Updated 19th June 2008 - Story added just below my signature at the end of this
introduction - (cant get seperate "stories" section to work)
 
This website will contain the family tree and ancestral history of Ravi Mehta and of
many other families related to Ravi and his ancestors. Ravi Mehta's paternal
grandfather Shri Gulzarilal Nanda (Nandaji / Dadaji), was born on July 4, 1898 in
Sialkot in the Punjab province of British India and died in Ahmedabad on January
15,1998 in his daughter Dr.Pushpa Naik's home at the age of almost 100 years. Nandaji
was the Prime Minister of India twice: the first time after the death of Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, and the second time after the death of Prime Minister Lal
Bahadur Shastri in 1966. Both terms were uneventful, yet they were important because of
potential danger to the country following Nehru's death soon after a war with China in
1962, and Shastri's death after a war with Pakistan in 1965. A separate website on
Nandaji will be made on www.primeminister-india.com but it has not been started yet.
This website will contain interesting items which have never been published before such
as images of correspondence between Mahatma Gandhi and Dadaji, antique photographs with
national leaders, old books, letters, autographs and other memorabilia and souvenirs.
 
Ravi Mehta's father Maharaj Krishen Mehta, deceased on March 28,2006 at the age of 87,
was the eldest son of Gulzarilal Nanda. Dr. Keval Krishen Mehta, his maternal
grandfather, adopted him. Hence my surname is Mehta and not Nanda.Maharaj Krishen Mehta
was a brilliant mechanical engineer in several different industries, an
inventor of international repute and held a large number of patents for his designs. He
was Managing Director of a company in UK for 15 years and executed vast projects in
about 20 countries on all continents. Earlier he had lived and worked in USA, Canada
and India. In the early 1960's he was the chief design engineer of Bhilai Steel Plant.
A separate website on my father, outlining his interesting life will be set up in due
course. Gulzarilal Nanda's daughter Dr.Pushpa Naik and her family were devoted to
Dadaji and looked after him during the last 10 years of his life when he stayed with
them in Ahmedabad.Dr.Chhotubhai Naik was a Cardiologist of the highest rank and
physician to the President of India.Dr.Pushpa Naik personally ran a hospital in
Ahmedabad on a voluntary basis for 40 years and is still active. It was her 87th
birthday on 13th April 2008. The Naik family is very well known and has excelled in
their respective fields: Tejus is a reputed Paediatric surgeon and established his own
hospital in Ahmedabad, and Alankar is in the top management team of a Fortune 500 MNC
in USA.Gulzarilal Nanda's younger son Narinder Nanda, was a brilliant electronic
engineer in reputed government organizations. He is now in his early 80's and still
works as an electronic engineer. His son Vivek Nanda has a flourishing practice as an
Architect in London and has lectured at Cambridge in academic positions.
 
The Nandas are a Khatri clan from Eminabad near Sialkot in pre-partition Punjab. Their
known history goes back to the time of Babar's invasion of Punjab in 1529 when the town
was known as Sayidpur.Eminabad is known in history for Guru Nanak's stay there and his
penance there when he made his bed on a heap of stones (Rohri), his capture by Mughal
Emperor Babar, a miracle he performed there of getting his grain mill or chakki - which
he was given as punishment to grind - work on its own and his subsequent release by
Babar.There are Gurdwaras, including the Rohri Sahib and Chakki Saheb , and a Sikh
community still living there whom I hope to be able to contact. The Sikhs and Khatris
are historically closely connected - all the 10 Gurus were Khatris, Khatris used to
make one of their sons a Sikh.Nandaji wrote a book on Guru Tej Bahadur, which I am
trying to locate. Several generations ago my grandfather's branch of the family moved
to a village near Eminabad called Baddon-ki-Gosain which as he stated himself is his
own place of origin, although there is another piece of information which says he was
born in Ghartal near Sialkot - the hometown of the Puris, his maternal family. This
site has been started just recently, and will never be "complete". Contributions and
corrections are most welcome by way of email to analytic10@gmail.com or by clicking on
"Guestbook" above. The expansion and enhancement of this site may be along the
following avenues:
 
a) Origins and detailed history of the Nandas going back at least 500 years.
 
b) Role of the Nandas in the history of the Khatris.The Khatris and their various
subdivisions provide fascinating material for research and it is clear they have been a 
capable community in the professions,administration,law, accountancy and business.
 
