They're actually all different people called Patel
but Daily Mail readers think they look the same.
(ubergeekian, Mon 17 Oct 2011, 23:00, 1 reply)

Patel isn`t a surname
It`s a status/job description. the English in india didn`t get that he is xxx yyy patel, or just xxxx patel. That is a village elder/official person.

If you cane to a town in this country from abroad in the same way and got involved in the running there would be a lot of people whose names would be xxx yyy mayor and xxx yyy councillor, secretary... and so on. lots of councillors=big family? give it some time.
250 years on we still have patel and a number of these appended to indian`s real names because that is what was written by the raj and has stayed.
(tootired Is searching for a funny sig, nothing good so far, Mon 17 Oct 2011, 23:32, closed)

I thought it was a bit of both.
I've known a few people called Smith who didn't know how to make anything from Iron and a couple of Fletchers who had no idea how to make an arrow.
I also worked with an Op Den Brouw who hadn't a clue how to produce a good pint.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Mon 17 Oct 2011, 23:41, closed)