Kentucky and India are closer than you might think. They share certain traditions that can't be found in the northern United States.

        This is one reason some Indian professionals, particularly physicians, move to Kentucky and never leave. They may come here to satisfy visa requirements, but they stay because they are reminded of home.

        The parallels came to mind as I followed news of the devastating earthquake in India. Thou-
       sands of people are dead, including entire classes of schoolchildren. One family of 13 was reduced to one man in an instant.

        “You say, "My gosh, for that guy, to be dead would have been much better,'” says Dr. Amiya K. Mohanty, an Indian-born sociologist at Eastern Kentucky University.
       

Keeping in touch
        What Kentucky and India most closely share is a sentimental attachment to family, Dr. Mohanty says.

        In Eastern Kentucky, extended families tend to cluster in the same hollers. In India, relatives also live side-by-side.

        In Eastern Kentucky, political races are all about ancestry. Candidates are as likely to tout their parents and grandparents as their stand on the issues.

        Indians have a similar interest in family connections, Dr. Mohanty says, partly because parents often arrange marriages for their children.

        Even after they move away, the youth of both places retain their identification with family.

        Dr. Mohanty came to the United States in 1964 from the Indian state of Orissa, which was far from the earthquake.

        He and his brothers own property together in their hometown. All have moved away, but they allow cousins to live in their house for free.

        Dr. Mohanty keeps in constant contact with relatives. He knows what business transactions his brothers are considering and which sons are getting what jobs.

Parallels for elderly
        I'm reminded of an acquaintance from Lexington — a bright young woman who went to work for a law firm in New York. Even after settling in, she called her mother every day.

        My favorite parallel concerns elder care. In India and the southern United States, tradition calls for old folks to live out their lives surrounded by family, not nursing-home attendants.

        This ideal isn't always possible, as children move away and take on demanding careers. But more often than not, Southerners try to take care of their own.

        This quality delights my friend Syamala Reddy, an ophthalmologist in Eastern Kentucky.

        Foreign-born physicians like Dr. Reddy often begin their practices in isolated regions, because the U.S. government grants special visas to draw them there.

        Some stay for years past their obligations. Dr. Reddy and his wife, Samyuktha, have lived in Hazard for 21 years.

        Before that, they spent several years in Connecticut. Mrs. Reddy didn't meet her neighbors until the day she moved away. And Dr. Reddy will never forget the elderly patients dropped off by taxi at the hospital, without a relative in sight.

        This doesn't happen in Kentucky. Grandma comes to the hospital with family members supporting each arm.

        It's a heartwarming sight for Dr. Reddy, whose own tradition calls for the same commitment.

        We should be proud.

       Karen Samples can be reached at (859) 578-5584 or ksamples@enquirer.com.

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