Family/Spouse: Living. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Living

Other Events:

• Gotra: Kaushik

Notes:

Buried:
Eulogy delivered by Dipti.

Jai Shree Krishna.

My father, Harshkant Ravishankar Bhatt, was a tower of strength, and affectionately known to so many as "Bhai". Although Bhai means brother, it has been our term of endearment for him, and our friends have adopted it too. He has gained many extra sons and daughters this way and if he knew how much affection people had for him Bhai would have been overwhelmed

What we loved about him so much, and will miss profoundly was his love for his family. Since his passing we have been reminiscing with our cousins around the world. It is evident how incredibly proud he was to be a Bhatt. In India he was known as Babaji and as the youngest of six children, he was considered fondly by his own siblings as the naughty child. Making jokes and being cheeky is what kept his family on their toes. Throughout his life, with everyone, including strangers on the street, he always tried to make people laugh. Indeed until the end, the glint in his eye was still there when I had the absolute privilege to share his last jokes, and I laughed hard even though they were aimed at me.

With us, he showed his love in so many ways; ringing each of us every day to see if we were okay, giving the grandchildren a £1 coin instead of sweets each time they visited calling it a 'visiting fee'. Although he was a steadfast promoter of education, he also saw the value of spending time with each other. One morning when we were still at school, he decided that Neera and I should have an impromptu day off and accompany him to London, where we spent the whole day sightseeing and shopping.

Bhai was a man before his time. He believed that we should all have an education and gave us the freedom to be independent in our thinking, how we lived our lives and in spirit. Bhai showed us all these things by his example, especially that men and women are equals and sharing responsibility for house and work is important. He did more than his share and relished in providing us with experiences and small joys that made us feel wanted and looked after. He did this with all he encountered and was generous to a fault.

We all know don't we what amazing tea he made, how he loved his food especially eating hot dal from the stove, anything sweet particularly gor papdi and jalebis and ladoos and penda...the list goes on! Later in life, it was his only joy because sweet was all he could taste when he was ill, and we will honour this later.

Bhai was a highly intelligent man with an extensive knowledge that was so impressive. He recited Shakespeare and Persian poetry regularly and worked out complex arithmetic problems in his head...we often tested him on complex multiplication and square or cube roots, which he calculated out loud In Gujarati. I remember always watching this human calculator, in awe.

Bhai lives on in all of us...the way we cross our legs and hold our feet, our love of tea, our fierce independence, our short tempers and how we make peace quickly and of course our love of food. Not to mention the amazing grandchildren who continue his legacy of learning through all their endeavours.

Although this jolly, funny, quirky man was affected by a horrid disease, the essence of Bhai always remained. BUT he will never be defined by a lack of memory or his deteriorating health. He will be defined by how he touched others' hearts and minds, always smiling, always BHAI.

I'm so proud to be your daughter.

Amaan's sarra Baap! X

Harshkant married Living [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Gotra: Bhardwaj

Notes:

Worked as Cook,Clerk and then Advocate. Emigrated from India to Kenya, circa.1917. Worked in Attorney-General's office 1922-1947. He became a Barrister at the age of 50. Later, he became a Member of the Legislative Council.
Attended Lancaster House conference in 1960, in which Kenya`s constitutional framework and independence were negotiated.: See Photo: (Karsanji Travadi, 2nd from left)

Karsanji married Dhankunver Trivedi on 13 May 1916 in India. Dhankunver (daughter of Shivshanker Trivedi and Dayakunver Devshanker Jani) was born on 4 Mar 1904 in Radal, Gujarat, India; died on 27 May 1990 in Houston, Texas, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Gotra: Unknown

Other Events:

• Gotra: Bhardwaj

Dahyabhai married Ramkunwar. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Gotra: Unknown

Other Events:

• Gotra: Unknown

Shivshanker married Dayakunver Devshanker Jani. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Gotra: Unknown