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March 2011

Tamil Diaspora in the UK- Sithiravelu Karunandarajah

British Tamil Festivals- Dr Seethadevi Mahadeva

Politics of British Tamils- T Jeyabalan

Newham: The house for Tamils- Cllr paul Sathianesan

Tamil: A Classical Language- Sithiravelu Karunandarajah

Hindu Temples for British Tamils

A true symbol of reconciliation- Dr Premen Addy

Subaskaran Allirajah, Chairman of International mobile telecoms provider Lycatel

Racing ahead with confidence

£2.75

Cover-1Final_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 18:52

LycaMobile_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 18:38 Page 1

Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar - 2011 3

Present day migration is caused by variety of factors, from warand oppression to economic opportunity. Sri Lanka is one suchcountry from where people have migrated both for reasons of

violence and the search for a better life. Sri Lankan Tamils are a com-munity straddles both categories. Many have left their homelandbecause of civil strife; their presence in the United Kingdom is alsodriven by the desire to make use of the opportunities that Britain pro-vides for all who reside within its shores. In the past 3 decades andmore the Tamil community has been seen to its best advantage. Theyhave shown remarkable resilience and the capacity to move on. Theirentrepreneurial spirit has earned them a niche in business, profes-sions and in every activity which is rewarding.

The violence and bloodshed in Sri Lanka took a decisive turn in1983 with the assault on the Tamil community by Sinhalese mobsincited by short sighted unscrupulous politicians driven by lust forpower. Tamils have suffered from their diminishing civil liberties andethnic discrimination. The Colombo government to date has failed torespond adequately to the criticisms emanating from the UN as wellas international communities on post war measures to heal the com-munal rift within the country.

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar have had a long and fruitfulassociation with the UK's Tamil community. We hope that this asso-ciation can be deepened and made more fruitful in future years.

The British Tamil community is a source of strength to the entirecountry- for they bring with them special gifts of an obedience andrespect to the Rule of Law and tolerance towards others. Apart fromthis they have been unique in the way they have taken advantage ofthe opportunities available to them in the UK. Just as East AfricanAsians suffered trauma and escaped for the refuge in Britain as immi-grants but since their arrival have blended so splendidly into main-stream society. British Tamils have shown every indication of follow-ing the same route to prosperity and acceptance. I have no doubt thatBritish Tamils are an asset to the country which has sheltered themand this should become clearer in the years ahead.

This special issue in its small way is a tribute to the British Tamilsin their initial phase of settlement. I am grateful to Baroness Flatherfor her help and inspiration in this project. Nikhil has been a capableteam leader in this as well. Best wishes for a brilliant future ahead.

My warm felicitations to you all.

C B PatelPublisher/Editor

British Tamils- Best is yet to come

CB Message_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 17:35

Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar - 20114

I have been the Member of Parliament for EastHam for sixteen years, and lived in the area for overthirty years. My first neighbours in Manor Park in1978 were from the Tamil community, and I amproud that the area has become home to so manyTamil families since - including many fleeing vio-lence back home. As MP I have enjoyed workingclosely with the Tamil community. I have beenimpressed by the remarkable contribution, not onlyto Newham, but to East London as a whole.

When I came to Newham, High Street North inManor Park was a drab and declining shoppingstreet. Now it is home to a large number of Tamil-owned businesses and individual Tamil entrepre-neurs. It is lively and colourful, and is seen by manyas the heart of the diaspora community in Europe.

I am delighted to join everyone in paying awarm tribute to British Tamils this evening.

With all best wishes,

Stephen Timms, MPEast Ham

I want to welcome everyone to the launch ofthe new magazine for the Tamil community. I hopethis will provide opportunities for exchanges whichare important as well as enjoyable - another way ofkeeping in touch with your culture and with eachother. I very much hope that you will find it usefulas well as interesting and that it proves to be a greatsuccess.

Baroness Shreela Flather

(Baroness Shreela Flather, is the senior most Asian peer in theHouse of Lords and was appointed in1990. She was the firstAsian woman to receive a peerage. Amongst her many achieve-ments, the Memorial Gates on Constitution Hill in London, UK, isone of the most well known. These Gates have been erected asa lasting memorial to honour the Indian and Commonwealth sol-diers who volunteered to serve with the Armed Forces during theFirst and Second World Wars).

Tribute to the British Tamils

Messages_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 17:49

Rubys Catering_A4 Temp 25/02/2011 17:26 Page 1


The emigration of Tamils started inpre historic period from their thenkingdoms, Tamil Nadu of India and

Eelam of Sri Lanka. The early settlers inforeign lands have mixed up with manyethnicities and lost their identities.Currently, the Tamil Diaspora is referred tothe people of Tamil Nadu and Ealam whohave recently settled outside their homelands. Tamil denotes either the languageTamil or a person from the nation of Tamil.The nation Tamil originated in parallelfrom both side of Palk Strait of Bay ofBengal that is in between the Sri Lanka andIndia. Only twenty miles of sea distancedivides the main land India from Island SriLanka.

The India and Sri Lanka were underBritish rule for about 20 decades. In thebeginning of 16th century first Portugueseand English invaders came into Indian terri-tories and around 1775 British colonialismstarted to infiltrate India. Since then Tamilsfrom Tamil Nadu and Eelam started tomigrate to the UK and British colonies suchas South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore,Mauritius, Fiji etc. Some people moved toFrance as well because, Pondicherry wasthe French Colony at that time. Most of theTamils of Tamil Nadu migrated to thosecolonies especially to find employmentwhich was most probably very lower ranklabour jobs. They were called as inden-tured coolies. Some Eelam Tamils werealso hired by the British Government forwhite collar jobs such as clerical servants towork in Malaysia and Singapore region.However, the migration of Tamils was alongwith the other ethnic groups of colonisedcountries and was not very intensive until

1985. An influx of emigration of Tamils into

the UK took place only after ethnic cleans-ing operations enforced against EelamTamils in Sri Lanka, in 1985. The UK, WestEurope, Canada, Australia and India are thecountries realised the situation and receivedthe refugees of Eelam Tamils from SriLanka. Now, among the entire TamilDiaspora of the UK, Eelam Tamils are themajority which comprises of more thanninety percent. Based on Human RightsWatch reports, it has been estimated thatthere are about 130,000 Tamils living inBritain. About half of them living withinM25 limits. The rest of the people havescattered in Liverpool and Mid Land areas.The report further says that, out of the saidtotal; about 120,000 are Sri Lankan Tamils.

In a sociological approach, the TamilDiaspora of UK could be categorised intothree distinct groups. A well establishedgroup settled in the main stream of UK soci-ety is the first group which consists of edu-cated and economically well off Tamils.Many of them in this group are Doctors,University lecturers, Lawyers, Business menand so on. Many others in this sector have

secured their white collarjobs.

The second categoryof people, are the youthsand middle aged group ofpeople specially from SriLanka who are less edu-cated and traumatised bytheir experiences from thewarzones. They are notwell settled in the mainstream and remain a bit

Sithiravelu

Karunanandara

jah worked as

the Co-ordinator

for the Tamil

Refugee Action

Group in the UK

since 2002 – 2007.

An Author, poet

and a columnist

for a leading

Tamil fortnightly

in London, he

obtained

Literature

Award for the

book

“Interpretative

thesis on

Bharathi’s Song

of the cuckoo

bird”, in Tamil

Nadu by the Sri

Ram

Organisations of

India.

SithiraveluKarunanandarajah

8

Tamil Diaspora in the UK■ Sithiravelu Karunanandarajah

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Tamil Diaspora_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 18:58


tangential to the British society. They migrated to theUK only after 1985.

The Third type is the second and third genera-tions of Tamil Diaspora already settled in the UK.These young people are educated or currently in theUniversities or High schools and well acclimatised tothe UKs social diversity.

There are two information Directories publishedyearly by the Tamils of the UK, named Tamil Pages(www.tamilpages.org) and Murasam(www.murasam.com). Almost all the organisationsmanaged by Tamils in the UK are recorded in thosedirectories including details of individuals who are spe-cialised in their specific fields.

Nearly Ninety Tamil based solicitor firms are oper-ating in Britain in which the main partners are from theTamil Diaspora. Most of the Diaspora solicitors werefocussing on Immigration and asylum issues. Due tothe stringent measure taken by the UK governmentagainst asylum applications and the consequentdecline of client numbers, these firms are now shiftingtheir concentration on other legal areas of practice.

In addition to the solicitor firms there are morethan fifteen Tamil community organisations deliveringtheir services especially for the community peoplewho are struggling to infuse themselves in the UKmain stream society.

About 400 grocers, 100 restaurants, 20 religiousorganisations, 17 TV & Radio broad casting organisa-

tions, 75 builders, 100s of doctors, 100s of engineersand IT personnel, Accountants, writers, poets andmany others are the current assets of Tamil Diasporaof the UK.

As an expatriate society, Tamil Diaspora is com-paratively doing very well in the UK and progressingtowards to attain a status of a wellbeing society in thenear future.

British

Editorial Board

* Sithiravelu Karunandarajah* Dr Seethadevi Mahadeva* T Jeyabalan* Cllr Paul Sathianesan* Maheswaran Marisamy* Dr Premen Addy

Tamil Diaspora_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 18:59


Tamil has been declared as the classical lan-guage, by the Indian Government. This sta-tus is equivalent to the other languages

such as Sanskrit, Latin, Hebrew, Chinese, Greek,Armenian, Persian etc. Because of its literaturevalues and ancient heritage the Language Tamilhas been categorised within such group. Manyclassical languages are dead or have evolved totheir present form but, Tamil still alive with itsancient purity. It means that the literature ofTamil is still based on the era of Tamil Sangamwhich was established by the scholars of prehis-toric period. There are many lit-eratures written by these ancientscholars and are even now stud-ied and referred by present TamilScholars. In other word, these lit-eratures are taught from primaryschools to universities.

