In between India and America: An interview with Soham Daga

America is largely proud to call itself a melting pot, but not everyone has the most welcoming experience when relocating here. Homesickness, culture shock, and prejudice are just a few of the obstacles that newcomers may face.

Soham Daga is a Forbesian sophomore in the ORFE department. He was born in Kolkata, India, but has been living in America on and off since he was four years old. No immigration horror stories here: he and his family report an incredibly positive experience coming to America, and have managed to comfortably settle into life in the US while maintaining strong ties to their Indian heritage.

As part of The Tab’s American Stories series, we sat down to talk to Soham about his experience moving to the United States, his complex understanding of his identity and nationality, and his long-term plans to attain US citizenship. For bureaucratic reasons, Soham has to decide soon whether to take American citizenship at the expense of his Indian nationality – but he’s used to navigating life on two continents. Whatever passport he chooses, he’ll always belong to both India and America.

What are your earliest memories of India? What did you like about India?

I loved India. My mom, my dad’s two sisters, and my grandmother all lived in the same place. They were the most supporting, loving people.

When did you move to America?

When I was four or five, I moved to Pittsburgh. Then when I was in first grade, we moved to New York, and then went back to Mumbai for three years. I came back to America, and I’ve been here since fifth grade.

Did you speak English when you came here?

The Indian education system prides itself on its English, so I did know English before coming to America. English wasn’t that big a problem for me, although I did have a lot of catching-up to do. My vocabulary wasn’t that high. They had a higher expectation for your reading ability, your writing ability. When I was supposed to be a level H in reading, I was a level C. There was a very steep learning curve for me.

What was the biggest difference between India and America?

I thought India was a lot more open as a culture. People there wanted to bond with you and build relationships. I tried to be as social as possible when I got to America, but people were less receptive. In India, you can just go to someone’s house – you don’t have to schedule a time to go over.

Soham in India

Your little sister is very young. Does she remember the move? Does she feel American or Indian?

She was born here and my parents only spoke English at home with her. She started learning Hindi two years ago. My grandparents don’t speak English, and when she went back to Indian she had a very hard time communicating with my family members. Since we’re a very family-oriented culture, it was difficult for her. She had to learn Hindi to bridge that cultural gap. She picked it up really, really fast – she still has the American accent when she talks, but she has the Hindi, too, so it doesn’t matter any more.

Did you find America a welcoming place?

Yes. I didn’t feel stereotyped as an Indian. Partly that’s because my family is a very strong-minded family – if you don’t receive us well, we don’t care, we’ll find someone else to go talk to.

What’s your favourite thing about America?

There are a lot more opportunities in America, and it’s a lot more open in its definition of what success is. In India, in tenth and twelfth grade you take these board exams, and the scores from those tests determine whether you get into a school. The best schools are the ITT schools, engineering schools, and the test cut-off for those schools is something like 99.5 percent.

In American universities, though, the college admissions process is much more holistic – they look at your grades for sure, but also what you do outside of that. It gives you a different view of life itself. India is still very narrow-minded in that sense. I appreciate the open-mindedness of America.

Princeton Pride

Do you identify as Indian, American, or both?

That’s a very interesting question for me at the moment, because I have to decide in the next two weeks if I want to take American citizenship. If I take American citizenship, I have to give up my Indian citizenship. I think of myself as an Indian citizen – I’m pretty sure. But American citizenship is a lot more logistically convenient, and it’s much easier to travel on an American passport. Culturally and religiously speaking, I haven’t adopted many of the American practices. I feel a stronger connection to India.

Where are you planning to live and work after you graduate Princeton?

I’m quite confident that I’m going to move back to India eventually. Stay here in America for a couple of years, do my education. When I’m done with all of that – I want to move back. India feels like home.