Deepak Singh

Deepak Singh is a regular contributor to PRI's The World.

Deepak Singh is a writer, radio producer and journalist. He has written for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Atlantic and NPR. He's the author of two books: Chasing America: Of Lollipops, Night Clubs and Ferocious Dogs and How May I Help You? An Immigrant's Journey from MBA to Minimum Wage.


A white nationalist carries the Confederate flag as he arrives for a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, US, August 12, 2017.

Of Confederate flag cellphone accessories and Charlottesville

Culture

Deepak Singh lived in Charlottesville when he first came to the US. Though he had an MBA and years of experience as a journalist, he found himself working retail, where he learned a lot about America.

When Deepak Singh moved to the US from India, he took a downwardly mobile journey from MBA to minimum wage.

An Indian immigrant’s US journey ‘from MBA to minimum wage’

Jobs
Winter scene of a barn covered in snow

He’s lived in small towns across America — and it makes him look for pieces of home

Culture
Ram Advani in his bookshop, Ram Advani Booksellers. He ran it for more than a half century.

My friend, the bookseller of Lucknow

Books
A surfer showers off on the beach in Cardiff, California.

I forgot the art of showering in cold water

Lifestyle
An employee takes a donut from a display cabinet at the Dunkin' Donuts store in New Delhi, India.

My American donut habit has followed me home to India

Food

You can get Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme in India now, but with distinctly Indian flavors

It's common to see condom ads on billboards and on TV in India.

In India, condom ads are everywhere, but you can’t talk openly about sex

Culture

Deepak Singh remembers excruciating moments watching TV with his family in India when a condom ad came on the screen.

The Indian version of American chopsuey

I yearned for an Indian version of an American version of a Chinese dish

Food

India has its own versions of international foods, like pizza and burgers. And those are some of the dishes that I miss now that I live in the US.

An American flag cake

He’ll eat a piece of the July 4 cake to celebrate 5 years of being an American

Culture

He is grateful, but even at a cookout, he wonders: What is it to be an American? What was it to be an Indian? Why must the labels be so exclusive?

Heavy traffic along a busy road in New Delhi

I never knew traffic could smell so sweet

Culture

Indian American writer Deepak Singh says it’s hard to find an authentic Indian scent in America, but recently he caught a whiff of something that reminded him of home.