Beyond Bollywood

Indian Americans Shape the Nation

By Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center

"Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation, is a groundbreaking exhibition showing at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) from February 27, 2014 to August 16, 2015. 

The exhibition explores the heritage, daily experience and numerous, diverse contributions that Indian immigrants and Indian Americans have made to shaping the United States.

In this digital exhibition, you will find some of the key items featured at the NMNH exhibition, as well as some digitally-exclusive pieces."

Hargobind Khorana, 1999, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Gomathi and Ashok renewing their wedding vows as part of Ashok’s 60th birthday celebration, 2008, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Bhangra Dancers, 2010, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Most Apprehensive Fiancée, Anjali Bhargava & Swati Khurana, 2007, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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"In the western imagination, India conjures up many things: elephants, saris, and spices; gurus, gods, and goddesses; turbans, temples, and a billion faces drawn from ancient history, modern-day Slumdog Millionaires, and the pulsating energy of Bollywood movies. 

But in America, India’s contributions stretch far beyond these stereotypes."

Thurston the Famous Magician: East Indian Rope-Trick, 1927, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Hemendra Momaya departs for the United States, 1965, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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The Ghosh Family at Samuel P. Taylor State Park, 1970, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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"Our story starts with an Indian sailor who landed on the shores of Massachusetts in 1790, just 14 years after the Declaration of Independence."

Gadar Party, 1924, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Kanta Chandra Gupta (left) and her sister, 1915, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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"The India Lobby" ad on The Washington Post, 1943-05-19, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Members of the Indian-Mexican-American Puna Singh family, 1945, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind, 1918, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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"It includes workers who built railroads out west throughout the 19th century and families who form the backbone of California’s farms."

Indian immigrants work on railway construction, 1906, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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An Indian immigrant worker harvests beets, 1907/1915, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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“Our First Invasion of Hindus and Mohammedans,” from the San Francisco Call, 1906-11-20, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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“A new problem for Uncle Sam”, 1910-08-13, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Untitled, Michael Ramirez, 2012-08-08, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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A.K. Mozumdar and Vitvan, Seminar Cruise, 1922, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Congressman Dalip Singh Saund, with Senators John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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"The first Asian in Congress."

Front and back cover of "What America Means to Me" by Judge D. S. Saund, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mrs. Gursharan Kaur of India on the North Portico of the White House, 2009-11-24, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Darsh Singh, 2008, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Zubin Mehta, Apoorva Gupta, 2008, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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"The creator of Hotmail. Doctors. Cab drivers. Musicians. Athletes."

New York City taxi meter, 1980, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Nina Davuluri, Miss America, 2013, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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D'Lo, Sabelo Narasimhan, 2012, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Brandon Chillar, 2011, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Rupa Maurya, 2008, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Vinod Dham, Preston Merchant, 2009, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Plaque honoring Vinod Dham, mounted with Intel 486 Pentium chip, 2000, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Chee Malabar, Preston Merchant, 2006, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Anjali Kamat and Prerna Reddy, gathering with Prachi Patankar for her birthday at Prospect Park, Brooklyn, 2012-06, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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"And a lawyer named Gandhi, whose quest for Indian independence inspired one of America’s greatest social revolutions: the Civil Rights Movement."

Mashuq Deen on Transgender Day, Sabelo Narasimhan, 2012-06, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Indian Youth Against Racism, Corky Lee, 1990, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Anj Chaudhry on Transgender Day, Sabelo Narasimhan, 2012-06, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Yoga instructor Indra Devi, 1953, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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"Today, one out of every 100 Americans traces his or her roots to India. India’s fingerprints here range from flavorful food and flamboyant fashion to yoga studios, sites of worship, and breakthroughs in medicine, science, and technology."

Yoga master Swami Satchidananda opens the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, 1969, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Clarkstown Country Club program, 1929, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Bikram Choudhury, 2012, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Vice President Joe Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama, 2012-02-26, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Balu Natarajan, 1985, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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Arpana Dance Company, 2010-06-13, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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"From Silicon Valley to Smalltown, U.S.A., the lives and stories of America’s 3.3 million Indian Americans are woven into the larger story of this nation—and have shaped it to be what it is today."

