TWO JUDGES FROM INDIA

Two American lawyers of non-resident Indian origin succeeded in recent judicial elections in Houston, Texas. Both have their roots in Kerala. Americans of Indian origin are about 1% of the 330 million people in USA and have demonstrated accomplishments in business, government, medicine, academics, and now law By

- Kenneth Tiven in Washington

TO understand Houston, Texas, it helps to know that it is the largest landlocked municipal T area in the USA, with roughly the equivalent in population to Hyderabad. The city and its immediate surrounding communities are about 70,00,000 people. Ft. Bend County is on the southwest corner of Harris County, which is Houston proper.

Surendran K Pattel and Juli A Mathew have been elected municipal court judges there. Pattel grew up in Kasaragod, Kerala, in a poor family, dropping out of 10th grade to become a beedi roller. Mathew, who won a second term on the municipal court in Ft. Bend County, is from Thiruvalla, Kerala. She was sworn in via video conference while visiting her in-law's house in Kerala.

Pattel's journey is one of determination. Growing up poor in Kasaragod, he took odd jobs while in school to keep his family afloat financially. Circumstances forced him to drop out of school in the 10th grade. He then became a full-time roller of beedis at Bharat Beedi, which claims it makes 60 million beedis a day for sale across India. Despite multiple obstacles, he became a lawyer, borrowed money from his friends to enroll in university, and worked while studying. In 1995, he obtained a law degree.