c) All aspects of the customs, traditions, life and culture of the Nanda clan, within
the context of the Khatri caste.
 
d) Intersection of the histories of the Nanda clan and the geographical areas of
Sialkot, Eminabad and Baddon-ki-Gosain in prepartition Punjab. All this applies during
the rules of the various ruling dynasties / kings / governors of the Mughals, Sikhs and
British, including Ranjit Singh and Gulab Singh.
 
e) The history of the branch of the Puri family which was Gulzarilal Nanda's maternal
family and their strong connections with the Dogra royal families of Jammu and Kashmir,
particularly the Rajas of Poonch.The Nandas were chief ministers in the Jammu and
Kashmir governments for generations. This includes the story of Gulzarilal Nanda's
father Bulaqiram Nanda, his stay in Poonch and his relationship with the Diwans of
Poonch.There is a very interesting section from a book by Krishan Chandar, the well
known short story writer who belonged to Poonch, telling the story of his (Chandar's) 
student days and escapades under his strict teacher Bulaqi Ram, and also the latter's
unhappiness about Dadaji (Gulzarilal) reading newspapers and becoming involved in
politics at the expense of economic stability and his family. Dadaji was very fond of
his mother Ishwaridevi, whom Buaji (Dr.Pushpa Naik ) remembers meeting.I have met
Bulaqiram Ram Nanda ,my great grandfather often in my childhood during vacations in
Delhi. Ishwaridevi's brother was Diwan Gyan Chand who was very helpful to Bulaqiram in
getting him a job as Headmaster in a school in Poonch. Bulaqiram stayed in Gyan Chand's
house in Poonch initially before making his own arrangement. Dadaji studied in Poonch
for several years and remembers it as one of the happiest times in his life.I can
confirm that Poonch is an extremely naturally beautiful place. I have seen Diwan
Gyan Chand's house and Bulaqiram's other house and old school in Poonch although all 3
were substantially renovated after the devastating earthquake in Poonch in 2006.
 
f) The history of the development of Kurukshetra by Shri Gulzarilal Nanda, restoration
of hundreds of ancient monuments; the museums there including one solely dedicated to him.
 
g) Current status of the approximately 18 NGO's such as Bharat Sevak Samaj started by
Gulzarilal Nanda and what happened to them. The story of the labour movement in Indore
and the Nanda Nagar there.
 
h) History of the Mehtas my father's maternal family. 
 
i) My mother Kanta Mehta's family was from Multan, now in Pakistan. Multanis have
strong and stubborn personalities (me too) and a distinct culture and
language.Incidentally they almost killed and seriously wounded Alexander the Great when
he came visiting and he died several years later from the these wounds. They
were very successful in many fields after moving to India during the partition. In
future, historical and genealogical research on Multani families from my mother's side
- the Ahujas, Katarias and Bagais etc and their culture will also be carried out.2
sisters of my maternal grandmother (Ramdevi Ahuja): Bhag Kataria,over 100 years of age,
and Vidya Chandra almost 100 yearsof age are living in Delhi and we celebrated Bhag
Aunty's 100th birthday in great style and hosted by her son Minna Kataria,in  Delhi
last year. A website of my maternal uncle Suresh Chandra Ahuja (Suresh Mama) who was
blind, and head of the National Association for the Blind will also be made in due
course. He was a reputed professional in the field of blind welfare, travelled overseas
tirelessly and won several international awards. Swaran Ahuja my Mami, is a truly
wonderful and unique lady who while pursuing her own professional career in the blind
training field,devotedly supported Suresh Mama in all his endeavours. Suresh Mama
passed away on 27th January 2007  .In their heyday they were both part of the Bombay
"social set" and would have certainly been page 3 personalities if that  concept had
existed in those days.The 5 Kataria brothers (my mother's cousins) and their families
have each blazed their own trails as industrialists, corporate top management,senior
defense services personnel and in Medicine.My mother's cousin Satish Chandra was
formerly the High Commissioner of India in Pakistan. 
 
j) Ravi's wife Vrinda's famlly , the Capoors who are based in Hyderabad of Khatri
origin,Dhaighar to be precise - higher caste than Nandas who are from the Bawanjati,
Bawanjai or "52 clans" group of Khatris - and had close links with the Nizams in
earlier generations.Her family history will be explored. Vrinda's father Dwarkanath
Capoor was the Home Secretary in the Maharashtra governmentin the early 1980's. 
 
k) Anecdotes, as many as possible will be supplied, to liven up the personalities. Time
is running out since many of the people who have information are now very old.
 
l) The cycle trip  which Mr.K Arun undertook for 5 years to South Asian countries as a
member of the Bharat Sevak Samaj founded by Dadaji.
 
