Suburban Sahibs

The book also traces the evolution of a suburb-its changing ethnographiccharacter, the struggles of its new inhabitants for acceptance and opportunity and gradually, their ascent through politics to a status of parity with other Americans. India Abroad

If one is in the mood for an informative read in a light-hearted capsule, then this is the one to go for. Biz India

Carefully interspersing past histories with current facts, Kalita expertly chronicles the lives of the families she follows. Little India

Journalist S. Mitra Kalita has captured the story of the Patel family, along with those of the Kotharis and the Sharmas in.a fascinating new book that seamlessly blends comprehensive historical research with heart-tugging, often funny, vignettes of desi life from three different points on the Indian American socioeconomic spectrum. India-West

Suburban Sahibs is a wonderful piece of journalism and a long overdue book. It grants New Jersey, specifically Edison, the rightful place as the launching pad for many an immigrant. Little India

In the book, which reads like a cross between a sociological study and a novel, Kalita explores how these families navigate the American Dream as it plays out in the suburbs. . . . Kalita manages to personalize statistics, attaching meaning to potentially dry numbers by linking them to complicated lives. Home News Tribune

Puts a human face on India's massive diaspora, and shows how varied its experience can be even in one American locality. The Telegraph (Kolkata)

Adding a new dimension to the complex patterns of immigration that are fast changing life in the metropolitan area nationwide, Kalita's book focuses largely on Middlesex, NJ, where the Indian population has more than doubled in the past decade, reflecting a large regional influx. Newsday

Drawing on two years of research and her own childhood memories . . . Kalita details the ambivalence immigrants feel about where home is and the comforting, but also suffocating, effect of finding so much of India in sprawling suburbs an hour's commute from New York City. New York Times

Following the standards of the best narrative non-fiction, Kalita is an unobtrusive reporter, economical with her prose and astute in her observations. The Hindu

Modest in scope, but as shapely as fiction and as timely as this morning's newspaper, this book is an informative one to read for pleasure. New York Times and International Herald Tribune (published in both papers)

What Kalita has done in Suburban Sahibs is delve deep into the heart of a community often dubbed the 'model minority' for its high median income and educational accomplishments. And in the process she has made the community much more human. San Francisco Chronicle

S. Mitra Kalita's Suburban Sahibs is a wonderfully crafted story of the personal struggles and victories of three immigrant families from South Asia living in the New Jersey suburbs. Amazingly, what emerges through the prism of their narratives is a much broader portrait of life in America today. Beautifully written-a book to be enjoyed by all. Bill Bradley, U.S. senator from New Jersey, 1979-1996

Kalita is a young second-generation Indian American. Her work explains what it means to be both Indian and American today. The portraits in these pages are discerning and empathetic-and we are introduced to a new generation that instead of looking back is looking around itself. Amitava Kumar, author of Passport Photos and Bombay-London-New York.

An insightful book. . . journalist S. Mitra Kalita looks at this transformation from the inside, and from a micro perspective, through the lives of three immigrant families in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Amazingly what emerges through the prism of their narratives is a much broader portrait of life in suburban America. India Tribune