumber the discriminators. In the next five years of global strategy, as migration patterns continue to shift due to economic and climate factors, the ability to navigate "otherness" with neutrality will become a vital leadership trait.

References

Eberhardt, Jennifer L. Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do. Viking, 2019.
Kendi, Ibram X. How to Be an Antiracist. One World, 2019.
MLA 9 Citation: [Contributor Name]. "No Place to Call Home." ReadyThoughts, 15 Feb. 2026, https://readythoughts.com.