The House of India in Balboa Park has had a star volunteer in Rajshree Mudaliar. Her journey started in 2005 to establish the House. “It took 22 years to build the Taj Mahal!” she said, giving some perspective on her journey.
Rajshree’s motivation for a House of India cottage started at a naturalization ceremony when her family became U.S. citizens. It was an emotional moment relinquishing their Indian identity to become American citizens.
At the ceremony, girls from other cottages performed, and her then-10-year-old daughter, Anisha, asked why someone from India wasn’t there. The fifth-grader wrote a letter to the president of the House of Pacific Relations in Balboa Park asking how she could get involved in starting a House of India. The response was to reach out to 25 of the Indian community. Realizing the need to showcase India’s rich cultural heritage, mom and daughter did just that. At the first meeting in their home in Carmel Valley, 30 likeminded community showed up.
Mudaliar’s unwavering commitment to see this project through stemmed from her personal motivation to give back to her adopted country in a special way by proudly sharing the beautiful culture of her motherland.
At the time, Mudaliar (an alumni of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology) had already left the corporate world to follow her ion to teach math, a subject she taught for 23 years. Now she would follow another ion: to build the cottage. She had the of 15 House of India board and a talented design team. Some board have been with her since the inception of the project in 2005.
She said she is so grateful for their selfless dedication and their willingness to pitch in to perform even mundane tasks. She greatly appreciates the key of the design team who worked relentlessly through the pandemic to create a stunning cottage. She also acknowledges that without the generosity of donors, the dream of constructing a cottage could not have become a reality. The House of India was officially opened to the public April 30 this year. Currently, there are 32 houses in Balboa Park as part of the House of Pacific Relations consortium.
In addition to founding the House and these days serving as co-president, Mudaliar has been president twice and secretary and treasurer. She helps in all events, the Lawn Program at the International Cottage, December Nights, the Ethnic Food Fair (she has a YouTube cooking channel — “From My Indian Kitchen to Yours”) and at the House of India’s special event, Dandiya Under the Stars. She also created an activity book on India that is given to students visiting the cottages. And she writes grant applications and letters to corporations seeking funding to the House’s programs.
She was raised in a family in which her parents were deeply involved in the community. Her mother was a high school teacher who participated in projects to eradicate malnutrition, and her father started a foundation to rehabilitate leprosy patients. After India gained Independence from the British in 1947, her father was given a leadership position of creating communities from the ground up in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, famously known for The Cellular Jail, which had housed Indian freedom fighters.
Her father was there for almost 45 years, building schools, hospitals, housing and other infrastructure to help settle veterans and refugees. Altruism and pride in Indian identity were huge values in her family. She and her husband, Dr. Sunder Mudaliar, have raised their children, Ashwin and Anisha, with the same values.
“I see myself as a global citizen. I have been inspired by (House of Pacific Relations) founder Frank Drugan’s dream to make human harmony attractive,” Mudaliar said.
She strives to work harmoniously with all the other houses and loves the community spirit that exists among the cottages. “It’s not about country, it’s about culture,” she said. “Cultures can unite people globally.”
About this series
Divya Kakaiya, Ph.D., is a member of the U-T’s Community Advisory Board. She is a psychologist and neuroscientist and is CEO of Healthy Within, a Brain Health Neuro Clinic.
Someone San Diego Should Know is a column written by of the U-T’s Community Advisory Board about local people who are interesting and noteworthy because of their experiences, achievements, creativity or credentials.
