In God He Trusts...
On the 16th of April, we crossed the milestone we had planned for so intricately over the last year. This effort towards this goal was probably driven by the same parental instinct which motivates you to try and have the best for your kids. At least, to the maximum extent possible, have the best options available for them to select from.
We recieved Shubham's passport, a US one, this day. Shubham is now a US national, born to Indian parents, who wish to remain Indian yet themselves. I guess I am part of that expanding tribe of some of the Indians, which wants their progeny to be US citizens, but shy away from that commitment for themselves. At the end of the day, this tribe is happy to go back to their motherland, for whatever it holds in store for them.
Yeah. Sure. But this blogticle is about Shubham's US passport and his US citizenship. It would be the first time in the Kulkarni clan, or in related families, that anybody would have his motherland and nationality different from each other. Interesting eh; more about that later.
The US passport is of course, a document deserving good interest. Not only for its value. It also is splattered with mouthfuls of gems attributed to eminent personalities from the US.
The passport proudly asserts the national motto of the United States : 'In God We Trust'. It appears on currency as well as official documents. The motto E Pluribus Unum, ("from many, one") too, still appears on coins and currency, and was widely considered the national motto de facto. Originally suggesting that out of many colonies or states emerge a single nation, it has come to suggest in contemporary times that out of many peoples, races, and ancestries has emerged a single people and nation – illustrating the concept of the melting pot.
This document also has Lincoln proclaiming "O say does that star spangled banner yet wave over the land of the free & home of the brave ... and that that Goverment of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from the earth."
So let me tell you something more about the place where Shubham was born. Well, of course, he was born in the US. But I am not elaborating on so broad a picture. But am giving you the finer details to keep it interesting.
Here goes.
The Olmsted County Hospital :
The Birth Center of the Olmsted County Hospital is where Shubham was born. The County Hospital still holds its rightful place in the territory of the Mayo Clinic.
I must say we were lucky to have been associated with the OMC, to recieve such professional and genuinely caring attention that can be rivalled only by the best medical establishments in the world.
Olmsted County :
A county is of course a district in our lingo. The Olmsted county is one of the counties of the state of Minnesota, with a total area of 654 square miles. Rochester is the principal city of this county. Though Minnesota itself is called the land of 10000 Lakes, Olmsted county itself does not bear natural lakes, but does have six lakes created artifically. Out of them, Silver lake is one of those which I visit frequently. The Silver lake has a huge population of Canadian Geese, which is quite enjoyable. Its a beautiful place to visit in all the four seasons.
Rochester : Think Rochester, think Mayo Clinic. The mayo is one of the largest and best known medical facilities on the face of this earth, and the most well-respected medical facilities in the world. Many famous people from around the world, including former Presidents George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and King Hussein of Jordan, have visited Rochester as patients of the Mayo Clinic. As recent as last month, The Dalai Lama too had visited the Mayo-Rochester to deliver a lecture on spirituality and healing. Mayo specializes in virtually every medical specialty and provides care for more than 500,000 patients each year from more than 150 countries.
It could be said that the town's economy is driven by the Mayo. The town's population is around 1,00,000. Nishant once joked that 1 lakh tar Dadarchya eka gallit rahat astil. :-) . Very true, I guess. (There could be 100000 people living on a single street of Dadar, Bombay) .
The town lies along the south fork of the Zumbro River. Click here link to see an ariel view of Rochester.
Minnesota : Minnesota is the northernmost state in US outside of Alaska. It goes without saying that is one of the coldest in US here, with the area known as the Ice Box of America. It lies in the region in US known as the Upper Midwest, bordering Canada.
Known as the land of the 10000 lakes, the state does boast of nearly 11800 lakes.
In times before 12000 years ago, massive ice sheets at least one kilometer thick ravaged the landscape of the state and sculpted its current terrain. As the glaciers receded, they left a lot of lakes behind them in the areas they had eroded.
Minnesota endures temperature extremes characteristic of its continental climate; with cold winters and hot summers, the record high and low can vary in a range of > 96°C. I have experienced temperatures feeling like -45 degress celcius in this Jan. I remember walking in -25 deg celcius in Rochester downtown. It was like spending 15 minutes with thousands of pins and needles blasting your face every microsecond. I would not really want to duplicate that feat again. Papa too was tih me. It was an experience whichc will remain 'frozen' in both of our minds for a long time to come. I can also say the state would have some of the best fall season seen anywhere.The Climate produces events including heavy rain, copious snow, hail, blizzards, polar fronts, tornadoes, thunderstorms, and high-velocity straight-line winds. You really have to experience the winds to believe the power they pack.
We do intend to come back to India soon. It would not be the most comfortable feeling that my son would be a resident alien in my own country. But I would be happy that he would be a global citizen. Being a US citizen has its own advantages Its up to him now,and his performance, how he uses these advantages to his benefit, and upgrading his life further yet.
Down the line, his not being an Indian citizen can bring some interesting situations to the fore. What if one fine day he expresses reservations to singing Vande Mataram, but wants to recite the star spangled banner instead :-) ? Will he consider himself different from most of his peers once he understands his US connection ? In a match between India and USA, whether on the playground or unforseeably on the battleground, with whom would his loyalties lie? Would he have that affinity to the country of his birth, that he would want to return there so soon? Mny of those questions are for later though :-) .
But for now, we are happy for what he is. We do hope that we know and understand the challenges that this brings forth. In God we trust too...!
