California Dreams: India Shining in the Land of Hollywood

With tales of toil, perserverance, and industry, the book talks of India's contribution to Hollywood.

CALIFORNIA DREAMS
India Shining in the Land of Hollywood
By Gurmukh Singh
British Columbia Books
Pages: 208

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Southern California is the land of Hollywood. And it is the place where the American Dream of Indian immigrants actually began more than a hundred years ago. The first Indian immigrants might have landed in Northern California but many moved down south, particularly the Imperial Valley and Fresno.

It is here that people like Dalip Singh Saund began the struggle for equal rights for Asians. It is here that Indian mystics and yogis like Paramhansa Yogananda and Jiddu Krishnamurti first started preaching the wisdom of the East. It is here that Transcendental Meditation (TM) and yoga started acquiring worldwide following.

Today, Southern California is the richest part of the world. What Southern California does today, the rest of America does tomorrow. This place is the trend-setter for the rest of America. So what better way to begin writing about Indian Americans than talking about their accomplishments in the very best part of America.

Doctors, engineers, scientists, teachers, farmers, hoteliers, yoga masters and gurus, Punjabis, Gujaratis, Tamilians, Bengalis and Malayalees, Indians all, they have made the fertile, verdant land of California their own and left their imprint on American society while chasing the American Dream. Just like the pioneers, they have kept pushing the frontier to reach the pinnacle. Making a lasting contribution to both their adopted land and their roots, these Californians have done which few other immigrant communities have achieved.

Read the book to find out, in details, about these outstanding Indians and their lives in California.