BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
UNION TOWNSHIP -- It was 11 a.m. and Neelam Bhatara had been on her feet for four hours. Working the bakery counter at Meijer's West Chester store in March, she stretched to reach the top of a tall wire cooling rack for another loaf of bread. Slipping the loaf into a clear plastic bag, she turned and handed it to a customer, adding a smile. Her smile prompted the somber businessman to smile too.
As the 37-year-old mother of two went about her work, she was dressed in a white food-service outfit, including a floppy baker's hat that seems all the larger compared to her petite body and set off by her jet-black hair. The outfit was very plain compared to the bright Indian pantsuits she wears at home.
In India, Neelam lived the life of a woman who had married well and ran her home. In West Chester, where her family moved last year, she works to help make ends meet.
"Here you have to work," Neelam's husband, Vinod, said. "There are too many bills."
At Meijer's, Neelam arrived at 7 a.m. firing-up the large ovens, ringing up customers on the cash register and slicing bread.
At first, work was hard. Her feet ached. The hours were long. She never held a job before.
For Neelam, it was part of a strange new way of day-to-day life that she committed to when she packed up her family in India for a better life in America.
As her family's promising new life began to take shape she wondered how her children would adjust to new surroundings. How badly do they miss India? Will they find new friends? Will they like school? Deep down, she said, she knew it would all work out.
It has.
After a year, she adjusted to the physical demands of the job. And she found she likes dealing with customers, chatting over the counter as she bags bread or slips cookies into a box. The work was an outlet for Neelam's independent, outgoing side.
"You would never have guessed that Neelam didn't work before," her supervisor, Jackie Jarnigan said. "She's very friendly with the guests. When something needs to be done, she doesn't need to be asked."
Perhaps best of all, Neelam made a new friend.
In her first week at Meijer's, Neelam met Sudha Patel, another woman from India, who is learning to make it in America.
Sudha quickly became a confidant for Neelam. She is a connection to the life Neelam left behind and the challenges she faces here. In the bakery, Sudha carefully dropped a loaf of rye bread into anindustrial-size slicer. Beside her, Neelam bagged each item and labeled it with the proper price. As they worked shoulder to shoulder, the two exchanged stories.
Sudha could lend an ear about Neelam missing her parents in India. She could relate to shopping in large grocery stores rather than bazaars and to moving to an unfamiliar place half a world away.
"Having an Indian friend here makes it easier," Neelam said while reflecting on the past year during a 15-minute break in her day.
For Neelam, the excitement and hard work were paying off.
In May, she got a higher paying job at Cintas, a uniform company based in Warren County.
Neelam is still on her feet 8-hours a day. Now she's sewing name labels on uniforms. But she can be home by 3 p.m. and be with her children, she has better benefits and she's off on the weekends.
And through the first year, she has gained answers to some of the questions she worried about most.
She and her husband are on their way to buying their own home. Her son loves America and is looking forward to college. And after months of missing friends in India, her daughter has made new friends in America and is adjusting well.
She has come a long way from the days last year when she was upset about having to work: "Life is better now," she said. "The future is good."
Insight into India
Father sees dreams becoming reality
Daughter struggles to find her niche
Son embraces all things American