The maturity of a civilization is reflected in the respect they have for preserving
their history. After the British conquered India, they wanted to document all aspects
of their new country and their subjects and in this they were thorough.Among the
colonizers many of the individuals who did the studies were actually Indophiles  and
devoted students of Indian history and culture. The records they left behind over a 100
years ago are still useful and are not matched in quality and, accuracy any of the
current work - sorry historians. Caste is viewed from a negative angle and rightly so
for its discriminatory effect hence data on caste has for a long time not been asked
for and collected in the Census surveys. However this amounts to loss of valuable
information since caste is a historical /anthropological reality and is important for
the study of the history and culture of communities. The tragedy and impact on families
of partition, in terms of disintegration of their social fabric, is felt in full force
when doing such a project; so is the disappointment with leaders of all sides for their
impotence in avoiding partition and incurring such heavy loss of life. A huge variety
of sources are being used for this project such as the following:
 
a) Talks with old people and relatives in many cities.
b) A large number of libraries in several cities such as the National Archives
Delhi, Nehru Memorial Library, Delhi, the Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad,Kurukshetra Museum.
c) Old surviving photgraphs, letters, souvenirs in the family.
d) Visits to Pandas who are priests as well as genealogists and photos of their records,
some in the script of the old western Punjabi or Multani (Lahndi), which was modified
for Gurmukhi.Pandas in Haridwar and even more so in Peohwa near Kurukshetra have been
able to provide family trees going back upto 10 generations ie back to the mid 1600's.
e)Khatri associations and the Arya Samaj.
f)Organisations and NGO's started by Gulzarilal Nanda and people who still remember
him.The numbers of Dadaji's devotees in all walks of life in every nook and corner of
India and the affection and respect they express has never been experienced by me
anywhere earlier.There was something of the highest class in the personality /
spirituality of Gulzarilal Nanda which still finds resonance in those I meet.
h)Pramila Kalhan's excellent book:A Life in the Service of the People. Regret she
passed away many years ago but they still remember her well in Delhi.
 
I would like to thank immensely the following friends and respected elders who have
helped or inspired me:

a)Mr.and Mrs.Madanlal Nanda of Mumbai who gave me a family tree.Mrs.Madanlal Nanda also
gave me the words in Punjabi of the Puja that only the Nanda ladies do on the day after
Nagpanchmi.There is a very interesting story behind this.  
b) Mr.K.D.Maini, an author and historian of Poonch and Kashmir and his family in Poonch
who treated me as a member of their own family.
c) Mrs Kusum Chopra and Captain Chopra of Ahmedabad who gave me valuable information on
the Nanda family tree and Eminabad.
d) Mr L.M. Puri of Kolkata who inspired me by giving me a copy of his book containing
the family trees and history of his extended family.
e) Dr.Rajesh Purohit,Director  of the Krishna museum and the Gulzarilal Nanda museum in
Kurukshetra.
f) Mr.P.C.Chib and Mr.Arun of the Gulzarilal Nanda Foundation,who have been close
associates of Dadaji for decades.
g) Mr.Rajesh Chauhan , journalist of Kurukshetra who along with Mr.Arun K took a lot of
trouble to guide me in Kurukshetra.
h)Mr.S.N.Bagai,of Delhi who has published a well acclaimed book on the History of the
Dera Bagai's and gave me a family tree of the Multan Bagais - my mother's maternal
family.He has kindly permitted me to enter all the genealogical charts in this site
which I am now in the process of doing.
i) Many more people including close family,relatives,friends and office staff whom I
have not mentioned individually.

The mutiple objectives for making this  website are as follows:
 
a) To fulfill an inner need, perhaps to add some more meaning to life and pay respects
to ancestors in some spiritual way to whom I owe the sum and total of who I am
b) Keep memories alive of eminent people who have contributed to the country but are
unjustifiably forgotten in the page 3 era of Shah Rukh Khans,and Virendra Sehwags.
c) To document the history so it can be passed on to future generations as a common
legacy of our extended family.
d) To have a focal point where missing information can be input by anyone viewing this
site.
e) Provide contact information to enable networking.
f) To solve many puzzles and missing pieces in the history
g) Unearth many interesting facts and hitherto untold stories.
h) Form a good base of information before making a trip to Pakistan?
i) Encouragement to the younger generation to understand their roots.
 
