In the narration “Two Ways to Belong in America” Bharati Murkheje provides a precise account of the events that led to her current status and that of her sister as immigrants in a foreign land, America. Far form, their country India. For the last thirty-five years of their life, Bharati and her sister Mira have lived to see the reformation, transformations and revolutions that have characterized America. Bharati recounts the starting point of their long journey to the new land which they have found as the new home far from home. She recalls the very moment her sister Mira began her studies in psychology and pre-school education and how she has evolved from student to an expatriate who has gone on to win awards for her exemplary role in service. For Bharati, her journey began in 1961 a year after Mira had left joined college. Bharati was studying creative writing at the Iowa University.
Despite their imaginations in those early days, they did not live to see their return to India for the customary marriage. According to Bharati, Mira had never found comfort and satisfaction in the new world order subjected to her despite having been in a job and seemingly comfortable with it. Mira complained that immigrants like her who had served the nation for many years did not warrant the racial discrimination or the “scapegoatings of aliens” which they were now experiencing (293). For Bharati, she had learned to live a new life, embrace the new life and her new status, and she never had complaints of the systems. Despite the blood relations between Mira and Bharati, they are no less than “unacknowledged adversaries” (293). While Bharati seems to have transformed, Mira is still stuck in her culture and to make matters worse, she feels unappreciated by the nations she serves. Bharati offers this narration while acknowledging the reality that remains hidden; that immigrants have burning issues. This is more so when they feel that laws and regulations have placed limitations to them despite their efforts to achieve integration in the new society.
The above unfolding of events shows how cultural mutation or resistant to cultural mutation is a matter of personal choice. Despite the fact that that the two sisters come from the same geographical and ethnic backgrounds and shared their dreams and aspirations during their early years in India, they seem to have taken divergent paths after their 35 year stay in the United States. Bharati explains that during their time in India, they two were stunningly identical in terms of appearance, lifestyles and attitudes. However, on arriving in the United States, Bharati decide to shun her conservativeness and embrace the American culture. Unlike her sister who got married to her Indian equal, Bharati married an American and as she says, “America spoke to me-I married it.”Although there are some conditions imposed by the government on the immigrants, Mira is just a profession, gracious and social person as far as Americanization is involved but maintains her Indian lifestyle, identity and outlook.
Mira is depicted as an individual who is willing to go the extra mile to maintain her origin and protect it from the transformation. On the contrary, apart from professionalism and other requirement imposed by the government on the immigrants, Bharati has opted to embrace everything about the American culture.
As the title of the narration suggests these two divergent experiences of the two sisters in the United States present two ways to belong to the United States. One option is to get assimilated and appreciate the American culture just as Bharati. The second is to stay true to your original identity as Mira did and at the same time continue living in the United States by the virtue of the green card. This shows the cultural and lifestyle freedom in the US. One can embrace Americanization or remain true to one’s identity and either way, be accepted in the USA.
Works cited
Cohen, Samuel S., ed. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004.
