My father, Mr. Prem Krishna Bhatia is from Bareilly, U.P. ("Baans Bareilly", not Rai Bareilly). My paternal family is from U.P., though there are few Bhatias from this province. My Dadi Ma, Mrs. Shyam Lata Bhatia was born in the land of Lord Krishna, Vrindavan. She was a loving, peaceful and wise woman, living a life of true love for the Lord. My Dadaji, Mr. Shri Krishna Bhatia was an eminent civil servant from Bulandshahar. I still have friends and family in Bareilly, and I have been going there frequently since I was a child.

My mother, Mrs. Saroj Bhatia was born in Sayalkot, but then shifted to Delhi after partition. She is Punjabi. She was a Bhatia before marriage as well (that makes me a double Bhatia!!). My Nani Ma, Mrs. Sudershan Kumari Bhatia was an extremely intelligent and multi-talented woman... she was adept at writing, composing, singing, public speaking and various arts and crafts. My Nanaji, Mr. Badrinath Bhatia was an illustrious man... a martyr. He died on August 15, 1947 during the freedom struggle for India. This is something that has left an indelible impact on me.

I have an older sister, Subhrata Dutta. She was actually my first neighbor when I came to Bombay, and she has stood by me through thick and thin since then. She didn't have a younger sister and I didn't have an older sister, and so one thing lead to another and we decided to become "Rakhi Sisters"!! Ha ha!! But one thing is for sure... I don't know if real sisters share what we do. I am thankful to God for giving me this beautiful pillar in my life. She is a very successful entrepreneur who has opened an exclusive designer boutique in Juhu called "Subhrata". Talk about a woman of substance.

And then there's my brother... Dr. Sacha Rajan Bhatia. He is three years younger than me, and he is bright, intelligent, sensitive, deep and overall just an amazing human being!! (just like his older sister, I dare say!). He is currently in Toronto, working as a resident doctor at the Toronto General Hospital. I am so darn proud of him that I feel like I raised him myself!!

And of course there's my baby sister, Shalini Kapur. Since the day she was born, she has been my prized possession. The one exclusive thing that we've always shared is that her birthday is just one day after mine, though she's three years younger than me. We celebrated every birthday together till I came to India. Today she is a kind-hearted, loving and sensible young woman who's done her MBA from York University and is now working in marketing with a large multinational company. I'm not only proud of what she does, I am proud of who she is.

But what about my pet parrot, Cuckoo?? He is the one who is taking care of my Mom and Dad now. But he is NOT just a parrot... he's a nuisance!! He gets his head into everything!! He just can't relax!! He dives into my Dad's shirt, he sits on my Mom's head... he eats with them, sleeps with them (in their bed!), and will not leave them alone for a moment... He talks nonstop. He says, "Good Baby" and "Mummy" and "Okay!". He is cute, cuddly and very, very mischievous. I love him.