BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Padmaja and Avinash Patkar observe many American customs, but wear traditional clothing when out on casual occasions.
(Craig Ruttle photo)
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For Praveen Sharma, Hindu holidays were lonely.
Yearning for people to celebrate with 20 years ago, she paged through the phone book to find Indian last names like hers. So few were listed that she could call and invite them all over to celebrate.
Not anymore.
Indian immigrants are moving to Greater Cincinnati in record numbers, and the Sharmas spend holidays -- like today's Indian Independence Day -- with a growing community of immediate family and friends. "Just by looking at the phone book, you can tell the Indian population has tripled in size," Mrs. Sharma said.
Indians have been the largest immigrant group to Greater Cincinnati over the past decade. More than 1,400 Indian immigrants settled in the Tristate between 1985 and 1996, according to an Enquirer analysis of Immigration and Naturalization Service data.
That's about 37 percent more people than the next largest group of immigrants during that time, the Chinese. Vietnamese immigrants were the third-largest group with nearly 66 percent fewer newcomers than the Indians.
Like the waves of German and Irish immigrants a century before them, Cincinnati's Indian immigrants are searching for a better life in America. They crave better education, higher paying jobs and access to superior health care. They yearn for their own homes and to live their version of the American dream.
Parents come to Greater Cincinnati so their children have access to an abundance of top-notch colleges. Entrepreneurs seize the chance to open businesses in America because there is less bureaucracy. Many seek the more stable and less corrupt government.
About 1,400 Indian families now live in Cincinnati. Students, doctors and engineers are among the top 10 occupations for Indian immigrants, records show.
They're most often moving to Clifton, near the University of Cincinnati, and suburbs such as West Chester, Blue Ash and Sharonville, according to the data analysis.
The immigration trend unfolding in Greater Cincinnati mirrors the national immigration pattern. Indians were the third-largest immigrant group to the United States in 1996, after Mexicans and Filipinos, according to INS statistics.
"Unfortunately, the opportunities in India aren't good," said Rita J. Simon, a sociologist at American University in Washington, D.C. "With the training they have, they can do better in the United States. There is more social mobility."
Indian immigrants, those pioneers who left such places as Bombay, New Delhi and Madras 20 years ago, say their contemporaries have an easier time today.
There are larger clusters of friends and relatives to greet newcomers today, and guide them through the sometimes overwhelming obstacles that await them. Mrs. Sharma, for instance, helped ease the transition for her brother Vinod Bhatara.
When Mr. Bhatara, 45, arrived in Cincinnati in April 1997, he was about 7,600 miles from his northern Indian home. But in West Chester, he and his family soon discovered familiar touchstones: A Hindu temple, grocery stores filled with spices and vegetables needed for authentic Indian cooking and even a radio program on 88.3 FM every Sunday morning that features Indian music and news. Still, the first year in America is a struggle.
Children have to adjust to coed schools where there are more tests and classes are always in English. There's the stress of new jobs, making new friends and even learning how to get to and from the best grocery stores.
But most immigrants say it's worth the initial culture shock. "If you work hard, you can have a good life," said Vinod Bhatara, who with his wife and two teens immigrated to West Chester from Punjab, India. "The future is better here."
Avinash Patkar, center, talks with his neighbor, Bina Bonnell, left, and Shubhada Joshi in his back yard.
(Craig Ruttle photo)
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On the surface it looks as if the Bhataras turned their backs on a great life.
The family traded in a two-story home for a two-bedroom apartment. Mr. Bhatara left behind his photo copy business. His first job here was sorting empty mail bags at a Postal Service distribution center. His wife, Neelam, was a stay-at-home mom in India. Now she works full time. Her parents are still in India.
Mr. Bhatara's children, Gaurav, 18, and Esha, 15, left behind longtime friends and familiar schools. They've spent the past 15 months making new friends and getting used to sorting through closets to choose what to wear to school every day rather than putting on a uniform.
There have been tense moments since their arrival.
"I used to cry a lot, and I didn't like school a lot," Esha said recently while reflecting on her first year here.
But like many Indian immigrants in Greater Cincinnati and across the United States, the Bhataras uprooted and headed for America in pursuit of better education opportunities and better jobs. "I had no future in India," said Prem Daeda Varma, of Price Hill, who immigrated to Greater Cincinnati in 1970. "My children had no future. . . . Here, we have an excellent life."
Cincinnatians, the newcomers say, have welcomed them with open arms.
Unlike other Asian immigrants who have mostly settled on the nation's East and West Coasts, Indians have spread out through the country in smaller cities like Cincinnati, said Roger Daniels, a University of Cincinnati historian who studies migration.
It's the draw of a city that offers a small-town atmosphere with the benefits of such global corporations as Procter & Gamble and General Electric.
And it's family.
"Most of the people at first came here as students and they were absorbed into society," said Bhagwati Sugar, senior priest at the Hindu Temple of Greater Cincinnati who relocated here in 1988. "Now their brothers, sisters and parents are coming."
The Bhataras are among that new wave of Indian immigrants.
Maintaining family ties
Artwork, cars and other material belongings get left behind in India.
But strong family ties never seem to get lost in the move.
The Bhataras were reunited with family when they got to West Chester. And it is the strong family bond that has made their transition easier.
