A Cultural Guide to America

In his debut book Ketchup & Curry, US-based author Vivek Sreedhar, taking inspiration from his own life, talks about the cultural shift that Indians experience when they go to the US either for work or studies

Vivek Sreedhar’s book Ketchup & Curry talks about everything else except ketchup and curry. The book proves to be an enchiridion for Indians who crave to study or work in the US.  “Ketchup symbolises the United States as the eatable was founded by the Americans. Curry stands for India, and you know the reason,” says Vivek Sreedhar, speaking to City Express about his first book which was launched in the city recently. “The book, as the name suggests, is all about bridging the gap between Indian and American culture by letting Indians who are planning to go to the US, know the cultural shift that’s bound to take place,” he tells us.

While the book deals with the culture shock that Indians face when they land in the US, either to work or study, it has a liberal dose of love, hilarity and fun happenings weaved into it.

“I haven’t diluted the essence of the book by bringing in elements of sex, drugs and mystery. The book, however, has romance, humour and adventure, all in equal measure, and will therefore be a fun read for sure,” explains the Chennai-born author, who is presently working in the US.

“What I’ve tried to do is to help Indians go prepared to the US. That’s the basic idea of coming up with the book. I don’t want my fellow Indians to experience the trouble I went through,” adds Vivek, who did his MS and MBA from The Wayne State University, Detroit, USA.

The book, which is written in third person narrative, isn’t solely about the author’s life. “The protagonist Subramaniam Venkataraman Parthasarathy is an extremely naive person. I am not like that,” Vivek adds.

“I did face trouble when I went to the country, and I’ve included my experiences. But the book is not about me or my life in the US,” he says. Is the book, therefore, only for those who aspire to go to the US? “That’s for the reader to tell,” he says. And what about the genre? “You can call it a guide book. The story is neither completely imaginative nor a true story. So, to put it simply, it’s a self-help book,” he signs off.

Ketchup & Curry is priced at `300 and published by notionpress.com.