Bhandari's interest in the spiritual field comes from family traditions or sanskaar.   He has been slowly but surely learning from various religious texts and moving on the path of understanding the concept of life's basic existence.  Through personal studies, experiences and in trying to apply the teachings from different religious texts to his own day-to-day life, he is able to find consolation even in miseries and obstacles. He is a firm believer that all religions ultimately lead to the same message of 'oneness of the human soul', no matter to which religion, faith, race or geographical location one physically identifies with.  The teachings of Bhagwat Geeta are particularly dear to him.

He is also a scholar, with three books to his credit within the past 5 years. 

These are:

"Saving Angkor on the Angkor temples of Cambodia", 1996, White Orchid Press, Bangkok, with a Preface by His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk.

"A Journey to Heaven: Kailash Mansarovar", 1998, Delhi, India.

"Yoga Shakti", 2002, Toronto, Canada.

There were farewell parties arranged for him amongst others by  

At a farewell party, hosted by Panorama India, some 45 speakers from various Indo-Canadian organisations praised Bhandari  as an accessible diplomat, willing to learn, a man who promoted 'Indo-Canadian Unity In Diversity'.

It was during Bhandari’s tenure that various Indian organisations, working with the consulate staff, came together under one banner to organise independence day and other celebrations.

N R Subramanian, Co-Chair of Panorama, and Rajen Merchant of the National Council of Indo-Canadians, appreciate the cooperation extended by Bhandari and his staff for every event organised by Indo-Canadian communities, and his personal interest in every detail of the programmes.

Col Mohd Azmattulla of Ex-Servicemen’s Association, Nidhan Singh of the South Asian Senior Societies were amongst the prominent seniors who spoke to thank Bhandari for his work and dedication.   

MP Jim  Karygiannis praised Bhandari for an outstanding job done as a diplomat and his being a superb representative of both the people and government of India.

Councillor Norm Kelly representing Toronto Mayor, Mel Lastman, praised Bhandari for going beyond the call of duty in his work and presented him a proclamation and a book about Toronto – Front Row Centre by Tony Donahue.

Joseph Jacob, a renowned photographer from Hamilton, presented Bhandari a photo of Niagara Falls to thank him for his giving him the opportunity to exhibit  his collection of 'Images of India' during  Independence Day celebrations in Toronto city hall and at the Indian pavilion  during CNE. 

Babu Singh and Saran Ghai were presented their poems written specially for the evening. Rashmi Anand, Uppal, Ranbir Chauhan and Rajan Sharma entertained the audience with their songs. Surinder Sharma was the MC.

(Photos by Bashir Nasir)