Asian Achievers Awards

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Alpha Aviation Group Presents

12th Asian Achievers Awards

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10 DOWNING STREET LONDON SW1A 2AA www.number10.gov.uk

This evening marks not just one but two very special milestones as you celebrate the winners of the 12th Asian Achievers Awards and the 41st anniversary of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar.

These awards play an important role in recognising the enormous contribution British Asians have made, and continue to make, in all walks of life, including the worlds of business, sport, culture and public service. We have celebrated some truly great achievements in 2012 and the Asian community has been at the heart of many of those successes. The hard work and achievements of this year’s winners are an inspiration to people in every community across the country, not just their own, and I send you my warmest congratulations.

This evening is also an opportunity to recognise the success of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar over the last forty years and the important commitment and contribution they have made to the vibrant Asian community here in Britain.

So let me again congratulate everyone involved in this evening's ceremony – from the organisers to the recipients - and wish you all a fantastic evening.

Rt Hon David Cameron, MP Prime Minister

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER 70 WHITEHALL, LONDON SW1A 2AS

Year after year, the Asian Achievers Awards celebrate the unsung heroes of the Asian communities in Britain: people from all walks of life who have made a huge contribution, whether in business, in sport, in the arts or in public service; whether locally or nationally.

In this Olympic and Paralympic year, we have seen every faith, every colour and every background embrace the Games and together we have opened our arms to the world. The Asian Achievement Awards 2012 continue in that spirit, showcasing the excellence and inclusion that are at the heart of a modern, tolerant and dynamic Britain.

This year’s ceremony promises to be packed with stories of determination, aspiration and innovation. Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar deserve huge praise for their dedication in recognising these individuals and giving their achievements a platform in order to inspire others.

As ever, I hope you all have a great evening – I’m sure you will.

Rt Hon Nick Clegg, MP Deputy Prime Minister

Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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JOHN CUMMING ROSS LTD CHARTERED CERTFIED ACCOUNTANTS & REGISTERED AUDITORS Contact : B B Patel Dilip Unarket Vasanti Patel

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Chief Guest t is a great honour to be your Chief Guest at the twelfth Asian Achiever Awards.

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It is my privilege to be the Minister in Government with special responsibility for our trade and investment relationship with India. This is a unique new role created by the Prime Minister to help ensure that our mutual future economic relationship is as rich and bright as possible.

Awards like these remind us of the exceptional entrepreneurship that the British Asian communities contribute to our own home market.

They show us that there is a decisive way out of the challenging economic times in which we find ourselves. In the ceaseless ingenuity of our British Asian business people - in your drive, innovation and determination - we see the seeds of an exciting and prosperous future.

As a Government, the Coalition is determined to do all that we can to put Britain on the path to strong, sustainable growth; and to do all we can to help you deliver the new enterprises and the jobs our country needs.

I am delighted, therefore, to be able to support the Asian Achievers Awards tonight, and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the nominees and winners and of course the organisers whose hard work makes this event the success that it is.

I hope you have a wonderful evening.

Thank you for everything you do to make Britain the prosperous and competitive economy that we need our country to be.

The Rt Hon Gregory Barker MP Minister of State

Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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Comment

A Mission with Passion nce again, it is my privilege and honour to welcome and greet you at the 12th Asian Achievers Awards ceremony. The journey began in a very modest way. To honour the accomplishments of achievers is a very welcoming initiative and several such events are taking place. We at Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar decided to start a 'people's awards' where the nominations will be submitted by the readers and others for outstanding Asians in various walks of life, who, besides personal progress, contribute to the general well being of the community. We were also clear it should be inclusive of all Asians irrespective of their ancestral background, religion or other factors. Unity in diversity has to be honoured, wherever possible.

Looking back to those pioneering days, I feel so grateful to so many people for various help and assistance rendered to the ABPL, the publishing house responsible for the two newsweeklies for 40 years and other theme-based magazines. This year is the Ruby year for ABPL and Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty's glorious reign. The AAA has been organised only a few days after the completion of the enormously, successful London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. There is so much to celebrate and thank you for participating with us.

Over the last 12 years, thousands have been nominated by their admirers, hundreds shortlisted and nearly 130 outstanding achievers have been saluted with awards. This would not have been possible without the generous support of advertisers, sponsors and well wishers. We owe so much to our readers who are the backbone of the 'Sewa yagna' and 'Gyan Yagna'.

But the real unsung heroes are the judges and Chairman of the judging panel. Dear readers, you will be happy to know, I never meet the judges prior to their decision on the short list. This time, as an exception, I met some of the judges, as they insisted to see the face of the Publisher/Editor and I met them for 20 mins (perhaps looking at my bald face, they said goodbye immediately without a word being exchanged about the nomination and selection).

Every year the judges panel have to spend hours to arrive to their decision, sometimes I know with so many outstanding entries, the process becomes exciting. My most sincere thanks to the judges, especially Chairman of each year's panel.

The judges have been so professional that not once a complaint or controversy has arisen, and that is not a small achievement. Equally beside those who are shortlisted or winners, there are so many more people who are well qualified to have similar honours. The numbers are increasing by leaps and bounds and in the next 10 months or so, there is another opportunity to nomi-

O

nate your choice.

AAA has raised nearly ÂŁ5mn for various human service activities predominately in India, UK and East Africa. We are grateful to all the donours. It was indeed an honour to sponsor or co-sponsor such a humanitarian endeavour. Help us to keep the flame burning. All the funds directly go to the charity of the year. That is why it has remained prompt, clean and non controversial.

India has a unique link with Great Britain. It was described as the 'jewel' in the British crown. During British Raj there was a Secretary of State for India. In the last 65 years, the scenario has changed enormously.

Now the relation is much more evenly balanced and with larger potential, this government appointed a 'Minister for India'- not to administer India, which is impossible nowadays, but to 'grease the wheel' of IndoBritish relations, especially trade and commerce. I am delighted to welcome Rt Hon Greg Barker, MP. ABPL is not just a publishing house. We are committed to certain values, we do not exaggerate our circulation and readership. We do not accept adverts which are anti social or exploit the most vulnerable members of our community.

We take so many initiatives to reach various towns and cities with seminars, meetings, conferences and service camps. Thanks to my Team, led by our Chief of Operations- George and readers, supporters and well wishers. I sincerely wish to carry on the mission with passion and total commitment.

Yours sincerely CB Patel Publisher/Editor Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

HOUSE OF COMMONS LONDON SW1A 0AA

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all an enjoyable evening and most importantly to congratulate the winners of this year's Asian Achievers Awards.

These awards serve as a shining example of both aspiration and inspiration to all, not only to those within Asian communities. The dedication and determination shown by the award winners to improve the lives of others and to better themselves is remarkable.

I hope that these Awards will serve as an example to all of what can be achieved when people have the courage to aspire and the drive to inspire.

Hon Ed Milib Miliband RT H d MP Leader of the Labour Party

HOUSE OF COMMONS LONDON SW1A 0AA

Now in its 12th year, the Asian Achievers Awards ongoing endeavour to recognise and drive excellence has been invaluable. I regularly meet British Asians whose entrepreneurial spirit and determination has improved the lives of people both nationally and internationally.

British Asians continue to make huge contributions to numerous fields in the UK. Their hard work and drive have enabled them to turn adversity into opportunity. The Asian Achievers Awards, nominated by the public, serves to highlight not only the prominence of British Asians in British society, but also to provide role models to inspire young British Asians to excel.

I would like to congratulate Asian Voice and the Gujarat Samachar, now in their 40th year, for their dedication to recognising outstanding British Asians, and particularly CB Patel for founding the awards in 2000. CB has become one of the iconic figures of the British Asian community. I would also like to congratulate all those nominated for the awards and wish them all the best in their inspirational endeavours.

Rt. Hon Keith Vaz, MP Chairman Home Affairs Select Committee

Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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Chair of Judges Panel HE idea of service, whether to individuals or to the world at large, has many interpretations.

The great Muhammad Ali once said that service to others was the rent you pay for your room here on earth. While American industrialist Henry Ford insisted that a business devoted to service will have only one worry when it comes to profits: they will be embarrassingly large.

The Asian Achievers Awards - now in its 12th year- highlights and salutes these very different definitions of service - and all points in between.

And this evening we will once again see and hear how rich and varied the Asian community's contribution to all our lives continues to be, seen through the prism of the individuals being honoured.

We live in exciting times. A time of dramatic change in the ways we communicate, do business and serve our communities - all at breakneck speed and within a new global environment. Not since the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th century have we seen such an extraordinary transformation of the world around us. Some choose to be fearful of change, to bury their heads in the sand and hope for the best. Others show us the way forward, show us how problems and challenges can be overcome, show us how to make a difference. This is what this evening is about.

The Asian community in Britain and India has embraced and on occasions shown the way in this 21st century revolution. And these Awards illustrate how the community continues to welcome change and the great challenges it brings, to lead by example while making sure others less fortunate or less able are not left behind.

Despite the transformation of the world around us, the ideals of service and contributing to the good of society, whether in our businesses or by our individual acts, remains constant. Tonight is a chance to reflect upon those ideals, to perhaps look within to see if we are striving sufficiently hard to make our own contribution. Life does have it's responsibilities, but they should not be viewed as mere chores, but as opportunities.

Above all, tonight is about celebration, a chance to relax among friends and to share in the great achievements, big and small, and to applaud the contributions of the few, who have made such a big difference to the many.

T

Richard Wallace Former Editor of Daily Mirror

The Asian community's contribution to Britain's national life has been invaluable and continues to grow apace. The world does not stand still and nor do we, which is why these Awards are an annual reminder that there is still much to do.

I would like to thank the very distinguished judging panel who deliberated long and hard over tonight's winners and, of course, the good people of Asian Business Publications Ltd (ABPL), publishers of Asian Voice and Gujurat Samachar, who make the whole event happen. The fantastic turn out tonight illustrates just how important The AAAs are.

Sometimes it seems our lives are overwhelmed with bad news, seeingly intractable problems on all our doorsteps. Tonight let's celebrate the positive and applaud all those who make a real contribution to the world around us.

And above all, many congratulations to all the worthy winners.

Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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PANEL OF

JUDGES Richard Wallace

Ian Botham

Richard Wallace is the ex-editor of the British Newspaper the Daily Mirror. Wallace began his career working for the Daily Mail and The Sun. In 1990, he joined the Daily Mirror. He was also responsible for the creation of the gossip columnists The 3AM girls. In 2003, he became deputy editor of the Sunday Mirror and, a year later, was appointed editor of the Daily Mirror.

In 2006, Wallace was named GQ Editor of the Year.

