Who am I?

I started this blog wanting to give all of you an insight into "Who I am, What I do and answers to Questions like that". But how can I do that when I myself do not know the answers for these questions?

Who am I? The simple answer is that I am Lasya Dhulipala and I am the daughter of so and so. But beyond that? Am I Indian? Am I an American of Indian descent? These questions might appear philosophical. But I have been hearing Nanna and Amma discussing these so much that I cannot ignore them any further.

Since I was born in the US, it seems I acquired US citizenship by birth. Since I was born to Indian parents, it seems I acquired Indian citizenship by descent. No problems till here. But the problems started when my parents wanted to get me a passport - because we want to go to India next summer.

If I get myself an Indian passport, I can go to India fine - but cannot return to the US. Why? Because I will not get a US visa as I am a US citizen. If I get myself a US passport, I will lose my Indian citizenship, according to Indian rules. And I will also have to get myself a PIO (Person of Indian Origin) card, something that the Indian government is projecting as dual citizenship, wrongly.

So, a couple of weeks back Nanna went to the Indian consulate, here in Chicago, to apply for my Indian passport. I knew he wasn't very happy with what happened there. He was told in the Indian Consulate that US citizenship was much better than Indian citizenship. And he was sent back after being asked for half-the-wit or something.

Now you probably understand my parents' dilemma. They need to decide on my citizenship now. And therefore my sudden identity crisis. Where do I belong?

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