Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Richard Gere will be present at the launch of a book on first and second generation South Asian immigrants in the US in a toast to "the fearless pioneers".
"Roshni-The Light of South Asia" will be released at the Beverly Hilton, Los Angeles May 29. With Gere and Winfrey around, the event promises to be high profile.
The Seattle launch will be on June 25 at Bellevue Hyatt.
Some of the prominent South Asian immigrants the book talks about are: Victor Menezez, Rajat Gupta, Kanwal Rekhi, Mira Nair, Ismail Merchant, Madhur Jafferey, Meera Gandhi, Desh Deshpande, Vijay Amritraj, Ashok Amritraj, Rao Remala, Tina Sugandh, Swati Dhandekar, Bobby Jindal, and Anand Jon.
The book hopes to draw attention to the fact that much has changed for the immigrant community in the past quarter of a century, Rashmee Sharma, the author and brain behind the book told the PlanetGuru newspaper here.
"It was time for the first historical documented publication to highlight such heroes from the past and present, first and second generations, who dared to dream, persisted and achieved it."
{{/usCountry}}"It was time for the first historical documented publication to highlight such heroes from the past and present, first and second generations, who dared to dream, persisted and achieved it."
{{/usCountry}}"Interestingly, despite being assimilated in the US, Indians commonly confront questions concerning stereotype myths of living with humble means, amongst cows and other animals, and of course all the connotations of being either gas station, motel owner or cab drivers," she said.
"Roshni: The Light of South Asia" is an effort to demystify stereotypical perceptions of the South Asian community. It is a professionally designed and documented historical book with inspirational biographies of successful individuals from diverse disciplines.
Rashmee, who arrived in the US in 1991, is founding member of the India Arts & Heritage Society here. She had always sensed a need to create a platform to promote Indian art and heritage in greater Seattle area.
Rashmee's poems are published in literary journals and nationally acclaimed magazines. Born in New Delhi, Rashmee is also the US correspondent for the Femina magazine, published from India.