I hope to make good progress on this project,so please keep coming back to visit. 
 
As I said I have got the Nanda's family tree upto mid 1600's.Now the challenge is to
fill the gap upto 1525 - please see the following extracts from the book by the British
administator Lepel Griffin, dated 1907, Chiefs and Families of Note of Punjab:
 
"The Nanda Khatri family of which Ganga Bishen is the present representative, is of
some antiquity.Ujar Sen , the first of whom any mention is made , lived in the reign of
Babar Shah,and by a marriage with the daughter of a wealthy official of Eminabad in
Gujranwala , whither he had gone in the train of the Emperor,established the fortunes
of the family.His son Lakhu was adopted by his father in law , Devi Ditta , and on his
death ,succeeded to his office of Kanungo ;and for several generations the office
,which was in those days of some consideration, remained with the family. etc.etc."
 
"The family is well known all over northern India by reason of the close connection for
years past of many of its members with the Jammu and Kashmir State............"  
 
(The connection between Eminabad and Jammu and Kashmir goes back to Ranjit Singh's time
when he gave Eminabad as a Jagir to the Raja Dhyan Singh of Jammu.Since then the Nandas
of Eminabad held important positions such as Diwan/Wazir under the Rajas of Jammu and
Kashmir.)                     
 
"The family history goes back to Rai Ugar Sen of Bikaner,who was Peshkar or Secretary
to the Emperor Babar , whom he once accompanied on a visit to the Punjab and marrying
amongst the Kanungo Khatris of Eminabad in the Gujranwala district , settled there ..."
 
So did the Nandas originate in Bikaner ? and before Bikaner ?
 
But as of this moment the rest of this site may be inaccurate-so wait a couple of weeks
 
Best wishes,
 
Ravi 9819576975,  022 26300663.



STORY 1

The Nandas and Baddon ki Gosain.
 
I remember as a child, my grandfather used to mention that he came from a place called
Baddon ki Gosain in Pakistan. I have tried to piece together some account of the Nanda
clan with particular reference to Baddon from conversations with old relatives and I
will be ever grateful to them for helping me preserve these lost stories. The relatives
mentioned and their relationships can be found in the charts in this site. I had spoken
in detail with Mrs.Madanlal Handa (nee Sehgal) of Mumbai on 15th and 16th April
2008.Earlier I had visited them in their house in Worli.Mr.Nanda had found me when I
had posted my fathers obituary in the Times of India in March 2006.Mr.Madanla's father
was Wazirchand Nanda.Wazirchand's greatgrandfather, Ramjidas and Gulzarilal Nanda's
great grandfather, Mayadas were brothers-their father was Jaikishandas. 
 
I need to first refer to an earlier conversation with my Buaji Dr.Pushpa Naik in which
she told me that her Dadi (father's mother) used to tell her that there was a Nanda
Raja who was killed by the Muslims. His pregnant wife fled and sought shelter in some
woods under an Akha tree/plants and also gave birth to her baby in the shelter of these
plants. So from then onwards, the Nanda ladies do not touch or pick fruit/flowers from
Akha plants but on one day of the years they fast and perform Puja (prayers) to these
leaves/flowers/fruits. Now Mrs.Madanlal nanda informed me that this puja is conducted
every year one day after Nagpanchmi (which is 5th day after the full moon) i.e. the
sixth day after the full moon. The ladies fast on that day - have no roti but have
chana and rice. They do puja of Beri ke Ped (beri plant/tree) and Akh ke ped (plant or
tree of Akh). The prayer for the Beri plant is as follows in Punjabi, translated also
to English:
 
Beri re Beri,
Tenu phal lage batere
Tenu patya di chan
Menu puttran di chan
 
Hey Beri Tree
May you produce plenty of fruits.
You will receive the shade/protection of your leaves.
I will receive the protection/shade of my sons.
 
The puja to the Akha tree was like this (said by the first wife who is childless so far
and shares her husband with a second wife)
 
Akha re Akha
Na pai savakka 
Chichadia muh pakka
Saukan meri darui
Main manje chadh kar sui
 
The third line above was said to be a filler without any meaning
 
Hey Akha tree
Let there not be shortage (or want)
Have the second wife ejected
I will mount the bed for my delivery. 
 
