British Asian composer praised by prime minister for mental health campaign

CREATIVE Rekesh Chauhan has been congratulated by the prime minister for his efforts in raising awareness of mental health through the arts.

Chauhan recently launched Neelam’s Story on YouTube, a music video portraying a real life story to encourage education on mental health. It tells the story of a young woman who faced mental health struggles and received support from services, introduced to her by the British Asian Trust.

Following the launch, Boris Johnson praised Chauhan for his “tremendous efforts”.

“I am proud to see this production, inspired by a British Asian Trust case study, will further lift the silence on mental health,” Johnson wrote last week. “It is important that we have those difficult conversations about mental health in our communities now more than ever and I extend my wholehearted support to all those involved”.

The video supports the British Asian Trust’s Covid-19 emergency appeal, which looks to extend help to countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.