Law and order

Punam Singh Rogers, 36, is a successful immigration attorney with Foley Hoag LLP in Boston. Her curriculum vitae reads like a who's who in immigration law: She has represented political exiles, foreign scientists, seasonal workers, international executives. Most notably, this ambitious but humble lawyer has received a pro bono attorney of the year award for her dedication to human rights.

Perhaps her success is due to the wooden carved statue of Ganesha, the Hindu god of good luck, which sits in the living room cabinet of her Natick home. Or, more likely, it was the message instilled in her from childhood on: "Your skin color might be different or you might have an accent, but if you have an education, no one can take that away from you," says Rogers.

In the 1960s, Punam's father, Kapildeo Parsad Singh, left a high-level accounting job in India for better opportunities in the states. But the new start meant his "working crazy hours while studying for a master's degree and his CPA," says Rogers. And in the family's small one-bedroom apartment in Queens, N.Y., while aloo gobhi masala and bhindi simmered on the stove, young Punam argued against curfew, family outings, even arranged marriages.

"Why? Why not? It doesn't make sense," she'd say.

To which her family responded, "Some day, you're going to be an attorney."

When that "someday" came true in 1997, Rogers felt a sense of bittersweet accomplishment as she received her diploma from Seton Hall University School of Law. Her mother, "her biggest cheerleader," was not there to see her graduate. Bina Singh had died just two years earlier of breast cancer. But to Rogers, who is a firm believer in karma and other Hindu virtues, knew that her mother was still there with her, watching with pride.

Diligence has also paid off for Punam's father, who has achieved a level of success equal to his daughter's, working as director of finance at AstraZeneca, a leading pharmaceutical company.

But some things never change. When grandfather "Nana" visits, Punam's children, 3-year-old Jaden and 20-month-old Lexi, get to watch even more Bollywood movies (they're already huge fans of Indian actor Shah Ruk Khan) and visit the Hindu temple in nearby Ashland.

There is one thing that grandfather Nana can't understand. Punam's husband, Mitch, a man of "WASP/Mayflower descent ancestry," loves the regional Indian dish ghugni chura.

"That's peasant food," says Kapildeo Parsad.