It is believed by the ideal-ists that the Language Tamil wascreated by Lord Shiva and thegrammar was written byAgasthiyar, an ancient saint.Agasthiyar’s book on Tamil gram-mar called Agasthiyam which isnot available but its then exis-tence has been mentioned in many ancient Tamilliteratures. Now the grammar of Tamil solelybased on the book called Tolkappium, said to bewritten before Christian era by a person called byhis pseudonym Tholkappiar. This author is saidto be the disciple of Agasthiyar. Like Paniniyamwritten by Panini for Sanskrit grammarTholkapiam is the book for Tamil grammar.Tholkapiam not only describes the grammar rulesbut also demarcates the style, patterns and theway of Tamil literature should be created basedon the then social set up of Tamils.

The grammar of a language and its litera-ture styles could have only been described longafter that language has formed and its ancient lit-eratures created. In that sense, It is assumed thatthe language Tamil and its ancient literaturesexisted with its well developed form very longtime ago, which could not be assessed with thepresently available palaeographic knowledge.

Thiirukkural is the bible of Tamils which waswritten by a saint called Thiruvalluvar. This bookdoes not inclined towards any particular religionbut spiritually accepts the god. The book hasbeen translated into many languages because itis a moral treatise, explains the ethical code ofconduct in the life of an individual, family, society,

king and the kingdom includ-ing world. There many liter-ature treasures also availablein Tamil. Ramayan, Mahabharat and many othermyths have been written by ancient poets.

The nation Tamil comprises of many reli-gions and faiths. Predominantly, Hinduism is thereligion of Tamils. Christianity and Islam are theother main religions. However, Buddhism andJainism were popular in Tamil Nadu and Eelamduring the rise of these religions in India and East.The language Tamil has many literatures written

by Buddhist and Jain monks.Five of these literatures arepraised to be the ornaments ofmother Tamil.

The language Tamil is per-sonified as a maid mother and itis believed that she should alsobe worshiped because herfather is Lord Shiva. She isbelieved to be in the form ofNadha Bramma, which meansgoddess of sound. LikeBhoodha Devi (Goddess of fivebasic elements - Land, Water,Fire, Air and Sky) Bharat Mata is

respected by the Indians, Nadha Devi Tamil Matais respected by the Tamils.

The language Tamil was nourished throughits literatures written by ancient scholars whowere poets and wise men. The association TamilSangam was formed long before the Christian erain which Tamil authors submitted their creationsfor approval to be released among the public. Itis believed that there were three such sangamsexisted in different periods of ancient history. Theliteratures written during first sangam are notavailable at present. The literatures of secondand third sangams are available. However, manycreations have disappeared. Tsunami was thedeadly enemy for the Tamil language and the peo-ple. Ancient Tamil literatures say that there wasa land called Kummarikkanndam in the south ofKanyakumari, a coastal town of Tamil Nadu, whichis the tip of India in the Indian Ocean. They alsostates that many towns and countries or king-doms in this continent has disappeared and thesea has occupied those lands. Many of the Tamilliteratures, written during first and secondsangams were destroyed by continuous Tsunamiattacks to the coastal towns of Tamil Nadu. Butstill, the language Tamil is treasured with itsremaining literature assets.

Tamil: A Classical Language

Sithiravelu

Karunanandara

jah worked as

the Co-ordinator

for the Tamil

Refugee Action

Group in the UK

since 2002 – 2007.

An Author, poet

and a columnist

for a leading

Tamil fortnightly

in London, he

obtained

Literature

Award for the

book

“Interpretative

thesis on

Bharathi’s Song

of the cuckoo

bird”, in Tamil

Nadu by the Sri

Ram

Organisations of

India.

SithiraveluKarunanandarajah

8

■ Sithiravelu Karunanandarajah

Language_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:42

Wishing Tamil Community A Great Success

Best N Price2010_A4 Temp 25/02/2011 11:06 Page 1


Tamils of Sri Lankan originsettled in Britain along withTamils of other nationalities

such as Indian Tamils, MalaysianTamils and Singaporean Tamils.But Sri Lankan Tamils were pre-dominant in playing a role inBritish Tamil politics. Primarilybecause of the political situationof Tamils in Sri Lanka whichcaused them to migrate and seekrefuge in Britain in larger numbers.

The imposition of the Sinhala Only Act, along with thestandardisation for entrance to university for Tamil stu-dents and multiple ethnic riots by Sinhala State againstTamils, forced Tamils to seek their future abroad. Thiswas also one of the factors that Tamils are more politi-cally active in Britain.

At the inception of life in Britain, Tamils had noambition, neither the strength of numbers to enter themainstream politics of Britain. But, gradually we wit-nessed the advancement and growth of Tamil aspira-tions that made the British public aware of Sri Lankanoppression of Tamils. ‘The Campaign for Release ofPolitical Prisoners in Sri Lanka’ was the first organisationformed in the late 1970s by concerned Tamil individualsamong others including Mr P. Rajanayagam, Mr M.Sooriyasegaram, and Dr Arumugam, and the late MrUpali Cooray of the Sinhala community in the UK. Thisorganisation was renamed appropriately as ‘Sri LankaSolidarity Campaign’ which canvassed against the polit-ical oppression underlying the 1983 riots which led tothe mass exodus of Tamils from the South of Sri Lankato their ancestral homes in the North and East of SriLanka and the fostering of Tamil sentiment leading toTamil nationalism.

Nationalist Tamil sentiment was also inflamed byindividuals living abroad, particularly in Britain.Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy- the patron of EelamRevolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS), ShankarRajee also from EROS, Anton Balasingam- Theoreticianof the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), MahaUthaman- Theoretician of People's LiberationOrganisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and Theepori werethe prime influencing figures from Britain. Sadly, they areno longer amongst us.

Early migration of wealthy Tamils to Britain was forfurthering their education and for their professionaladvancement in the light of Sri Lanka’s official languagepolicy which made it difficult for them to rise in theirchosen professions. After the 1983 riots this patterncompletely altered. The next wave of migration was of

middle class Tamils who sought asylum for political rea-sons. The number of migrants further swelled from tensto thousands in line with the political situation in SriLanka.

British policy on immigration was influenced to alarge measure in order to correspond to the in-flow ofTamils in to the UK. For the first time in British immigra-tion history visa restrictions were imposed on aCommonwealth Country, namely Sri Lanka. From 1990onwards restrictions were further tightened andenforced. These regulations were challenged in the HighCourt as unsafe and unsound and the judgments wereof benefit not only to Tamils but to all oppressed commu-nities around the world.

The political history of Tamils in Britain is in itsinfancy, only a quarter century old. Tamil participation inthe British political scene is since 1980s, and has beenrestricted largely to local councils. The earliest TamilCouncilor was Cllr Sinnamani of LB Lewisham from theLabour Party. He was later chosen Mayor of Lewisham,the first Tamil Mayor. Fifty Tamil candidates contested atthe 2010 Local Council elections and 13 were success-fully elected. Other than Cllr Michael Selvanayakam ofTamil Nadu origin, all Councilors are of Sri Lankan Tamilorigin.

Population of Tamils living in the Boroughs ofLondon is over 200,000 - a number making them rea-sonably powerful to elect up to 50 Tamil Councilors.There are no known objections to fielding Tamil candi-dates capable of being elected to the House of Commonas Members of Parliament. For marginal seats inLondon, Tamils may be a deciding factor as there is alsoa growing relationship between Tamils and their presentelected representatives supporting justice and fair playfor the community. The future for Tamil representation inthe House of Commons lies in securing support fromother communities with common interests and values.There is every likelihood of a Tamil being nominated asa Peer and sitting in the House of Lords.

The early migrant Tamils of Sri Lanka were the firstgeneration who have laid a strong foundation for politi-cal engagement in Britain within a short period of 25years. This milestone is being carried forward by the sec-ond generation of Tamils born and bred in this countrywho have a natural affinity and birth right in Britain.Unlike their predecessors who served in engineering andcivil service, medicine, legal and accounting professions,first in Sri Lanka and later in Britain; the second genera-tion of Tamils hope to take the community further andreach new milestones by participating in all possibleareas of British society but with a huge focus on higherrepresentation in politics.

Politics of British Tamils – A Historical Perspective

T Jeyabalan

■ T Jeyabalan, Editor, ThesamNet & London Kural

Politics_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:43


Councillor Paul Sathianesan (Labour)Councillor Paul Sathianesan arrived as arefugee in May 1985 and has gone a longway since then. He is one of the mostpolitically active Tamils in the UK and haswon local council elections four times withthe highest votes among all theCouncillors. He was the first Tamil appoint-ed by the British Refugee Council to advice and look afterthe Tamils in the UK and since then he has received greatrespect from wider community in the UK andInternationally.

He won two national awards "Taking a Stand Award"for crime and anti social behaviour and "Volunteer of theYear". He has also received “Honorary Degree” fromUniversity of East London for life long achievement awardfor contributions he made. UNHCR has recognised him asa positive contributor and person behind the headlines intheir web site.

He was invited by then Prime Minister Rt. Hon. TonyBlair to No.10 Downing Street and personally thanked himfor his service and contributions to the UK. He had arrivedin UK with a small Kodak bag which is now owned byMuseum of London as part of their belonging exhibition.He was appointed by the Home office to the NationalIntegration Policy Forum which was chaired by the HomeOffice Minister. Paul was the founder of the TamilChamber of Commerce in UK, founder member of theTamil Refugee Housing Association which is now knownas Tamil Community Housing; the very first ethnic minori-ty housing association within Europe.

