World as Family: A Journey of Multi-Rooted Belongings

by Vishakha N. Desai

A Vedic phrase asks us to “treat the world as family.” In our age of global crises―pandemics, climate crisis, crippling inequality―this sentiment is more necessary than ever. Solutions to these seemingly insurmountable problems demand new approaches to thinking and acting locally, nationally, and transnationally, sometimes sequentially but often simultaneously. This is the mentality of the immigrant, the exchange student, the global native, and all who have made a life in a new place by choice or by necessity. Yet we suffer from a lack of the truly capacious thinking that is so urgently needed.

Vishakha N. Desai uses her life experiences to explore the significance of living globally and its urgency for our current moment. She weaves her narrative arc from growing up in a Gandhian household in Ahmedabad to arriving in the United States as a seventeen-year-old exchange student and her subsequent career as a dancer, curator, institutional leader, and teacher against the broad sweep of political and social changes in the two countries she calls home. Through her personal story, Desai reframes the idea of what it means to be global, considering how to lead a life of multiple belongings without losing local and national affinities. Vividly conjuring the complexities and exhilaration of a life that is rooted in many places, World as Family is a vital book for everyone who aspires to connect across borders―real and perceived―and bring to fruition the ideal of a global family.

296 pages, Hardcover

Published May 11, 2021

About the author

Dr. Vishakha N. Desai is Senior Advisor for Global Affairs to the President of Columbia University, Senior Research Scholar at its School of International and Public Affairs, and Chair of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University.

From 1990 through 2012, Dr. Desai served in various capacities at the Asia Society, ranging from being Director if its museum, to being the President and CEO of the organization from 2004. She is widely credited with introducing contemporary Asian arts through major exhibitions and publications. A noted scholar of South Asian Art and history, Dr. Desai is well known for her leadership in presenting contemporary Asian art to American audiences and in developing innovative approaches to the relationship between culture and foreign policy in India, China and other Asian countries. In 2012, in recognition of Dr. Desai’s leadership in the museum field, President Barack Obama appointed her to serve on the National Museum and Library Services Board.

In addition to several publications, Dr. Desai is also a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines in both the US and Asia, and her forthcoming memoir, “World as Family: A Journey of Multi-rooted Belonging,” will be published by Columbia University press in May 2021.

Dr. Desai is the recipient of five honorary degrees and holds a B.A. in Political Science from Bombay University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Asian Art History from the University of Michigan.

Reviews

[Chiara Turci · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary memoir about multiple belongings and cultural identities. From her early experience as an exchange student in 1967 to the years leading the Asia Society, Desai shows how we are ever-evolving creatures, who may have roots but most definitely also develop branches. The inability to belong to a single place and culture, especially in times of globalization and extreme interconnection, resonates with me a lot.
We are all looking for our place in the world, but very often the reality of our persona cannot fit within pre-determined national borders. This book focuses a lot on the search for a balance and an acceptance of our fluid identities, facing the challenge with a candid perspective.

I cannot recommend this enough if you are interested in the topic or ever felt like you did not belong in your time and space. I must admit I also shed a tear in those bits that resonated with me the most. I felt understood in a very personal way.

[Meghan Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book allowed me to feel seen as I come from a multi-cultural home and never truly fully feel like home in my culture. The idea of having multiple belongings allows someone to embrace every part of themself, no matter where they may live or who they are with. It permits a growth mindset where you can continuously learn about yourself and the world … Definitely an interesting and eye-opening read.