From The Peopling of New York City
Interview Transcript
I interviewed a very friendly Hindu religious store worker (Sachiv) at the Butali Emporium on 74th Street an 37th Avenue. The store looked predominately Hindu and sold many Ganesha idols, Hindu rugs and Hindu art of the Om. Yet after talking to Sachiv, I discovered that they also sold some Muslim and Christian religious books as well in two different section of the store. Some of the other items sold included: movies, DVDs, bracelets, children’s books, dictionaries, Indian facial creams, lotions and shampoos, religious rugs and religious house decorations. The store was pretty large suggesting religion plays a big role in the lives of people of Jackson Heights.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Hi, I am doing a project for Hunter College, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?
Sachiv: Yes, yes one second…okay go ahead.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: My name is Yasmin. What’s your name?
Sachiv: Sachiv.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: How long have you been working here?
Sachiv: Um…just a couple of years I been here.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Are you Hindu?
Sachiv: Yes, yes I am.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Are all the workers here all Hindu too?
Sachiv: Well, the owner is Hindu and so is she (pointing to another worker).
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Where are most of your customers from?
Sachiv: Most from India. Not many are from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Um…whoever is in the area like in the Jackson Heights neighborhood come here.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Are all of your customers Hindu?
Sachiv: Yes, yes a lot are Hindu.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: What about Muslims, Christians, etc?
Sachiv: Not so much but a few.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Do you interact with people of other religions?
Sachiv: Many, many, many people everyday…we have customers from everywhere! They come from South Asia mostly.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: How do you feel about Hindus, Muslims and Christians in this neighborhood?
Sachiv: They’re all the same to me. It doesn’t matter from where; customers are all the same. I have to talk to everyone (chuckle).
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: How do you feel about the Muslim street seller nearby?
Sachiv: We sell Muslim books too! We don’t really care about religion. We are all Indian people and I don’t see them as Christian, Muslim or whatever…
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Do you maintain contact with or talk to non-Hindu people?
Sachiv: Of course! We have to talk to all customers the same way.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Have you ever had any major problems with a customer?
Sachiv: No, no, no it doesn’t matter who I help. I help everyone.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: How have the riots affected these relationships?
Sachiv: What happens in India stays there. We don’t bring it back here.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Has there ever been a major conflict between religions that you’ve seen or heard about?
Sachiv: No, no, no…never! We don’t fight here because of religion. I’ve never seen anything like that.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Would you say that people of Jackson Heights are all unified by your country of origin or separate by religion?
Sachiv: Yes, definitely the first one. We all have to work together because we live next to each other.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Do you like living in such a diverse community?
Sachiv: I love it. When I see Christians, Muslims, Hindus whatever…I talk to all of them. Everyone is the same to me.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Do you only sell Hindu religious items?
Sachiv: No, no we have stuff from all religions; some Christian and Muslim too.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Can you show me?
Sachiv: Yes, come. This section has the Quran and some Islamic books like a dictionary translation and books about the religion. On the other side we have some books about Christianess [Christianity] and this is mostly Hindu (pointing to an entire row of Ganesh idols).
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Wow, so most of the store sells Hindu items?
Sachiv: Yes most but we have two sections for Muslim and Christian people.
Yasmin Zakiniaeiz: Well, thank you very much for answering my questions. It was very nice to meet you, Sachiv.
Sachiv: Your welcome, come again. --Yzakiniaeiz 07:08, 4 May 2009 (UTC)