He is the current chair of European Tamil Researchand Documentation Centre, European Tamil ChemozhiSangam, International Tamil Refugee Network and BlackNeighbourhood Renewal & Regeneration Network(BNRRN), Board member of YMCA College and involvedin many voluntary, community and faith organisations.Councillor Krishna Suresh (Labour) Councillor Krishna Suresh was born inPoint Pedro in the North of Sri Lanka, andmoved to the UK in 1983. He graduatedas a Bachelor of Arts from MiddlesexUniversity and later joined the LabourParty in 1997. He won the LondonBorough of Harrow council seat forRayners Lane in May 2010, becoming the first Labourcouncillor to hold that seat in 30 years. He is currently theSecretary of Harrow Council’s Labour Group, as well asEthnic Minority Officer and Campaign Officer for HarrowWest Labour Party. He is also an executive member of theHarrow Asian Multicultural Association and a member ofthe Fabian Society. Councillor Sasikala Suresh (Labour)Sasikala Suresh was born in Neervely inthe North of Sri Lanka, and moved to theUK in 1980. Having joined the LabourParty in 1997, she won the LondonBorough of Harrow council seat of

Headstone South in 2006 and was re- elected in 2010.She is the Deputy Chief Whip of Harrow Council LabourGroup and a member of the Fabian Society. She has beena local activist since 1997 and has also been a fund rais-er for various charities including the Sri Lankan TsunamiFund and the Pakistan Flood Appeal.Councillor Thavathuray Jeyaranjan (Labour)Councillor Thavathuray Jeyaranjan, popu-larly known as Jey, has lived in Newburyfor 24 years and is the councilor forNewbury ward of Redbridge. An engineer-ing graduate from South Bank University,he has also worked for many years forLondon Underground. Jey is an activemember of the Transport Union and has a passionateinterest in transport issues. Jey recently set up a localNeighbourhood Watch, of which he is the co-ordinator,and is a nationally known member of the Tamil communi-ty in the UK. Councillor Logie Lohendran (Conservative)Councillor Logie Lohendran immigratedto United Kingdom in 1967 and complet-ed BSc Hons Degree in MechanicalEngineering. In 1974, he got employed byLondon Underground at various capaci-ties and also as a Project Manager forMetronet carrying out various Stationrefurbishments works. Lohendran took anearly retirement in 2006 after 31years service and ven-tured into Politics. In 2009 February he became a mem-ber of the Conservative Party. Later that year, after stand-ing in the Local Election in May 2010, he was elected asthe first Tamil Conservative Councillor for Cannon HillWard. He has laid high attention on addressing Mentalhealth and Domestic Violence in the Tamil Community.

British Tamils in Local Government

Some other Tamil Councillors who were elected at the May 2010

Local Council Election:

Councillor Kanapathipillai Naheerathan (Labour) – Queensbury, Brent

Councillor Mike Selva (Labour) – Broad Green, Croydon

Councillor Manoharan Dharmarajah (Labour) – Roxbourne, Harrow

Councillor Nizam Alavi Ismail (Labour) – Queensbury, Harrow

Councillor Thayapara Idaikkadar (Labour) – Roxeth, Harrow

Councillor Kairul Kareema Marikar (Labour) – West Harrow, Harrow

Councillor Yoganathan Yogan (Liberal Dem) – St Mark's, Kingston

Councillor Eliza Packia Devi Mann (Liberal Dem) - Riverside, Southwark

Politics_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:44


Certain monuments enshrine thedeepest cultural and historical tra-ditions of a people. The British

Library and the British Museum in Londonembody the cultural and intellectual her-itage of all Britons, as do WestminsterAbbey and St Paul's Cathedral. TheJaffna Library in Sri Lanka has been dearto the hearts and minds of the Tamil com-munity, not only in Sri Lanka, but in everycorner of the world boasting a Tamil pres-ence. From May 31 to June 2, 1981, theJaffna Public Library, situated in a part ofSri Lanka where Tamils were (and are) ina majority, was ransacked and burnt byrampaging Sinhalese mobs instigated bySinhalese politicians lusting for power.Police and paramiilitaries joined in an anti-Tamil pogrom that lasted for three wholedays. Tamil businesses and temples inJaffna town were looted and reduced toashes, Such behaviour, while wicked inthe extreme, was also shortsighted as itdeepened the widening chasm betweenSri Lanka's two major communities.Aneyewitness to these gory events, NancyMurray, related in her journal, published in1984, that several high ranking uniformedpolice officers, plainclothes men and cab-inet ministers were present but were con-tent to be silent spectators. The cabinetministers who witnesses the orgy of loot-ing described it as “an unfortunate event, where [a] few policemen got drunk andwent on a looting spree all their own.” Thetorching of the Jaffna Library introduced anew dimension of inter-communal hatredwhich, despite the honeyed words of theSri Lankan government, shows little signof abating Military operations on this

war-torn island may have ceased but it isa sullen peace that reigns today. A greatcountry and little minds go ill-together, asthat great parliamentarian and politicalphilosopher Edmund Burke remarkedmemorably over two centuries ago. It is awisdom that could offer divided Sri Lankaa road to healing. The Jaffna Library wasbuilt in many stages, starting in 1933. TheLibrary became a repository of pricelessdocuments, ancient and modern, pertain-ing to the life of the Tamil community inSri Lanka and in southern India. For SriLankan Tamils, in particular, the buildingcame to enjoy an iconic status. Itsdestruction has left a deep sense of griev-ance, an injury to the Tamil psyche thathas nerver healed, that remains a raw andopen wound. The reconstruction of theTamil-populated Jaffna Peninsula and therehabilitation of displaced Tamils living inrefugee camps must be given urgent pri-ority if an enduring peace is to take holdin Sri Lanka. It is a tragedy that thingsshould have got so seriously out of hand.The country's governing class ever sinceits independence from British colonial rulein February 1948 went about reducingTamil political and cultural rights throughsalami tactics, which eventually gave wayto a full blown civil war. We have a uniqueopportunity to make new beginning. AllSri Lankans irrespective of ethnicity andreligious faith, have suffered horribly fromthe conflict. It is time to turn swords intoploughshares. A good start would surelybe to restore the Jaffna Library to its for-mer glory. It would be a true symbol ofreconciliation, an opening of doors to alasting peace.

A true symbol of reconciliation

The torching of

the Jaffna

Library

introduced a

new dimension

of inter-

communal

hatred which,

despite the

honeyed words

of the Sri

Lankan

government,

shows little

sign of abating

Military

operations on

this war-torn

island may

have ceased

but it is a

sullen peace

that reigns

today.

Dr Premen Addy

8

■ Dr Premen Addy

Jaffna library before it was burntjaffna library now

1-Jaffna_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 16:37


Coming with a bucket full of dreams and over theyears building many dream houses, brick by brick.That is precisely the story of Glenmore Group’s P.

Ketheeswaran and it is far from over.Ketheeswaran, also known as Keith, in 1985 along

with his good friends started Glenmore. They initiated bycollecting and dealing in properties in and around Londonbut soon started providing financial services and develop-ing residential houses for the people in the community. Itsoon expanded its services to residential lettings, propertymanagement, relo-cation, land andnew homes. TodayGlenmore are theleading estateagent for residentialproperties in theLondon areas ofWembley, GerrardsCross, London andActon.

However, the journey for Glenmore so far has notbeen a bed of roses. When recession hit Britain, the prop-erty market suffered tremendously. When asked to reveal,how Glenmore managed to avoid adverse effects and keepthriving, Keith said “I believe hard work and honestyalways pays off. If you want to survive in cut throat com-petition and drowning market that is your only chance.”

But he also goes ahead to reveal the tremendoussupport he has received from the community members, asGlenmore has always maintained a personal relationshipwith its customer and have always wanted to play a cru-cial part in the upbringing of the community.

The Tamil community has without a doubt pushed onthe gas pedal in the last two decades. However, Keithagrees that there is much more to the community thanwhat is currently known. “There is immense amount ofpotential within the Tamil community. But many peoplehave not yet realised it.”

For the sole purpose of uniting the Tamil communityand taking it to the next level in the larger British society,Keith along with other community members recently start-ed Friends Trust Organisation. There are already more than400 people who contribute to the community through thissole platform. With the Trust currently in its initial stages,the focus is on education and awareness through creatinga Tamil cultural environment so that the young generationthat is detached and far away from their roots and origincan still maintain proximity with the traditions and culture.However, Friends Trust also targets to address the commu-nity’s larger issues through this very platform in the com-ing years.

Providing homes to theTamils, not houses■ Kartik.S. Raval

��SPECIALIST IN

22OCT GOLD JEWELS, WEDDING RINGS

AND THALI

��

��"��!�� !��

��SEASON'S BEST IS SUMMER - FOR SAREES BEST IS SILK EMPORIUM.

Keith_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:44


The British Tamils like the other British Asiandiaspora have made a remarkable contributionto the 'Big society' of Britain. Whether it is

medicine, finance, law or accountancy, the contribu-tion of the British Tamils is way beyond imagination. Anandan Arnold, FCCA- is one of such stalwarts ofthe British society. He joined Alan D Kaye & Co. in1987 and progressed with Alan Kaye in his mergerand formation of Beckwith Blake Kaye CharteredAccountants now known as BBK. He qualified whilstat BBK and gained the designatory letters FCCA in1997.

He has experience in all the departments atBBK including financial planning, auditing, tax plan-ning, corporate consultancy & insolvency. As adynamic, forward thinking and innovative profes-sional, Arnold focuses mainly on corporate consul-tancy work. His team comprises a wide array of peo-ple from various backgrounds, including English,Jewish, Chinese, Arab, Gujarati, Tamil, Mauritian,Kenyan, Bengali, Punjabi and much more. Anandanthinks the success of his firm depends a lot onfriendly and interactive ambience in his office.Judging by its brilliant turn over level the firm is nowone of the top 100 accountancy firm in Britain.

Speaking about BBK, Anandan, a partner at thefirm, told Asian Voice, "BBK is a partnership of high-ly skilled and experienced accountants and auditors.

Since it was first established in 1987, the grouphas continued to grow in stature. Our friendly,approachable team prides itself on offering proac-tive and up-to-date advice and information on allaspects of accountancy and taxation.

We also provide a range of business advisoryservices, from business start-up advice to strategiesfor developing your existing business. We have agreat deal of experience in dealing with businessesfrom many different sectors, including solicitors,healthcare professionals, property owners, privateindividuals and small to medium-sized enterprises."

Anandan came to Britain from Jaffna when hewas a teenager. It has been a long journey and as aself made man, he has worked very hard to establishhimself. While he attended college in the day timehe has worked in fast food joints in the evenings. "Icould dismantle and assemble a milk shake machinein 15 minutes. I was so fast. The company was sohappy with me that they used to provide me with ataxi to go home after midnight."

“My brothers and my mother Sugirtham havealways been my inspiration. They have contributedso much to me becoming the Anandan I am today."

Talking about family, Anandan added, he is

married to an American Tamil, also a qualified char-tered certified accountant, who also originallybelonged to Jaffna, like Anandan himself. They havetwo daughters and one son.

"Education is very important in shaping one'sfuture," added Anandan with a smile. "Educationhelps one to improve the socio-economic structure.It is definitely a tool for survival and betterment."

