Mixing, Maintaining & Modifying: A Family from India

Mayur Khandelwal beams as his mother, Veena (cream sari), sister, Rachana (saffron sari), and other family members welcome his fiancee, Kajal to the family in traditional Indian style. Photo by Nancy Pierce, Principal Exhibit Photographer.

Veena Khandelwal, who lives near SouthPark mall, is one of more than 8,000 immigrants from India who have settled in Mecklenburg County.

Veena and her husband Kishan arrived in Charlotte during a wave of Indian immigration that started in the 1970s. Kishan was one of many Indian engineers hired at Duke Energy's McGuire Nuclear Plant. Other Indians came to work in area textile mills.

It took time to adjust to life in North Carolina. But Veena now seamlessly mixes ancient Hindu customs with new influences. Their daughter Rachana, born in New York, is creating her own blend of old and new.