ILS-LookingGlass

Dr. Akshay Desai talks a lot about the American Dream. Watching the magnificent view of the sunset on Tampa Bay through the curved glass walls of his second floor parlor, his talk of the American Dream doesn’t sound so clichéd, after all.

In fact, the curvilinear theme of the house, with its concave and convex surfaces mimicking the waves of the Atlantic that wash the feet of this ocean-front house, seem to add a touch of class to the idea of the American Dream.

But Desai is animated, not about the material definition of the American Dream, but what he regards as its holistic nature. “The American Dream,” he says, “is not just accumulation of wealth, but the opportunity and ability that wealth provides to participate in all aspects of community life.”

For him, full participation in the American way of life is what it’s all about.

And participate he does, pursuing his myriad interests outside his professional life, which, of course, is medicine. As a practicing physician specializing in geriatric care with a highly successful practice in St. Petersburg, Florida, one would think Desai wouldn’t have much time left for much else. Wrong.

He is a member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a board member of Florida’s Educational Policy Committee, the Indian American Republican Council, and a number of other professional and community organizations.

In addition, he’s an activist and an influential fundraiser for the Republican Party, which often has him rubbing shoulders with political bigwigs, including President George W. Bush, whom he met with on a number of occasions and once last year athis ranch in Crawford, Texas.

But beyond the political, he counts Florida Governor Jeb Bush as a personal friend who visited his St. Petersburg house on several occasions. It is at his behest that Desai has taken interest in and serves on the board that oversees the state’s educational policies – a position he takes very seriously because of the impact education has on society.

Politics for Desai is not an end in itself. Beyond the photo-ops and access to the Old Executive Building and black-tie events and country clubs, it allows him to give back to the society that has rewarded him so richly.

And giving back is also a way of participating in American life, which enables him to develop strong roots in the country that he now calls home – a country where his three children, Priyanka, 16, Partha, 12, and Crystal, 7, were born, and where he and his wife Seema raise them to be true blue Indian Americans.

That, indeed, is an American Dream realized for a young man from Surat in Gujarat, who came to the U.S. many summers ago with the same few dollars that the Reserve Bank of India reluctantly used to dole out for students going abroad. From there to Brightwater Blvd. in St. Petersburg, it has been a quintessential American journey – through hard work, enterprise and an enlightened lifestyle.

Akshay Desai is rich, but not ostentatious. Partisan, but not dogmatic. He is comfortable in his skin – as an Indian, as an immigrant, as an American. An intellectual bent of mind dictates his lifestyle as much as his taste in things – material and metaphysical. There is a pervasive sense of balance in everything – physical, political and intellectual.

The Desais’ house, for instance, has that quiet elegance, exuding a subdued aura of affluence and a mild infusion of tradition into a very modern mansion designed by the accomplished architect Dan Dawson, with interiors by Ada Pagano.

But there are no pretensions. His study, like every room in the house, overlooks the bay, and is not lined up with bookshelves loaded with volumes that no one has ever read.

Instead, it has a number of books, each of which Desai could, and in fact, many of which, he does discuss. He likes to remain informed. He enjoys spirited debates. Politics, international affairs and public policy are his favorites. He subscribes and reads the “Foreign Policy” journal regularly. He has most of the latest political books, from Ann Coulter to Al Franken.

Obviously, his reading habits are non-partisan. He reads The New York Times daily, apart from the local St. Petersburg Times. He loves to cite what William Safire said on some subject and praises Tom Friedman’s analyses. He’s probably one of the few Republicans who actually enjoys reading Maureen Dowd, that “highbrow hussy from New York.”

For Desai, being informed is being involved. It helps him to navigate socially with different kinds of people. He doesn’t take too kindly to many Indian American politicos who go to meet with senators and governors and just talk about Indo-U.S. relations or Pakistan, and fill the rest of the time with awkward pauses. “We should be able to engage them at their level,” Desai says – as Americans, interested and involved in things here.

It is this sense of belonging that accounts for Desai’s involvement in community affairs, much beyond the conventional range of an average Indian American. He is, for instance, associated with organizations like the NAACP and the American Heart Association, helping them raise funds for different projects. Such activities, he says, help in building bridges with other communities. No politics here.

But that does not mean his Republican or conservative credentials are suspect. He is an ardent Republican. He disagrees with the popular notion that the GOP is a party of people who are rich, Christian and white.

He stoutly believes in President Bush’s “compassionate conservativism” that breaks the Democrats’ “bigotry of low expectations” visa-a-vis the minorities.

He feels any Indian American, at the core, is a Republican – socially liberal, fiscally conservative, favors low taxes and less government and more freedom to accomplish his or her ambitions.

“Of course, Democrats also believe in some of these ideals,” he adds with a flourish.

So much for politics and public service. What about the spoils of success? Here, too, Desai maintains a semblance of balance, but not without a spirit of adventure. He enjoys traveling, both here in the U.S. and in Europe.

This fall, the Desais went to Athens for the Olympics. And before that, Desai and his son went on an expedition to Antarctica – evidence of using one’s affluence to some adventurous ends.

As a family, they eat out often, and their tastes are eclectic. Despite his orthodox Hindu background, Desai even enjoys a good steak, particularly at the Flemings Steakhouse in Tampa.

Morton’s Steakhouse in Dallas is another of his favorites. Apart from that, they enjoy Chinese and Thai cuisines. Before dinner, Desai settles for a Scotch, a Blue Label or a single malt.

For a leisurely weekend, he often drives his Lexus SC430, a red convertible, to the exclusive Vinoy country club for a game of golf. “My game could be better,” he says. And back home, he watches movies with his family in their fully loaded movie theater. Otherwise, there is nothing spectacular about his lifestyle.

He would rather sit down with a drink and engage in an informed discussion about the issues of the day, while watching the magnificent view of the stars coming out from the dark blue sky through the curved glass walls of his parlor.