"However that does not mean education iseverything in a job. It is important to have a skill set,basic knowledge, aptitude and attitude. The inter-personal skills must be excellent. If you are not hardworking, survival will always remain a challenge."

As an optimist, Anandan has always believedchanges pose threats as well as opportunities.When asked about the Coalition government cuts,Anandan said, "Every change in legislation posesthreats. But simultaneously there are enough oppor-tunities in them. Everyone must spend some pas-sionate moments for philanthropy and give back tothe community, be it funds, knowledge, time or tal-ents.”

Though Anandan has spent his formativeyears in Britain, he is very closely linked with hiscommunity and its prosperity and provides hisspare time and skills for free as the HonoraryChairperson of the Tamil Community HousingAssociation Ltd. He said, "The Association has def-initely grown in strength. We have added extrahomes, improved our stock, our services and alsomet decent home standards on all our homes. Wehave acquired our head office without much helpfrom own reserves. It is a great step towardsprogress.

However our sector has faced certain chal-lenges with the new government policies. Withastute leadership from our knowledgeable boardand skilful members of staff, we have adoptedgood practices as suggested by our regulators.

Despite the change in the government, theeconomic reverses, trauma of losing family mem-bers due to events in native lands- we have collec-tively resolved, preserved and prospered as a com-munity in Britain."

An avid cricket fan, Anandan has been associ-ated with cricket clubs in Britain and organisedmany popular community cricket matches. Beforeconcluding his interview, Anandan added with abig smile, "I am travelling to India for the worldcup. My wife supports the West Indies team. I haveclose association with the Indian cricket team. I amnot a movie buff, besides community work, my pas-sion is cricket. It is the best way to unwind."

When the heart is Tamil■ Rupanjana Dutta

Anandan Arnold_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:45


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Tavistock Law, a city law firm withassociate offices throughoutEurope, the Middle East and Asiaprovides a wide range of legal serv-ices for their clients. Tavistock Lawcovers a number of areas of lawincluding Immigration (business andprivate), Property (residential andcommercial), Commercial Litigation,Arbitration and Insolvency.Although city based, the lawyers at Tavistock Law understand theneeds of the diverse ethnic population of the UK and has lawyerswho speak Tamil, Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and Malayalam.

Managing Director Nadeem Akhtar, is a qualifiedcorporate/commercial lawyer and head of the Company &Commercial department told Asian Voice, "We are very particularabout our services and make sure that our ethnic communities feelcompletely at home with our excellent legal services."

Vivekanand Jaganathan, an Associate at the firm is anIndian Advocate and a Solicitor. He works in the CommercialLitigation, Arbitration and Insolvency department. Speaking with AVhe said, "Yes we have several clients, corporate and private, from theethnic community including the British Tamil community. The ethniccommunity in Britain is very rich and vibrant community and it isalways a pleasure working with them."

Tavistock Law: Understanding community needs

Vivekanand Jaganathan andNadeem Akhtar

Asian Business Publications LtdKarma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market

(off Coronet Street),London N1 6HW.

Tel: 020 7749 4080 Fax: 020 7749 4081Email: [email protected]

[email protected] www.abplgroup.com

©Asian Business Publications Ltd

Editor/Publisher: CB Patel

Managing Editor: Kokila Patel

Consulting Editor: Jyotsna Shah

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Accounts Executive: Akshay Desai

Advertising Managers: Alka Shah & Kishor Parmar

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Urja Patel & L George

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Asian Voice

Gujarat Samachar

TL LTD Advertorial_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 18:54


It has always been believed that home is where theheart is. The Tamils have lost a lot in their years ofstruggle but the Tamils in Britain have made sure that

they provide whatever possible to their community herein Britain, so that they can prosper with time, leavingbehind a tragic past they do not want to recall.

The Tamil Community Housing Association, for-merly known as the Tamil Refugee Housing Association,was formed in 1986 to address the housing and supportneeds of the newly arrived Tamil refugee community inLondon. The Association grew out of the Tamil RefugeeAction Group and was established with the support ofother community based refugee organisations, leadinghousing associations and a number of London localauthorities. The Association is a charitable Industrial andProvident Society, registered with the Industrial andProvident Society, and is a member of the NationalHousing Federation. TCHA is now registered with theTenants Services Authority (Housing Corporation). TheAssociation is managed by a voluntary ManagementBoard, with day to day operations and administrationcarried out by a professional team.

TCHA has become a vital part of the lives for manyTamils, who often feel isolat-ed from main stream services.TCHA that currently manages253 units in London hasacquired properties from localauthorities and other largerhousing associations. Theymanage specialist supportedhousing schemes and 203permanent family homes andprovide relevant services inmeeting the particular needsof the Tamil community.TCHA, besides providinghousing to the community,also assists the community inproviding training and adviceon education and employment; particularly to thosewho need integration into the wider community byworking in partnership with other Tamil CommunityOrganisations active in respective London Boroughs. TCHA offers:l Advice and information services, not just on housingissues but on a wide variety of other matters, and notjust to our tenants but to the wider Tamil community atlarge.l Care and support services for the most vulnerable inTamil community such as elders, women, people withmental health problems, support for new arrivals andidentifying community needs.l Employment-generating initiatives, including assis-

tance with job searches, training partnerships with localcommunity organisations, job shadowing to providetraining for volunteers and mentoring schemes foryoung people.l Capacity building within the community

The TCHA provides inter-personal advices andassistance. There are so many of Tamils who have beentraumatised with their losses back in their native lands.It has been a long journey for them to make it till here.But TCHA has given very personal and individual care toevery member including emotional support.

Mr Victor I Sivagunam, Chief Executive of theTCHA told the Asian Voice, "I am particularly proud ofour working together with our tenants and in providing

good services. We are unique inour existence and in providingcare and support. We also pro-vide culturally sensitive servicesto the tenant community. Wemay be smaller in size with limit-ed resources, but we provide thebest and value for money servic-es. Our association is aimed toachieve and maintain best prac-tices in all areas of corporateresponsibility. Although this yearhas seen modest growth, we arepoised to receive 93 newly builtproperties from our 2008/11Development Programme andwill keep our overall progress well

in line with our Business Plan. Our progress in buyingout managed properties is slow, but steady and gradual.A further 71 properties are in the pipeline.

Our staff team, members of our TenantsAssociation and Board Members are very efficient. Weare blessed to work successfully together under the cur-rent economic climate.

We understand the pain of moving homes contin-uously. Especially when you are estranged from lovedones for years. Though we are mainly aimed at thedevelopment of Tamils, if you are British and registeredwith the council, may whatever your ethnicity be, wewill help you to find a 'house', which will not be a shel-ter but be a 'home' for you!"

Home is where the heart is■ Rupanjana Dutta

The team at TCHA

Housing_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:47

London Eye Hostel_A4 Temp 25/02/2011 11:00 Page 1


From December to February differentreligious festivals take place in Britainand around the world. It is a period of

enjoyment and reflection when people gettogether with friends and family to celebratetheir togetherness. It also becomes cold andrainy in most of the Eastern countries. Theseannual festivals help people to endure hos-tile wintry weather, take their mindsoff work and prepare for the comingnew year.

Thai-Pongal is a ‘1000s-of-years-old’ Tamil Hindu festival. It start-ed as Puthiyeedu during the Cholaempire days meaning ‘year’s first har-vest’. Thai Pongal is celebrated by allTamils, and is often called Thamilar-Thirunaal. This falls on the 1st day ofthe first Tamil month of Thai (Jan.14th/15th). This is celebrated asPongal in Thamil Naadu and SriLanka, as Sakranthi in AandraPradesh, Bengal, Bihar, Goa,Karnataka, Orissa, Madya Pradesh,Maharashtra, Manipur, and Uttar Pratesh, asUttayagana in Gujarath and Rajasthan, asLohri in Haryana Himachal Pradesh andPunjab, and as Maha Sankranthi in Nepal.Almanac-based dissent exists on dates,amidst Tamils.

Tamils draw Kolams at the doorsteps,hang mango leaves on strings on tops ofdoor frames within their homes; some evenplant whole banana trees with full bunchesof fruits still hanging from the them, at theirdoorsteps. Pongal Pandikai is the day’s mainevent, usually performed in the courtyard.

Dust is cleared, and the ground is smearedwith a mixture of cow-dung and water andallowed to dry. Kolams are drawn on squareareas with the help of long sticks or‘pounders’ with rice flour strewn along linesto draw patterns in squares, and pictures ofpots at the corners with coconuts on theirmouths.

Raw rice obtained by pounding de-husked paddy from First Harvest is boiledusing firewood, in a new earthen pot that iskept to rest on 3 bricks or stones. Milk isadded to the water and boiled first. Once itboils over and bubbles out, rice and jaggeryare added, and topped over with cashew,ghee, raisins, and some cardamom andcloves. The rice is cooked at sunrise, andTamils consider it a good sign to watch itboil over when they sing ‘Pongalo Pongal’ --this connoting good luck and prosperity. Thecooked rice is first offered to the Sun God,

on banana leaves,and religious hymnsare sung to demon-strate gratitude forthe harvest. Cows &all home animals arealso fed.

Sun symbolisesthe self-effulgent,glorious Divinity,blessing one and all,tirelessly. Sun tran-scends time, androtates in the prover-bial Wheel of Time.Sweets and

British Tamil Festivals

Dr Mrs

Seethadevi

Mahadeva is a

retired Senior

Community Health

Officer from the

NHS, now engaged

in literary and

cultural pursuits

with her husband

Professor Kopan

Mahadeva since

she retired in 1998.

Both of them are

the Patrons of

ELAB (Eelavar

Literature

Academy of

Britain), which

they founded with

four friends in

2006 in North

London.

Dr Seethadevi

Mahadeva

8

■ Dr Seethadevi Mahadeva

Tamil Festival_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:48


savouries like vadai, murukku and paayasam are madeand offered with the rice. People visit their friends andrelatives, in festive mood.

Thai Pongal is conducted more elaborately insome parts of India. On the day preceding Pongal, peo-ple discard old things and focus on their new belong-ings. People assemble at dawn, light a bonfire and dis-card their old, used possessions. The house is cleanedand decorated, to give a festive look.

