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Home, rediscovered: How the next generation sees India
Trips to India, for many Indian-American youth of the second generation, are more than a vacation; they are a quest for self-discovery.
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Arin Shinde - Mon, 23, Jun 2025
- 08:23 EDT
- 88
A busy street in Mumbai,India. / Pexels
For many second-generation Indian-American youth, visiting India isn't just a vacation—it's a journey inward.
Raised thousands of miles away, their connection to India has often been second hand: shaped by family stories, holiday traditions, language lessons, and Sunday temple visits. But the moment they step off the plane into a land buzzing with color, sound, and ancestral memory, something shifts.
Sixteen-year-old Riya Sharma described her first steps into Mumbai as "chaotic but comforting," a place she'd never been but somehow already knew. From the crowded markets of Delhi to the serene ghats of Varanasi, each young traveler recounts a world that felt both foreign and familiar. The rhythm of rickshaws, the heat rising from stone roads, the fragrance of masala drifting from open windows—it all etched itself into memory.
Thirteen-year-old Arjun Patel was surprised by how naturally his Gujarati came back to him as he suddenly responded fluently to relatives he'd only met over video calls. For many, the emotional core of their journey was reconnecting with family—grandparents with decades of stories, cousins they bonded with over cricket matches on rooftops, and aunties who passed down recipes and traditions as easily as sweets.
Ten-year-old Anya Deshmukh, visiting Pune, shared how her cousins taught her to eat with her hands and welcomed her like they'd grown up together. For older teens, the connection was even deeper—witnessing the ancestral homes their parents once left behind, hearing firsthand accounts of struggle and resilience, and discovering the invisible threads that tie generations together.
Beyond family, cultural immersion offered its own lessons. Everyday activities—such as bargaining at the market, navigating public transportation, or observing reverence during a temple aarti—became windows into a way of life that was refreshingly different from their routines in the U.S.
For 14-year-old Meera Iyer, the experience was eye-opening. "I thought I was Indian because of what we did at home, but India made me realize there's so much more to understand," she said. Even the cultural norms—the easy togetherness, the spontaneity of visits, the communal living—stood in contrast to the independence-focused Western lifestyle. Yet none of it felt wrong. It felt grounding.
Rediscovering Identity: Finding where we truly belong:
The emotional impact of these visits often became apparent later, as the youth reflected on how the trip had changed them. What started as a vacation quickly became a search for identity. For some, the experience exposed gaps in cultural knowledge, language fluency, or confidence in their heritage—but rather than feeling shame, they felt motivation.
Meera Iyer, 14, said, "I didn't know how to respond in Hindi at first, but by the end of our trip, I was trying—and my relatives appreciated that more than I realized." Being surrounded by people who looked like them, spoke their family's languages, and lived cultural traditions every day made many India Youth Group (IYG) members reevaluate what it meant to be "Indian enough." Instead of choosing between their American upbringing and Indian heritage, they began to see the beauty in both.
The trip allowed them to claim their bicultural identity with more clarity and pride. They returned with deeper connections to family, stronger cultural ties, and an eagerness to continue learning—about their roots, their language, and the values that shaped previous generations.
Many spoke of bringing home small traditions: touching their parents' feet on holidays, remembering to say "namaste" when greeting elders, or even just craving the comfort of fresh rotis. For these young travelers, India wasn't just a place on a map—it became a mirror. It helped them see who they were, where they came from, and how culture can live within you, even when you're oceans away.
As one student put it: "I thought I was visiting somewhere new. But really, I was returning to a part of myself."
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