How a Ceres native drew inspiration from her Indian-American childhood to write a book

When Manrup “Rupy” Khatkar lived in Ceres, she knew she and her family were different from others. Born in 1986, she was first-generation Punjabi-American.

After growing up and leaving to find education and career opportunities, she returned to the city with a newly written children’s book in hand, telling the story of her life as a child here and the closeness she had with her grandfather Sucha Singh Atwal, or as he was affectionately called, papa ji.

Khatkar wrote and self-published “ Rupy and Papa ji: Soulmates for Life ,” hoping other children, whether of Indian descent or not, could find solace in being close to a family member other than their parents.

“I think the challenge is of being a little bit different in an area, like the Central Valley at the time, where there wasn’t a diverse Indian community,” she said. “It definitely impacted our experience when I was younger, but now things have changed, I think for the better.”

Khatkar lived with her grandfather during elementary school and writes in her book how different her grandfather looked compared to other grandpas she saw. Having a long beard and wearing a turban, he had to adjust as well to the culture of the Central Valley but had an open mind and tried new things.

Likewise, she pushed herself to try new things too while trying to balance both Indian and American cultures.

“You know, kids being kids and in high school can be a tough place as it is, but I think it was a little surprising and definitely different to see an Indian Punjabi girl on the cheerleading squad,” she said. “For so many of us who are my age, we didn’t know of anywhere else doing that so that was trying new things and embracing these activities that we didn’t particularly think somebody from our culture does.”

Asked if her grandfather got to read her book, Khatkar said in an email to The Bee, ”Unfortunately, papa ji passed when I was 7 years old. But his lessons and compassionate ways of living life stayed with me and continued to guide my choices.”

The gist of her story, she said, “is that we have many special people in our lives who love and inspire us, and even when they pass away, unexpectedly in my case, they can have a profound impact on us still. We can continue to make them proud and keep their memory and essence alive within us.”

Khatkar currently works as a pediatric speech-language pathologist and got help from a friend, whose daughter, Jeanne Watson, illustrated it. She had the opportunity to return to Ceres last week where she read her book to a group of 60 students at Walter White Elementary School.

The book is available on Amazon . It’s paperback, 38 pages, intended for ages 5 to 8, and sells for $19.99.

“You’re not limited to anything just because you may look different or speak a different language or because your family comes from another country or any of that,” Khatkar said. “All of those things will only enhance us and help make us more well-rounded people.”

Learn more at rupyandpapaji.com .

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