In 2023, photojournalist and Catchlight Local Fellow Sree Sripathy launched the first-of-its-kind “We Belong” series, marking a milestone in India Currents’ history of documenting the life of Indian-Americans. For her landmark project, Sripathy took stunning portraits of Bay Area Indians and chronicled how they connected to their Indian heritage as they learned to become Americans.
Starting April 25, the San Jose Public Library system curated an exhibition of India Currents’ We Belong images that rolled out at their Almaden, West Valley, Village Square, and Evergreen branches. The exhibition ends on July 29.
On July 10, India Currents hosted a reception in partnership with the San Jose Public Library at the Evergreen branch, where the photos are currently on display. The reception began with brief introductions by India Currents’ publisher Vandana Kumar and Victor Luu from the Evergreen branch for the SJPL. It was followed by book readings from Raj C. Oza, who was featured in the We Belong series. Oza shared an extract from a We Belong story about his mother Vijayalaxmi C. Oza, and also read a passage from his soon-to-be-published debut novel Double Play.
Saumya Balasubramanian who also was featured in the We Belong series, shared the stage with her son Mukul as they read a popular Amar Chitra Katha comic about Hanuman. Subramanian provided the context about the Ramayana for non-South Asians in the audience, while Mukul acted in Hanuman’s role.
Reflecting the intent of the We Belong series through their readings, Oza, Balasubramanian, and Mukul imparted information about Indian culture and the Indian immigration experience to the audience, including many non-South Asians.
You can still catch the exhibition at the Evergreen branch of the San Jose Public Library till July 29, 2024.
This series was made possible in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program.