>> GENERATIONS OF GENEROUS SOMEONE'S HAVE HELPED TO SHAPE RHODE ISLAND INTO THIS AMAZING PLACE WE CALL HOME.

HOW DO YOU THINK THEM?

LEAVE YOUR OWN LEGACY.

WE CAN HELP.

>> WELCOME TO ANOTHER EDITION OF "IN ANOTHER OPINION," A PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAM WHERE CONVERSATIONS FOCUS ON COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IN RHODE ISLAND.

I AM PETER WELLS.

MY GUEST IS OF THE INDIA ASSOCIATION OF RHODE ISLAND, ALSO KNOWN AS THE INDIAN ASSOCIATION OF RHODE ISLAND.

WELCOME.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME, PETER.

HOST: YOUR ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A LITTLE BIT, BUT I HAD NO IDEA ABOUT WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON.

WHAT IS THE ASSOCIATION OF INDIA ABOUT?

GUEST: IN THE 80'S WHEN IT WAS FORMED, THE FIRST MIGRATION WAS A SMALL COMMUNITY, MAYBE 100 FAMILIES.

IT HAS GROWN INTO 35 HUNDRED-PLUS NOW.

PETER: HERE IN RHODE ISLAND.

GUEST: OUR MAIN GOAL IS TO KEEP OUR CULTURE PROMOTED.

THE SECOND AND THIRD GENERATION TO HEAR HAS TO CARRY THE TORCH.

PETER: TRUE.

THAT IS AN OBJECTIVE OF MANY IMMIGRANT GROUPS WHO HAVE COME TO THIS COUNTRY.

EUROPEANS BROUGHT THEIR CULTURE.

IT IS THE MELTING POT OF CULTURE.

GUEST: PROVIDENCE FOR SURE.

THEY PROMOTE ARTS.

WE HAVE A GROUP THAT SITS ON THE RHODE ISLAND STATE COUNCIL FOR ARTS, AND IT IS A MELTING POT.

PETER: THE LAST TIME I HEARD, THERE WERE SOMETHING LIKE 47 LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN THE PROVIDENCE SCHOOL SYSTEM.

GUEST: INDIA HAS 18 DIFFERENT DIALOGUES ALONE IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF INDIA, THE DANCES, VERY COLORFUL, IT ALL COMES FROM DIFFERENT PARTS.

I COME FROM BOMBAY, BUT WHEN YOU SEE FROM OTHERS, IT'S MULTIFACETED, INDIA.

PETER: THE INTERESTING THING I FIND ABOUT THE CULTURES OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, BESIDE DIFFERENT DRESS, FOOD, WHICH IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS QUITE FRANKLY, IS A MAJOR PART OF THE CULTURE, AND I DO LOVE INDIAN FOOD.

>> THE FLAVOR COMES FROM DIFFERENT PARTS COME AT THE NORTHERN INDIA, SOUTHERN INDIA, WESTERN INDIA.

THEY ALL HAVE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT FLAVORS.

MOST OF IT IS VEGETARIAN.

PETER: I LIKE SPICY.

INDIAN FOOD ANTI-FOOD ARE MY FAVORITES.

GUEST: THAI IS A NOTCH HIGHER IN SPICY.

THEY HAVE THOSE IN EVERY MENU NOW.

YES, THERE ARE CLOSE TO 20 OR 30 RESTAURANTS.

PETER: I PATRONIZED THE BOULEVARD, THE INDIAN RESTAURANTS OVER THERE.

I USED TO GO TO THE BUFFETS.

GUEST: THEY ARE CLOSE TO THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES, BROWN, JOHNSON, AND THEY GET A LOT OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT POPULATIONS.

UNIVERSITY KIDS AND THE PROFESSORS AND TEACHERS, THEY HAVE DIFFERENT, FROM INDIAN TO MIDDLE EASTERN TO THAI, ALL VARIETIES.

PETER: WHERE IS THE ORGANIZATION FUNDED?

GUEST: THE POPULATION HAS GROWN.

WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE A LARGE I.T.

PRESENCE, AND WE HAVE A NEW COMPANY THAT CAME FROM INDIA.

OUR FUNDING COMES FROM MEMBERSHIP.

DEPENDING ON THE COVID YEARS, WE'VE BEEN LIGHT IN MEMBERSHIP.

WE EXPECT 500,000 TO BE PART OF THE TRIBE.

WE GET FUNDING FROM THE RHODE ISLAND STATE COUNCIL FOR ARTS.

THERE ARE GRANTS FOR THE CULTURAL ACTIVITIES WE DO, AND SOME ARE SPONSORS A.D WE ALSO HAVE OUR NEW YEAR, WHICH IS CALLED DIWALI.

PETER: WHEN IN OCTOBER?

GUEST: OCTOBER 30.

IF COVID ALLOWS US, THAT USUALLY IS THE BIGGEST EVENT.

PETER: WHAT IS THE ORGANIZATION DOING TO PROMOTE ITS CULTURE?

GUEST: MOST OF IT IS ABOUT OUR TYPICAL DANCES.

THEY WOULD HAVE THEIR NATIVE DANCES.

THEY ARE VERY COLORFUL AND GRACEFUL, AND THE KIDS ARE ANYWHERE FROM THE AGES OF FIVE, 6, 17, 18.

THEY GO THROUGH RIGOROUS SCHOOL, AND WE HAVE TWO OF THEM IN RHODE ISLAND.

SOME ARE CLASSICAL, AND SOME ARE BALI WOOD.

PETER: CAN ANYONE TAKE LESSONS?

GUEST: YES.

THEY DO HAVE THOSE WHO WILL PARTICIPATE.

WE HAVE ONE THAT IS BOLLYWOOD BASED.

CLASSICAL TAKES TWO YEARS OR MORE, WHEREAS BOLLYWOOD IS OPEN FOR ALL.

PETER: WHEN YOU SAY BOLLYWOOD, I THINK IN TERMS OF THE MOVIES.

GUEST: YES.

IT IS BOLLYWOOD MUSIC THAT BACKS THAT.

PETER: THE INDIAN DANCE ITSELF HAS BEEN SPOTLIGHTED IN MOVIES FOR YEARS, ESPECIALLY WITH COUNTRIES WHEN THERE'S BEEN MOVIES MADE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES AND IN ASIA.

IT IS VERY COLORFUL AND EXOTIC, MUCH DIFFERENT FROM WHAT IS DONE IN EUROPE OR HERE, WHICH IS THE PREDOMINANT CULTURE BROUGHT HERE FROM EUROPE.

HOW DOES THAT INTERACTION WORK?

I KNOW INDIA AND ENGLAND HAD A CONNECTION.

GUEST: BOLLYWOOD PRODUCES THE MOST NUMBER OF MOVIES IN THE WORLD.

SOME MOVIES, OTHER COUNTRIES DON'T PRODUCE, BUT THEY HAVE SUBTITLES.

COUNTRIES LIKE RUSSIA, THE MIDDLE EAST, THEY DON'T HAVE THEIR OWN PRODUCED MOVIES.

AND IS SPREADING, AND EVEN IN THE UNITED STATES, THEY'VE BEEN WELL ACCEPTED.

YOU CAN SEE A FLASH MOB DANCE IN A MALL.

I RECENTLY SAW THE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS BASKETBALL HALFTIME SHOW WAS A BALI WOOD DANCE.

PETER: IT IS BECOMING MORE MAINSTREAM.

HOW ARE YOU GOVERNED.

GUEST: WE ARE A NONPROFIT, AND WE HAVE BYLAWS.

WE HAVE FOUR EXECUTIVE MEMBERS, AND WE HAVE TRUSTEES.

BETWEEN THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES, WE DECIDE THE YEARLY PROGRAMS, AND ALSO OTHER FUNDING.

WE HAVE A GOOD STRUCTURE OF BYLAWS WE LIVE WITHIN , AND AS THE COMMUNITY GROWS, THE BYLAWS DO GET UPDATED.

