Lucknow

Ram Advani in his bookshop, Ram Advani Booksellers. He ran it for more than a half century.

My friend, the bookseller of Lucknow

Ram Advani ran a bookshop in Lucknow India for more than 60 years. For the past 20 of them, we were good friends.

My friend, the bookseller of Lucknow
An employee takes a donut from a display cabinet at the Dunkin' Donuts store in New Delhi, India.

My American donut habit has followed me home to India

My American donut habit has followed me home to India
A surfer showers off on the beach in Cardiff, California.

I forgot the art of showering in cold water

I forgot the art of showering in cold water
The World

India's 'Power Girls' fight sexual violence and harassment that once made them victims

India's 'Power Girls' fight sexual violence and harassment that once made them victims
Heavy traffic along a busy road in New Delhi

I never knew traffic could smell so sweet

I never knew traffic could smell so sweet
Deepak Singh's mother, Nirmala. He says it would be almost insulting to send her a Mother's Day card.

I've never sent my mother a Mother's Day card

How do you thank someone who's given you everything? Indian-American writer Deepak Singh says you don't do it by sending your mom a Mother's Day card.

I've never sent my mother a Mother's Day card
Prerna Junior High

Many Indian girls are going to incredible lengths to get the education they deserve

India has been in the news recently for the way it treats its women and girls — and mostly not in a good way. But some women and girls are taking matter into their own hands, making sure they get the education to which they are entitled. Even when it means challenging the country's traditional way of doing things.

Many Indian girls are going to incredible lengths to get the education they deserve
This is Sahu Cinema Hall, in the center of my hometown, Lucknow, India. I watched hundreds of movies there when I was kid, and it brings back lots of memories for me.

When I try to belong in America, I long for India — and vice versa

What happens when you travel back and forth between your home country and your adopted one? For Indian-American writer Deepak Singh, it means constant cultural re-adjustment.

When I try to belong in America, I long for India — and vice versa
Flashy multi-colored lights from China have become popular in India for the Hindu festival of Diwali. But this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is asking Indians to go the traditional route and use clay oil pots made in India.

I wanted the flashy electric lights for Diwali, but my dad wanted the boring oil lamps

For Indian-American writer Deepak Singh, Diwali in India was a time for getting new clothes, eating sweets and arguing with his father over Diwali lights.

I wanted the flashy electric lights for Diwali, but my dad wanted the boring oil lamps
A young boy drinks tea in the early morning inside a train at Agra Cantt Railway Station in Agra, India.

Half the fun of taking the train in India is the food

Deepak Singh lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but he says train travel in the US just doesn't compare with the pleasure of taking the train in his home country, India. For one thing, there's the food.

Half the fun of taking the train in India is the food
A teacher in Kolkata conducts a lesson during a particularly bad power outage that swept across India in July, 2012.

In India, reliable electricity is no guarantee

People in India have had to adapt to the country's notoriously unreliable electricity. Deepak Singh is staying with his parents in Lucknow for the summer, where he has relearned how to live without the promise of sustained power.

In India, reliable electricity is no guarantee
Indian street sign in four languages: Hindi, English, Punjabi and Urdu.

India's new leader favors the Hindi language, which is a problem for the country's 50 million Urdu speakers

Hindi and Urdu are similar when spoken. But they use different scripts-- and have been cultural and religious symbols.

India's new leader favors the Hindi language, which is a problem for the country's 50 million Urdu speakers
I tried to buy a Hindi book in Lucknow, but they're not that easy to find.  Most of the books for sale seem to be English titles.

When I went home to India, I tried to speak Hindi but everyone wanted to speak English

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants civil servants to communicate in Hindi. But when Indian-American writer Deepak Singh went home to India this summer, it seemed like everyone there wanted to speak English.

When I went home to India, I tried to speak Hindi but everyone wanted to speak English
A child sits on a heap of mangos at a fruit wholesale market in Kodur village, about 650 km (404 miles) south of the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.

I think it's too hot to go home to India. But then I think of the mangoes

For Deepak Singh, going home to India for the summer means sweltering days and nights, with unreliable air-conditioning. But it also means mangoes.

I think it's too hot to go home to India. But then I think of the mangoes
A Hindu temple in South Bend, Indiana.

I learned more about India after I moved to the US

Indian American writer Deepak Singh says it took moving to America for him to meet Indians from different parts of India.

I learned more about India after I moved to the US