American Ajja: Stories and Reflections from an Indian Immigrant in the United States

American Ajja tells the story of Shankar Hegde's focused, thoughtful, sometimes rough and sometimes tender blending of two cultures into one well-lived life.
This book should appeal to all Americans and especially to immigrants who are trying to make America their new home. They will enjoy the story of how a kid brought up in a remote agricultural village in India "made it" in the United States, and will realize that the experiences of such a person can be as interesting as those of a rich and famous person who also "made it."
Left fatherless in India at 16, he managed the family affairs--including a small farm--while completing his college degree. When fate intervened in 1973, he left his Indian Ph.D. program to pursue the same degree in the heartland of the United States, at one of the country's best urban research universities. Shankar landed in America with the clothes on his back and two quarters in his pocket, his luggage still "in transit."
From there, his journey winds through doctoral work, a surprising job shift, immigration, citizenship, marriage, children, a hi-tech international career, and retirement.