Maaddu-Pongal is also celebrated, on the day fol-lowing the main Thai Pongal, intended to demonstratetheir recognition and affection to cattle. The cattle aredecorated with garlands, kunkumam applied on theirforeheads, and they are fed with the new boiled riceand other rich food. It is also meant to honour their cat-tle that had worked hard throughout the year. Bulls arebathed and their horns painted. Adventurous gamesare also played with the cattle.

Kanu-Pongal is a tradition in some parts of Indiawhen the women and young girls feed birds, play ‘Kaka-pidi, Kanu-pidi’ games, and pray for wellbeing of theirbrothers, wishing that their ties with them wouldremain strong.

Kaanum-Pongal is when brothers see their sisters,pay special tributes and give them presents. Landlordsgive food, clothing & money to their work force. Peoplevisit friends and relatives and enjoy the festive season.It is a tradition to chew sugarcane on their visits. Thisis a day to thank relatives and friends for help with har-vests. Though it started as a festival of farmers, it hasbecome a festival of all, irrespective of castes, regions,jobs or even religions.

Mahashivarathri is a Hindu celebration that hap-pens in February or March on the night of Full Moon.Many Hindus fast in their homes. Some fast during thewhole night at temples, recite prayers, sing songs ofworship, tell stories about Shiva, the Supreme HinduGod, and offer flowers and milk. Next morning theybathe and break the fasts with meals at homes ormandirs.

Diwali is celebrated in the month of aipasi (thulamonth) 'naraka chaturdasi' thithi, preceding amavasai.The preparations for the Diwali Festival begin the daybefore, when the oven is cleaned, smeared with lime,four or five kumkum dots are applied, and then it is

filled with water for the next day's oil bath. The houseis washed and decorated with kolam (rangoli) patternswith kavi (red oxide). For Diwali Festival, in the tradition-al pooja room, betel leaves, betel nuts, plantain fruits,flowers, sandal paste, kumkum, gingelly oil, turmericpowder, scented powder is kept. Crackers and newdresses are placed in a plate after smearing a littlekumkum or sandal paste.

The Diwali day begins with everyone in the fami-ly taking an oil bath before sunrise, a custom arisingfrom a belief that having an oil bath in the morning onthe day of diwali is equivalent to taking bath in theGanges. Before the bath, elders in the house apply gin-gelly oil on the heads of the younger members. Forthose hailing from Tanjore, the custom is to first take asmall quantity of deepavali lehiyam (medicinal,ayurvedic paste) after the oil bath and then have break-fast. Often sweets are eaten after wearing new clothes.In almost all houses, items like ukkarai, velli appam, idly,chutney, sambhar, omapudi, boondhi are prepared. Forlunch, jangri, pathir peni, or one variety of the poli aremade.

Crackers are usually burst only after the bath.Meanwhile, kuthu vilaku (oil lamp) is lit in the poojaroom. Mats or wooden planks are placed facing east.After naivedhya (offering to the Gods) of the items, aplaintain fruit is given to each member of the family fol-lowed by betel leaves and betel nuts. Those who haveto perform 'pithru tharpanam' will have a second bathperform the tharpanam and don't eat rice at night.

Christmas and New Year, and Ramadan are alsocelebrated by Tamils in Britain because a significantproportion of Tamils in Britain belong to these faiths.Naturally the Hindu Tamils join them to celebrate these.Also with mass migrations to and from various parts ofthe world, people from other cultures and religions liveas minorities in all advanced and well-to-do countries.With political turmoil in especially the third world,refugees are found in hundreds of thousands in manycountries of the west, like Canada, Britain, Germany,France, Norway, Denmark and Switzerland. Naturallythe immigrants follow the Christmas and New Year cel-ebrations of the host countries, along with them, whilealso following their own customs.

Tamil Festival_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 17:53


Pat Nabhan, a visionary with sharptraits of entrepreneurship came toLondon in 1970. The degree of

achievement he holds under his belt is farbeyond many to accomplish even in anentire lifetime. He came to London to studyElectronic Engineering but within timebecame an entrepreneur and soon spreadhis wings in vast areas like media, telecom-munication, property etc.

But he did not become an entrepre-neur straightaway. After his studies heworked for many blue chip companiesbefore joining Thorn Emi Datatech as aDevelopment Manager where he recordeda feat of a lifetime. Pat Nabhan designedthe first ever high speed modem which wasused by many institutions including thestock exchange. This reflected nothing butsheer brilliance of a man who was willingto take things a step further than others.However, in 1989 the company closeddown which actually paved a way for hisentrepreneurship to flourish.

He took his first step by formingUnited Networks, a Telecom business.Though like every other business, this onesuffered as well in the initial years. But itwas only a matter of time before hescooped deals for London Underground,British Defense, T-Mobile and many otherswhich opened a whole new horizon by tak-ing the business closer to the top flight. Itwas in 2005 when he transformed UnitedNetworks into QiComm.

Pat Nabhan saw his business growfrom strength to strength and soon took theopportunity to enter Carrier business in2001 and penned a deal with big profileslike Reliance, Bharti, Globacom and otherglobal mobile and long distance operators.

But an accomplishment that is recog-nized by thousands in the community is theformation of Deepam TV. Pat Nabhanformed a channel to serve specifically theTamil community around the world.Deepam TV is aimed to be a Pro-Tamilmedia channel; but it still maintains a veryneutral stance, which many channels fail to.

It highlights all the important issues fromacross the world that relates to the commu-nity. Pat Nabhan told Asian Voice “Frombusiness perspective I wanted to under-stand the media side ofTelecommunication. However, I saw therewas a major need within the community toconnect with issues in Britain as well asback home that are of major significance toBritish Tamils. Hence, today we do not pro-vide only syndicate news like many othersbut fresh and first hand coverage throughstudio production and field reporting bothhere and in Sri Lanka.”

As far as his Telecommunication busi-ness is concerned, Pat Nabhan has provid-ed service to carriers such as BT. He has astronghold in WiFi systems providingNetworks in the West Midlands here in theUK and in various African and Middle Eastcountries.

Pat Nabhan is a family man whosethree children have studied in elite universi-ties like Oxford and the London School ofEconomics. He is pleased with the directionthat the young generation in the Tamil com-munity are heading as they are not onlygetting accustomed to the British societybut are maintaining a close tab with Tamilculture, traditions and ethos. He acknowl-edges the impact the British Tamil commu-nity is making in various walks of life inBritish Diaspora. He adds, “So many Tamilshave attained high level of success in amatter of few years. It is to be rememberedthat Tamils are a comparatively new in theUK in reference to other Asian communi-ties. Right now so many Tamils are enteringthe first stage of entrepreneurship by open-ing shops and stores. This is very excitingas in the coming years many of theseTamils will be in the top flight of the busi-ness spectrum.”

Indeed, very soon we will witness agreater presence of British Tamils keepingthe pace with which they are climbing theladder of success and the hard work theyare willing to give in to achieve that sweetsuccess.

Connecting the Tamil community around the world

There was a

need within the

community for

a platform that

will keep them

connected to

the major

happenings

around the

world, directly

or indirectly

affecting them;

and hence I

tried to serve

them with

Deepam TV

and I'm glad

the community

has gained

through that.

Pat Nabhan

8

■ Kartik.S. Raval

Pat Nabhan_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:49


Subaskaran Allirajah, Chairman ofinternational mobile telecomproviders Lycatel and Lycamobile has

taken the former to the leading position inthe global market of the calling card indus-try while made the latter, a leading interna-tional prepaid mobile business in theEuropean market. Subaskaran's knowledge,drive and determination have been oftenaccredited for being instrumental in thismassive accomplishment.

Subaskaran received an InternationalEntrepreneur of the Year Award at AsianVoice's Political and Public Life Awards fortaking his brands from the scratch to thetop flight in a lightning pace. Subaskaranwas awarded by Rt.Hon Valerie Vaz MPwhile high profilepoliticians includingRt. Hon Ed MilibandMP, Ed Davey MP andRt. Hom JohnBercow MP werepresent to acknowl-edge the achieve-ment.

The Asian com-munity in the UK hasimmensely benefitedfrom the two compa-nies as it has con-stantly thrived to pro-vide the cheapestcalling rates for mil-lions of Asians livingin the UK, who wish to have unending long-distance conversation with their friends andfamily back home. Lycamobile customersare able to make calls to over 40 countriesat an unbeatable rate of 1p per minute.

Lycamobile also bagged the BestOverall Enterprise Award at the prestigiousAsian Achievers Awards for the year 2010.The awards also recognized Subaskaran'sover fifteen years of experience in leadingthe prepaid telecommunications marketthrough his entrepreneur skills that neverfailed to realise key opportunities that canhelp grow Lycatel and Lycamobile brands.

“I am proud to serve the communityand delighted that the hard work and effortthat the Lycamobile and Lycatel team havemade in growing the business has beenrecognised. Without the support of my col-

leagues and my family, I would not haveachieved this success,” said SubaskaranAllirajah, Chairman, Lycamobile & Lycatel.

Lycatel now enjoys operations in 18global markets, has over 9 million cus-tomers and originates over 19 billion min-utes of telecoms traffic per year, whileLycamobile launched in 2006 is now pres-ent in ten global markets and has over 6.5million customers. Lycamobile underSubaskaran’s leadership is on target toachieve its mission of acquiring 20 millionglobal subscribers by 2012.

Lycamobile has a strong hold inBelgium, Denmark, Spain, Sweden,Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway,

Australia and the UKand it is alreadyEurope’s largest pre-paid MVNO with over6.5 million customersacross Europe andAustralia.

Lycamobile is aprepaid SIM card prod-uct that provides low-cost, high-qualityInternational callsdirect from mobilephones. Lycamobile isalready distributedthrough a Europeannetwork of more than500,000 retail outletsincluding Tesco, Asda,Sainsburys and

Morrisons.Lycamobile continues to grow rapidly

with further market launches plannedthroughout 2011. It is now poised to expandtheir global footprint thanks to the over£200 million investment made in people,process, brand and state of the art technol-ogy that has led to the launch of uniqueinnovative product features such as interna-tional conference calling, multilingual voicecapabilities and many more.