Mrs.Madanlal Nanda mentioned the following additional points of interest:
 
a) The Nandas are from the 52 houses grade (bawanjai ghar) of the Khatris.
b) Usually a mangalsutra is not worn but golden bangles on hands are essential after
marriage.
c) For marriages only Rs.1.25 was offered to fix it.
d) The Pandas of the Nandas in Haridwar are Suraj Bhan (son of Ravi Bhan), Pandit
Ramakant and Pandit Dushyant.They are called Lakkadwale.
e) Her sister Janakidevi (also married to Nanda) is in her 90's and lives in
Chandigarh.I spoke with her on the phone but did not obtain any new information.
 
Incidentally the fruit of the akh tree, a small round fruit called datura is worshipped
and is offered to Shivji .It is poisonous but Shivji does not mind and can handle it.
 
I had three long telephone conversations with Mr.Dharamvir Nanda.His grandfather
Jhandemal Nanda and Gulzarilal Nanda's grandfather Diwan Chand were brothers and sons
of Mayadas Nanda.His address is B63 Gujranwala Town Part 1.Phone 27229219.Gujranwala
was a few miles from Baddon and their residential society in Delhi was formed by
refugees from that area. He is in his 90's but absolutely articulate mentally clear and
affectionate. I had three long telephone conversations with him on 30/4/2008, 6/5/2008
and 15/6/2008, which are combined and recorded below. Later I'll take care to make a
better flow of the story.
 
Eminabad was the main town of the Nandas.Baddon ki Gosain was about 10 to 15 miles
away. In Baddon there were many Gosains (gurus, sadhus, holy men). There were no
Khatris in Baddon and the Gosains wanted to have Khatris in Baddon and this appears to
be one of the reasons that some of the Nandas shifted to Baddon. (Note the Khatris were
pretty useful people to have around generally because they were resourceful, educated,
and good at business as well as at administration.) The Nandas later bought land in
Baddon.The Gosains had a senior Baba Saindas Ji who wrote a version of the Granthsahib.
 
Medieval India Literature: An anthology by K. Ayyappapanicker-Sahitya Academy, 1997 has
some more information on the Gosains.Saindas's version of the granth was called Granth
Gosain Gurbani.Guru Nanak and Saindas met each other - Nanak sang Sukhmani and Sodar
and Saindas sang Gian Rattan, and both mutually enjoyed these. Incidentally there is a
Saindas Anglo-Sanskrit High School in Jullender.Gosain is from Goswamy in Sanskrit-lord
of the senses.
 
Another reference in The Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and the North West by H.A.
Rose - 1990:
Bhagti (or Bhaoti, on another page - probably typo error), a Gosain sub-sect or order,
said to have been founded by Kanshi Ram, a brother of Saindas. The latter was a Brahman
Bairagi whose son Ramanand has a has a shrine well known in and about the Gujranwala
district, a Baddoke.His sect has many followers among the more respectable Khatris and
Brahmans of Lahore and its neighbourhood....
>>More research to do

He had a dream that he will have a son but that the child will go away at the age of
14.A son was then born and called Baba Ramanand. When Ramanand turned 14 they wanted to
get him married. Ramanand went to a garha (matka, vessel), kept his stick in it and
disappeared. The stick grew to become a beri tree. Saindas remembered the dream that
his son will go away at the age of 14.There was a tank outside the village where cows
drank water. There was a person in the village that had TB and he was told to bathe in
this tank and his TB then got cured. Thereafter the Nandas had a big temple of Ramanand
called Tombrisaheb temple built there. The temple was supposed to be a copy of the
Amritsar temple along with a big tank. The English also respected the mandir. After
partition, the people from Gujranwala Town society in Delhi have been back to visit the
temple and it is quite easy to get the visas and make the trip. They say the temple
otherwise stays locked up by the authorities usually because it was found that if a
Musalman plucked and ate a berry from any of the trees there he died. This finds a
connect with an important story of the Nandas in a following paragraph. After Baba
Ramanand disappeared, his mother used to be very sad, so later Ramanand agreed to meet
her every night. Then she was happy and started looking happy and people asked her why
she was looking happy and it slipped out from her that she saw Ramanand everyday. When
Ramanand got to know of this he stopped coming to see her. There was an incident when
the Gosains put out a big fire in the market and thereafter there was 3 days leave
annually to mark the occasion. The Gosains went to "Kabul near Peshawar"(as per
Dharamvirji) and set up an outpost there. The returning Gosains were referred to in
mirth as Kabuliwalas.
 