Sir Ian Botham is a former England Test cricketer, Captain and commentator. He is regarded as being England's greatest ever all-rounder.

As well as cricket, Botham was also a talented footballer, making 11 appearances in the Football League. Apart from sport, Botham has been a dedicated fundraiser for charitable causes, undertaking a total of 12 long-distance charity walks. He has raised more than ÂŁ12 million for charity.

Sunil Gavaskar

Lord Popat

Sunil Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India.

Regarded as one of the best opening batsmen of his time, Gavaskar set world records. Apart from cricket, Gavaskar has served as a television commentator, analyst and columnist as well as working with the BCCI and serving as chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee.

He has written four books on cricket and served as an advisor to the India National Cricket Team against Australia in 2004.

Lord Popat is a Member of the House of Lords and is the first Gujarati to represent the Conservative Party in the House of Lords. He is an advocate of community cohesion and the importance of uniting different cultures under the UK's central democratic process. Popat has also been involved in a number of Hindu Community organisations as well as founding the Dolar Popat Foundation. Outside politics, Popat has served as an accountant.

Baroness Prashar

Peter Elliot

Usha Prashar is a Cross Bench member of the House of Lords.

Born in Kenya, she came to Yorkshire in the 1960s. After reading Politics at Leeds University, she became director of the Runnymede trust from 1976-1984, a Fellow with the Policy studies Institute from 1984 to 1986 and director of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations from 1986-1991. In 1994, she was appointed CBE and was made a Life Peer in 1999 as Baroness Prashar of Runnymede. She has also been a member of the Chilcot Enquiry.

82 years is an ex-diver and was one of the youngest participants in the 1948 Olympics. He is one of the few survivors of the 1948 Olympics.

Elliot had been diving since he was 12 years old, when he was approached by Sid Dalton, an Olympic Coach in 1944. He quickly grasped the opportunity and began his daily training sessions.

Four years later, Elliot came second in the national championships and was selected for the 1948 team. He also participated in the 1952 Helsinki Games. He went on to have a successful film career in South Career.

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Compere Mark Ramprakash Mark Ravin Ramprakash is a former English cricketer.

Born in Hertfordshire, Mark is of Indian and English descent.

His father, born in the Caribbean is an Indian from Guyana and his mother is English. Right-handed, he was among the most talented and heavily scoring English batsmen of his time at county level. His first local club was Bessborough Cricket Club in Headstone Lane where he showed early promise as a fast bowler. Mark then began his professional cricketing career playing for Middlesex, at 17, where he was selected for his first Test. He came to national prominence when, at the age of 18, he won the man-of-the-match award in the 1988 NatWest Trophy Final after his innings of 56 helped Middlesex beat Worcestershire.

His prolific ability to run when he moved to Surrey in 2001, allowed him to average around 100 runs per innings in two successive seasons (2006 and 2007). His season was so good in 2006 that he was named PCA Player of the Year, ending Andrew Flintoff's two year reign.

In 2010, Ramprakash emerged as county-cricket's leading sportsman with the most amount of runs. After 16 matches and 28 innings, he ended the season with 1595 runs at an average of 61.34.

Outside cricket, Ramprakash has appeared on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing where he won the title with Karen Hardy in 2006. He has also appeared on the CBBC show Hider in the House. His sports talents not only ended at cricket, but he was also a budding footballer. However, he quickly chose to focus all his attention on cricket when he was selected for England. Ramprakash is widely regarded as being the last man in cricket history to make 100 firstclass centuries.

Laura Elliot, known as DJ Lora, began her professional DJ career aged 20 in London.

Lora grew up in Durban, South Africa and moved to London in the late 90's when she was 17 years old. Lora's first set was at the Mayfair Club in London and she then set out to become a professional full-time DJ. Early in her career Lora won the London DJing Championship as the only female in the competition. She caters for all events including for celebrities, charities and highscale events. DJ Lora has performed for such celebrities as Simon Le Bon, Paul McCartney, Prince William and Prince Harry.

DJ Lora performs in venues internationally and has a regular radio show launching in the Middle East in September. She has been the official DJ at the Amber Lounge, the exclusive Formula One after party for three years. Lora holds regular slots at London based clubs: The Wellington Club, Arts Club, 5 Hertford Steet and Mortons. She will be be joining the England national cricket team in India this year as well as performing for the Kolkatta Knight Riders team.

Lora runs a DJ school at The Wellington Club that teaches people of all ages. She is a committed supporter of the Barts & London Childrens Hospital and has raised around ÂŁ20,000 for the children who are being treated there. She is currently raising funds to buy drugs for a medical camp in Sierra Leone, amongst supporting other children's charities around the world.

D J Lora

Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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Abhishek Sachdev Abhishek read Economics at Grey College, University of Durham. There, he graduated achieving the highest First Class Honours in the entire University. Whilst still at University, Abhishek spent some time advising the Rt. Hon Gordon Brown MP at Her Majesty’s Treasury on EU Accession criteria for Bulgaria/ Romania, and whether the UK should join the Single Currency. After this, he was asked to

join Lloyds TSB. Abhishek felt there was a need for genuine qualified advice for Small and Medium Sized businesses for their Derivative Risk Management, rather than just relying on their banks. In 2011, Abhishek left the bank and founded Vedanta Hedging Ltd. This is the UK’s first independent Risk Management firm that is fully authorised by both the Financial Services Authority and the Ministry of Justice.

Rajay Naik Rajay Naik is the Director of Government and External Affairs at The Open University - Europe's largest University. At BIG he is Chairman of UK Programs. In 2009 he was appointed by Lord Mandelson and David Willetts as one of six panel members on the cross-party Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance (Browne Review). He is also a Commissioner of the Department of Health’s

Standing Commission on Carers and a Director at Coventry City Football Club. As well as this, he is former Chairman of the British Youth Council and a former trustee of the National Youth Agency, and the Changemakers Foundation. He was a Council Member of the Learning and Skills Council, was commissioned by NESTA to author ‘Learner Voice’, and is currently serving in his fifth year as a Governor at City College, Coventry.

Prof Sunil Shah Prof. Sunil Shah independently developed the laser eye surgery technique now called LASEK, and was the first person to use it in Britain, continuing to pioneer this technique. He teamed up with other colleagues from Campus One at the University of Ulster in Ireland and developed a comprehensive suite of distance learning postgraduate courses in cataract surgery

and refractive surgery. The course is unique in that it enables students to learn at their own convenience regardless of time and location, with support of e-tutors and discussion pages.

He has published over 50 peer-reviewed publications and his consistent pioneering work in ophthalmology has earned him a place in Who’s Who in the World.

Gold Award for Professional of the Year

The Finalists

Dr Minaxi Sharad Desai CBE Dr. Minaxi Desai CBE is currently a Consultant Cytopathologist and is the Clinical Head of the Manchester Cytology Centre and the Director of the Northwest Cytology Training Centre. After graduating from Gujarat University in 1974, Dr. Desai moved to the UK in 1976 to further qualify in Pathology and learn about disease prevention.

In 1992, she was appointed as a consultant cytopathologist at Christie Hospital. Outside

Manchester, Dr. Desai has been actively involved in the development of cytology practices at regional, national and international levels. She has presented seminars to various ethnic communities in Manchester and rural communities in the developing world to raise the awareness of screening. She has served as a Council Member, Honorary Meeting Secretary, Chairman and President of the British Society for Clinical Cytology.

Prof Alimuddin Zumla Professor Alimuddin Zumla MBBS., FRCP(Lond).,FRCP(Edin).,FRCPath(UK)., PhD(Lond)., FSBiol(UK) is a Professor of Infectious Diseases and International Health at University College London Medical School and is a Consultant Infectious Diseases Physician at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. He also holds Honorary Professor positions at

several Universities in Europe and Africa.

Professor Zumla has over 400 publications to his name and he is editor of 19 medical textbooks. Professor Zumla is internationally renowned for his outstanding and extensive outputs in infectious diseases with a focus on Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and respiratory infectious diseases.

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Ray Panthaki Ray Panthaki is an award winning actor, film producer and writer. He's worked with some of the UK's biggest directors and artists including Danny Boyle, Gurinder Chadha and Peter Mullan. In 2006, Ray discovered, Co-Produced and starred in multi award winning Cult and Box office hit Kidulthood. Later that year He set up his UK based Production Company Urban Way, with the mission to develop and produce social issue based films with a mes-

sage. Later this month Ray will complete filming on his directorial debut 'Life Sentence' a film about the UK's knife crime epidemic.

Rishi Rich A pioneer of the Asian/Urban music scene, producer Rishi Rich’s trademark mix of Bhangra, Bollywood and urban beats placed British Asian music and youth culture firmly on the map. Through his Rishi Rich Project, he is responsible for launching British Asian talents who have gained mainstream success like Jay Sean and Juggy D. Rishi has produced for some of the biggest names including Madonna and Britney Spears. Making music since

he was 14, Rishi Rich has also released his own solo albums, ‘Simply Rich’ in 2002 and ‘The Project’ in 2006. His songs have appeared in many Bollywood films such as Hum Tum and Boom. Rishi Rich now runs Rishi Rich Productions with contracts with a number of South Asian British artists including H-Dhami, Mumzy Stranger, Veronica Mehta, Tasha Tah and Abbas Hasan.

Nileeka Gunawardene Nileeka is the Artistic Director of Bollywood Dance London (BDL); a fullservice Indian dance company providing a range of teaching and entertainment services. She has a law degree from The University of Warwick and upon graduating worked in numerous jobs in PR, Media, Marketing and Advertising. The skills she has gained in these areas are benefiting her greatly in running her own company, particularly in negotiating busi-

ness deals and in BDL’s branding and marketing exercises.

Aged just 22, Nileeka set her sights on making Bollywood dance more accessible to Londoners. Now, two years on, she teaches at the world-famous ‘Pineapple Dance Studios’ and has a plethora of impressive achievements to her name.

Last month BDL made history as the first ever entertainment act to appear on BBC2’s ‘Newsnight’.

Dr Sathi Ludhianvi A well-known personality as a writer and broadcaster, he was the first Punjabi poet, journalist and writer who was awarded Sahit Sharomani award by the then Government of Punjab in 1985. Leicester Punjabi Sahit Academy also awarded him the Life Time Achievement award. His highlight came when he was given a Doctorate of Arts award by the Chancellor of the University of East London, Lord Brian Rix. He remained the News Editor of

Sunrise Radio for 12 years before he went on to become a producer/presenter on Lashkara Television Network.

Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

Gold Award for Achievement in Media, Arts and Culture

The Finalists

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Tejinder Ajimal The Chair of the Asian Fire Service Association and a Station Manager in the London Fire Brigade. He started his career at Paddington Fire Station on the Blue Watch, where he remained for 13 years before starting on the promotion trail. He now serves at Downham Fire Station. Outside work, Tej is a

climbing instructor and shares his passion of rock climbing and mountain walking with youngsters who haven't experienced the great outdoors. Tej hopes that AFSA will continue to grow to be able to support members all round the country as part of a national body.

Rear-Admiral Amjad Mazhar Hussain Rear-Admiral Amjad Mazhar Hussain is the Director and Controller of the Royal Navy.

Hussain joined the Royal Navy as a Weapons Engineering Officer in 1976 and by 1993 he had reached the rank of Commander. In 2006 he promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral, and thereby became the highest ranking Muslim

and the highest ranking officer from an ethnic minority in the British Armed Forces. He is a prominent advocate of greater minority participation in the armed forces. However, he dislikes too much emphasis being placed on his religion. He is recognised as one of the most influential Muslims in the UK.

Gurcharan Singh Dhesi MBE Gurcharan Singh Dhesi came to the UK in 1960. He had a flare to work with young people and the community. In 1973, Gurcharan joined the Metropolitan Police Special Constabulary and at the time he was one of the few turban wearing Sikhs. Now, after 37 years, he is the longest serving Asian Special.

He is also the executive of Bexley Council for Racial Equality since 1970. He received a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal after 20 years and a BAR after completing 29 years service. In his spare time, Gurcharan loves to play hockey and squash.

Darra Singh Chief Executive of Job Centre Plus and former Chief Executive of Ealing and Luton Councils.

In August 2011 he was appointed Chair of the Communities and Victims Panel looking into the Riots earlier that month. Singh is highly regarded in government circles. He took up volunteering in 1984 before moving into a

Gold Award for Uniformed and Civil Service

The Finalists

career in Housing. He was named as Chair of the Commission for Integration and Cohesion that published the report 'Our Shared Future'.

He has been the Northern Region Director for the Audit Commission, the Chief Executive of Ealing Council and the Chair of the London Serious Youth Violence Board.

Lt Bhavna Parmar Lieutenant Bhavna Parmar is a Training Manager in the Royal Navy. She is involved in instructing naval personnel in the up-to-date technical skills and knowledge needed to improve their careers within the Royal Navy.

As people are our most valuable assets a great deal of effort is placed on their educa-

tion, training and the development of teaching our people. Bhavna plays an important part in that training, putting her at the heart of operations, with a crucial role maintaining effectiveness and morale.

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19-37 Finalist_A4 Temp 07/09/2012 17:13 Page 25

Chelliah Yogamoorthy MBE Mr Chelliah Yogamoorthy received the prestigious "Member of the Order of the British Empire" (MBE) award for the New Year 2011 for his outstanding service to the Department of Transport.

Yogamoorthy was born in Sri Lanka in 1946. In 1966, he entered the Engineering Faculty of the University of Ceylon at Peradeniya, completing his degree in 1970. After working on a road project in Ratnapura, he moved to England in 1972.

Initially, Yogamoorthy worked with civil engineering contractors building motorways and with consulting engineers on design before joining Shropshire County Council in 1976. Then in 1987, he joined the Department of Transport as a quantity surveyor in Birmingham. More recently, he has lectured with OUBS on their MBA program as well as being a governor for a college in Birmingham.

Asif Iqbal Asif Iqbal has extensively dedicated himself to community service by working extremely hard with many charities, voluntary organisations and local and central government sectors.

Over the years, Iqbal has remained passionate and committed to empowering diverse communities and enabling local deaf people across London, especially in Harrow, to have a voice in local and national issues and participate in changes. Being an Asian deaf

person, he has been an excellent role model and inspires many people of all ages, including children and young people, to achieve what he has achieved over the years despite many barriers. He is committed in all the work that he does, bringing together his wealth of experience to put forward innovative ideas and suggestions that work successfully.

Param Singh Param has worked for a number of blue chip companies including the Ford Motor Company, Rolls-Royce, Sainsbury’s and Accenture and now works as an Internet Entrepreneur.

He has been involved with a number of community initiatives including a Trustee of the Guru Ram Das Project and a founding member of the Derby and Sheffield Hallam University Sikh Societies; Langar London Project and the Accenture Sikh

Fellowship. The most recent initiative he has founded is the City Sikhs Network which is the largest network of Sikh professionals in the UK. Param has a very giving nature; dedicating a lot of his time to helping others and always organising events for the communities he is involved in.

Gold Award for Achievement in Community Service

The Finalists

Kishan Devani Kishan Devani is a lecturer, speaker and teacher and the Head of Religious Studies at an independent school in the UK. He has written for publishers and works with them on resources for both A Level courses and GCSE courses. Devani is in the process of embarking on a PhD at a renowned University in the field of Religion and Social Anthropology, with a particular emphasis on the Hindu diaspora, particularly in Britain. Furthermore, he

is an attendee of EFTRE (European Forum for Teachers of RE) Conferences and represents Teachers of the Borough of Brent on the Brent SACRE (Statuatory Advisory Committee on Religious Education).

Devani is deeply dedicated to the British Hindus Youths.

Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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28-Navin Kundra_A4 Temp 07/09/2012 12:31 Page 28

Striking the right chord for success ■ Dr. Reenu Punnoose nce upon a time in a home in Coventry, a threeyear-old stood in front of the TV awestruck by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. His family later told him that he would watch the dancing God completely riveted for hours and imitate his moves-perhaps a sign of things to come.

He first broke into the Asian music scene as a nineteen-year-old boy when he represented the U.K in an exclusive world series of Zee TV’s popular show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa held in Dubai. It was a show that changed his life as he showcased his talents in front of a worldwide audience and music legends like Pandit Dinesh, Ghulam Ali, Zakir Hussain, O.P Nayyar, Jagjit Singh and many others. A year later, he also went onto win the BBC Asian Network’s Unsung 2005 competition.

Today, at 27, despite no formal training, Navin Kundra already has a string of hits under his belt, sings in three languages, plays two instruments and writes his own lyrics. He has recently released another single, Shudaayi, which has also not surprisingly garnered rave reviews. When quizzed about how Shudaayi is different from his other hit singles, he says, “the fusion in it is very different. It is a Dutch house track so the music is very strong.” Shudaayi is a bilingual track in Punjabi and English. Navin further adds, “I’m singing in English

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Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

but I’m singing in English in a very different way. My style, my vocal delivery is a lot sharper. It is a lot more aggressive but in a very kind of laid back way…when you’ve got so many different languages and different elements on one track, it does do something to make that song stand out.”

In a world that moves much too fast, music consumption too has become forgetfully fast. It is no surprise then that artists today constantly churn out album after album in order to remain visible in the public eye.

Navin, on the other hand, worked on Shudaayi for around a year and a half and he says it is the longest he has ever spent on a record. He adds, “I have been working on other material alongside but it took that long to get this [Shudaayi] right.” To put out a single after an eighteen month gap simply because he wants to ensure it is the absolute best he has to offer reflects his passion, sincerity and commitment to music, qualities that characterise his mentor, legendary percussionist and producer, Pandit Dinesh’s principle, “Look after your art and your art will look after you” . Navin firmly believes that practising this principle lies at the heart of an artist’s success and longevity and the exemplary careers of his diverse musical influences from Lata Mangeshkar to Stevie Wonder, from Mehdi Hassan to Michael Jackson also bear testament to this principle.

Navin’s eclectic musical influences also reflect in the songs he writes and composes. Always striving for a fusion between different musical sensibilities, Navin is proud to give expression, through his music, to the cultural mélange that characterises every British Asian, “For me, it’s my journey back to my roots and it’s my way of discovering my own language, my own culture and I can do that through music but in doing that I can also give it a complete spin so that they [fans] can also discover something new as well.”

At the mention of his fans, his face immediately lights up, “I love them with all I have, they give me the strength to keep going, they still do every day”, he says, “it takes someone different to support something different and they have done that so I hope I never let them down.” Fans can expect exciting future projects including collaborations with Rishi Rich and with Tina Barett.

His several hits in a short span of time is testament to his immense talent and popularity but there is an earnestness in this young man, a deep reverence for the art he is gifted with, that is bound to reverberate as even greater achievements in the time to come.

19-37 Finalist_A4 Temp 07/09/2012 17:37 Page 29

Ishil Mehta Ishil Mehta founded IMA Industries in 2009, building on a foundation of knowledge acquired since 2004. IMA Industries is an independent, professional consultancy and development firm, specialising in the residential sector. Since 2009, the company has thrived, and there have been nominations for various awards including Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Feb 2012 and Top 100 Most Influential People in Property Under 35 in July 2012. IMA

Industries has also been chosen to feature in this year's Parliamentary Yearbook- a great achievement in recognition of the firm's work in regeneration and the lowincome housing sector. Key areas of business include bespoke property find (buyto-live and buy-to-let), design and construct, property and facilities management for blocks or buy-to-let private investors.

Shamir Shah Shamir Shah is the Managing Director of Icone Group of Companies. His achievements and success to date would place him well within the growing ranks of second and third generation Asians who have made a positive contribution in establishing businesses within the United Kingdom. However, where this award winning serial entrepreneur would set himself apart is through the sheer diversity of his business interests and his continual quest

for developing and investing in new business areas. With wholesale, retail and manufacturing divisions, Shamir Shah’s interests extend Worldwide encompassing a tea company, a snacks company, two packaging companies, franchised coffee shops and a microfinance charity. Further expansions into a health food business and glass mosaics business are planned over the coming year.

Zima Parmar Zima Parmar (26) is the Marketing Director at the WeComeOne Group. She has pioneered and project managed the acquisition and launch of a series of Italian restaurants in Leicestershire. She is a partner at Zi-Bhavi – a subsidiary of the WeComeOne Group. Zima is looking acquire another two fine dining Italian restaurants in 2013. Her vision is to grow an independent chain of restaurants in towns and villages across the midlands.

Gold Award for Young Entrepreneur

The Finalists

Zima is also an alumni of the prestigious Star Plus Programmes that are run by Insititute for Globall Change, an education based independent think tank.

Zima works and lives in Leicester having studied Marketing at DeMontfort University. Prior to university Zima did her secondary education in India, at Panchgani, near Pune. She studied at the Billimoria High School.

