Shama Rajan had a wonderful childhood in Calcutta, India, but love pulled Shama away from her country and on a journey to the United States of America. In 1973, Shama met her future husband while he was studying in medical school. He was an Indian immigrant but had lived in the United States since childhood. After being arranged into the marriage, Shama and her family flew to Delaware to celebrate the big wedding. While Shama’s family returned to Calcutta after the festivities were over, Shama was granted a fiancé visa, allowing her to stay in the US indefinitely.
Shama was granted citizenship and began her education at the University of Houston, where she majored in International Relations. She graduated and moved on to Law School at George Washington University. It was here that she discovered her professional calling upon attending an Immigration Law clinic. Since 1991, Shama has worked as an attorney at the US Department of Justice on the Board of Immigration Appeals. She loves her job. Specifically, Shama takes pride in being an advocate for immigrants. Herself an immigrant, she feels an obligation to help people finding a home in the States.
Family has shaped every part of who Shama is today. She has three sons and two adopted twin daughters. For Shama, parenting has been the most rewarding aspect of her life, as well as the most challenging. She described being too involved a mother and learning to give up control. With a great family life, wonderful friends, and a job she enjoys, Shama has loved her life in the United States. But, as she explained, there are many aspects of Indian culture that she misses dearly.
As Shama was only 21 years old at the time of her immigration, she made the journey happily and without reservations. In retrospect, she misses the sense of cultural belonging that she felt in Calcutta but has never truly felt in the United States. There is an inevitable loss that comes with assimilation, as Shama says. Even though she can still celebrate Hindu holidays and enjoy Bengali dishes like Mutton Biriyani, in the United States, she is a minority. Although Shama has been living here for decades, she still faces some prejudice. She misses feeling a part of a greater whole, but Shama describes the profound happiness that her life and family have brought her in the United States.
