Ramesh Rao
Ramesh Rao flew into Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on September 5, 1985, to begin work on his master’s degree in Mass Communication. With that degree under his belt, he moved to Michigan State University to earn a PhD in Communication. Over the past three decades he has taught in Missouri and Virginia and is now Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Communication at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia. Along the way he has written books on Indian politics and society, and a book on intercultural communication for the Indian college student. His articles, essays, and commentaries have appeared in newspaper and magazines like the Washington Post (online), the Guardian (online), the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, India Abroad, India Currents, The Pioneer, Patheos, and Swarajya (online).
Before boarding that flight to Hattiesburg (via Atlanta, Frankfurt, Mumbai, and Bengaluru), Ramesh worked as a bank officer, a school teacher, and a copy editor in India. He is still looking for home despite the long roads he has traveled. Ramesh lives with wife, Sujaya, and son, Sudhanva, in Fortson, GA.
Ten Things I Can’t Do Without
- Masala Dosa for breakfast on Sundays
- Listening to Abhishek Raghuram sing Carnatic classical music
- Calling my ninety-three-year-old father and eighty-two-year-old mother every morning at 7:30
- Ruffling my son’s hair during the ten-minute drive to his school on weekdays
- Good movie outings with wife and son
- Listening to NPR in the car
- Books, books, books
- A little bit of tennis on balmy spring and summer evenings
- Talks with good friends, long-distance or close by
- Some meditation, a little bit of prayer, and chanting the Vishnusahasranama
A wonderful written and nuanced description of the diversity of the Indian experience and contribution to the South. It was valuable to see the contrast between the earlier and current cohorts, the connections between lives in Columbus and homeland ties, so well depicted in the vignettes of several diverse individuals.
Thank you, Prof. Jung. It is heartening to hear from someone so deeply knowledgeable about the immigrant experiences in the south in particular and the country in general.