Jessica Kumar- Story of an American Who Fell in Love With Bihar and Their Philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

Jessica Kumar is an American digital marketing professional living in India for many years. She first started out her journey in a small tech company and later got married to Abhishek originally from Bihar. She continues to live in India with her husband and kids.

She is the host of the Invisible India Podcast which features stereotype-breaking Indians and also talks through challenging issues faced by those in cross-cultural life in India. www.invisibleindiapodcast.com

She also is the founder of Learn Hindi Anywhere, an online program which helps non-Indians and NRIs learn practical, modern Hindi that people actually speak, rather than stale knowledge from a book. www.learnhindianywhere.com

1: The way you’ve built your brand and started this social media handle where your story has inspired millions of people, we must say that all of it has reflected your journey being a foreigner embracing Indian culture but what we would like to know is what makes you fall in love with your work every day.

It's quite direct for me really: the digital marketing space. This is the thing that I appreciate about working from home, not only does it assure me stability, and independence but also allows me to build a healthy balance between work and family. I have been working before my kids and now, after them, just like every other parent, I feel they need me too, whether it's reading their favourite bedtime stories or just spending time with them, all of this matters to me. The digital space allows me to be creative, have a flexible schedule, and work on terms that are comfortable for me.



2: We looked up, your youtube channel, India with Jessica and we liked your approach towards dealing with life with positivity but what stuck with us the most was how you’ve looked at India as your home and welcomed all aspects of life here wholeheartedly, but we can only guess that things didn't always seem easy, what was the one thing that you had to learn the hard way? What were some hurdles that you faced while just beginning your journey?

Initially, I started sharing things about India in my podcast. At first, it did not seem easy because people on social media want to know you and you need to inspire them if you want to build a community that trusts you. What I Learned was that social media is personality centric. You need to have your face out there for people to feel a connection with you. That was difficult for me honestly and I resisted that for two years but isn't this what social media is about? I didn’t want to go that route, but when I started sharing more about my personal story, my social media channels started gaining traction, and along with it, the podcast and Hindi courses that I do as well. 



3: We’ve seen how your work and journey broke some extremely rigid stereotypes, however, do you think much has changed since the beginning of your journey? Or do you think there is still a long way to go when it comes to changing the perception of people towards marriage and love?

Yes, I think a lot of things have changed. My marriage took place 13 years ago and since then I have noticed people from different backgrounds and settings come together due to globalization, there has been an increase in the appreciation of Indian culture from the west as well. In America especially, it's like the “decade of South Asia,”  everybody is interested in knowing about India, its media, culture, and whatnot. 

There are so many big Indian stars who have performed on stage in the US and we’ve seen how the South Asian heritage is reflected in Hollywood. 

So, there has been a shift in the information about India in the US, even though it was already there but now we just witness a deeper understanding and respect for both cultures. However, not everybody thinks the same and I understand where people are coming from, I’ll just add that there is still a long way to go which all of us are trying to slowly combat. 



4: Tell us about your morning routine, any rituals of productivity that you swear by? 

I’d begin by saying focus on what matters. If I have short amounts of time I make it a point to knock out these small gaps by doing easy tasks and if I have 1-2 hours, I try to catch up on my meetings, and podcasts and reply to any emails that I receive. One thing that always helps me is a good schedule. I plan my day. If there is something I couldn’t complete in a certain amount of time, I always make time for it the next day.



5: We’ve seen your videos and reels about Bihar and its diverse culture, what made you fall in love with this place? Which place has the best scenic views?

Bihar has a very different kind of scenery as opposed to Delhi. The beauty of Bihar is the people. That's what I believe. An amazing place that I visited here was Valmiki Tiger Reserve situated along the north-western portion of the West Champaran district of Bihar. It felt to me like something untouched and of course, there were a lot of villagers living in the jungle collecting firewood but to me, it was so remote, It felt that it was so far away from any place that I have ever visited in the world. It was beautiful, the waterfalls and the dense jungle. Bodh Gaya is interesting too, I enjoy going there too.



6: Tell us about your podcast and your initial idea behind that title.

The initial idea was to reflect on the lesser-known aspects of India and interview Indian stereotype breakers while also building this space to talk about our journey as a couple moving back from the US to India and me as a foreigner living life in India. Now, we’ve given this new direction to the podcast because of the love that we started receiving. 

People grew interested in our stories together and that's all we needed to move forward. In 2021, I wanted to include all people working around language. In 2020, I also interviewed people from South Asian backgrounds, and this year, I am wanting to focus on creating resources for the language, Hindi since there are also a lot of people in the west looking for these resources. I also have my Hindi course which I have spent a lot of effort curating.



7: According to you, if somebody is just beginning to learn Hindi, how would you recommend they must go around this language?

The thing about any language is that you can know a hundred words, and have a great vocabulary but if your pronunciation is weak, people are going to be sceptical about it. If someone is from abroad or even from the second generation and is disconnected from the Hindi language, I would suggest they download my list of recommendations of Hindi Tutors, different programs, different tips, and other free downloads. 

I would also encourage people to check out the courses that I have, I believe it's not for everybody but I think most people would benefit from it. If you’re starting from nothing, the Hindi hacks course is the first one, the second step is to overcome Hindi pronunciation, the pitfalls to be specific. I also do language consults so if there is somebody who is like, I don't know where I am, I just need to know what to do, I do a one-on-one consulting for them and not necessarily classes because I encourage them to go for native tutors, that’ll allow you to build a better connection and gain knowledge about cultural insights.



8: While working out your life in India, were there any cultural differences that you faced? Describe the life you’ve built together in one word.

Diversity is one word but more like acceptance. When we got married, my husband was in the midst of his Master’s degree, so we got married in America. Half of his family is there anyway.

He was getting to know about western culture more, while I was learning about Indian culture since I was living in Haridwar for 4 years. But now, it's been 6 years that we are living in India and I must add, he is becoming more Indian now, I am appreciating how he is respecting and understanding both cultures better. 

I learned a lot about his upbringing, his roots, his traditions, and all of it is equally respected by me but my upbringing, the sense of independence I have always believed in, and about being a strong female, isn't going to change ever irrespective of the time that I spend here. I believe if you want relationships to work it's all about accepting and giving each other enough space to grow and evolve.



9: Tell us about your favourite Hindi movie.

I’ve seen many Bollywood films and I am a big fan of Bollywood in the ’90s, or as we say the golden era of Bollywood, “Hum dil de chuke sanam”, It's all fantastic. However, I also prefer my evenings doing something like having meetings, reading books and recording podcasts, learning kabir dohas, and reading philosophical texts with my children.

She can be found on social media, especially Instagram by the handle @indiawithjessica.