 
The Gosains could not be the gurus of the Nandas and did not accept the Nandas as
chelas (disciples) because they considered them brothers. Their mohalla was next to the
Nanda mohalla. If Nanda ladies went to another village, the Gosains would treat them as
their own daughters. The Gosains who came to Delhi after partition set up a temple in
Delhi whose address is 104 Uttam Nagar, Z Block and it has an office. It has an office.
One of the descendants of the original Gosains is one "Mahantji" who stays in Ghaziabad
but comes to Uttam Nagar now and then. There are functions in the temple to mark the
occasions they used to in Baddon.
 
>>> Find out details and dates.
 
In Baddon there were 2 big festivals (melas) every year, one for Saindas and another
after the wheat harvest (gehu kati)
Once a year there was a big fair (mela) for 3days (~ 18th May?) in honour of the Gosain
guru, Baba Ramanand, when people from outside came and free food was offered in every
house. There were singing competitions.
 
Dharamvirji also mentioned a Swami Ramtirth >> more details required.
 
In Baddon the houses of 4 Nanda families Jhandemal, Mayaram, Bulaqiram/Diwan Chand
Nanda and Nandlal, were all in a row. The area was called Nanda Gali/Mohalla. Baddon
had a primary school but he later went to Gujranwala for High School and to learn
English. Some other families in Baddon were the Kochhars and the Narangs - both from
the Arora caste. Gokulchand Narang was the first person from those parts to get a BA
and later the English made him a minister. Dharamvir's father was the second person to
get a BA. Gokulchand later had many factories and became famous. He also had a sugar
mill in UP and he set up the Narang Bank of India which was later merged with the
United Bank of India in the early 1970's.Gokulchand Narang was "Sir" and "Dr." and not
only a successful businessman and industrialist but also a scholar, politician and
reformer. Lala Mool Raj Narang was father of Gokul Chand Narang. Companies including
Delhi based Narang Industries Limited are still active. 
 
>>>to contact Narang current generation.
 
Lala Kakaram, Tarachand and Dharachand mentioned in old records were likely from the
Narang family. In the same records one Bholaram Saindas is mentioned.
Dharamvir worked for the Narangs in Gujranwala. During partition he took out people in
vehicles from the factory. They also took out the granth, which was of the highest
importance to them and published it in Delhi. Dharamvir's granth was borrowed by
someone and not returned. It was believed if you read the granth you pass your exams.
They have published an abbreviated book, which contains sections from the granth. They
are planning to republish the full one in July. The Mahantji must be having a copy of
the full one for his own reading and I could ask him for an extra copy.
 
These families were totally vegetarian and had lassi, homemade butter, dahi, and
parathis. They did not eat tomatoes. They started eating non-vegetarian food only much
later. However even Gosain children sometimes ate eggs outside with other children for
fun. Other food was normal like rice vegetables, dal etc. An interesting Nanda custom
was that when a male baby was born he was not clothed normally but was wrapped up in a
sadhu's cloth until his first tooth appeared. Another Nanda custom was that the during
marriages the boy was brought to the girl's house a day before the barat arrived and
then when the barat arrived he joined he sat with them. This was to ensure that even if
the barat were held up the shagun would not be delayed.
 
The joke was " Eminabad Diwanon ki, Gujranwala pehelwanon ki and somewhere else
shaitanon ki". The Rajas and Diwans were based in Jammu - Kashmir was developed later.
 
>>> check with Dharamvirji
 
 
Some family details of the Nandas obtained from Dharamvirji:
a) Bulaqi Ram Nanda's eyes were weak but he still chose to become a teacher.
Dharamvir?s father Ramnath was instrumental in arranging the marriage of Dadaji to
Bibiji. Bibiji was from a very rich family, and perhaps did not like the simple
conditions at the Nandas but later adapted. During Dadaji's marriage, Bulaqiram's name
was not mentioned much because he was just a schoolteacher. So they said Gulzarilal was
the son of Jhandemal who was a thekedar (contractor/builder) and prosperous-he in fact
bulit a Jhandewal Bagh (garden) in Baddon. So it was perhaps surprising for Bibiji to
find that Bulaqiram and Dadaji were not very off. However Bibiji also decided to become
involved in the freedom struggle and become Mahatma Gandhi's cheli (disciple) and said
she would cook Dadaji's food with her own hands. 
b) Once a group of people came from London, bringing back a Granth Sahib and Dadaji
gave a speech, in Punjabi at the airport. Everyone was surprised because Dadaji had
been based in Ahmedabad for decades and they thought he was a Gujarati.
c) Manoharlal Nanda was Nandlal's son and was superintendent of Police in Delhi. They
used to have some contact with him but do not any longer.
d) The famous Chhattarpur Mandir in Mehrauli Delhi was inaugurated by Dadaji. It was
originally started by a Darzi (tailor) but grew in popularity.
e) The Mehtas were from Rohtak
 