PETER: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LONG-RANGE PLANS FOR THE ORGANIZATION?

GUEST: IN THE LAST 5-10 YEARS, THE GROWTH OF THE COMMUNITY REQUIRES A COMMUNITY CENTER.

THE FIRST GENERATION IN THE 50'S AND 60'S, THEY ARE ALMOST RETIREMENT OR RETIREMENT AGE.

THEY ARE THE LEADERS, AND THEN WE HAVE YOUNG ONES WHO WERE BORN HERE.

THEY WANT TO HAVE A COMMUNITY CENTER.

THIS IS A LONG-TERM PLAN, TO HAVE A COMMUNITY CENTER WITHIN RHODE ISLAND.

PETER: NOT TO PUT THE CARRIAGE IN FRONT OF THE HORSE, BUT HAVE YOU FOUND A SPOT TO DO THIS AT?

GUEST: NO.

WE USUALLY DO OUR ACTIVITIES IN CENTRAL RHODE ISLAND.

WE MIGHT BE LOOKING SOMEWHERE IN THAT AREA.

PETER: EVERY GROUP THAT COMES HERE EVENTUALLY STARTS SOMETHING.

I GREW UP WITH THE FRENCH-AMERICAN LEGION AND PORTUGUESE CLUBS.

GUEST: PROVIDENCE IS A GOOD MELTING POT.

THEY ENCOURAGE THIS.

PETER: OASIS, THE AFRICAN GROUP, THEY HAVE ADDED ONTO THEIR BUILDING ON BROAD STREET.

GUEST: IN SUMMER, THEY HAVE A BIG FESTIVAL, AND THE INDIAN ASSOCIATION HAD A PERFORMANCE THERE.

WHERE NO LEAVING WITH OTHER COMMUNITIES.

THEY PERFORM IN OUR DIWALI, AND WE PERFORM IN THEIR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES.

PETER: THAT PROMOTES AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE CULTURE AND AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE PEOPLE.

GUEST: THAT IS WHAT GOOD WEAVING OF THE SOCIETY MEANS.

PROVIDENCE COMPARED TO BOSTON IS MUCH, MUCH BETTER IN THAT SENSE.

IN 6-12 MONTHS, MEETINGS ARE FOUR TO FIVE.

WE DISCUSSED CROSS-CULTURAL EVENTS.

PETER: I WANT TO EMBARK ON AN AREA I FIND INTERESTING.

WE TALKED IN THE GREENROOM ABOUT THE NUMBERS OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE HIRED COMPANIES, USING PEOPLE FROM INDIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES FOR TELEMARKETING.

A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT ENGLISH IS SPOKEN IN INDIA MAYBE IN SOME CASES AS A FIRST OR QUITE OFTEN AS A SECOND LANGUAGE OR THIRD LANGUAGE, I SUSPECT.

COULD YOU EMBELLISH UPON THE BACKGROUND AND HISTORY OF ENGLISH IN INDIA?

GUEST: THE BRITISH RULE INSTILLED ENGLISH GUEST: IT'S ACCESS YOU NEVER HAD ON YOUTUBE IF YOU SAW A DANCE FOR A CULTURAL DANCE ASSOCIATION.

YOU GET A HISTORY OF WHAT THEY ARE PART OF.

THAT INFORMATION IS HELPFUL, OR IF SOMEONE WANTS TO LEARN OR BROADEN THEIR HORIZONS TO EDUCATE THEMSELVES.

TRAVEL TO THESE COUNTRIES, SOUTH AMERICA, LATIN AMERICA OR THE MIDDLE EAST WILL DEPEND ON PEOPLE TO VENTURE OUT, AND THE WORLD NEEDS TO BE A SAFER PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO TRAVEL.

PETER: IT IS INTERESTING YOU MENTIONED THOSE CONTINENTS.

GUEST: UNTIL THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE, THE WORLD IS NOT AS SAFE.

WE WISH AND HOPE, BUT IT IS NOT.