"It's 100 percent easier if you know somebody," said Shiv Sharma, Mr. Bhatara's brother-in-law who hosted the family for their first five months. "It gives you peace of mind."
When the Bhataras stepped off the plane at the Greater Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport, the Sharma family was there to greet them.
Family introduced the Bhataras to other people at the Greater Cincinnati Hindu Temple in Clermont County. They directed them to grocery stores, such as Jungle Jim's in Fairfield and India Grocers in Sharonville. They showed them where to rent Indian movies and buy Indian music on compact disc.
"They are always there for you," Mr. Bhatara said while surrounded by a dozen family members at a Sunday night dinner. "My sister helped us get everything from scratch."
It's a support network that wasn't there 20 and 30 years ago when college students were practically the only Indians in Greater Cincinnati.
Avinash Patkar, 46, of Sharonville, remembers older Indian students at UC passing on the information he needed to assimilate here 22 years ago from Bombay. He then passed on his knowledge to the small number of Indian students who came after him.
That's all changed today for several reasons:
Indian students at UC and other local universities are often second-generation Indians who grew up in this country.
There's a transient population of Indians who live here for a couple of years and work -- often in computers -- and then return to India.
A larger number of immigrants are "sponsored" by relatives living here so they are going directly into the work force rather than going to school. Once immigrants become citizens, they can sponsor relatives to come to America.
"A significant number of us have sponsored brothers and sisters and parents," said Mr. Patkar, a chemical engineer.
Vinod Bhatara prays with his son, Gaurav, at the Hindu Temple of Greater Cincinnati.
(Craig Ruttle photo)
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The phenomena isn't uncommon.
Traditionally immigrants have continued to migrate to areas where they have family, Mr. Daniels said.
"Once people start coming from an area, they keep coming," he said. "It's chain migration: Immigrants follow one another like links in a chain."
Finding a support system
That chain has grown to include about 1,400 families in Greater Cincinnati.
As a result, the Bhataras also have an extended family through the Hindu temple that they can rely on for support.
There are no formal programs for new immigrants, but "people guide us as newcomers," Mr. Bhatara said.
"This is very similar to temple back in India," Mrs. Bhatara added. "It's nice to have."
With about 1,000 families from all parts of India, the temple provides a place of worship and a way for Indians to maintain their language, traditional songs and dances, and religious customs. "You have a place where you can preserve your heritage," said Laxmi S. Srivastava, who has been in Cincinnati for nearly 30 years and was the head of the committee for building the temple. "You can meet people."
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Where they live
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Indian immigrants have tended to settle near the University of Cincinnati and in suburbs north and northeast of the city. Here are their top 10 neighborhoods, based on ZIP codes and the number of immigrants who moved there:
 1. Clifton, 113.
2. West Chester, 111.
3. Sharonville - Evendale, 101.
4. Blue Ash, 99.
5. Fairfield - Hamilton, 86.
6. Sycamore Township, 72.
7. Clifton - Corryville, 54.
8. Glendale - Springdale, 43.
9. Mount Healthy - North College Hill - Wyoming, 42. Forest Park, 42.
10. Reading, 38.
Source: Enquirer data analysis of Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Department of Justice data.
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The temple sits on 100 acres of land, and there are plans for a nine-hole golf course, retirement community and medical clinic. "It shows the seriousness of the community's intention of staying," Mr. Daniels said. "The language doesn't last long -- a generation or two. But the religion is lasting."
And religion offers a familiarity in a country where even the traffic signs are foreign-looking.
"There is an uncertainty of going to a new place, and starting all over again makes it difficult," said Vijay Kumar, Shiv Sharma's brother who lives in Anderson Township. "The first year is the hardest."
Success in America
Despite some tense weeks of wondering where he would work after his temporary job at the post office ended, Mr. Bhatara is optimistic. He's determined to make it in America.
He and Mrs. Bhatara are sewing labels on uniforms at Cintas. The pay and benefits are good. And with a little computer training, Mr. Bhatara is confident he can move up in the company.
Mrs. Bhatara, who dreaded being on her feet eight hours a day when she first arrived to America, now cannot imagine not working a full day.
"Staying at home is boring," she said.
The teens are feeling more comfortable in their settings, too. Both are staying after school for extra tutoring as many as three times a week so they can get good grades and fulfill their dream of going to college.
"Compared to a year ago, I feel better," said Gaurav, who has been the most gung-ho about starting a new life here. "I've adjusted. School is familiar. I have new friends. I like it here."
After Sunday worship at temple, the family now mingles easily with new friends rather than sticking close to family members. Women at the temple spoon homemade vegetarian dishes from large pots. Everyone -- including the Bhataras -- takes a Styrofoam plate loaded with food and finds a place to sit.
Vinod Bhatara looks for a group of men with whom to chat.
Neelam sits with her sister-in-law and other friends.
Their son, Gaurav, sits in a corner with two other teen boys. Their daughter, Esha, mingles with her cousins and later plays with some of the children in the temple.
No one's in a rush to go home.
Unlike his sister, Praveen Sharma,Vinod didn't have to page through the phone book to find people who shared his Indian heritage. The first year in America hasn't always been easy. But after a year in West Chester, the Bhatara family blends in easily with its newfound community.
A community now large enough to fill its own phone book.
Father sees dreams becoming reality
Mother finds her own independence
Daughter struggles to find her niche
Son embraces all things American
