Hannah Horrocks

March 22, 2017

Thursday @ 5:00

Life History Interview

Since I do not associate myself with any religion, for this assignment, I wanted to focus

on someone who does associate themselves with religion. I decided to interview Navdeep Singh

who considers himself a Sikh and is from India. We only met up once and the interview lasted a

couple hours since he interviewed me in return. I feel like the interview went well, and I ended

up learning more than I was expecting.

We first talked about religion. Navdeep, who prefers to be called Navi, considers himself

to be Sikh. He explained to me how you can go to the temple any day you want, but most people

gather on Sundays. Navi said, There is always food for anyone. A rich person will sit next to a

poor person and eat the same meal without judgement. Navi indicated he has chosen not to be

baptized into this religion, because he would have to give up some of his favorite things like

eating meat. Although people in his family are baptized, he does not feel like he could commit to

the strict rules it requires. He does however, wear the required bracelet, does not cut his hair, and

wears a turbin.

The conversation got serious when I asked him if he has experienced any discrimination

for wearing a turbin. Navi said Utah is pretty respectful about it, but people often mistake him

for being from the Middle East and Muslim. He told me there was only one really bad situation

that happened in high school. A classmate was looking through a magazine and came across a

picture of Osama bin Laden. This classmate looked at Navi and asked if it was his cousin. Navi

was really confused, because Osama is from a completely different country than him, so he

asked the kid what he meant. The classmate continued to call him a terrorist and it began to

frustrate Navi to the point of breaking. He ended up getting into a brutal fight with him, and it
ended in a school suspension for the both of them. Navi explained to me if he could go back, he

would educate the kid instead of jumping to violence. He said, I proved him right by beating

him up he won.

I have never experienced discrimination to this extent, but I have been treated differently

at school for not being a Latter Day Saint (LDS). I grew up in a small town where everyone was

LDS, so when I got my belly button pierced rumors spread like wild fire. Nobody would sit with

me at lunch or even talk to me in the hallways. Due to the discrimination, I received for not

being LDS, I moved to the city. My experience never got violent, but we both have been treated

differently for our religious preferences.

Navi was born and raised in India, until his dad wanted to find a better life for his family.

His dad came to America in the 90s in order to make enough money to fly his family here. Navi,

his two siblings, and his mother were able to come to America in 2004. His family started a

company in California, but after several robberies and assaults they sought a better state to live

in. They made their way into Utah in 2007, where he feels safe and welcomed. None of their

stores have ever been robbed and Navi feels the people are kind and understanding here. I asked

him if he would ever move back to India. Without even blinking he immediately replied, I

would definitely go back to visit, but I would never move back permanently. He continued to

talk about his struggles migrating to America. Navi told me it was not as hard to learn English

since in India it is required in schools to learn English. He said the only hard part was in India,

they would not teach you the meaning of the words. The teachers would just teach you how to

read and how to pronounce words. When he came to America, he was placed in ESL, where the

teacher was amazed at his English and told him he did not need to be in the class. He had to

explain to the school he could speak English and read it, but he did not know what the words or

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sentences meant. Navi explained the only way he was able to learn the meanings of words was

by befriending classmates and asking them questions. He started to talk in English more at

school and began to feel more confident; however, he said he would not have been as successful

if it were not for his older brother helping him along the way.

After hearing about the struggle his dad went through with getting his family to a safe

place to live, I was curious about how close his family actually is. Navi explained to me his

family is important to people from India. They usually live in big houses and the whole family

lives together. In fact, Navis older brother is 26, married, and still lives at home. I asked Navi if

he feels behind, since people in Utah marry and have kids at a young age. He told me it does not

bother him and he is not in any rush to get married. He continued to tell me his family still

arranges marriages so he does not know who he will marry. This made me curious, and asked

how strict his parents were about who he marries. Navi explained to me his parents are

understanding and if he feels like he wants to get married then his parents will find someone;

however, if Navi does not like their choice, they will not force him to marry her. If he finds a

woman on his own, his parents will still have to approve, so it is a mutual agreement. He

explained to me divorce rates are really low, and it was something he was confused about when

he came to America. He did not understand what a step and half sibling was, because no one ever

divorced and remarried in his family. This is really different from me because I grew up with my

parents divorcing and re-marrying. Out of my 8 siblings, only one of them has the same mom

and dad as me.

I asked Navi about a typical day in his life. He told me his mom and sister-in-law do

everything. All he has to do is wake up, eat breakfast that is already made, and leave to work or

school. When he comes home, dinner is already made, and his bed and room is all clean. He does

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not have to cook, clean, do his laundry, etc. This is the polar opposite of a day in my life. If I

wake up and want breakfast, I have to make it myself. If I need to make my bed, clean my room,

or do my laundry, I have to do it myself. I noticed his culture is very family oriented and helpful

with one another, whereas mine is everyone for themselves.

During the interview Navi managed to tell me he used to be a professional Bhangra

dancer. I asked him if this type of dancing was for his religion, and he told me it is more of a

social dance. The costumes they wear are very colorful, heavy, and expensive. This type of

dance has both male and female dancers. Bhangra is from the Punjabi region of India, which is

the area Navi came from. Navi was part of a professional Bhangra dancing group in America. He

got paid to travel around and show the dance. He claims he stopped because everyone moved on

with their busy lives and he had to go to school. I would say Bhangra dance in his culture would

be similar to hip hop in American culture. It is not formal and is more for entertaining.

I really enjoyed this assignment. I had originally wanted to learn about other viewpoints

on religion, but I let the interview just go. I had set aside specific questions I wanted to ask him,

but I found it was much more appealing to hear about all his stories. I cannot imagine moving to

another country, learn their language, and go to school there! I respect him more as a person

now. When I am stressed and feel homework is too hard, I will think of the struggles Navi went

through. I could be writing this essay in a completely different language in a completely different

country away from all the things I am familiar with.