Priyesh Rawal OneClickPharmacy.co.uk was launched in 2009 by two pharmaceuticals graduates, with the vision to provide consumers with a unique online pharmacy experience, challenging the way people traditionally purchase prescription and non-prescription medicines. Shaina Shipton and Priyesh Rawal devised the concept for OneClickPharmacy.co.uk when they were just 23 years old whilst studying Pharmacy at Bath University. They taught them-

selves how to build a website. With the company’s turnover growing in doubledigit figures each year and on course to achieving this impressive prediction, Cofounders Shaina Shipton and Priyesh Rawal have expanded the OneClick brand into a number of other niche markets as part of One Click Ventures Ltd.

Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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30-Baroness Shreela_A4 Temp 07/09/2012 12:32 Page 30

In conversation with Britain’s first Asian Baroness ■ Dr. Reenu Punnoose hat Asian women have been one of the most under-represented groups in British politics comes as no surprise, given the dependent; home-bound roles their communities confine them to, under the guise of tradition. The good news is that the situation is improving. In the May 2010 elections, six Asian women were elected to the British Parliament and the buzz is that the numbers will increase in the future. Let us not forget though, that one Asian woman already broke the mould over thirty five years ago.

Baroness Flather is one among the first ethnic minority members in the House of Lords and the first Asian woman to receive a peerage.

An alumna of University College London, Baroness Flather worked for many years as a teacher of English as a second language in a boys’ school in Maidenhead before politics beckoned. During this time, she visited many Asian families and realised that women were largely confined to their homes and lived a poor quality of life. Soon after, she began a club for women and got involved in several aspects of the Maidenhead community. “In 1976, I was invited to stand for the council”, recollects Baroness Flather, “I was just doing mainly voluntary work… I hadn’t even joined the party before they actually gave me the opportunity, so my politics came along with the opportunity to become a councillor. So I really didn’t go for politics, politics came to me.”

Baroness Flather served as a councillor from 1976-91 and later Deputy Mayor of Windsor and Maidenhead in 1985/86 and Mayor in 1986/87 becoming the first Asian woman Mayor of the United Kingdom. She has served in senior posts on several public bodies involved in racial equality, social affairs and education of minority groups. At present, she is one of the Vice Chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group and a board member of Marie Stopes International, a family planning NGO. She is also patron of the British branch of Child In Need India (CINI UK) and of Population Matters.

In her remarkable political journey, the biggest obstacle that Baroness Flather has had to face is discrimination: discrimination against her as a woman and against her as an Asian. “When I became a councillor, women only did certain things, the men held everything in their hands and I was never given an opportunity at the council to do what I really wanted to do”, she says.

British politics has come a long way since Baroness Flather first became councillor, both in terms

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Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

Baroness Shreela Flather

of the gradual rise of Indians as well as the role of women. Indians are now everywhere, in middle management, civil service, local councils etc. Nevertheless, Baroness Flather feels that the average Indian should engage more with the British culture, its people as well as its politics in order to forego any doubts of being second class citizens. She further adds, “There is a great misunderstanding that the multicultural attitude should come from the host community. You can’t have a multi-cultural society if you rely on one large group of people to be multi-cultural towards you but you don’t do anything.”

With respect to the role of women in British politics, she points out that while there has been an increase in the number of women in local authorities and civil service, the increase has to be at all levels of government. She also adds that in order to survive in politics, women have to prepare themselves to cope with the chauvinism at Westminster. She credits her own political success to having no feeling of race or age or gender and a lack of fear of anyone or anything.

She is hopeful that with more women coming into politics, attitudes in general will change.

Baroness Flather will be best remembered for the instrumental role she played in building the Memorial Gates at Constitution Hill, a memorial to the five million volunteers from the Indian subcontinent, Africa and the Caribbean who fought in the two world wars. Her time now, however, is dedicated to helping the poorest women in India and Africa.

Even after three decades, this fearlessly feisty politician continues to tirelessly serve the British public, her life and achievements forever a source of inspiration.

19-37 Finalist_A4 Temp 07/09/2012 17:18 Page 31

Akaash Bhatia Akaash Bhatia only had a brief amateur career and since turning professional he has been undefeated. Promoter Frank Maloney keeps ‘Kaash the Bash’ in form by ensuring that he rarely goes more than three months between bouts. Sony Entertainment Television honoured Akaash's achievements by crowning him Asia Sports Personality of the Year award in 2007, an achievement that exploded the 25-

year-old’s popularity in his native Sikh community of London. While the university graduate is a model citizen outside the ring, recently becoming an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, he's a nightmare for opponents inside the square circle. Akaash uses a combination of striking with a destructive, high volume style that mixes crafty, accurate combinations with shattering body attacks.

Netan Sansara Netan Nico Sansara is an English footballer who plays for PAEEK as a left back. He has played for Dundee in the Scottish First Division and has also played for Walsall. Sansara has represented England youth at under-18 and under-19 level, earning three caps. He made his England debut against Holland at Yeovil's Huish Park. Sansara got his first international

call-up for India for a warm-up to a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Qatar. Sansara worked with the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to try to increase the number of British Asians taking up a career in professional football. In January 2012, Sansara was nominated for the Asian Player of the Year award 2012 at the Asian Football Awards.

Mandip Sehmi Mandip was first introduced to the sport by Bob O’Shea, the captain of the Wheelchair Rugby team at the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games, whilst he was at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. In 2002, Mandip was scouted as a potential talent and went on a World Friendship Tour. He made his debut for the British team at the 2005 European

Championships in Denmark, which is when he decided that he wanted to compete at the highest level possible. He made his Paralympic debut at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, which he describes as one of the greatest moments of his career to date. Mandip is classified as a 2.5 player and he plays with Stoke Mandeville Storm.

Bulbul Hussain Bulbul first started competing in Wheelchair Rugby in 1997 during treatment at Stoke Mandeville following a road traffic accident.

Attracted to the sport because of its speed and the competitive element, Bulbul won a gold medal when he played in his first major tournament at the National Championships in Stoke Mandeville. Bulbul is originally from

Bangladesh but competes for Great Britain.

He lives in Whitechapel, London and is looking forward to seeing the London 2012 Paralympic Games take place on his doorstep. Bulbul’s sporting inspiration is Mohammed Ali, whom he describes as the ‘ultimate competitor’ and is classified as a 1.0 player. He plays with the Kent Crusaders.

Platinum Award for Sports Personality of the Year

The Finalists

Gaz Choudhry Gaz, originally from Pakistan, started playing Wheelchair Basketball at the age of 13, after seeing a roadshow by the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association. He enjoyed the sport because of the sense of freedom it gave him and he has now been competing for over 13 years. Before his amputation, Gaz was a very athletic child and he fell in love with Wheelchair Basketball as

soon as he tried it. He started playing for Force alongside Paralympians such as Sinclair Thomas before moving on to Super League Club MK Aces. As a junior, Gaz represented GB in a number of international tournaments winning two gold and a silver medal, as well as being chosen in the All Star team at the European’s Championships in Adana, Turkey.

Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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32-Avnish Goya_A4 Temp 07/09/2012 12:35 Page 32

Home Sweet Home â– Tanveer Mann & Tanika Patel vnish Goyal is a keen businessman who has used his knowledge and experience in personal development to set up his own successful care home business. Emerging from his humble roots to become a well-known business person, Avnish is widely recognised for the positive difference he makes to others.

After seeing his in-laws build a care home in 1991 in the valleys of South Wales, Avnish was immediately inspired and became attracted to the complexity but rewarding nature of the healthcare business. Soon after, he decided to take up the challenge on his own.

A

You've described your care homes as 'care homes of the future' with cinema screens and landscape gardens. How do you approach and tackle obstacles in your business such as finance and competition?

Our objective is to create the best care homes in the UK and the Hallmark team are continually innovating to be at the forefront of the care sector. We believe we are helping drive standards up and assisting in the reshape of the sector as a whole. Our homes stand head and shoulders above our competition so our product sells itself. Funding has never been an issue as we did not expand rapidly and have therefore kept our bank debt levels low.

There have been reports of mistreatment of the elderly in care homes over the years. If families become wary about sending their loved ones to care homes, how does this affect your business and how do you instill confidence in them?

There have been a number of television programmes and reports about poor care in care homes.

Whilst this still represents a minority of care homes, it does highlight issues and drives standards upwards. It does leave the public with a fear of sending their loved ones into a care home and it has made families a lot more wary and discerning when choosing a care home. People are always pleasantly surprised when they visit our care homes.

Coming from an Asian household, do you try to reflect that in the lifestyle of the elderly in your care homes, and if so, how is it reflected?

Asians generally try to look after their loved ones at home, so obviously making that choice to send a parent to a care home is a very hard decision for most families to make. We have tried to make our homes as homely and caring as possible to make that decision easier for families.

The Hemraj Goyal Foundation supports many projects and organisations and is made up of

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Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

Avnish Goyal

your family members. How important is it to you that helping those disadvantaged and in need is continued through the generations?

The Hemraj Goyal Foundation was set up with two primary aims – to keep the young members of the family grounded by doing charitable work, and second to support disadvantaged children both in the UK and abroad. The Youth Team, as it is called, have done a great deal of work in the last couple of years which has helped to unite the family even further whilst helping others.

What do you believe sets Hallmark Care Homes apart from other care homes?

There are two key things which set us apart from other care home providers, one is the spacial standards and the other is the care that we offer. Our new homes offer a wealth of facilities. We also value the need for our residents to enjoy the outdoors and therefore create beautiful landscaped gardens which are both stimulating and practical. We also recruit the best people and provide them with the right training.

How did you journey from idea to execution with Hallmark Care Homes?

We found our first care home to acquire in 1997 and put together a business plan to show to the bank, and with my accountancy background I was able to provide a robust business plan so the money was immediately forthcoming. We have continued to use our business and personal skills over the last 15 years to develop a fantastic reputation with all our stake-holders to enable us to continue to grow.

How do you believe that Hallmark Care Homes can develop and grow into other businesses?

Hallmark Care Homes will continue to develop and innovate high quality care homes into the future as well as moving into other models of care such as care villages as and when the economy improves to be able to sustain these ventures. This is an exciting time for Hallmark as the demographics are in our favour and there appears to be a strong demand for the product that we are developing.

19-37 Finalist_A4 Temp 07/09/2012 17:19 Page 33

Urvasi Naidoo Urvasi Naidoo is CEO of the International Netball Federation. She has a post graduate degree in Sports law with comprehensive knowledge of the legal, operational, commercial and managerial issues surrounding sports entities and events.

She is also a trained lawyer who left private practice in 2001 to work for the Salt Lake Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2002. She has also worked as senior counsel and company secretary of the

International Cricket Council. She is one of the few Asian women working in sports administration and is an advocate for gender and ethnic minority equality across all sports.