PETER: WHEN WE GET WISE AND START REQUIRING LANGUAGES IN PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS SO PEOPLE CAN COMMUNICATE, THEY MAY NOT BE SO AFRAID OF TRAVELING TO A COUNTRY THAT SPEAKS SPANISH OR A COUNTRY THAT SPEAKS ANOTHER FORM OF ENGLISH OR HINDI.

GUEST: I THINK THE YOUNGER GENERATION THAT IS ADAPTING THAT.

THOSE THAT ARE GOING TO BE OUR LEADERS, THEY ARE TRAVELING A LOT MORE TO CHINA.

HOPEFULLY, THAT WILL INCREASE JUST FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES -- NOT JUST FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES.

THE NEW GENERATION OBVIOUSLY WILL TRAVEL AND EXPLORE MORE.

PETER: THAT'S TRUE.

MY CHILDREN HAVE DONE MORE TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD THAT I HAVE.

GUEST: THAT IS WHAT I THINK WILL HAPPEN AS THE YEARS GO BY.

PETER: TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT RELIGION OR FAITH AS IT RELATES TO THE INDIAN CULTURE.

GUEST: RELIGION, MOST OF IT IS HINDUISM.

THERE IS A LARGE PRESENCE, EVER SINCE PAKISTAN AND INDIA SEPARATED.

A LOT OF THE MUSLIM POPULATION HAD THE CHOICE TO TRAVEL AND GO TO PAKISTAN, BUT OVERALL, INDIA STILL HAS A LARGE POPULATION.

IT IS A VERY DELICATE MELTING POT BETWEEN RELIGIOUS MUSLIMS, HINDUS.

THEY DO HAVE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES IN BIG METRO CITIES.

ALL THAT IS TO SAY, THEY PREACH FROM THE GET-GO, NONVIOLENCE IS NUMBER ONE.

YOU WON'T FIND INDIA GETTING INTO WAR THAT EASILY.

EVEN WITHIN THE COUNTRY, THEY HAVE THIS MANY DIFFERENT RELIGIONS.

THEY PROBABLY HAVE THE MOST NUMBER OF RELIGIONS IN ANY COUNTRY, BUT THEY ARE ABLE TO KEEP THEM AS A UNITED FRONT.

THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT'S BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS THAT.

PETER: INDIA DOES HAVE AN ARMY.

GUEST: A LARGE ARMY, BUT THE NORTHERN PART OF INDIA COMPRISES OF OUR BIGGEST ARMY, ESPECIALLY THE GROUND TROOPS.

YOU SEE SIKHS, HURKAS -- GURKAS IN NEPAL.

THEY MIGRATED, AND THEN YOU HAVE OTHERS.

THE SIKHS HAS A LARGE PRESENCE IN OUR MILITARY.

PETER: HOW IS A SIKH DIFFERENT FROM A HINDU?

GUEST: THEIR RELIGION, LIKE THE SOUTH HINDUS, SIKHS DO NOT EAT MEAT, AND THEY COME FROM THE ROOT OF FARMING.

PUNJAB STATE, WHICH IS NEIGHBORING PAKISTAN, POOL JOB IS OUR NUMBER 1 -- LIKE THE MIDWEST YOU HAVE HERE -- WE CALL IT FARM BELT.

PUNJAB IS THE FARM BELT OF INDIA, AND THAT IS WHERE ALL OF THE SIKHS ARE.

WHEN THEY MIGRATED TO CANADA AND THE U.S., THE LARGEST POPULATION OF SIKHS ARE IN FARMING.

THE OTHER INDUSTRY IS TRUCKING.

A LOT OF THE 18 WHEELERS IN CANADA, AND THEY ARE VERY RELIGIOUS.

BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL.

PETER: I NOTICED ALSO IN PLACES LIKE WASHINGTON, D.C. AND IN THE MARYLAND AREA, PREDOMINATELY TRUCKING, OR I WILL SAY TRANSPORTATION, A LOT OF THE PUBLIC CAP SYSTEMS WERE EITHER INDIAN OR A LOT OF MOROCCANS.

