“You’re not Indian enough.” I was six when I heard that sentence for the first time. After spending my summer vacation in New York, I had developed a drawl – I stretched my A’s when I said words like “water”. On returning home to New Delhi, I was cast in a minor role in the annual school play Mahabharata. My teacher said it wouldn’t sound right for me to have a speaking part. It didn’t stop there. If it wasn’t my accent, it would be my collection of Enid Blyton novels or the Silly Bandz stacked on my arms. Soon enough, I began refusing to wear traditional clothing. Maybe I wasn’t Indian enough.

After spending most of my life moving back and forth between India and the US, I decided to spend my first year of college at Northeastern University, Boston. I wanted the academic experience I believed I could only find abroad. My years at an Indian school had forced me to recite poems and remember facts. I was sick of memorising lines. I wanted to question the world around me and find answers; And, I did just that in my classes at Northeastern – I learned to build curiosity. Despite excelling academically, my social interactions failed. I was told my Indian snacks smelled weird, my British spellings were wrong, and my nose ring made me look like a terrorist. All these little things were a slap in the face. I couldn’t be American enough even if I tried.

In January this year, I joined Ashoka as a mid-year transfer student. It was a quick process. I applied and sooner than I thought, I was attending my first class. I imagined it would take me a while to get used to campus life. I could not have been more wrong. From Prof. Madhavi Menon’s Introduction to Renaissance Drama: Performance Anxiety class to Prof. Nayanjot Lahiri’s course on Indian Civilisations, I found

myself immersed in a new world where I was not only asking questions but also developed skills to formulate multiple answers to these questions. I gathered perspectives from my peers, and no longer relied on just my own. Even when all my classes went online due to the pandemic, this growth continued. I saw my professors foster the same spirit of learning as they adapted their classes to the online format. From Breakout Rooms and Chat Box chains on Zoom to extended office hours and email threads, the Ashoka community truly responded to the pandemic with its best foot forward. It worked its hardest to ensure that no student would have to compromise on their education in these times.

Despite having spent only two months on campus, I have met people from diverse backgrounds who have accepted me for who I am. In one moment, we could be having a heated political discussion; in the next, we find ourselves laughing on the bed for no reason. Be it winter nights spent running through the hallways of academic buildings, or sunny days spent walking in the fields of Sonipat, I managed to find myself a close set of people, unlike any I have met before. There are still more connections to be made and many experiences to be shared, and I find myself longing to be on campus once again. I scroll through pictures of Ashoka, clinging on to each memory I have before I have the chance to make new ones again. Until then, I continue to virtually navigate and foster my social life through tiny boxes on my screen.

When I introduce myself as a student of Ashoka University now, I see it as a part of my identity. As someone who has always struggled with finding a place of belonging, this experience of transferring college has drastically changed me. At Ashoka, I continue to learn and grow, both within the classroom and outside of it. I am able to partake in thought-provoking discussions and lectures while being able to showcase the culture that has shaped me. I don’t have to live in the West to have access to the education I deserve. I can be in India and receive an education that is at par with the best global institutions. I no longer feel stuck between two places where I have to constantly compromise either on my comfort or my education. Even though I have only been at Ashoka for one semester, I have never been in a place that feels more like home.

Ayla Dhawan is a second-year undergraduate student at Ashoka