Author Archives: rajeevgupta

30in30 : What Makes A Family Anyway?

I sometimes see myself conditioned about what to find when I enter a family home – a man , a woman, two men, two women, may be a child, may be a living a room, sometimes a pet, and definitely a kitchen.. and things to those effect.  All those things give a feeling of ‘normal’ orContinue reading “30in30 : What Makes A Family Anyway?”

30in30: As I Approach California

Almost thirty days ago, I started from Central Park in New York City on a journey to meet 30 American families in 30 days before concluding my Fulbright education in America and return to India. Tomorrow, I reach the end. In San Francisco. I feel indebted to every family who became a part of thisContinue reading “30in30: As I Approach California”

30in30 : The Ballerina Who Walked Across the Country

The first home whose story I captured on my camera on this journey was that of Frankie Price Presslaff in Indiana. They knew this woman called Granny Mary in Portland. Back then I was in Bloomington and Portland was so far on my road to west that I could not imagine who is Granny Mary orContinue reading “30in30 : The Ballerina Who Walked Across the Country”

30in30 : On Heaven And Hell

My aunt Mary set me up with this family near Portland. Tom is a gardener. He likes to see life grow. Stephanie is in instructional education. When I asked Tom about his faith and religion. He said, “I have not seen any one coming back from grave and telling me how is it going there.Continue reading “30in30 : On Heaven And Hell”

30in30 : Surprise from Switzerland

In the Yellow Stone National Park, a family from Switzerland was chatting with me while seeing the Old Faithful erupt. When they learned about the trip, they asked about how I was funding the trip. On learning about Kickstarter, they were overwhelmed and said , “Please don’t mind but allow us to support this” andContinue reading “30in30 : Surprise from Switzerland”

30in30: “We make sure that all in our family share at least one meal every day.”

I wanted to make a small break in Spokane WA, the first stop in that state. A friend googled up that town and told me about Dr Sanjay Logani who is a pathologist in Spokane. Found his number and called up his office. The secretary told Dr Logani that a documentary film maker from IndiaContinue reading “30in30: “We make sure that all in our family share at least one meal every day.””

“We could not care less about New York”

This was a consequence of a plain door knock. As I was driving through the ranches on my way to Jackson  Hole, WY, I wondered what these ranchers are like. Are they like the cowboys of the Brokeback Mountain. So I drove into one of them. I knocked the multiple doors of the house there. NoContinue reading ““We could not care less about New York””

30in30 : “If world were a single human body, India would be its heart!”

That’s what Mary here told me when I asked what image came  to her mind when she thought of India. Mark and Mary have been performing transcendental Meditation for 40 years now and that was visible in their happy peaceful  nature.  Sometimes I seek people, sometimes people seek me.  As I got back into the parking lot, standing next toContinue reading “30in30 : “If world were a single human body, India would be its heart!””

30in30: Intermission

This Saturday, I will be completing two weeks of the four week Indo-US friendship tour across the United States of America. From Central Park in New York City to Greeley Colorado, I have crossed  the heart of America on my way to the western coast. I have heard stories of quite different types of familiesContinue reading “30in30: Intermission”