Through Lycamobile, Subaskaranwishes to create a world-class telecommu-nications organisation where their talentedpeople team up with business partners tocontinually drive down costs and deliversuperior value propositions to their cus-tomers.

Home is just a penny away

Subaskaran Allirajah

Lyca_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 19:07


ATarrin Constantine describes that hischildhood experiences are some-thing he do not wish for any child as

it took him a lot of strength to forget theharsh memories of state sponsored terror-ism while he and his family lived in theSinghalese area in Sri Lanka. However, hehas long left those harsh experiences in thepast and moved on to walk the path of suc-cess.

Tarrin who came to the UK in 1985and applied for a refugee status in 1988, isnow the Group Financial Director of therenowned property development company,Desilu Group (UK) & Pillar Enterprises(Cyprus). The business which is worth £100million have massive 4 star hotel in LarnacaBay and also Hotels, Apartments, Flats,Hostels, Pubs, HMO's, Offices andCommercial buildings all over the UK. Tarrinalso owns Euro Properties Ltd & FM StoresLtd in London.

However, it hasn't been a 'Milky Way'journey for Constantine as he describes lifewas tough when he came to the UK as astudent. Until 1992 he worked as a cleaner,forecourt attendant, at KFC and petrol sta-tions. He knew the first generation of immi-grants will have to go that extra mile andkeep pushing to pave a way for the newcommunity of theirs to survive on a newsoil.

His aspirations to go on has paid offbut hard work has always been the primeingredient in his life. Tarrin says, “Whetherthe time was rough or smooth, no matterwhat conditions I was working in, I alwaysbelieved that it was essential to be ruthless-ly focussed, committed and passionate tomove forward. I do not think that my work-ing hours ever dropped below 70 hours perweek.”

He got a major breakthrough while hewas extending stay in the UK as the Homeoffice had lost his file including the passport.He was appointed as the Deputy EuropeFinancial Controller for Choice HotelsInternational in 1996, which was the world'sbiggest hotel group at that time with more

than 3600 hotels. Though he accredits thisaccomplishment highly to luck, from thereonwards he never looked back and climbedall the ladders in the property and serviceindustry.

Tarrin Constantine has also beenactively involved with various charities.Along with his friends, he formed a charityin UK called 'Little Aid' on 18th May 2009.He stayed as the Chairman of Little Aid untilthe end of the year 2010 and then passed iton to the second generation Sri Lankan DrMareeni Raymond.

“Until now we have donated over £3.5Millions worth of goods to war victims in SriLanka. All Tamil, Singhalese and Muslimcommunities benefitted from Little Aid proj-ects. When you multiply £3.5 million ster-ling into Sri Lankan Rupees, it is an enor-mous amount. But without the help ofMedicine without Borders and GlobalMedical Aid (Denmark), Ahilan Foundation(UK), Ealing Kannga Thurkkai AmmanTemple (UK) this wouldn’t have beenachieved”, adds Tarrin.

This year's agenda for the charity hasbeen to set up internet and computer train-ing centres in Sri Lanka. Already four hasbeen made available and eleven more aretargeted by the end of the year.

It has been a long way for Tarrin, espe-cially as a refugee who have seen dark sideof life from an early age. But his ability oflocking out those experiences and seeking abright future has indeed given him, his wifeTanuja and two children Tanya and Theeran,a prosperous and stable social life.

Letting go of the past for a betterfuture

What

happened in

the past has to

be forgotten

for the sake of

the future

generation. If

we linger in the

past we cannot

move forward

Tarrin Constantine

8

■ Kartik.S. Raval

Tarrin Constantine_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:50


ABPL Group, Karma Yoga House,

12 Hoxton Market (Coronet Street)

London N1 6HW

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Project4_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 18:45


Newham is the home land for theEuropean Tamils (East Ham & ManorPark) become the “Tamil Khottai”

(Kingdom) & Punniya Bhumi (blessed land)for the Tamils who came from India, SriLanka, Singapore , Malaysia, Muritus andsheycells. Early days they came as studentsand migrants to UK, to work, study and set-tled. Newham became the home for theTamil Students in early 1950’s.

Those who studied at the North EastLondon Poly Technical College nowUniversity of East London and South EastLondon Technical College in Lewisham,found that the overseas student fees andlow cost accommodation helped them tolive in Newham. It’s slowly attracted the stu-dents and their families in small numbers.Tamils from Singapore and then fromMalaysia migrated to UK after British gov-ernment decided to pull out of Singaporelate 60’s early 70’s. Many Tamils workedwith British forces in Navy, Air Force & Armywanted to settle in London for betteremployment opportunity rather than they goback to India.

When they arrived in East Ham &Manor Park its become their home to live inrented properties. Mostly they worked at theFord Car Factory in Dagenham and in theT.C.L. (telecommunication). The Mayor andthe Council welcome the Tamils as part ofNewham family, recognised the contribu-tions Tamils made to Newham Life. Libraryhas Tamil books and reading club, councilservices can be accessed in Tamil languagealso 5 local schools teach Tamil dance aspart of their cultural education.

The first Tamil Hindu Temple in theUK was established in 1975 in the city andlater moved to Eastham from 1979 -1983they worshiped at the Plashed School on amonthly basis, on 12th February 1984 kum-babhishekam inaguration to new temple inChurch Road Manor Park this Temble wasnewly rebuilt as Europes largest HinduTemple in 2005, then three more templescame after 1990. Tamil Church was estab-lished in 1980 in a private house and moved

to a hall in Halley Road Manor Park in July1982 and now worshiping in Manor ParkBaptist Church, the Tamil Mosque wasestablished in late 1990 to meet the spiri-tual well being of the Tamil community inNewham. In 1960 London Tamil Sangamwas established by the Indian Tamil commu-nity in Manor Park and Newham Councilgave them a permanent home as office inthe high street. 2010 they celeberatedthe 50th anniversary. Newham history has arecord of a Sri Lasnkan Tamil Methodistpriest arrived and worked in Canning Townin early 1940's as community worker.

In 1983 and then in 1985 a large num-ber of Tamil Refugees started to arrive inUK from Sri Lanka most of them moved toNewham because of the local connectionand the advice worker at the British RefugeeCouncil lived locally. Newham not gavehouses but gave home for Tamils. Sincetheir arrival lots of activities and projectsstarted to help this newly arrived people.New community and welfare organisationsstarted to meet the need of the communi-ty.

Today we have more than 5000Tamils live here, nearly 300 different varietyof business and 110 on the Eastham HighStreet. Worshiping places, Saturday &Sunday schools, private tuition centres, andmusic & dance classes including karateclasses attended by over 1200 childrenevery week end. The first Tamil school estab-lished in Europe 35 years ago is"Thiruvalluval Tamil School" is based atPleshet School in Eastham also there is 4

Newham: The home for Tamils

Councillor Paul

Sathianesan is

the first Tamil

appointed by

the British

Refugee

Council to

advice and

look after the

Tamils in the

UK and since

then he has

received great

respect from

wider

community in

the UK and

Internationally.

Cllr Paul

Sathianesan

8

■ Cllr Paul Sathianesan

East Ham_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:51


other Tamil Saturday and Sunday schools teach Tamil,music, dance and art. The community organisationsand sports clubs along with public and private func-tions help the community to celebrate their culture.

Many Tamils owned their homes rather live inrented accommodation; their children go to localschools and actively take part in every activity. TheTamil’s contribute socially, culturally, economically andpolitically to Newham and Britton. The first Tamil coun-cillor was elected in East London in 1998. Tamilbecome one of the main languages with in the boroughand every council document got Tamil Letters. And thecouncil officially celebrate the Tamil New Year “Pongal”as International Tamil Day by switching on the lights onthe high street by the Mayor. The Tamils become amajor contributor with in the diverse community inNewham. Tamils are visible, vibrant hard working, intel-ligent, spiritual and dedicated community become partof the fabric of Newham. One of the role model com-munities in London. Many tamils those who arrivedfrom European country lived in Newham and thenmove on to other parts of the country for permanentsettlement. many European business community alsoestablished their business in Eastham today the Majorprivate telecommunication business owned by Tamilssuch as Lycatel, Vectone mobiles and Libera are estab-lished their head offices in Newham. Olympic Cllr. PaulSathianesan is the East London’s first popular Tamil andlong serving, awards winning, 4 times electedCouncillor with the highest votes.

Today in Newham the following organisationsmeeting the needs of the Tamils. London Sri Murugantemple, Laxmi temple, Melmaruvathur Amman tem-ple, Sithampara Nadeswarar Temple, Emmanuel TamilChristian Fellowship, Islamic centre & Tamil Mosqueare the spiritual organisations. London Tamil Sangam,Newham United Tamil Association, Tamil welfare asso-ciation of Newham, International Tamil RefugeeNetwork, Tamil Chamber of Commerce, Saiva MunetraSangam, Council for Christian Tamils of UK, Councilof European Tamils, European Chemozhi Sangam arethe community organiosations. There are many cultur-al and sports associations Including elderly groupsoperating and serving in Newham for the benefit of theTamil Community and its future generations.

The first Tamil radio Sunrise and first audio pro-duction 1FM and online TV all are based inEastham. Newham become a hub for European Tamilsas their new Home and Promised Land.

East Ham_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:52


Even in the time of recession in Britain,there is a huge market that remainsundisturbed. That is the market of

wedding. And no wedding is complete with-out jewelleries- at least one gold necklace orring.

Western Jewellers, started by Mr SivaSundram and his wife is an example of com-munity cohesion in the heart of London. Thefirst shop was opened in Tooting. With itsrising success, Mr Sundaram opened the

second shop inWembley. A man ofquality and very fewwords Siva Sundramruns the jewelleryshop with his son.The popularity of theshop is so high, thatit was also coveredby a participant inthe famous show

The Apprentice. Though initially

the shop was started for Sri Lankan Tamilcustomers, slowly it changed to a very mul-ticultural store. With a sister saree shop, ifthere is any wedding within any community,people who know Siva Sundram, would notgo anywhere else.

When Asian Voice asked Mr Sundramabout his jewellery design and the gold mar-ket in doldrum with prices soaring, headded with a big smile, "There are few jew-elleries that we make here. Some clientsobviously want some custom made jew-ellery. Then we make sure everything isdone here. Otherwise I get my jewelleriesmade from Singapore.

