When Sunita Williams, A Samosa Lover, Talked About Her Connection To Indian Culture
After an unexpected nine-month stay in space, Sunita Williams returned to Earth on March 18.
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams never shies away from acknowledging her deep connection to Indian heritage. The 59-year-old has recently come back to Earth after an extended nine-month mission in space. Amid all the buzz about his much-awaited return, an old video of Williams has gone viral on social media. The clip showed the veteran astronaut proudly embracing her Indian roots while admitting the influence of Lord Ganesha and the Bhagavad Gita in her life. She also expressed her love for Indian food and shared how she had samosas during her stay at the International Space Station (ISS).
“I really appreciate my Indian heritage and was glad that I could bring part of it with me in space. Ganesha has always been in my house. Everywhere I have lived, I have had Ganesha with me. So he had to come with me to space. Bhagavad Gita, the last time I brought a small copy of Upanishads with me," Williams said, referring to her spiritual beliefs.
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“And Indian food, you can never get enough of Indian food. I was so excited to come here to know that I would be eating Indian food. So I had to make sure I had samosas in space with me," she added.
The real reason ecosystem has been trolling Indians since yesterday for celebrating Sunita Williams’ achievements, is that she unapologetically embraces her Indian roots, honors India’s rich heritage and openly acknowledges the impact of the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagwan Ganesh in… pic.twitter.com/aaQxNqKvpy— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) March 19, 2025
The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying Williams and her fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore safely landed on the coast of Tallahassee, Florida on March 18. After the news circulated, her sister-in-law Falguni Pandya shared that Williams would visit India for a vacation later this year.
“We don’t have exact dates, but she’s definitely going to come to India soon. I hope this year. She feels the love of India and Indians, and I know she will come back. We are also planning on going on vacation together. There is going to be a lot of family time," she said during an interaction with NDTV.
Pandya also plans to treat Williams with her favourite samosas when she comes to her father’s ancestral land in Gujarat. When asked about the reason behind taking the snack to space, the Indian-origin astronaut said, “I had asked for some special things that reminded me of home, and one of those things was samosas. And so my family was somehow able to work with NASA – we get some care packages when we are up in space for a long time."
Williams and Wilmore set off on their journey to the ISS in June last year. They were tasked to test Boeing’s Starliner on its first crewed flight. Due to some propulsion problem, the spacecraft returned empty, with NASA launching the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to bring the stranded astronauts back to Earth.
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