Usha Alexander was born to Indian immigrants who came to the United States in the 1950s and settled in the very small town of Pocatello, Idaho. She ran away to university at the age of 19, and later joined the US Peace Corps, where she served as a science teacher in the archipelago nation of Vanuatu. In the late 90s, Usha made her way to the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where she settled and worked for Apple Computer for many years.
Since 2013, Usha resides with her partner, writer and photographer Namit Arora, in the National Capital Region of India. Usha has lived in four different countries and has learned to carry her home within herself, yet she frequently returns to the CA Bay Area with a certain sense of homecoming.
If you’re looking for more writing by Usha Alexander, you’ll find it on the shunya.net website, where she is an occasional contributor. Some pieces include the following:
Essays
Inside an Indian Family
Stories About the End of the World
The End of Nature: Ecological myths and warming climates
On Writing: Discovering Virinara
Storytelling as Life and Art
When Fascists Are Not Evil
Dispatches from India 1: First Impressions
Dispatches from India 2: On Hiring Domestic Help in India
The Other Swastika
Book Reviews
The Watchman's Tale
Shantaram
This Way for the Gas, Ladies & Gentlemen
Travelogs
Of Meenas, Migrants, and Medicine
An Indian-American in China
The Minangkabau—Mixing Islam and Matriarchy
John Frum
At the Foot of Mount Yasur
Glimpses of Mozambique: video
Glimpses of Malawi: video
Glimpses of Zambia: video
© Usha Sri Charyulu Alexander 2022