I would conclude this blog with a video of Shubham reading his newspaper. Now is that 'USA Today' ? Click here to view the video.
We recieved Shubham's passport, a US one, this day. Shubham is now a US national, born to Indian parents, who wish to remain Indian yet themselves. I guess I am part of that expanding tribe of some of the Indians, which wants their progeny to be US citizens, but shy away from that commitment for themselves. At the end of the day, this tribe is happy to go back to their motherland, for whatever it holds in store for them.
Yeah. Sure. But this blogticle is about Shubham's US passport and his US citizenship. It would be the first time in the Kulkarni clan, or in related families, that anybody would have his motherland and nationality different from each other. Interesting eh; more about that later.
The US passport is of course, a document deserving good interest. Not only for its value. It also is splattered with mouthfuls of gems attributed to eminent personalities from the US.
The passport proudly asserts the national motto of the United States : 'In God We Trust'. It appears on currency as well as official documents. The motto E Pluribus Unum, ("from many, one") too, still appears on coins and currency, and was widely considered the national motto de facto. Originally suggesting that out of many colonies or states emerge a single nation, it has come to suggest in contemporary times that out of many peoples, races, and ancestries has emerged a single people and nation – illustrating the concept of the melting pot.
This document also has Lincoln proclaiming "O say does that star spangled banner yet wave over the land of the free & home of the brave ... and that that Goverment of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from the earth."
So let me tell you something more about the place where Shubham was born. Well, of course, he was born in the US. But I am not elaborating on so broad a picture. But am giving you the finer details to keep it interesting.
Here goes.
The Olmsted County Hospital :
The Birth Center of the Olmsted County Hospital is where Shubham was born. The County Hospital still holds its rightful place in the territory of the Mayo Clinic.
I must say we were lucky to have been associated with the OMC, to recieve such professional and genuinely caring attention that can be rivalled only by the best medical establishments in the world.
Olmsted County :
A county is of course a district in our lingo. The Olmsted county is one of the counties of the state of Minnesota, with a total area of 654 square miles. Rochester is the principal city of this county. Though Minnesota itself is called the land of 10000 Lakes, Olmsted county itself does not bear natural lakes, but does have six lakes created artifically. Out of them, Silver lake is one of those which I visit frequently. The Silver lake has a huge population of Canadian Geese, which is quite enjoyable. Its a beautiful place to visit in all the four seasons.
Rochester : Think Rochester, think Mayo Clinic. The mayo is one of the largest and best known medical facilities on the face of this earth, and the most well-respected medical facilities in the world. Many famous people from around the world, including former Presidents George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and King Hussein of Jordan, have visited Rochester as patients of the Mayo Clinic. As recent as last month, The Dalai Lama too had visited the Mayo-Rochester to deliver a lecture on spirituality and healing. Mayo specializes in virtually every medical specialty and provides care for more than 500,000 patients each year from more than 150 countries.
It could be said that the town's economy is driven by the Mayo. The town's population is around 1,00,000. Nishant once joked that 1 lakh tar Dadarchya eka gallit rahat astil. :-) . Very true, I guess. (There could be 100000 people living on a single street of Dadar, Bombay) .
The town lies along the south fork of the Zumbro River. Click here link to see an ariel view of Rochester.
Minnesota : Minnesota is the northernmost state in US outside of Alaska. It goes without saying that is one of the coldest in US here, with the area known as the Ice Box of America. It lies in the region in US known as the Upper Midwest, bordering Canada.
Known as the land of the 10000 lakes, the state does boast of nearly 11800 lakes.
In times before 12000 years ago, massive ice sheets at least one kilometer thick ravaged the landscape of the state and sculpted its current terrain. As the glaciers receded, they left a lot of lakes behind them in the areas they had eroded.
Minnesota endures temperature extremes characteristic of its continental climate; with cold winters and hot summers, the record high and low can vary in a range of > 96°C. I have experienced temperatures feeling like -45 degress celcius in this Jan. I remember walking in -25 deg celcius in Rochester downtown. It was like spending 15 minutes with thousands of pins and needles blasting your face every microsecond. I would not really want to duplicate that feat again. Papa too was tih me. It was an experience whichc will remain 'frozen' in both of our minds for a long time to come. I can also say the state would have some of the best fall season seen anywhere.The Climate produces events including heavy rain, copious snow, hail, blizzards, polar fronts, tornadoes, thunderstorms, and high-velocity straight-line winds. You really have to experience the winds to believe the power they pack.
We do intend to come back to India soon. It would not be the most comfortable feeling that my son would be a resident alien in my own country. But I would be happy that he would be a global citizen. Being a US citizen has its own advantages Its up to him now,and his performance, how he uses these advantages to his benefit, and upgrading his life further yet.
Down the line, his not being an Indian citizen can bring some interesting situations to the fore. What if one fine day he expresses reservations to singing Vande Mataram, but wants to recite the star spangled banner instead :-) ? Will he consider himself different from most of his peers once he understands his US connection ? In a match between India and USA, whether on the playground or unforseeably on the battleground, with whom would his loyalties lie? Would he have that affinity to the country of his birth, that he would want to return there so soon? Mny of those questions are for later though :-) .
But for now, we are happy for what he is. We do hope that we know and understand the challenges that this brings forth. In God we trust too...!
I would conclude this blog with a video of Shubham reading his newspaper. Now is that 'USA Today' ? Click here to view the video.
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