Urvasi also spends much of her spare time as a sports volunteer. She is a trustee of Sporting Equals and the Netball Development Trust & a member of the Commission on the Future of Women's Sport.

Mishal Husain Mishal Husain presents BBC1’s ‘News at Ten’ on Sunday evenings and is a familiar face to viewers around the world as a key presenter on ‘BBC World News’ where she is the host of the flagship ‘Impact Asia’.

Her wide ranging talents have also been seen on programmes as diverse as BBC1’s ‘Breakfast’, BBC2’s ‘The Culture Show’ and Radio 4’s ‘Profile’ and ‘You and Yours’.

Mishal Husain is of pakistani origin. Her interest in journalism began at 18 when

she spent three months as a city reporter in Islamabad. She then did several internships at the BBC whilst she was at university. Her first job was at Bloomberg TV in London from 1996, where she was a producer and sometime presenter. Two years later she joined the BBC in 1998 as a producer in the newsroom and for the News 24 channel. Recently, she featured as the morning anchor presenter during the Summer Olympics in London 2012.

Shahnaz Husain Shahnaz Husain, the pioneer and leader of herbal care in India, has achieved unprecedented international acclaim for her practical application of Ayurveda.

After training for 10 years in cosmetic therapy and cosmetic chemistry, Shahnaz began studying Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of herbal healing. She set up her herbal clinic in her own home, rejecting the existing salon treatment methods, and devised her own herbal

Gold Award for Woman of the Year

The Finalists

treatments. She introduced a totally new concept of "care and cure" and formulated her own Ayurvedic products. Today, Shahnaz Husain heads a chain of over 400 franchise salons in India and abroad, with outlets in prestigious stores and locations all over the world. She has received several national and international awards, including the World's Greatest Woman Entrepreneur Award.

Dr Sonal Minocha Dr Minocha, originally from New Delhi, India became, probably, the youngest Dean in the country when she took up her post at the age of 32, at the University of Bedfordshire in January this year. Her impressive career spans both private and public sectors and she has contributed to Higher Education in an international context. Sonal believes in ‘multiplying herself’ and has therefore been at the forefront of shaping new thinking and practice at a

number of UK and overseas Universities.

She is also a prolific researcher having authored books and research papers in a number of international outlets.

Championing practice based international management education, Sonal is passionate about developing an imaginative and distinctive Business School at the University of Bedfordshire.

Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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34-Sriram Aylur_A4 Temp 07/09/2012 12:38 Page 34

‘Spice King’-

Following in his father’s footsteps ■ Tanveer Mann rom the days playing his father's pupil in the kitchen to becoming an award-winning chef, Sriram Aylur has remained committed to one thing: his passion for food. Harbouring an interest at an extremely young age, Sriram’s knowledge and love for good food blossomed over the years, leading him to abandon a law profession for his first true love. Two years of persistency and dedication led him to become head of the kitchen at the Taj Gateway Hotel in Bangalore. He says “I would like to acknowledge both my parents, they have definitely been an inspiration.

Both my mother and father are wonderful cooks”.

From there, Sriram’s vision, of following in his father's footsteps, came true when he launched the restaurant Karavali. The restaurant's distinct commitment to making ethnic food with only the best and most refined ingredients, put Sriram on the road to success, which was duly recognised when Karavali was rated as one of the top 5 Restaurants in India in 1995.

When asked about his decision to become a chef, Sriram said, “It was a strong love for food and the fact that my father was in the catering business meant that I've been born and bred in this business”. He continued “back then, there was always a certain kind of Indian food and one was made to believe that it was the only way. But now there is a lot more opportunities to do interesting and new things with the cuisine. ” In 1999, Sriram decided to bring his passion for food to London, where he set up Quilon. This was Sriram’s new and improved version of Karavali.

Speaking about the unique nature of Quilon, Sriram said, “both restaurants were born from the same inspiration. But with the opportunity that we have of sitting where we are and getting perishable food from all around the world, for example oysters and scallops, we took the opportunity and used it to our advantage”.

Quilon has a much wider array of choice and is committed to use only the freshest ingredients to capture the true taste of the West Coast of India.

In 2011, Sriram was invited to head the sister restaurant to Quilon, Bombay Brasserie, which serves cuisine from Goa. The talented chef regards Quilon as having its own signature style as opposed to other Indian restaurants such as Tamarind, Amaya, Rasoi etc. He said, “All the top Indian restaurants are doing a wonderful job, but they tend to focus more on north Indian food. We like to believe, that, we are the one and only restaurant doing exclusive coastal south Indian food in the Western world”.

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Quilon is renowned for its beer list that was masterminded by Sriram. It brings many diners to Victoria to experience the true taste of 'beer and a curry' made by the 'Spice King', himself. The idea came about when Sriram realised that both beer and curry were two things talked about in England but were not taken seriously. So he thought, if they were placing curry in the limelight, he should do the same with beer! He added, “England is the inspiration for beer for many other countries and there is no better place for beer than England. So we saw the opportunity to combine both and demonstrate that beer can be as serious a drink as wine”.

In 2008, Quilon was awarded a Michelin Star for its outstanding cuisine, which brought it significant recognition and notoriety. Quilon also has the honour of having a Division Bell at the restaurant that rings at the same time as the Parliamentary bells that summon Members of Parliament to the Division Lobbies.

Referring to this as the pinnacle of his career so far, Sriram says “we feel really good that we were the first South-Indian restaurant to receive it. It is indeed a great recognition. I have been a chef for 25 years and it has been absolutely wonderful.”

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Ashok Rabheru Ashok Rabheru is highly acclaimed for his work for The Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

In 2000, he served as a Trustee of the D of E for a decade, planning and raising funds for the 50th anniversary of the D of E in 2006. Mr Rabheru was born in Tanzania in 1952 and emigrated to the UK at the age of 15. After gaining a BSc at UCL, an M Phil in Applied Mathematics at The Royal Holloway College and a Post Graduate Diploma in Computing at

London University, he began his career in IT. Founding the Genisys Group in 1985, Mr Rabheru extended his company by launching Genisys Enterprise, a leading UK reseller for HP, IBM, Microsoft etc. and subsequently Genisys Software and Genisys Consulting.

Subaskaran Allirajah Subaskaran Allirajah is the Founder and Chairman of the Lycatel and Lycamobile Group of companies. Subaskaran is a high profile industry thought leader, a visionary and entrepreneur with over 15 years entrepreneurial experience in the telecommunications industry.

In 2006 Subaskaran founded Lycamobile with the vision to create a benchmark model for MVNOs and a mission to building the global number one mobile interna-

tional calling brand. Lycamobile now operates in 14 countries across European and Australian markets having the largest international footprint of any international MVNO. Lycamobile has acquired over 20 million customers in 6 years and will continue to grow its customer base and geographical footprint in 2012 and beyond.

Mansoor Popat Mansoor Popat is a hotelier and owner of Eden Plaza, and an active member of the community at the Ismaili Centre in South Kensington. He also undertakes a considerable amount of charitable work.

Originally from Tanzania, Mansoor and his brother Salim arrived in the United Kingdom in 1974. Mansoor immediately opened a boutique in Kensington selling jeans. In 1984, he bought his first Hotel in Victoria and has since been an active

entrepreneur owning many hotels and other investment properties throughout the UK. Mansoor Popat and his son Abid Popat (BSc Economics, MSc Management and Finance) have a vision to actively expand the hotel business and provide upmarket 3 star business and tourist hotel facilities, like the recently refurbished Eden Plaza Kensington Hotel.

Platinum Award for Business Person of the Year

The Finalists

Dr Diwan Rahul Nanda India's most preferred security solutions brand and the first Indian MNC to acquire Great Britain's renowned security firm, The Shield Guarding Company Limited UK, Dr Diwan Rahul Nanda started his business empire when he took over his family business, consisting of a chain of Chinese restaurants in Mumbai called Tuktuks. He was widely credited for rescuing the ailing security industry in India in the early 1990's. He revolutionised TOPSGRUP to

become India's largest security group with revenues in excess of ÂŁ150 million, 93000 employees and approximately 8000 customers. Recently making it to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2012 with an estimated wealth of ÂŁ168 million, he won the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2011 (TIE UK) and Brand Leadership Award (CMO Asia) in 2010.

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36 Swati bhargava_A4 Temp 07/09/2012 12:40 Page 36

An experience you won't ever regret ■ Rupanjana Dutta orn in India, a young British Indian entrepreneur Swati Bhargava came to London to study in London School of Economics. Working as an investment banker for 5 years thereafter, she took a break from banking and co-founded Pouring Pounds with her husband Rohan. Pouring Pounds is a cashback-and-voucher website that allows users to save on online shopping, at any of their 2500 partner retailers in the UK, including M&S, Tesco, Debenhams, Expedia etc.

When asked about her background and why she left her successful career at Goldman Sachs, Swati said, “I grew up in a small town in India called Ambala, north of Delhi. After my O Levels, I was selected by the Singaporean government to go to Singapore for two years and do my A-Levels on a scholarship. After that, I got a scholarship to the LSE where I studied mathematics and economics. I graduated in 2005, and started working in Goldman Sachs right away.

But after five years, I wanted a break. When I left, I did not know that I wanted to start a business and that I was going to start a business. I just wanted to do something different.”

Being an entrepreneur is not easy. Being a young entrepreneur is even more difficult, especially when you are competing with people or a generation who have more experience than your own age. Swati has still embarked on a career that is no way less challenging than a job in the City.

Like every job of course, this also has its advantages and disadvantages, ups and downs, risks and glory.

Speaking of the advantages and disadvantages, Swati said, being an entrepreneur means dealing with issues like you may not have a pay cheque coming in at the end of the month. It means slogging hard, knowing there may be no funding after 6 months.

“Also, you end up doing a lot of things on your own. As a start up you want to bootstrap here and there, you are pretty much doing all sorts of things,” she added. “On a typical day, we’ll be doing everything from marketing, business development, accounting, customer service, everything. You end up taking on a lot over yourself. And you have so much expectation from other people. Because you expect them to work with the same passion as you do. We are very lucky to have a great team though!.

But on the other hand the biggest advantage is the satisfaction you get. Moreover you really are your own boss. So if you have ideas, you run with it. The

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feeling of that kind of independence is just incredible.”

Pouring Pounds has been launched by Swati and Rohan in a market situation where people want to save as much as they can. So they look for deals and cash back, especially when they are shopping online. Many people like to even donate their cashback. “We list any charity that approaches us on our website. Cashback is free money anyway so people definitely like to donate from it.

With such a great start at her mid twenties, Swati is of course not here to stop. Asked if she would like to start Pouring Pounds in India, a confident Swati added, “it's definitely on the cards.”