Christmas on Oak Tree Road. Iselin, New Jersey, 2008-12-14, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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The Sharma family in San Francisco, 1983, From the collection of: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
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FOUNDERS CIRCLE

This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of the following individuals and organizations.





SAFFRON

Rick & Sadhana Downs

H.R. Shah

Kanu R. & Daksha K. Shah

TV Asia





GOLD

Epker-Sinha Foundation





SILVER

Gautam & Varsha Chandra

Citigroup Foundation

Umang & Ruth Gupta





PEARL

Anonymous

Asian American Hotel Owners Association

Haresh & Alpa Bhungalia

Amita & Purnendu Chatterjee

The Enfranchisement Foundation

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Girish & Indu Jindia

Robert N. Johnson

Rohit & Joy Kirpalani

Anil & Sonjui Lal Kumar

Sunita & Dan Leeds

Network of Indian Professionals Foundation

Dr. Mahinder & Sharad Tak

Washington Gas





BRONZE

C2 Technologies, Inc.

Sharda & Satish Cherwoo

Chirag Foundation

Curtis Cox & Dolly Oberoi

Dhansukhlal & Anjana Desai

Ronak D. Desai

Dr. Rita & A.J. Gupta

Simi Singh Juneja & Tarun K. Juneja

Pradman & Sunita Kaul

Dr. Navin Mehta

David & Priya Menachery

Victor & Tara Menezes

Dr. Supratik Moulik

Shekar & Charu Narasimhan

Network of South Asian Professionals - DC Chapter

NIRMAL, Inc.

Udayan Shah & Barbara Ziv & their children

Southwest Airlines

ST Paper, LLC

Bala Sundar & Lakshmi Bala





SANDALWOOD

Almex USA, Inc.

Dr. Manohar & Beryl Bartakke

Stephen G. Baxter & Roshna Kapadia

Kiran R. Bhutani, Ph.D. & Ravi Bhutani

Boccasam Family Trust

Sushil & Kamla Chandra

Desai Family Foundation

Dr. Barin & Heide Desai

Drs. Jagdish Dhingra & Meera Mahalingam

Avinash & Vandana Ghanekar

Ashok Y. Gore, Ph.D. & Manisha A. Gore

Ranjay & Anuradha Gulati

India Forum Inc.

Radha Devi Joshi Family Foundation

Dr. Hemant Kanakia & Prof. Sonalde Desai

Banu A. Karimi-Shah & Rahul Shah

Ram Karuppusamy

Punita Khanna

Ajay P. Kothari, Ph.D.

Law Office of Rupal G. Kothari, P.C.

Harsha Krishnappa & Smita Basak

Arvind Kumar, M.D. & Chitra Kumar, M.D.

Narendra Lakhani

LanceSoft, Inc.

Sanjiv & Rajika Mahan

Maharashtra Foundation

Ketan & Juliet Majmudar

Dilip Mehta

Ajay K. Ojha, Ph.D.

Maulik Pancholy & Ryan Corvaia

Nayan & Asha Parikh

Tushar Patel & Monica Shah

PixInk

Shilpa Pradhan & Douglas E. Wilson

Gautam & Anjali Prakash

Rahul & Sujata Ranadive

Bhupen & Surbala Randeria

Saurashtra Patel Cultural Samaj - DC Chapter

Deepak Shah

Jigar & Khushali Shah

Shreedhar & Sonal Shah

Suresh & Neena Shenoy

Shri Yoga Vedanta Ashram, Inc.

Jayant & Yogini Shroff Family Foundation

Hakumat & Bindu Shroff

Dr. Rajesh & Chitra Shrotriya

Spice Tech Group

Thilla Thuraisingham

Vandana & Ravi Tilak

Ranvir & Adarsh Trehan

Deodatt Wadke, Ph.D. & Rupa Wadke













































































































Jhamandas Watumull Fund

Credits: Story

Curated by—Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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