In weddings within our South Asiancommunity, there is obviously the need of atali (mangalsutra) chain or a ring or neck-lace. It never happens that Asian weddingshappen ever without a piece of gold.Though the market has suffered with reces-sion and the prices have gone up, but wed-dings are incomplete without any form ofgold. So we have sustained the downturn.

Earlier we used to make studded jew-elleries more. But with time obviously trends

are changing. People want solid gold stuffmore than anything. We have also alteredour fashion accordingly"

Mr Sundaram is a family man. Withthree sons and a loving wife Aruleswary, hesays life could not be better. His youngestson Maharaj is also a part of his jewellerybusiness. But he is as enterprising as hisfather. He also has a chain of restaurantcalled Pongal Express in Harrow, Tootingand takeaway in Thornton Heath.

He added, "I am 63 years old. I wantto stop here. I don't want to increase the sizeof my business but make sure run the busi-ness viably. My son Maharaj is full of beans.He wants start more restaurants and domuch more. I would love to support him inhis initiative. Afterall business is about grow-ing!"

Talking about family Mr Sundaramsaid, "My wife comes from a family of jew-ellers in Colombo. We came here and start-ed a jewellery shop, on her initiative. Andobviously there has been no looking back. Itis true, behind every successful man, thereis a successful woman."

A workaholic, Mr Sundaram, whenasked about hobbies, he added with a smile,"I love travelling. I am in the office every dayfrom10:30 to 6:30. So all I can do to relax istravel.

However, as a community bound manMr Sundaram is involved with the Tamilsvery closely. He looks after hospices, some-times goes down and visit them too. As theChairman of the Board of Eltham LeapLimited in Feltham, he is also initiating open-ing of a big wedding and social events hallduring the Tamil New Year.

He added, "No life is ever completewithout some voluntary and charity works. Itis good to achieve a lot in life, but withoutcommunity involvement and charity- no onecan do well in life. Philanthropy is impor-tant."

Though extremely busy, Mr Sundaramcame across as a man of conscious. Withhis relentless work, community involvementand love for family- he is an ideal in theworld of business!

Family and Philanthropy-backbone of a successful life

No life is ever

complete

without some

voluntary and

charity works.

It is good to

achieve a lot in

life, but without

community

involvement

and charity- no

one can do well

in life.

Philanthropy is

important."

8

■ Rupanjana Dutta

Siva Sundram_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:53

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Ace of travel, yet Jack of many■ Kartik.S. Raval

Tavi Thevarajah, is known for his success in diversebusiness areas. However, he is well known for hisjourney with Carlton Leisure, which he turned into

a £15 million annual turnover business with just£100,000 of investment in a matter of few years.Today, Carlton Leisure stands as the biggest ethnic trav-el agent amongst the Tamil Community.

Tavi took over the travel business in 2002 when ithad just two members of staff. While, today he holdscall centers in Chennai and New Delhi as well. CarltonLeisure is undoubtedly recognised as the biggest SriLankan Tamil Tourism business. He has been awardedthe Number one agent for Sri Lankan Airline for the lasttwo consecutive years. Carlton Leisure holds contractswith more than 100 Airline services and is the top sell-er on all airlines to Sri Lanka for example Qatar, Oman,Jet Airways, Emirates, Gulf and Etihad. The travel busi-ness that has zoomed pass the path to success is sole-ly based on retail sale of tickets and not wholesale.

But what is impressive is 70 per cent of their cus-tomers keep repeating to do business with them, anumber admirable in the contemporary world whenpeople are habituated of swapping services andbrands. Tavi Thevarajah tells Asian Voice, “One of themost important areas of any business is customer serv-ice and we have left no stones unturned there. This isone of the reasons that competing companies havenever been able to pose a threat to our market.”

But Carlton Leisure does not mark the beginningof Tavi’s step into business. He started with managinghis father’s Renault car dealership in North London. Hemade his base with this dealership in ten years and in1991, became one of the first Sri Lankan to open anItalian restaurant. Tavi opened Pizzeria Romana in SouthKensington and soon two more in Earls Court andHammersmith. He expanded into service stations aswell as properties inLondon. Moreover, he isone of the founders ofIBC Radio station inLondon. This is just anoverview of the back-ground of businesses hewould need to mention ifhe tries to make a CVsometime. Today, TaviThevarajah is into proper-ty investment and devel-opment both inside andoutside the UK.

Though these busi-ness areas might seemway too diverse for one

person to focus, it might be surprising to know that hetakes equal interest and plays his part in the Tamil com-munity. He admires the pace with which British Tamilshave sought success, but he is also of a belief that thereis ample room for further development. Tavi reveals, “Itfeels good to know that people in the community areaware of their strengths and are able to imply it in theright areas. Right now I see a lot of individuals from thecommunity achieving prosperity. But it is equally essen-tial that the community as one gain recognition. Unitedand bigger community projects, involvement in all thebusiness areas and walks of life can help reach this tar-get in no time.”

Tavi has since long been a supporter of Tamilorganisations, cultural events and charities as well. Atthe same time holds a strong passion towards musicand was also involved in organising first ever big Tamilevent with the capacity of about 10,000, which was aHari Haran concert at Alexandra palace. He is alsoinvolved in a community hall project in Feltham for theTamils.

Tavi also believes that there is a huge task aheadfor the parents in the community to keep the wealth oftheir culture safe as most of the coming generation istotally detached from the cultural environment that theygrew in couple of decades ago. “You cannot blame thekids as well because they are totally unaware. But nowthey are gradually understanding the significance ofunity within the community whether it is UK or SriLanka and hence getting more involved. These aregood signs”, adds Tavi.

Tavi is a strong believer in Tamil community and itreflects when he says the best is yet to come as thecommunity has just begun to show the glimpses of itsstrength and the passion to succeed.

Tavi_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 17:33

call Prakash Patel 07779 333 545 / 0208 591 0797

Unit - 1 A, Royal Victoria PlaceLondon - E16 1UG

e: [email protected]

Urban_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 16:43 Page 1


We Tamils from India, Sri Lanka,Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, theSeychelles migrated to the European

countries decades ago, and we were resoec-tively known as British Tamils, French Tamils,German Tamils, Danish Tamils and so on. Nowsince the whole of Europe has come togetherwe have a new identity as "European Tamils".

I had launched this new theme in 1998 inPlashed Park in Newham with the biggest cul-tural festival and more than 10,000 peopletook part. The only heritage for our next gener-ation is our Identity, Culture, Traditions andValues we will encourage our community tointegrate and live as part of the wider commu-nity in UK, rather they becomes an isolatedcommunity and live in ghettos. We are veryproud of our new identity and as an inclusivecommunity in UK.

We are a hard working, law abiding,respectable, intellectual, culturally identified,civilised and educated community in UK. Wehave contributed to the United Kingdom social-ly, economically, culturally, spiritually, academi-cally and politically, in every aspect of our lifewe have proven track record of achievements.United Kingdom is our Promised Land andNew Home. We are a part of the Big BritishFamily and we do understand that Britain hasgreat values of Democracy, Justice, Peace,Liberty, Equality and Freedom. We also haveour personal and cultural values with great hos-pitality. The best part in our community is weshare these values with great respect for thecommon good. We learn, understand and inte-grate to enjoy the life here as free citizens.

The European Tamil Community, theirachievements and contributions in UK hasbeen recognised by By Her Majesty TheQueen, the Government, the Parliament andespecially the Fellow Citizens of UnitedKingdom. It has been the most important andproud moments in our lives. The Economic andPolitical contributions by the European Tamils isa significant mile stone. It not only boosts thenext generation it also helps and motivate theworld wide Tamil Community and specially thepeople of our mother land. As Diaspora com-munity we will never forget the people in ourmother land. We will continue to support,encourage, motivate and empower the com-munity so that they have a better quality of lifeand freedom and peace.

Political situations in Sri Lanka madeStudents, youths and adults more active. Thedemocratic freedom and issues in Sri Lankahelped them to become members of the BritishPolitical parties later they have affiliated asTamil groups to UK political parties such asTamils for Labour and Tamils for Tories. Tamilsput their names forward as candidates in Local,National and European, London GLA & Mayoralelections as individuals and as party members.

We are proud to have Tamils in Mayoral &Civic office in the past from Newham,Southwark, Lewisham, Kingston upon Thamesand Nottingham. Currently we have councillorselected in London Boroughs of Newham,Redbridge, Merton, Kingston, Croydon,Southwark, Brent, Harrow and TenderingDistrict council. The current elected membershave become role models and community lead-ers in their respected areas and to our commu-nity.

Sports

Tamils love their sports whether it is Cricket,Football, Volleyball, Netball and the Athleticsalso champion in martial arts such as karateand Taekwondo. They have variety of many tra-ditional sports as part of their culture at backhome but here in UK they are heavily involvedin the above sports.

The Voice of European Tamils

Councillor Paul

Sathianesan is

the first Tamil

appointed by

the British

Refugee

Council to

advice and

look after the

Tamils in the

UK and since

then he has

received great

respect from

wider

community in

the UK and

Internationally.

Cllr Paul

Sathianesan

8

■ Cllr Paul Sathianesan

European Tamils_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:54


These sports events are organised by the Clubs,Alumni Associations, Charities, Community/VillageOrganisations, Leagues and Tamil Schools SportsAssociations.

There is an annual Festival of Cricket and Festival ofSports on Bank holiday weekends, which include netball,volleyball, football and children sports and family entertain-ment. Charity matches, Clubs and League matches playedby many young Tamils and they become champions. Inmany London boroughs Tamils have their own clubs andteams. They not only play between them selves, also theyplay with the wider community. This engagement alsohelps in healthy integration. Saturday Tamil Schools whichwas set up to teach Tamil language is also involved thechildren in sports activities. Martial Arts is one of the verypopular sports for young gals, boys including children itshelp to promote the healthy living.

