Rishi Narayan is the co-founder of Underground Printing.
My mom is Muslim; my dad is Hindu. I was raised Muslim.
My name is a Hindu name and it's something that I frankly am proud of. It’s a case for diversity. There’s not just one type of Muslim or one type of anybody really. I can embrace different religions and still practice my own in my way and have a father who’s not.
I was lucky in that it wasn’t a huge source of contention. Obviously, there are always things that you bump up against—people feeling excluded from events and things like that—inadvertently or advertently. But, hopefully, it’s given me a broader world view—maybe more acceptance just because that's something that I’ve lived.
I have lots of different groups of friends and I’ve always felt that I can bounce around from group to group and still fit in. I don’t know if that stems from living in multiple worlds but I'm sure it didn’t hurt.
I've continued on with that blended family. My wife is white. She actually converted but, not that she would have to; her name is still Alison. Our sons—we have two sons—they have a Muslim name, a white name, and a Hindu last name.
So we’ve really tried to keep that fusion alive.
I’m hopeful that they will have a respect for both sides. I know they will. My goal for them is to be able to live in both worlds and want to embrace both.