GUEST: AS A MATTER OF FACT, EVER SINCE NAFTA AND THEY OPENED THE CANADIAN BORDERS AND TRUCKERS COULD COME IN AND OUT OF CANADA, TRANSPORTATION CHANGED AFTER NAFTA.

THE 18 WHEELERS, A LOT OF THESE DRIVERS ARE FROM CANADA, AND IN THE U.S., THE EAST COAST AND WEST COAST BEING THE LONGEST ROAD TRIPS, THEY HAVE IN THE REST AREA THEIR OWN WORSHIP AREA.

JUST LIKE YOU WOULD SEE MUSLIMS DOING, THEY HAVE AN AREA THAT THEY VISIT.

BECAUSE THEY HAVE A LARGE TRUCK DRIVER POPULATION FROM CANADA TO THE U.S.

THEY ARE NOT INTO METRO CITIES, BUT YOU WOULD SEE TRUCK STOPS OR A REST AREA WITH A PLACE TO PRAY.

PETER: IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO THE VIEWERS AS IT RELATES TO THE ASSOCIATION AND THE POPULATION OF INDIANS HERE THAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?

GUEST: WE ARE PART OF AN INTEGRATED SOCIETY, AND WE ARE DOING MORE OF IT.

I WISH THE INDIAN COMMUNITY AND OTHERS, THEY DO MORE OF THAT.

OUR FUTURE LEADERS NEED TO SEE MORE CROSSBREEDING.

THEY SPEND MORE TIME AT SCHOOL AND AT HOME, AND THEY ARE LEARNING THAT, BUT THAT IS WHAT WE WANT TO FOCUS ON, AND THE FUTURE LEADERS AND YOUNGER GENERATION AND YOUTH IS WHERE OUR EFFORTS ARE, NOT TO LOSE THE TOUCH OF OUR CULTURE, AND THAT IS TO KEEP THAT BALANCE.

THEY'VE NEVER SEEN IT AS MUCH AS WE'VE SEEN.

WE WERE BORN IN INDIA, AND THEY WERE BORN HERE.

THEY SEE HOW THEIR PARENTS BRING THEM UP, AND THAT IS WHAT WE WANT TO SEE.

WE WANT TO SEE THE SECOND AND THIRD GENERATION MELTING POT INTO THE COMMUNITY.

PETER: IN 10 SECONDS, DO YOU HAVE ANY SCHOOL?

GUEST: WE HAVE A HINDU TEMPLE THAT WAS FORMED IN 2013.

THAT REPRESENTS EVERY RELIGION FROM INDIA.

IT IS IN WARWICK.

IT IS A TEMPLE, WHICH IS PRETTY LARGE AND SERVES THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.

HINDU, ALL THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF INDIA, THEY GO TO THAT TEMPLE.

PETER: WE'VE ENJOYED HAVING THIS CONVERSATION.

THANK YOU FOR LETTING US KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE INDIA ASSOCIATION OF RHODE ISLAND, BUT UNFORTUNATELY WE RUN OUT OF TIME.

I WANT TO THINK OUR GUEST AND YOU THE VIEWERS FOR TUNING INTO ANOTHER EDITION OF "IN ANOTHER OPINION."

A SPECIAL THANKS TO PBS FOR MAKING THIS CONVERSATION POSSIBLE.

I'M YOUR HOST, PETER WELLS.

GIVE US YOUR OPINION ON FACEBOOK, AND HAVE A GREAT DAY.

♪ [CAPTIONING PERFORMED BY THE NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CAPTION CONTENT AND ACCURACY.

VISIT NCICAP.ORG] [CLOSED CAPTIONING HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY CARDI'S FURNITURE AND MATTRESSES] >> SOMEONE GAVE.

SOMEONE DONATED.

HUNDREDS OF GENERATIONS HAVE HELPED SHAPE RHODE ISLAND INTO THIS AMAZING PLACE WE CALL HOME.

HOW DO YOU THINK THEM?