‘Kaul was the voice of Asians’

by AMIT ROY

FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES PAY TRIBUTE TO BROADCAST ICON

WARM tributes have been paid to the pioneering broadcaster Mahendra Kaul, who passed away in London last Wednesday (11), aged 95.

For two decades, he was the face of BBC television programmes aimed at the first generation of immigrants from India and Pakistan. He arrived in the UK in 1961 as a programme producer for BBC External Services and then joined the broadcaster’s fledgling Asian Programmes Unit in 1966.

Among the many tributes paid to him was one from Lord Navnit Dholakia, the Liberal Democrats deputy leader in the Lords, who described Kaul as “a pillar of our society in the United Kingdom”.

“We all recognise the extraordinary contribution he made to raise the profile of our community,” Lord Dholakia said. “He was a fearless broadcaster and we eagerly awaited his programmes every week.”

Ramniklal Solanki CBE, editor-in-chief of Eastern Eye and Garavi Gujarat, re­membered an old friend: “Mahendra Kaul was a brilliant, pioneering journalist who was something of an institution for the British-Asian community.

“His weekly programme on the BBC was watched by the Asian community in the 1970s. Widely admired and respected, he was at ease interviewing Bollywood stars and senior politicians. His inter­views with British and Indian prime min­isters were always hard-hitting but cour­teous in voicing the concerns of the Brit­ish-Asian community.”

Rohit Khattar, owner of the Indian Ac­cent restaurant in Mayfair, London, said: “He loved me dearly and was like a godfa­ther to me. We will miss him a lot.”

Lord Swraj Paul tweeted: “He was a great Indian and a wonderful friend for many years.”

Journalist and film critic Lalit Mohan Joshi added: “Being a broadcaster myself, I always admired his sonorous voice, the way he expressed his thoughts and the way he argued.”

Kaul would have turned 96 on July 28. He was born and went to school in Srina­gar in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and always spoke up for the Hindu Pandits, who were driven out from the Kashmir valley by what would today be called a policy of ethnic cleansing.

For Asians across the country, Sundays began with Kaul, who had a distinctive, authoritative voice and presence.

Asian programming on BBC TV started at 9am on Sunday, October 10, 1965, on BBC One with In Logon Se Miliye (Meet these people). In January 1966, this was replaced with Apna Hi Ghar Samajhiye (Make Yourself At Home), which also ran on Sunday mornings on BBC Radio 4.

By 1968, Nai Zindagi Naya Jeevan (New Life New Way) took its place on tel­evision, and was, in turn, replaced around 1982 with Gharbar (About the House), that ran midweek on BBC Two.

In an interview years later, Kaul, who co-fronted Nai Zindagi Naya Jeevan, with a Pakistani host, Saleem Shahed, told ra­dio presenter Sonia Deol that the Bir­mingham-based Asian Programmes Unit had few resources.

“We had no researchers, we had no as­sistants, we had nobody. We were doing (all the research) ourselves, whatever we thought was best, whatever was required,” he said.

Kaul’s programme was often the con­duit through which government depart­ments communicated with the Asian community. He recalled on one occasion, “I was asked by the health department to tell our viewers and listeners not to use hair oil. In this country you don’t require it like in the plains of India and Pakistan.”

Deol, who appeared aghast at this rev­elation, wanted to make sure she had understood him: “They did not want Asians to use hair oil so that when they went to hospital, they did not dirty the pillows?”

What was the reaction from Asians, Deol wanted to know.

They did not take offence, Kaul revealed. In fact, a man he met at a reception even thanked him: “‘You have saved me a lot of money. I did not know you don’t have to use hair oil in this country.’”

Kaul met the Queen in 1981 when she visited the BBC’s studios in Birmingham, then located at Pebble Mill.

The same year he was introduced to Margaret Thatcher by the prime minis­ter’s press secretary, Bernard Ingham, as “the most powerful Indian in Britain”.

