DEPARTED FROM
Chennai, India
ARRIVED IN
New York, New York
YEAR
1981
NOW LIVES IN
Atlanta, Georgia
TRANSCRIPT
Hey, this is Ramji. I came to this country... I stepped into this country in 1981 or 82, I'm not too sure. I was en route to Canada, I stopped at my sister's place in Rochester. Incidentally, that was my very first flight. I took Air India, came to JFK. I did not expect to be picked up by my brother-in-law, but he was there for some conference. He left me a note on the way down, I didn't even know how to look at it. All of a sudden I saw a familiar name, I stopped and picked up and it said he was there to pick me up. He picked me up, took me to downtown New York City, Manhattan. That's where the Chemical Society conference was going on. And, I don't know where I was going, tall buildings all over the place. And, we went into a hotel, went to several stories up and then knocked at the room of somebody, and they introduced me to this gentleman. The first American I was formally introduced and his name was Professor Herbert C. Brown and two years back he won the Nobel Prize. He was the first American I got introduced to in the U.S. That was a shocking, jaw-dropping moment for me. I had written to H.C. Brown before coming to the U.S. congratulating him on his Nobel Prize winning and I got a letter from him, but I never ever expected to meet him in person. Let alone he being the first American I'm formally introduced to.