“India is definitely a large opportunity and a growing market. Both in India and the UK, we want to set up cash-back websites for large organisations, anyone who has an audience.

So I think the growth is really in capturing some big partners and having more and more of these contracts.”

Advice for our young audience - Swati replied with a broad smile, “Just go with it, its an experience you won’t regret, and it's definitely worth it. Always have a positive approach, and good things will follow!”

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Baroness Shreela Flather Baroness Shreela Flather, is the senior most Asian peer in the House of Lords and was appointed in1990. She was the first Asian woman to receive a peerage.

Amongst her many achievements, the Memorial Gates on Constitution Hill in London, UK, is one of the most well known. These Gates have been erected as a lasting memorial to honour the Indian and Commonwealth sol- diers who volunteered to serve with the Armed Forces

during the First and Second World Wars.

The Baroness started her career with voluntary work in the Asian Community. She was a Borough Councillor for fifteen years, being the first ethnic minority woman Councillor when first elected in 1976. She became Deputy Mayor of Windsor and Maidenhead in 1985/86 and the Mayor in 1986/87, being the then first Asian woman Mayor in the United Kingdom.

Sir Anwar Pervez Sir Anwar Pervez was born in 1935 and set up Bestway Cash & Carry in 1976. He was the Managing Director and Chairman of the business since inception till July 2004, when he stood down from his role as Managing Director but retained the role of Chairman of the Group.

Sir Anwar is the Chairman of Bestway (Holdings) Limited, UK & its subsidiaries, which include Batleys Limted in UK and Bestway Cement Limited and United Bank

Limited in Pakistan. He is the Deputy Chairman of UBL. He is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Bestway Foundation UK and the Patron-in-Chief of Bestway Foundation Pakistan. Sir Anwar is a Trustee of the Memorial Gates Trust, Crimestoppers and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme.

Nadir Lalani Nadir Lalani arrived in the United Kingdom in the recession-hit 1970s from Tanzania and started a small corner shop. He has expanded his successful budget retail business, 99p Stores, throughout the country.

Lalani now operates more than 100 stores in Britain and serves around 1.5 million customers each week. Lalani has managed to open 40 new stores in one year. 99p Stores plans further expansion

after more than trebling pre-tax profits to £6.3million in the year. Its sales increased 26 per cent to £231million.

In October 2009, the retailer appointed Gordon Brown as their new Chairman, who took up the position on 1 October 2009, taking over from Peter Gent.

Platinum Award for Life Time Achievement

The Finalists

Lord Gulam Noon, MBE Lord Noon founded Noon Products in 1989, now part of the WT Foods Group of which he is an Executive Director. He is a Managing Director of Bombay Halwa Ltd, Southall and also serves as a Director on the boards of a range of companies and organisations. He was awarded an MBE for services in 1994 and knighted in 2002. Mr. Noon is a Member of the Advisory Board on Naturalization and Integration and acted as the President of

the London Chamber of Commerce. He is a Member of the Advisory Council of The Prince's Trust and the Board of CARE International U.K. In the Sunday Times Rich List he was placed in 888th position with an estimated fortune of £65 million. In January 2011, he was created a life peer as Baron Noon, and he was introduced in the House of Lords on 31 January 2011, where he sits on the Labour benches.

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Voluntary work opens many doors ■ Tanika Patel asvir Singh is the legal and media relations director at City Sikhs Network, a national non profitmaking organisation which is focused on education, volunteering and networking in the professional and non-professional Sikh and South Asian community.

Jasvir has been involved in representing and raising awareness for Sikhs, creating a strong community that follow the aim, to 'inspire people to be the best they can be.'

Being part of a network has many advantages, especially one which is focused upon career and education opportunities, as well as community service.

Jasvir believes that networking can build strong relationships and help members build themselves both in their career and personally. He comments “Many of our members have formed new friendships, working relationships and spiritual appreciation through the network. It has also helped some individuals progress within their own careers or find new careers.” CSN have organised political meetings between their members and politicians, an important step in having their voice heard by the government. Jasvir believes these types of discussions will result in “better access for political engagement.” The Mayoral Hustings held by CSN in April 2012 was a way in which members could discuss political views and policies.

One of the charities CSN has chosen as their charity partner for 2012 is the Red Balloon Learner Centres, an organisation which supports and aids children who have been bullied. Bullying can have strong emotional and physical impacts upon children, affecting them severely in later life. When asked about the importance of supporting a charity such as Red Balloon, Jasvir answered, “children are our future. For a society to be truly civilised, we need to treat vulnerable people with the respect and dignity that they deserve, including children.” Members of the network are involved with many charitable organisations, which not only help to teach equality and fairness, but can give them opportunities that they would not have previously had. Jasvir added, “Voluntary work can often open doors which would otherwise remain closed to them.

My own career has greatly benefited from the voluntary work I have done in the past, and I feel that that benefit should be available for everyone.” CSN supports many different organisations, such as National Sewa Day, a social action initiative, The Faith Forums London, an organisation which seeks to enable religious communities in London to work together, and the UK Punjab Heritage Society, a society which appreciates

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and preserves Punjab material heritage.

The CSN believes that Young sikhs are an important part of the British Sikh community, now and in the future. CSN allows for them to communicate and form relationships, both professional and non-professional, in order to become a stronger part of the community and allow them to pursue the careers and lives they desire.

He told Asian Voice about the advantages of communicating within a network such as CSN. “Discussing cultural and religious issues in a relaxed environment is very important for Young Sikh's self-development. If you surround yourself with good-hearted people, good vibes will resonate within yourself too.” He continues to discuss the importance of continuing the work that has already been achieved by British Sikhs, “Young Sikhs should be inspired by all the great work already being done by Sikhs in Britain and continue to help towards Britain’s global success. They need encouragement and inspiration to become more involved in British society as a means of developing their self-esteem and selfawareness. ” CSN arranges for Young Sikhs to go through career mentoring, a programme which helps students and graduates to explore their current careers and discover new ones. Jasvir comments, “It helps provide opportunities which may otherwise not be available to individuals, and allows students and graduates to get more out of their career development. “ The 2012 Olympic Games were a huge success for Britain, and the Paralympics has started off equally impressive. The CSN is involved with LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) and is currently discussing the lack of British Asians in the Olympic and Paralympic games. Jasvir adds, “We are hosting an event on 17th October in central London which will look precisely at that. Please visit www.citysikhs.org.uk for more information.”

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The Officer who likes Peace-keeping ■ Rani Singh arrant Officer Ashok Chauhan, MBE, is Second in Command of the Army Diversity Action Recruiting Team. In 1998 he was awarded the Adjutant General’s Commendations and the Goshan Medal for achievements in sport and service in the Royal Regiment of Artillery. His operational tours include the Falkland Islands, Northern Ireland (three tours) the Gulf, the United Nations Tour of Cyprus and Afghanistan.

Ashok was awarded an MBE in 1999. In 2007/8, whilst on Operation Herrick in Afghanistan, he was bestowed with the NATO Meritorious Service Medal and was NATO Senior Non-Commissioned Officer of the year.

Where were you born and why did you join the army?

I was born in Nairobi, Kenya. I joined the army as I thought it would increase my opportunity to experience sport, travel and adventure.

Where was your initial training and where was your first posting?

My initial 12 weeks’ training was in Woolwich (London, UK); a culture shock, as it was my first taste of independent life. Getting up early in the morning, preparing my kit, and domestic jobs in our accommodation prior to going on parade were a shock as I was used to it all being done for me at home. The highlight of training was when I boxed in front of 600 soldiers for my section.

Upon completion, I was posted to Gutersloh in West Germany.

Where else has duty taken you?

I have served in most parts of the world including Canada, Denmark, Kenya, Germany, South France, Holland and Belgium. I have also completed various adventure training and sports activities in; USA, Australia, New Zealand, India, all over Europe, South Africa, Malaysia, Barbados, Nice and Monte Carlo.

What skills does a soldier need that a civilian doesn’t?

The key characteristics are robustness, the ability to adapt rapidly to any given situation, and to obey and comply with leadership command to achieve positive results. You need a good sense of humour to get on in the army.

What are your sporting successes?

I have represented the combined services in hockey, and acted as a player coach leading to multiple successes within inter-services competitions. I also attained Regimental Bantamweight Champion in boxing and play squash.

What were your precise duties in Afghanistan, and for what work did you win your two awards there?

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I managed a team of 35 interpreters in the Regional Command Centre tasked to deliver a seamless communication flow between locally employed civilians and NATO Forces, resulting in enhanced community engagement.

On a daily basis I visited the local school and communities, engaging with them, and changing their perception of the British Army. I distributed school equipment and clothing for the local school and families whilst also ensuring the children received sweets.

The highlight was seeing the children smile as you realise you are doing a worthwhile job. You realise how appreciative and grateful they are to receive small gifts.

It makes you understand how lucky we are as a society to have what we have and that we sometimes take it all for granted.

Over the year I was in Afghanistan the various army and community tasks I carried out were appreciated by senior officers and the coalition media. So I was recommended and awarded the NATO Meritorious Service Medal and NATO soldier of the year.

The awards give me a good feeling and although I won them, I cannot forget the rest of the team who supported me and helped me.

On operational tours, what were your duties in each place?

On most operational tours, our focus was to maintain peace through active participation and engagement.

I served in 40 Field Regt RA within the Falkland Islands where I was primary employed within my section as Artillery Surveyor, ensuring the Guns were ready to fire. I was also employed as a medic as a secondary role.

I served in Bosnia in the same capacity as when I was in the Falkland Islands.

My United Nations tour of Cyprus saw me acting as a civilian affairs sergeant with the Battery Commander, visiting locals from both the Northern and Southern part of Cyprus, liaising with them and keeping the communities peaceful.

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42-Aekta Mahajan_A4 Temp 07/09/2012 12:43 Page 42

Find a good mentor ■ Tanveer Mann ekta Mahajan is a Senior Manager at the Cabinet Office; where she is the government lead for the Big Society Capital bank - an independent organisation launched by the Prime Minister earlier this year. Aekta also co-founded the Young Asian Social Enterprise and is Vice Chair of the City Hindus Network. She was recently selected by Management Today as one of the top 35 women under 35 for 2012.

As a high achiever and successful woman in her own right, Aekta has tried her foot in different fields, including banking. Speaking of her decision to change careers, she said, “I left banking as I wanted to pursue a career where I could do more meaningful work rather than spending 12 hours a day helping rich banks become even richer. I also wanted to work in a less ruthless, corporate environment.”