He was certainly one of the most influ­ential. When Thatcher invited Kaul to dinner at 10, Downing Street, “I flirted outrageously with her”, he later recalled, tongue in cheek.

“I looked at her from top to toe and said, ‘No wonder the Arabs are investing so much money in Britain,’” he said. “She liked it. ‘Oh, you think so?’ she said.”

When Thatcher said she would have to change for an evening function, Kaul re­monstrated: “You are looking beautiful as it is.”

Britain’s first female prime minister went all coquettish: “Maybe you will like the other dress more than this.”

When his wife Rajni happily con­firmed, “Mahendra did flirt with Margaret Thatcher”, his voice boomed: “She (the prime minister) was my darling.”

Kaul was not slow in seizing his chance with Thatcher: “‘Why don’t you appear on my programme some time?’”

And she did.

So too did Indian prime ministers In­dira Gandhi and Morarji Desai, as well as two other British prime ministers, Jim Callaghan and Ted Heath. Prince Philip also put in an appearance.

Kaul was especially friendly with one of grandees of the Tory party, home secre­tary William Whitelaw. Salman Rushdie was another guest.

These were the early days of broadcast­ing aimed at newly arrived immigrants from India and Pakistan. His showbiz guests included sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, superstar singer Lata Mangeshkar, and the actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor.

In 1970, Kaul conducted a memorable interview in Urdu with Dilip Kumar at his most eloquent. The actor – who was the same age as Kaul – spoke about every­thing from changing his name from Yusuf Khan to tips for young Asians in the UK wanting to enter the acting profession. The veteran star was even persuaded to sing a little in the studio, though this clearly was not his strong point.

Kaul was awarded the OBE in 1975 for services to race relations, a rare accolade for Indians in the UK at that time. The celebrations in the Indian community continued for weeks. He also received an award from the Duke of Edinburgh.

Prior to his arrival in Britain, Kaul worked for Radio Kashmir and All India Radio and also assisted the Films Divi­sion to promote rural development.

He created the Indian Services depart­ment at Voice of America (1955-60) after being specifically sought by the US gov­ernment on the unanimous recommen­dation of the Indian journalistic corps in Washington. He wrote speeches in rela­tion to India for vice-president Richard Nixon. Kaul also worked at BBC Overseas Service Radio for five years.

In the UK, he was a pioneer too for an­other reason. It is believed that Kaul was probably the first man to import a tan­door (traditional Indian oven) to the UK, which he had installed at his restaurant Gaylord in Mortimer Street, London. His partners in the business were Iqbal Ghai, PL Lamba and Hari Harilela.

“Preceding this, the government of In­dia asked us to open a restaurant in the New York World Fair in 1964-65,” he re­membered. “And that is where we put the first tandoor. People formed queues. When the fair concluded, we carried the tandoor to London. And ordered another two for safety.”

Two back-up tandoors from Kashmir survived the journey, unlike previous ov­ens which crumbled in transit. This was because the tandoors were “carefully packed by a Japanese company in Delhi”, Kaul explained.

With the first tandoor installed on June 7, 1966, Gaylord, in which Kaul had the largest stake, did a roaring trade, offering “tandoori naan, roti, kulcha, chicken ke­bab and tikka”.

His further contribution was to ensure the food “sizzled” as it came to the table. “When we started the sizzler, all heads would turn with the smoke and aroma.”

“It became very popular with the BBC – Broadcasting House is just around the corner,” he pointed out. “Our partners said it would six months to a year to make a profit – we broke even in three months’ time. The Daily Telegraph gave us a two-page spread. We later opened Gaylord in Birmingham and then Manchester.”

“He understands masala,” his wife once said.

Kaul is survived by his wife Rajni; his daughter, circuit judge Kalyani Kaul, QC; and grandchildren Symran and Callum. His funeral will take place on Sunday (22) at Golders Green Crematorium, 62 Hoop Lane, London, NW11 7NL at 10am.