In an asap video, RAGHURAM VADAREVU explores how things changed dramatically when his father, an immigrant from India, started importing TV programs in his native language of Telugu.
Across the country, countless immigrant parents and families who yearn for the sights and sounds of the home they left behind are tuning into ethnic language television.
There are channels in dozens of languages, from Arabic, Mandarin and Polish to Vietnamese, Portuguese and Urdu. There are channels called CTI Zhong Tian, TV Polonia, TV Globo and GEO TV.
Each night, parents (and sometimes their children) gather to watch these programs. These shows may be prime time ethnic language versions of American favorites such as "American Idol" and "As The World Turns." Or they may be shows original to the culture from where they come.
While the parents cozy up to the couch when their imported shows hit the tube, sometimes their immigrant children (reared in America and accustomed to everything American, for better or for worse) get antsy.
In an asap video, Raghuram Vadarevu explores this particular generation gap bubbling up within his own family now that his dad got a satellite dish and programming from India.
See the video here.
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Raghuram Vadarevu is an editor with The AP in New York.
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