Some family details of Dharamvirji: 
a) He helped Dadaji with his election work in Karnal and earlier used to live in
Karnal. His brother Swarnlal and his sons are still in Karnal.
b) I think he said Gulzarilal had done his son's sehrabandhi. 
c) His wife does not keep well and is served by her children
d) Dharamvir has two sons, Avtar Krishen who is in US and another Subhash who was also
in US and died.
e) He has 10 daughters. 
f) One of his daughers, Meena Malik whom I spoke with on the phone used to live in
Nigeria for 15 years and has children in California.
g) His family was happy to hear about me and said they would have another brother.
h) Dharamvir had 2 Addis (paternal grandmothers). His grandfather Jhandemal married
twice since the first wife did not conceive. He said the second marriage was in fact
encouraged or urged by the first wife since she considered that the son would be her
son also. The 2 wives were called Bari Ma and Choti Ma. Second marriages happened
sometimes but were not a regular custom and not much prevalent.
i) His son in law Subhash Kakkar who runs "Invitation Banquest", near police lines and
organizes parties for up to 1000 people.
j) Dinanath was Dharamvir's chacha (paternal uncle) and died from snakebite.
k) His mother's name was Karamdevi - she had two younger sisters but no brother, but
still her father did not marry a second time. 
l) Her mother's family the Wadheras were from Gujarat and they were from the Jaikrishni
panth - only worshipped Krishna.
 
Now I come to phone conversations (one on 13th April 2008 her 87th birthday) Pushpa
Naik, to record some more points of family history:
 
a) Bulaqi Ram Nanda, My great grandfather: he was quite strict and used to often
correct English usage and pronunciation. (His strictness is born out by what Krishen
Chander from Poonch who was his pupil in school had to say in his book. He used to
massage his legs with oil every morning. He loved mithai (Indian sweets) and go often
to the mithai shop outside Gulzarilal Nanda's house in Delhi. Once he went there and
after eating, told the mithaiwala that he was not feeling well and could he be dropped
home on the cycle, which was done. At home Dadaji was not there. The doctor who was
called said that he is going cold. Nehruji was informed and arranged for plane
transport to bring him home but Bulaqi Ram passed away. His parents died when he was
quite young 10 or 12 years old and his uncle had his lands put in his name to look
after Bulaqi.
b) Buaji went to Baddon with Dadaji when she was in medical college final year about
two years before her marriage- he took her to the terrace of the house and showing the
scene told her that all these lands belonged to his father.
c) Buaji does not know of any sister of Bulaqi Ram.Buaji met Dadaji's mother
Ishwaridevi in Ahmedabad.She was a very fair, good looking, thin, nice lady. She wore
golden rings (balis) in her ears. She died in Lahore - Dadaji was near her. Dadaji had
had a house built for his parents in Lahore, a big house, one side of which was rented
out. It was near the DAV college grounds, in an area called Nanda gali or Nanda Nagar.
d) Dadaji's maternal uncle (Mama), Mulkrak had a big house in Sialkot, with a big fruit
garden-she remembers going there in the summers-and being served fruit in the late
afternoon-phalse. 
e) My father's father by adoption and actually his maternal grandfather KK (Keval
Krishen) Mehta died of liver cancer in Multan.She was called Boboji (probably
Bhagwandevi) and all sorts of quacks used to come to tie strings etc. to try to cure
her. After she died he married another lady from Amritsar, whom they were told to call
Rani Saheb.She was fair, well built, and much younger than him). After partition,
KKMehta went to Nainital and even stayed in a garage because he did not want to stay in
his daughter's house. Buaji remembers him using an old discarded tin for an ashtray.
During Ronak's marriage in Ahmedabad, Nidhi mentioned to me that Rani Saheb's son Kuku
is still living in Nainital.