Indian achievers shape the US, but it's not yet nirvana

Fourteen years separated the signing of the Declaration of US Independence and the first documented US arrival of an Indian in 1790. Today, the percentage of Americans who trace their root to India account for 1 per cent of its population.

Indians have truly made their presence in the world's most powerful country, and an exhibition currently on at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, curated by the Smithsonian's Asian Pacific American Center, celebrates just that.

Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation lets visitors know that Indian families are central to California's farms and that pioneers from India built railroads in the American west in the 19th Century. 121 years after Swami Vivekananda preached the virtues of yoga to American audiences, more than 20 million people practise the meditation there.

From the sublime realm of yoga to the streets of New York, where 30 per cent of taxicab drivers are of Indian origin, we do cut a wide swathe. Half of the motels in the US are owned by Indian immigrants, and 15 per cent of companies in Silicon Valley have been found by Indians, says the exhibition.

From governors (two) to spelling bee champs (13) to the lone Miss America winner, we have made our mark. An Oscar for an Indian film would complete the picture.