114. Working side by side with his father, are some of the fondest memories of childhood.

Story of Harshad Himabhai Patel

Thousand Moon:  Harshad Himabhai Patel

Contribured By: Tanuja Ranade Sheth

This is the first attempt at writing a personal history of someone that I know who has seen 1000 full moons during their lifetime.   I am blessed to know 5 to 6 individuals who have passed this mark, and I am awed by each of them.  I hope to provide a personal history of each, and then focus on some interesting aspect of their life that we can learn from today.

Harshad Himabhai Patel was born on April 15, 1932 in Mombassa, Kenya, which at that time was part of the British Empire. This interview concentrates on issues that are important to immigrants everywhere- the foundation laid by your family and culture when you were young, reasons why you left your homeland, and the challenges that you faced in a new country.

Harshad Patel is like so many of my parent’s friends who immigrated to the US in the late 1950’s and early ‘60’s. They were looking for educational and professional opportunities that were not available in India at the time.  They were also hoping that their children and future generations would be able to benefit from these opportunities.

First a bit of his personal history:  When Harshad was 8 years old, his entire family- minus his father moved back to India.  His father continued to work in Africa for some years, but the family had land in Charothar, Gujarat.  It was the desire of his father to bring proper irrigation to the land and the area so it could be cultivated and used beneficially.  When Harshad was 12, his parents put him in the Dadaji Naroji High School.  This was a boarding school started by the founders of Tata Steel Mills and was known to be an excellent school.  As with most children who go to boarding school, initially Harshad was scared and was trying to send messages to his mom to come back to get him.  In retrospect, this education was very good, much better than he could have gotten in his small hometown. 

Here is a description of Harshad Patel’s boarding school days in his own voice:

I would like to share some of my experiences of my high school days, at the boarding school, which has helped me tremendously in developing my life foundation.   As I said, I was sent to boarding school at the age of 12 years. My father was for sending me away to school, but my mother was against it. Also, I was not ready to part from my mother.  But, my father was looking at my good future and with his foresight; he found a very good basic school for me. Ultimately, this was a very good step for me.

D.N. High School was one of the best schools in the state of Gujarat. It was founded by Dadabhai Navoriji, who started the first steel mill in India.  This boarding school had 300 students (4^th to 7^th Grade). We were boarded six (6) students in 15’ X 15’ room.  Each one was provided 5’X7’ space with a small bookcase and a small floor desk. We were supposed to bring with us a small 3’X6’ mat (centranji), a pillow, one blanket, towel, water glass (metal), dish (thali), bowl (vatki) and four/five pairs of clothes. We were supposed to sleep on a concrete floor on a mat throughout the year. We were supposed to clean our clothes, dishes and room every day.

Our day started at 5:00 am with a wake up alarm. The daily schedule was as follows.

            5 to 5:30 a.m. - morning chores

5:30 to 6:30 – Exercise

6:30 to 7:15 - Cold shower, wash clothes, etc.

7:15 to 7:45 - Breakfast,

7:45 to 10:00 - Study

10:00 – 11:00 - Lunch

11:00 – 5:00 - School

5:00 – 6:30 - Playtime, volleyball, field hockey, etc.

6:30 – 7:00 - Prayer

7:00 – 8:00 – Dinner (Go to the kitchen with your dish, bowl, glass, etc. and clean them yourself.)

8:00 – 10:00 - Study time.

10:00 pm – 5:00 am - sleep (on a mat, on the floor)

This was a daily routing Monday to Saturday except Sunday.

This was a very simple, structured life, which has provided me the ability to handle and solve all types of problems.

This high school life has developed my life in many ways physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.

Harshad then entered Ruia College in Mumbai to study Chemistry and Physics.  After completing his B. Sc. Degree, he went back to Mombassa to work as a pharmaceutical sales representative with the Dumex Corporation.  This was a company that manufactured vitamins, prescription drugs and baby formula.  In the mean time, he got married to Varsha Vinubhai Patel.  She remained in Mumbai with family, as she was studying her B.A. degree in psychology at SNDT.  At some point in her stay in Mumbai, an “elder” told her that she would travel to join her husband, but further than either Africa, or England.  At that time, very few people were immigrating to the United States, and she did not even think that was a possibility.  This “elder” also told her that she would have a son when she turned 23 years old.  Both premonitions came true!

Unfortunately, things in Africa were not so good.  The times were turbulent for Indians, and Harshad thought that it would be best to leave.  He had always wanted to further his education, and applied for admission to Oklahoma State University, in Stillwater, Oklahoma.   So on August 4, 1959 Harshad left Mumbai on the SS Camboge headed to Marseille, France.  When he got to France, he took a train and ferry to London.  On September 4, 1959, he left via plane to New York City.

The Greyhound Bus was his mode of transport all the way to Tulsa, Oklahoma from New York City.   The cost of this bus ride was $25.  There were very few Indians in this area of the United States at that time, but he managed to live with another foreign student while completing his B.S in Mechanical Engineering.  His first job was with Wisconsin Motor in Milwaukee, and Varsha then joined him in August of 1962.  The following year, they had a son, and then two daughters.  They settled in Columbus, Indiana for many years, with some years in the Chicago area.  Presently, they are spending their retirement years in West Lafayette, Indiana, close to their son, Umesh and his family.

One of Harshad’s favorite memories of his father that illustrates Indian culture was his father’s work ethic.  His father, Himabhai Divalibhai Patel was a very strict parent, but he was also very courageous and enthusiastic about developing a sound agricultural system in India.  When Harshad was 15 years old, his father would take him out into the field to fix broken water pumps.  Sometimes they would have to go out at 2am in the night and then walk up to 3 miles in the dark to fix a broken belt.  Some of these tube wells were also 40-50 feet deep.   There were also many dangers along the way, such as snakes and wild animals.  They did meet a python along the way more than once!  At the site of the broken machinery, Harshad’s father taught him the engineering aspects of how to fix the broken belt on the pump.   This required persistence and hard work. These times spent with his father working together side by side were some of his fondest memories of childhood.

Hard work and persistence were two characteristics that Harshad used in his professional career in the US also.  He realized that in order to get ahead, Indians had to work hard.  In the early 1960’s, there was a significant amount of discrimination in American society.  He always felt that he had to work 10 times harder than his American counterparts to receive the same results such as a promotion or salary raise.  Harshad certainly feels that things are better today, but it is due to the hard work of the initial immigrants that made American society respect Indians. The initial ignorance about people from India was simply due to lack of exposure.  

Here is a bit of what Harshad Patel would like us to know about his life in his own words:

Having passed 1000 full moons, I have experienced and learned many things.  But one of the most valuable lessons I have learned is that guidance provided by parents, teachers, and some of the elders was the most useful to my successes with a minimum difficulties. My gratitude goes to them.

Hard work, good moral values, good logic, good education and minimum requirements will provide a good easy and successful life to the person.

In my past, during my high school days people did not have a lot of materials and money that make people today so happy. Instead we had lots of love that equated to our happiness. Love that I feel is lacking in today’s world.

From the years 1970-1992, Harshad and Varsha Patel continuously helped to put a family member through college. Bringing family members to the United States and helping them to become educated and successful citizens has brought the couple great joy.  Harshad’s final words in this interview were “Life has been good!”

As told to and written by: Tanuja Ranade Sheth