The mantra of staying mentally fit

This week is mental health awareness week from 13th -19th May, hosted by the Mental Health Foundation in the UK. The theme is body image and how we think and feel about our bodies and last years theme was about stress. Mental health awareness has definitely played a role in people being able to speak about their mental health...

Short story: “Swan song”

The phone rings rudely and raucously, rousing me from my restful slumber at the unearthly hour of 4 by my bedside alarm clock. I reach for it irritably, then pause. It can only be her. No one else would ever call me at this hour. Yet it cannot possibly be her. She has been gone from my life for over...

My sunshine – a personal encounter

In celebration of World Mental Health Week. A Beautiful Story. A Beautiful Mind. A Beautiful Movie. An enduring image - 1994. Princeton. All his fellow professors honour him as they walk up and hand over their coveted pens to John Nash, the Nobel Laureate in Economics and schizophrenic who learnt to battle his demons with the support of his wife, Alicia, always...

Life and works of Dr BR Ambedkar discussed in UK Parliament

Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations UK along with Lord Harries of Pentregarth, organised a meeting and academic discussion entitled "Dr BR Ambedkar - His life and work" at the House of Lords on 7 May. It was a day dedicated to discussing the legacy of Dr BR Ambedkar, the father of the Indian constitution.  The meeting was chaired by Lord...

New Buddha Way helping to feed the world

The fourth of May might now be more well known as Star Wars Day, based on a pun of "may the Force be with you", but others were out in force to make the world a better place by helping to tackle the issue of global hunger. New Buddha Way, a group based in Surrey in the UK which advocates...

Tribute to the champion of multi-culturalism Burjor Jal Avari MBE – 1938 to 2019

Burjor Jal Avari MBE, my brother was a pioneer in fearlessly promoting multi-culturism in the UK.  His true moment came in 1987 following the race riots in various towns and cities of the UK.  He passionately felt that the peace and tranquillity of the UK society must somehow be continued to be  preserved by drawing together lessons from history....

Foodies – Zaman Restaurant

It's easy to miss Zaman, a restaurant situated in the basement of the Old Qubec Street in the heart of the city's cosmopolitan hub. The restaurant was named after the former chef, Mahmud Zaman, rebranded to cater to the Sportsman Casino's global clientèle, located one floor above the restaurant. The multi-award-winner Head Chef Mahmud Zaman has left to join the Palm Beach...

Bending it like Sid Mallya

This interview was originally published at bollywoodjournalist.com in 2016, a few days ahead of the London Indian Film Festival. Naman Ramachandran, a personal friend had written his first film Naman Brahman and Sid Mallya was one of the lead cast.  When I started interacting with the PR handling the project, it was really difficult to try to convince them for...