markedly longer lives, tension emerged. For young
people,thetraditionalfamilysystembecamelessasource
of security thana strugglefor control—over property,
finances,and eventhemost basicdecisionsabouthow
they could live.
And indeed, in my grandfather Sitaram’s traditional
household,generationaltensionwasneverfaraway.You
canimaginehowmyunclesfeltastheirfatherturneda
hundredandtheyenteredoldagethemselves,stillwaiting
toinheritlandandgaineconomicindependence.Ilearned
of bitter battles in villagefamilies betweenelders and
adultchildrenoverlandandmoney.Inthefinalyearof
mygrandfather’slife,anangrydisputeeruptedbetween
him and my uncle with whom he lived. The original
causewasunclear:perhapsmyunclehadmadeabusiness
decisionwithoutmygrandfather;maybemygrandfather
wantedtogooutandnooneinthefamilywouldgowith
him;maybehelikedtosleepwiththewindowopenand
theylikedtosleepwiththewindowclosed.Whateverthe
reason,theargumentculminated(dependingonwhotold
thestory)inSitaram’seitherstormingoutofthehousein
thedeadofnightorbeinglockedout.Hesomehowmade
itmilesawaytoanotherrelative’shouseandrefusedto
return for two months.
Globaleconomicdevelopmenthaschangedopportunities
for the young dramatically. The prosperity of whole
countries depends on their willingness to escape the
shackles of family expectation and follow their own
path—to seek out jobs wherever they might be, do
whateverworktheywant,marrywhomtheydesire.Soit
waswithmyfather’spathfromUtitoAthens,Ohio.He