Art & Culture

The Tamil Classical Dance is very popularly known as“Bharatha Natiyam”. It is taught by very talented and pro-fessional teachers across the UK, mainly in London. Thereare several teachers that run their classes on weekends intheir homes, community and church halls, local schoolsalso in the Hindu Temples. They not only learn theTraditional dance they also learn Fusion, Bollywood andBallet. In Newham, Tamil dance is taught in local schools.Tamil dancers are looking forward to perform in the 2012Olympic’s opening, closing and welcoming ceremonies.Dance Lab, a Newham based dance group won the Inter

European Tamil Dance championship.Dr Ann David describes the Bharat Natyam dance

learned by Tamil girls and how its re-emergence in templeshas significance for those eager to preserve links withtheir cultural and religious heritage.

Girls and Boys learn music Vocal Karnatic classicalmusic, film and pop songs. Eastern Instruments such asMiruthangam, Thabela, Morsing, Violin, Veena, Flute andwestern music Guitar, Organ and Piano. They take uppergrades in examinations and also they have a graduationceremony known as “Arangetram” organised by the fami-lies.

There are many poets and writers immerging withinthe community in the UK. Ms.Meena Kandasamy fromCanterbury University and Ms.Mouli Selvarajah from Lutonare such very talented young writers. We have very popu-lar writer Mr. A. Sivanandan, who is also a political activist,writer, founding Editor of Race & Class and the Director ofthe Institute of Race Relations.

Tamil media also play a vital role with in the commu-nity and we have five Tamil television channels- Sun TV,Vije TV, Raj TV, Dan TV from South India and Deepam TV,GTV from the UK and also First Audio online TV. There areTamil Radios Sunrise (Sooriyothayam), IBC, TBC, LondonTamil FM, London Tamil radio, Letchiyam FM,1 Tamil FM.Tamil publications Puthinam Tamil publishes twice amonth, Kalai kathir publishes weekly, London kural (Tamil)and Tamil Guardian are in English. Several internet webpages representing political, cultural, art and history ofTamils such as Tamil net, Thesam, Lankasri- also exist.

Ahilan Foundation

Ahilan foundation is a charity organisation and was established

2 years ago to help the children and elderly who needs

assistance. Ahilan foundation is looking after 11 elderly people

in Thirukovil-batticaloa and 15 boys in Batticaloa

European Tamils_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:55


After a process of discussion between thefounder Mr. Muruguppillai Gopalakrishnan andPriest Sivasri Sellappa Pattar and it was decided

that the Hindus in the East London must have to havea Lord Ganesh Temple. At that time there was only oneGanesh temple in the UK which was built inWimbledon.

It was actually a joint effort of these two men thatthis temple was created. On 9 September 2000, GodGanesh, God Shiva, Goddess Menadshi, God Muruga,Goddess Valli, Theivanai and Navagragas were tempo-rally established in a small room at Bedford Road.

Initially the residents at Bedford Road were nothappy about this temple, but with the strong support ofthe devotees, theLocal Authorityapproved the planand granted to buildthe temple.

The designwork which started in2000 provided amain shrine and theother separateshrines associatedwith the deities wereGod Shiva, GoddessMenadshi, GodKrishna, GoddessLakshimi, GodHanuman, GodBalamurugan, GodMurugan withGoddess Valli, Theivanai, God Iyappan, GodSunthareswarar, Goddess Menadshi, God Nadarajar,Goddess Parvathy, God Prathoshanayagar, GoddessSagunthaladevi, God Vairavar, Navagragas andVasantha Mandapam. All these shrines were speciallybuilt by the supervision of Sivasri Balakumar, who is anexpert in the building temples in the Western countries.

On 2 September 2001 more than 1000 devoteesparticipated in the heath taking ceremony. At the con-clusion of the morning ceremony for the deities, aMaheswara puja was performed enabling the devoteesto partake in the lunch organised for the occasion. Inthe evening “Thirukkalyanam” was held to celebratethe event.

This God Ganesh Temple has its place amongstthe Hindu Temples all over the world. The vision, dedi-cation, courage and indomitable spirit of Hindu com-

munity in the UK- apriceless and ever-lasting legacy isseen through theestablishment of amagnificent templelike this. Thisunique temple willtranscend time bar-riers to remain asan icon symbolisingthe contribution ofHindu community to a multicultural society.

At present besides the annual VasanthaNavarathiri and Mahotsavam, all other religious daysare celebrated.

The spiritual committee has also undertaken torun the following programs:l Conducting Hinduism classes and teach Pannisail Organising religious and spiritual lectures and work-shopsl An elderly association formed and have their needsfulfilledl Encouraging and arranging bhjanan session at thetemple by interested devotee groups

Hinduism class for the children have commencedin 2008 and is conducted every Tuesday evenings.

Also, whenever a natural disaster occurred in SriLanka or anywhere else, the temple has always helpedthe sufferers by sending food, clothes and funds.

Other Hindu Temples for British Tamils in the UKl Tividale Tirupathy Balaji Temple, Address: DudleyRoad East Tividale Birmingham B69 3DU Tel: 012 15442256.l High Gate Hill Murugan Temple, Address: 200AArchway Road London N6 5BA Tel: 020 8348 9835l London Murugan Temple, Address: 78 Church RoadE12 London Tel: 020 8542 7482l London Sivan Kovil, Address: 4A Clarendon Rise

Sree Karpaga Vinayagar Temple,Walthamstaw■ Maheswaran Marisamy

Walthamstaw temple_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 16:39


Lewisham London SE13 5ES Tel: 020 83189844l London Sri Murugan Temple, Address:78 Church Road Manor Park London E126AF, Tel: 020 8478 8433l Shree Ganapathy Temple, Address: 125- 133 Effra Road Wimbledon LondonSW19 8PU Tel: 020 8542 7482, 020 85424141l Shree Karpaga Venayagar Kovil,Address: 2 - 4 Bedford Road WalthamstowLondon E17 4PX Tel: 020 8527 3819l Shree Marupuram Maha PathrakaliAmman Kovil, Address: 271 Forest RoadWalthamstow London E17 6HD Tel: 0208531 0872l Shri Kanaga Thurgai Amman, Address:5 Chapel Road London W13 9AE Tel: 0208810 0835l Sivayogam London Muthumari AmmanKovil, Address: 180 - 186 Upper TootingRoad Tooting London SW17 7EJ Tel: 0208767 9881l Sri Mahalakshmi / Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Address:272 High Street North Manor Park London E12 6SA Tel:020 8552 5082l Sivayogam Muthumariyamman Temple, 180-186Upper Tooting Road, Tooting, London SW17 7EJ.Telephone: 020 8767 9881, Fax: 020 8767 2337, Email:[email protected]

l Eelapateesvarar Aalayam,Address: Ealing Road WembleyMiddlesex HA0 4AU Tel: 0208902 3238l Shri Sithi Vinayagar Temple,Address: Int.Siddhashram ShaktiCentre, Palmerston RoadWealdstone Harrow MiddlesexHA3 7RW Tel: 020 8424 9998l Sivaskanthagiri MuruganKovil, Address: R/0 13 - 15Thornton Road Thoronton HeathCroydon Surrey CR7 6BD Tel: 0208684 0747l Shree Sakthy GhanapathyTemple, Address: 21 BrigstockRoad Croydon Surrey CR7 7JJTel: 020 8689 3466l Sri Raja Rajeswary AmmanTemple, Address: Dell LaneStoneleigh Surrey KT17 2NE Tel:020 8393 8147

l Sri Venkateshwara Temple, Dudley Road East,Tividale, West Midlands, B69 3DU. Tel: 0121 544 2256.l Sri Ganapathy Temple - Address: 125 - 133 EffraRoad Wimbledon London SW19 8PU. Tel: 020 85427482, 020 8542 4141

(This is not an exhaustive list)

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Walthamstaw temple_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 16:40


Sasi Sivaganesh came to London in1992 from Jaffna, Sri Lanka. This wasthe time when UK was witnessing a

growing in-flow of Tamils from various partsof the world and hence the competition wasalso getting stiff within the community andthe larger British society.

Sasi studied BA/BSC at BrunelUniversity in 2001 and then joined WilsonFinancial. Though she was enjoying thework, entrepreneurship was always in theblood as she craved to start something ofher own. And so she did.

In 2006, Sasi with the help of her hus-band (Arun) formed Affno Financial and inno more than five years it has established itsroots strongly into financial services, mort-gage, house and life insurance. She hasachieved this in a time span that would berequired to only stabilise a new company.Moreover, with economy being haunted byinflation in the past few years, she has suc-cessfully managed to keep her businessimmune to it. Today Affno Financial providesservices to more than 1,000 clients inLondon but Sasi aims to expand her clientdatabase around the UK in the coming yearsand also expand the services by providingcommercial insurance.

Not too many women in the communi-ty present in Britain have been able to reacha milestone that Sasi has already, that toowith lots of fuel still in store. However, withfeet on the ground Sasi feels if her journeyso far motivates any woman in the commu-nity, that itself would be her greatestachievement. She also reveals that her

brother, Keith's success and knowledge inthe field of Finance helped her establish thebusiness rapidly than it would otherwisehave.

Though Sasi has lived in London since19 years, she still maintains a close proximi-ty with her native land and especially withher culture. Also, a lot has been spokenabout the children today in various commu-nities being totally detached from their cul-ture. Many parents complain that kids arenot interested in knowing about their cultur-al roots. But, Sasi has a different stand asshe comments, “One cannot blame the chil-dren if they are not motivated to learn theircultural values. If they grow up here in thisenvironment, how can the parents expectthem to be as culturally bound like them. Itis rather the duty of the parents to not justchase success but take time out to inculcatethe cultural ethos and values by teachingnative language, performing religious ritualsand whenever possible take them backhome for a visit in order to show their chil-dren what exactly unites the entire commu-nity together. This is significant as this young

generation will have theresponsibility of taking ourcommunity and cultureahead in the comingyears.” Sasi takes her kidto the temples often andalso to Sri Lanka whenevershe gets a chance. Withmusic being an integralpart of Tamil community,she also wishes to teachher kid Miruthangam.

Cultural values shouldn't beforgotten in the chase of success

Although we

are far away

from our

cultural roots

and soil of

inheritance, I

feel it is

necessary and

part of our

responsibility

to keep a tab

on what is

happening

back home and

always remain

a part of it, no

matter the

situation is

good or bad.

Sasi Sivaganesh

8

■ Kartik.S .Raval

Sasi_A4 Temp 28/02/2011 15:57

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