When asked why she chose to work in Central government, despite knowing that Asian women are a minority, she replied, “You are right, Asian women in central government, particularly at the Cabinet Office are a very small minority. Yet fortunately, the Cabinet Office provides the perfect balance for me – with exciting work, opportunities to grow and learn from very ambitious, driven people. My current role is focused upon supporting the growth of the social investment market so the right infrastructure is in place for social enterprises and charities to operate effectively. It’s a very new and exciting area within government that I’m very passionate about.”

As a woman in government, Aekta has defeated all stereotypes by becoming a high achiever in the workplace amongst her male colleagues. Any possible disadvantages a woman can face, she said, are made only when a woman lets them affect her. “Women often cite glass ceilings as being a barrier for them to progress but I choose not to see them. Women tend to have better interpersonal skills, are more empathetic and are often better at negotiating with difficult stakeholders. So there have been some occasions where I’ve felt that I have an advantage over my male colleagues.”

More positively, Aekta has an ever-increasing list of accomplishments yet her biggest achievement to date, she said, was when “the Prime Minister signed off a strategy that I proposed, to integrate overseas British Passports production into UK operations. I spent several months understanding the complex global operations run by the Foreign Office but it was all worth it!”

More recently, Aekta won an award from Management Today, which came as a complete surprise to her. She said, “I didn’t initially realise the prestige of the award until I saw the magazine published, it was all very surreal. I’m very grateful for the recognition

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and it has reinforced my belief that a). you should find a job that you enjoy as you will ultimately work harder and; b). there is no substitution for hard work - it always pays off in the end.”

On top of her day job, Aekta also runs the Young Asian Social Enterprise, which she co-founded and works for the City Hindus Network (CHN). When asked what drives her to do so much on top of her day job, she said, “YASE is something I set up as I wanted to find a sustainable and scalable way to fundraise for worthy causes. I started working with CHN several years back and I have stayed on as I enjoy doing something for the community. It is more for the personal satisfaction I get from helping others which my day job doesn’t always give me!”

Asking Aekta how she balances work with family life, she said “I do work fairly hard but I always make time for my family and friends. It probably helps that I am not married with children. I will happily reassess the things I do when that time comes and let go of commitments that feel relatively less important.”

Her final words to other ambitious, young woman like herself: “Always believe in yourself and persevere. Setbacks and failures will come along the way but they make you more resilient. And find a good mentor; they can be invaluable if they genuinely believe in you.”

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Skywards with Alpha training a new pilot generation

ith its roots in a modest London-based trainCaptain Mohammed Ahmed, Director of ing organisation and a small but pioneering Operations at Air Arabia said “Newly graduated MPL Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL) operation in pilots will now join Air Arabia as First Officers and will fly the Philippines, Alpha Aviation Group has expanded the carrier’s Airbus A320 state-of-the-art airplanes. Alpha aggressively over the last five years to become a globAviation Group’s highly disciplined operating efficiencies ally recognised and respected brand in the world of airare in place to ensure ‘on-time and on-schedule’ delivery line pilot training; able to provide pioneering, tailorof training services both to pilots and airlines”. made training solutions for the airline industry.

The Group’s Philippines operation is based at Clark Alpha Aviation Group United Kingdom is a Type Free Zone near Pampanga. It trains young aspiring Rating Training Organisation located close to London’s Filipinos for the right-hand seat of one of the world’s Gatwick Airport. The school is recognised as a provider most popular short-haul aircraft; the Airbus A320 family. of high-quality, innovative and pioneering solutions for The MPL, a new concept in pilot training, has been the airlines and individuals requiring training for either the lead programme at Alpha Aviation Group Philippines.

Boeing 737NG or the Airbus A320 The programme has produced a signififamily of aircraft. By taking a flexible cant new stream of pilots to the and receptive approach to the Philippines’ airline industry; pilots who demands of its customers, the UK now fly aircraft on domestic and internaschool has earned the respect of the tional services. aviation industry as trusted training Experience in the market has also partners. One example is Alpha’s conseen Alpha Aviation Group Philippines tract with India’s Jet Airways for type expand its portfolio of courses to cater to rating and Command Upgrade trainthe diverse but exacting needs of the local ing under a long term agreement for aviation community, including specialist Boeing 737 training which will be con- After completing his type rating at AAG courses for delivering type ratings and for UK, Tushar Sofat (pictured right) has ducted at its London Gatwick facility. the Commercial Pilot Licence. 2012 will see Alpha Aviation Group in the UK offers recently joined major Indian airline, Indigo an exciting development for the training a comprehensive suite of training solutions, including a school with the installation of a new CAE Airbus A320 Boeing 737NG flight simulator. The school’s combination flight simulator and new additions to the school’s aircraft of outstanding facilities and expert training personnel fleet with the delivery of a number of new Cessna light equip cadets to fly for the most discerning of airlines. aircraft.

Alpha Aviation Group made exciting inroads into Alpha Aviation Group Philippines’ latest initiative is the Middle East market in 2007 when the company the development of an Airline Pilot Training (APT) proentered into a joint venture agreement with one of the gramme. Established in January 2012 it is designed to Middle East’s leading low-cost carriers, Air Arabia, to help deliver Airbus A320 qualified co-pilots to the country’s meet the huge requirement for pilots in the region. airlines. The 20-month programme will take student Based at Sharjah International Airport, Alpha pilots through ab-initio and type rating training for local Aviation Group UAE has been training co-pilots for Air domestic and international low-cost carriers. The course Arabia’s Airbus A320 aircraft since 2008. The facility is provides each student with the knowledge and experithe first of its kind in Sharjah and has enabled a signifience they require to qualify as an Airbus First Officer. Air cant number of aspiring pilots to realise their professionPhil Express has successfully inducted APT course gradal dream. uates from AAGP as FO on their A320 fleet.

February 2012 saw the first Alpha Aviation Group With demands upon the aviation industry being at UAE pilots receive their wings at a graduation ceremony an all-time high, Alpha Aviation Group is poised and attended by representatives of the General Civil Aviation ready to provide tailored training solutions which meet Authority (GCAA), Air Arabia, Alpha Aviation Group UAE the needs of an ever-evolving and cost-conscious market. and the Sharjah Airport Authority.

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44-Ajmal Shahzad_A4 Temp 07/09/2012 12:45 Page 44

Bowling at 90mph!

■ Rani Singh jmal Shahzad was the first British-born Asian to play for Yorkshire. A right-arm fast bowler and useful lower/middle order batsman, Shahzad has been part of the England set-up since 2010 when he played in an international T20 match before representing the ODI and Test teams.

He has now swapped the White Rose of Yorkshire for the Red one of their fierce rivals, Lancashire.

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How important were your parents in your choice of sport? I understand you started off as a badminton champion?

I won gold in many badminton matches and represented England in my teens. My parents sent me to private schools, so education came first. They wanted me to do my best but didn’t put pressure on me.

Who were and are your main mentors and coaches?

At Woodhouse Grove the head of the cricket department was Ian Frost and the master of cricket who was my head coach was Graham Roope who played for England and Surrey. He was the one who told me that I could play cricket professionally. A few more coaches helped me bring out the best in myself, like Yorkshire’s Steve Oldham - a well known bowling coach who helped Darren Gough.

What is your training regime when not playing games, and what do you do on match days?

How important were your schools in developing your sporting ability and character?

Bradford Grammar, where I started off playing cricket and badminton, gave me a rounded character and confidence. I got a sports scholarship to Woodhouse Grove. They spotted my cricketing talent and pushed me forward for school trials and helped me develop my game, allowing me to express myself and be the person I am today.

Did any of your childhood friends inspire a sense of competition in you?

We live in Bradford and I started off playing in the Bradford League. A good friend of mine was Haroon Rashid, Adil Rashid’s older brother. We were close mates but there was also rivalry and competition. He got picked for Yorkshire trials a couple of years before me and I worked hard to get into the Yorkshire set up and it took off from there.

How did you decide to focus on cricket?

I was playing both badminton and cricket but made the transition when I got offered a contract by Yorkshire. I went to some trials where I got scouted and picked and asked to come to some Yorkshire nets, and one of the coaches there spotted me and asked me if I would like to join them on a contract. That’s when I decided this could be a career for me. I had to drop other activity to give 100% to cricket.

How did your ability in other sports help your cricket?

I used to love racket sports; squash, badminton.

They need hand-eye co-ordination. I got involved in rugby as well which toughened me up, got me very competitive, helps me now and brings out the best in me for battle, brings out a bit of aggression when I’m bowling fast!

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Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

Ajmal Shahzad

An early morning or early afternoon gym session, rest and recuperation, eating well, getting enough carbohydrates and protein so the body can recover. Sleep is key. You want to be as fresh as possible so you can give a 110% on event days. Match days we swim before breakfast, do our own warm ups and then a team warm up and swim after the match to relax the muscles. I get up around seven am every day, even on my days off.

How many backroom staff support you?

With county cricket, three-four are in the dressing room. It can get up to about eight at international level.

What is your ambition?

Long term, to get back into the England team in the one day format and hopefully the test format. I also want to establish myself as a very good county cricket player, be recognised throughout the UK and internationally as a very good cricketer with a bat and a ball.

And hopefully get involved in some international competitions like the IPL and the Big Bash. They give you so much experience and you learn from the best players around the world.

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Winner: Capt. Ashvini Sharma

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Regional Director AirIndia, UK

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Jiva Odedra - CEO Leicestershire Asian Business association Reena Ramesh Shah - Veterinary Surgeon Parm Sandhu - Chief Inspector MPS

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Shahin Badar - Award winning Singer and Song Writer Shashi Kiran Gossain - Owner MercsOnly Honey kalaria - Actress, Singer and Businesswoman

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Suresh Vagjiani - Director Sow & Reap Ltd Suresh Kotecha - Director- Big Ben Properties Ltd. Jess Kaur - Founder PR Vibe Raj Bakrania - Partner PR Vibe

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Business council.

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Mr. D K kewalramani - Owner-Travelin Style Pramod Thakkar- Founder Meera Nursing Home

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Janak Ondhia - Founder Locum Express Ltd Kishor Patel - Owner- Nisa Local Stores Pradeep Pandya-Founder–Baba Holidays Ltd

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Bobby Grewal - Athlete for charities Bhanumati Piparia - Charity & Social Service Chandrakalaben Patel - Founder of Charitable trust

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Winner: Naynesh Desai Solicitor

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Winner: Monty Panesar Cricketer

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Winner: Firoz Kassam Entrepreneur – Hotels and B&B's

Sanjay Vadera - Owner- Pre Scent Shamir Shah - Founder and MD East India Tea House.

