Dear India Society of Worcester (ISW),

I am writing today to express my deepest gratitude to ISW and the ISW Cultural School for helping me make a lifelong dream come true for the Patel family.

In 1995, shortly after ISW launched its cultural school, my parents, Ishwar and Sushila Patel, signed my brother and me up for Gujarati classes and the cultural assembly. Back then, my mom and her friends were our Gujarati teachers. Being of Gujarati ancestry, with both of my parents speaking the language to me from before birth and throughout my life, you would think I’d take to the classes naturally—and I did. In my mind, I understood Gujarati fluently. I even have faint memories of speaking Gujarati before I ever spoke English! Though my fluency faded after being born in the UK and immigrating to the US at a young age, I have always proudly checked "yes" on job interview questionnaires asking if I knew a second language.

Attending Gujarati school with my mom and her friends as teachers was a wonderful introduction. I goofed off a lot and took the classes lightly, but when my teachers showed me the alphabet once or twice, I totally got it. I remember being so surprised that there were bilingual books published in the 1990s, and even more amused that some Gujarati letters and numbers looked like backward English ones. It actually helped me remember them! The Cultural Assembly was equally inspirational. Learning Indian Sanskrit bhajans reinforced my vocabulary and acted as a segue to learning Hindi later on, which I practiced by watching Bollywood movies and listening for words that sounded like Gujarati.

Fast forward 40+ years: after having my two children, Devdas and Sia—both intentionally given names to remind them of their Indian faith and culture—I faced the tough task of teaching my "ABCD" (American Born Confused Desi) kids Gujarati. Dev and Sia grew up mostly with me and my husband, Vipul. While Vipul speaks fluent Gujarati, he didn't have many opportunities to converse with them in it, though the kids loved seeing him speak Gujarati with my parents.

I knew there was a specific window of time to incorporate the language into their lives. We tried surrounding them with their Gujarati Bas, aunts, and uncles. Vipul and I took them to dozens of Indian restaurants, introducing them to everything from North and South Indian cuisine to Indian fusion like Bombay sandwiches, pizza, and Indo-Chinese food. I also took them to temples all over the world, from BAPS, Sai Baba, and Hare Krishna temples in the US and UK to holy sites in India.

Despite our best efforts, by the time Dev was 9 and Sia was 5, they still hadn’t picked up the language. Dev was facing some challenges in his English-speaking school, so adding Gujarati felt like too much for him. Sia was a bit more amenable; she had spent more time with my mom during infancy, and I had even listened to bhajans during pregnancy to get them ready—but it wasn't quite sticking.

We lived in Florida for a while, but the nearest language class was a grueling one-hour commute each way on Sundays. Ultimately, we moved back to Massachusetts to my childhood home for work and school, but also because of a dream: I wanted Dev and Sia to learn Indian culture and language exactly where I did—at the India Society of Worcester, where so many people knew me.

Thank God I made that choice. My children just completed two years of Gujarati school, echoing my own childhood. Vipul was fully on board, and it gave him a wonderful opportunity to see how Indian communities thrive in different parts of the country. Growing up in Daytona Beach, FL his exposure to Indian culture was primarily through family and a tight-knit community of Gujarati motel owners. I wanted to show him what it was like to learn Gujarati alongside Indians of diverse backgrounds—Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada speakers. Growing up around such a vibrant diaspora shaped me differently than my husband, and I wanted that for our family.

Every Sunday, I would wake the kids up early, pumping them up with praise on the drive over. While Dev ultimately had to drop out for personal reasons, the experience left a mark. He proudly noticed his grandparents' names on the donor plaque on the wall and would often remind us of it. I know he will always carry the lessons from the general assembly and the Indian crafts he made. I am so pleased to have shown my tough son that American and Indian cultures can live harmoniously together (we happily celebrate Christmas and Easter, and sing the US National Anthem). As for Sia, she had a blast playing with the other Indian girls. She didn’t take to the traditional clothes or dancing just yet—she complained the clothes were too itchy!—but I’ll keep dressing her up. I want her to appreciate gorgeous Indian gowns and jewelry, which I hope will look fabulous paired with a Hermès bag one day!

Names carry weight. Devdas means "disciple of God," and it reminded me of the famous movie starring Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai, which I watched growing up in Massachusetts. Plus, with "Dev Patel" being a famous UK actor, Devdas Patel felt like the perfect blend for my son. When naming Sia, I wanted a spiritual complement. Sia is another name for the Hindu Goddess Sita from the Ramayan, but it also carries beautiful meanings in other languages, like Arabic, and shares a name with the famous Australian singer. I actually first learned the name Sia through singing bhajans at ISW, so the society truly had a profound impact on my life choices.

Now, in 2026, as I attend my kids' final class at ISW this year, I couldn't be happier. My children received the exact exposure to Gujarati and Indian culture I had hoped for, taught by a wonderful Gujarati teacher. They made friends with children of all different Indian backgrounds, some of whom they even attend public school with during the week. They saw me dress up, saw me socializing with my parents' old friends, and watched their Florida-raised dad mingle effortlessly with the Massachusetts community as if we’d all known each other forever.

I can't wait to tell my kids when they are grown that they were a part of ISW, and I hope they always feel a sense of belonging here. When I was growing up, there was no playground; now, there is a beautiful one where the kids can run around and play—even in their Indian clothes!

Thank you to everyone at ISW for these beautiful memories. I hope to see you all retiring in luxury and peace one day!

Jai Shree Krishna, Jai Shree Swaminarayan, and God Bless!

Sincerely,
Drs. Bharti, Vipul and Dev, Sia Patel
Dr. Bhartiben Patel, General Psychiatrist for FL and MA
Dr. Vipul Patel MD, Pharm D

PS. Please do publish this in an ISW newsletter or blog. Thanks. Attached to this email is some pictures of us as well!