A Bhatnagar Story
“Are you related with Dr. Bhatnagar?” asked an old timer. “No, who and where is he?” I inquired, as I was waiting for my wife in a parking space. The occasion was the annual celebration of the founding of the first Hindu Temple of Las Vegas. There was a big crowd with people coming and going amidst various ceremonies. “His name is Pankaj, and the white lady, serving food in the lunch line, is his wife, ” said, the friend walking away.
A Bhatnagar affinity has nurtured in my heart since childhood. Though drawn from complex Hindu caste system, it transcends when examined from a social point of view. Stepping out of the car, we went back to the temple pavilion again looking for a white lady in a beautiful embroidered silk sari with befitting lavish jewelry. We had no clue on the appearance of man. On spotting her, straight away, we walked up and asked, “Are you married with a Bhatnagar Doctor? “Yes,“ and she pointed out towards her husband standing not too far.
Here is a cultural feature. A married well-dressed Hindu lady is seldom mistaken for an unmarried one. Indian dress and jewelery add distinctiveness to her married identity. When her husband, Pankaj, joined us, I told Melissa, his wife,"You can now start the time as within two minutes, we shall find a common relative. "From her facial expression, it was clear that she did not understand it. They have been married for seven years, and have visited India a couple of times. This observation is deep when it comes to looking at the length side of the Hindu caste system thriving on a small scale. If in two minutes, a common relative is not found, then one is faking his/her Bhatnagar identity, or is a loner. It is known as Bhatnagar Identity Test.
When I told Pankaj of my roots in Bathinda and having lived in various places, he remarked, “ I am born in the US . My father, belonging to Lucknow , came here in 1958. Obviously, he had no idea of Lucknow neighborhoods that I was familiar with. However, the moment he named Hem Bhatnagar, a writer and retired principal of a women college in Delhi , I caught it. Hem lives in Chitra Vihar, a Bhatnagar Colony of Greater Delhi. I too have relatives living there.
Looking at his perplexed wife, though we were conversing in English, I said, “We did not take even a minute to discover this connection.” It is not a typical networking that one runs after in today’s fast life. Bhatnagar connection runs deeper. Soon, we named a dozen people and places known to each other; like Ajmer and Louisville .
Melissa went back to windup the community lunch prasdam, Shradha Bhoj, sponsored by the couple. We exchanged the phone numbers for contacting at leisure. While driving back home, my wife admired Melissa’s enhanced grace in sari and jewelry. We have doweried such saris and jewelries to our daughters and daughter-in- law. To her disappointment, none of them ever wears them! Temples are the best places to show off your best to the gods and goddesses! This tradition, lost to the Hindu holocausts in north India , has fortunately survived in the south. In busy life styles, the temple gatherings in the US are fantastic in socializing and acquainting, particularly, with the Hindus from various states of India . What a day it has turned out today!
Here is a cultural feature. A married well-dressed Hindu lady is seldom mistaken for an unmarried one. Indian dress and jewelery add distinctiveness to her married identity. When her husband, Pankaj, joined us, I told Melissa, his wife,"You can now start the time as within two minutes, we shall find a common relative. "From her facial expression, it was clear that she did not understand it. They have been married for seven years, and have visited India a couple of times. This observation is deep when it comes to looking at the length side of the Hindu caste system thriving on a small scale. If in two minutes, a common relative is not found, then one is faking his/her Bhatnagar identity, or is a loner. It is known as Bhatnagar Identity Test.
When I told Pankaj of my roots in Bathinda and having lived in various places, he remarked, “ I am born in the US . My father, belonging to Lucknow , came here in 1958. Obviously, he had no idea of Lucknow neighborhoods that I was familiar with. However, the moment he named Hem Bhatnagar, a writer and retired principal of a women college in Delhi , I caught it. Hem lives in Chitra Vihar, a Bhatnagar Colony of Greater Delhi. I too have relatives living there.
Looking at his perplexed wife, though we were conversing in English, I said, “We did not take even a minute to discover this connection.” It is not a typical networking that one runs after in today’s fast life. Bhatnagar connection runs deeper. Soon, we named a dozen people and places known to each other; like Ajmer and Louisville .
Melissa went back to windup the community lunch prasdam, Shradha Bhoj, sponsored by the couple. We exchanged the phone numbers for contacting at leisure. While driving back home, my wife admired Melissa’s enhanced grace in sari and jewelry. We have doweried such saris and jewelries to our daughters and daughter-in- law. To her disappointment, none of them ever wears them! Temples are the best places to show off your best to the gods and goddesses! This tradition, lost to the Hindu holocausts in north India , has fortunately survived in the south. In busy life styles, the temple gatherings in the US are fantastic in socializing and acquainting, particularly, with the Hindus from various states of India . What a day it has turned out today!
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