Vikkas Puri - Owner Ace Communications

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Raj Loomba - founder Shrimati pushpawati Loomba Trust Shaunaka Rishi Das - Director-Oxford centre for Hindu Studies Vinod Kapashi - President Mahavir foundation

Winner : Dalip Kumar Founder Travelin Style

Winner - Nat Puri Purico Group of Companies

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Winner: Viral Acharya Founder- Pratham USA and pratham UK

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Dipa Jethwa-Founder member of Taj Medical Group Manisha Tank - TV presenter – BBC world CII Anjana Patel - Treasurer- Barclays Bank p

Shashi Gossain - Founder-Pharmaclinix Nikunj Shah - Founder Sugam Paneer

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Kantesh (Ken) Popat - Director Finance House Limited Ravi Gill - Founder London College of Accountancy Arvind Halai - Founder GXI

Winner: Dr Usha Menon Lecturer UCL, Head of Gynaecological cancer research centre

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Winner - Arvind Malhotra Owner GapGuru

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Winner - Nadir Lalani Founder 99p Stores

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Monty Panesar - Cricketer Sajid mahmood - Cricketer Prince Naseem Ahmed - Boxer

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Mira Trivedi - Gujarati Presenter BBC Rakhi Sood - Performing Arts Ashish Joshi - Reporter-SKy news

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K.B Shankar - Head of South Asian Banking HSBC Yogesh Mehta - MD Amertrans Shipping Dr Mohan Kaul - Director/CEO Commonwealth

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Winner - Dr Avatar Lit founder- Sunrise Radio

W Winner: Hunisha Bharat Patel - Martial Arts

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Winner - Arjan Vekaria -

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Vijey Ratan - Social worker Manubhai Makwana - Social Service Gopalbhai Popat and Induben Mehta Founders Asian Foundation for Help

Founder Vascroft Contractors Ltd.

Winner - Manish Shah Partner Sigma Pharmaceuticals Plc

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Winner: Chandubhai Kanani Founder member- Lohana Community of West London

Winner - Jasuben Seghani - Shop Owner

Winner: Rati Shah Fund Raiser- Social Service

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P Owais Shah : Cricketer Puneet Arora - Chef Dr Ramesh Gandhi - Fund raiser Saima Hussain : Rugby Player and Sports Ritu Sethi - Lawyer- sethi partnership solicitors Mahendra Jadeja - Charitable work Development officer Dr Satya Narayan Agarwal - Orthopaedic Surgeon Madat Ahamed - Social Welfare Kiran Matharu : Golfer

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Winner: Shriti Vadera - Parliamentary Under secretary of state for International Development

Winner: Renu Patel - Performing Arts

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Honey Kalaria - Stage Performer Mira Kakad - Fashion Designer Ravi Sharma - Presenter-Sunrise Radio

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Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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Deepakben Patel - Professional Golfer Kalaria - StageMrs Performer Gita Jobanputra - Professional masseuse and Teacher of Complimentary Therapies Nilam Patel - Partner Wine Cellar Consolidations

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Winner: Nishma Gosrani Consultant at PriceWaterhouseCoopers Anuj Chande - Grant Thornton UK LLP Raj Joshi - Red Lion Chamber Dr Akbar Ali Malik -Solicitor Supreme Court

Winner: Yogesh Mehta Managing Director of Amertrans Shipping

Bemal Patel - Pharmacist Hasmukhbhai Patel - Director of Mukti Tea Dolar Popat - Founder of TLC Group

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Winner: Kuljinder S. Bahia, Director of Southall Travel

Rajesh Agrawal - Founder and CEO RationalFX Devin Chawda - Founder Y-Cam Solution LTD. Suraj Gokani - M.D. of Excel Currencies

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Winner: Kamel Hothi Lloyds TSB

Manula Sood - Lord Mayor of Leicester Sangeeta Patel - M.D. of Post Offices Anita Chopra - Solicitor Salima Mawji - Solicitor

Winner: Dr Dak Patel Director London SAM Dr Reshma Ramesh Gandecha - Pharmacist Arun Patel - Chartered Accountant Dr Satyanarayan Agarwal - Orthopaedic Surgeon

Winner: Dr Rami Ranger Chairman of India,PAK,UK Friendship Forum Vinod Kapashi - Literary Fugure Bhadresh Trivedi - Hindu Chaplain Gordhandas S Patel - Voluntary Services

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Winner: Maiyuran Ratneswaran, Fencing Shivam Shah - Guinness World Record holder Rashmi Yadave - Marathon Runner Manjit Singh - Record Holder Guinness Book

2009 WOMAN OF THE YEAR Winner Uma A Mehta Shortlisted nominees

Dr Monika Khanna Parveen Hassan Honey Kalaria

Winner: Ravi Sharma Radio Ambassador India & UK

Jay Kumar - Bollywood Dance Choreographer Nikita Thakrar - Finest Dance Artists Paresh Shah - Musician, Entertainer, Magician

CIVIL SERVICE ANd UNIFORM Winner Capt Sandip Patel Shortlisted nominees Natubhai Somabhai Patel Shilpa Solanki Bhimji Vekaria

BUSINESS IN COMMUNITY Winner Narendra Patel

PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Shortlisted nominees

Shortlisted nominees

P.S. Kang Naynesh Desai Satish Parekh

MEdIA ARTS ANd CULTURE Winner Chamanlal Chaman Shortlisted nominees

Jasvinder Singh Bal Ashish Amrit Kotak JeetsScreen Idolz

Winner Manjul K Vasant MBE Cheryl Dhillon Zafar Siddque Mohammad Asghar

ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMUNITY SERVICE Winner Vraj Pankhania

Shortlisted nominees

Madhurikaben R Patel Chhotalal Maganlal Limbachia Shree Chhotalal Narottambhai Chauhan

Winner: PC Mebs Ahmed Chaiman of Lancashire Black Police Association

Supt Raj Kohli - MET Police Dr. Kadaba S V DL - Consultant Pathologist Ajit Patel - Royal Guard

BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR Winner Anil Maneklal Solanki Shortlisted nominees Kirit Patel Thariq Mohammed Koolesh Shah

YOUNG ENTREPRENUER OF THE YEAR Winner Rishi Lakhani Shortlisted nominees

Snahal Patel Nina Kabra Bhavisha Patel

SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR Winner Rajeev Bagga Shortlisted nominees

Ashwin Bhatt Shivam Shah Samit Patel

Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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2010 Professional of the year Winner Vijay Goel

Shortlisted nominees Prof S homer Vanniasinkam Dr Nora Vyas Dr Sandeep Mane

Woman of the Year

Winner

Pavani reddy Shortlisted nominees Jasuben Mistry Shalina Alabaksh Shashi Kiran Gossain

Young Entreprenuer of the Year

Winner

Riz Navsarka Shortlisted nominees Abhishek Varma Jason and Dennis Singh Digwa Sujan Shah

Asian voice Special Award for Ingenuity in Business Sanjiv Mehta

Young Business person demonstrating sustained business growth

Achievement in Community service

Media Arts and Culture

Winner

Winner

Anjali Bulley

Ranjan D Manek OBE

Shortlisted nominees

Shortlisted nominees Cllr Filly Maravala Darshan lal Kalhan Maneck A Dalal OBE Sanjay Jagatia

Burjor J Avari Mark Sumariwalla Rajini Vaidyanathan

Business Person of the year

Sports Personality of the Year

Winner

Winner

Arun Panchariya Shortlisted nominees Dr Vijay Patel and Dr Bhikhu Patel Hemang Shah Raj K Aggarwal OBE

Ravi Bopara Shortlisted nominees Ashpal Kaur Bhogal Michael Chopra Zesh Rehman

Business in Community

Uniformed And Civil services

Winner

Winner

Sukhpal singh Ahluwalia

Bala Mahendran Shortlisted nominees Aliya Rashid Aswin rana Zaheer Ahmad

Shortlisted nominees Sanjiv Mehta Subir patel Anil Sehgal

Overall Business Performance and Innovation

Editor’s Award for Vision and enterprise Dr Vijay Patel and Dr Bhikhu Patel

Jason and Dennis Singh Digwa

Best Overall Enterprise

Leadership in Professions

Subaskaran Allirajah

Bobby Karia

Achievement in Health care Dr Nora Vyas

Amit Patel

2011 Professional of the year Winner Bhupendra Jasani Shortlisted nominees Anuj Chande Dalip Puri Sujata Sharma

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Asian Achievers Awards 2012 Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

Achievement in Media, Arts & Culture

Sports Personality of the year Winner

Winner

Rajiv Ouseph

Bobby Singh

Shortlisted nominees Ashpal Kaur Bhogal Isa Guha Manjit Singh

Shortlisted nominees Nasif Ali Shiamak Davar Surjit Singh Ghuman

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Achievement in Community Service

Uniformed & Civil Services

Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Winner

Major Tikendra Dal Dewan Shortlisted nominees Fauzia and Nooruddin Aftab Kamleshben Patel Anjum Anwar

Winner

Winner

Shindo Barquer

Shortlisted nominees Shazia Awan Nina Kabra Abhishek Varma

Shortlisted nominees Dalwardin Babu PC Asif Sadiq Hitesh Oza

Mitesh Patel

Woman of the year

Business in Community

Winner

Business Person of the year

Winner

Winner

Ruby McGregor - Smith

Shernaz Engineer

Dr Rami Ranger

Shortlisted nominees Cllr Mimi Harker OBE Yashmin Mistry Devi Kolli

Shortlisted nominees Mandeep Atwal Manoj Patel Nish Kotecha

Shortlisted nominees Rajan Amin Ruby McGregor - Smith Ali Kurji

Editor’s Award for Vision and Enterprise Winner

Editor’s Award for Research and Compilation

Dinesh Patel & Savitaben (Cofresh)

British Asian Women

FBI 2012

Careers in Pharmacy

Winner Dr. Kusoom Vadgama

Careers in Accountancy

Our mission statement: Our two news weeklies Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar provide bumper, reliable news, informative and useful features, as well as professional ethics of the highest order. l We are committed to diversity and are proud to be British. l We do not exaggerate our circulation and readership (Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar have 26,000 paid subscribers and around 5000 copies are sold every week through retail outlets. Our readership exceeds 200,000). l Our main sources of revenue is, no doubt, advertisements but we do not accept adverts that are divisive or that exploit the vulnerable members of our communities by unfounded claims, such as solving a person's problems of fears and anxieties. We do not accept fake doctors, magic healers claims and we have stopped such adverts last year knowing fully well that in the previous 5 years, such adverts were bringing in £50,000 each year.

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