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Contents. 

editorial //5 

spa (UK) commitee //5 

spa (UK) reports //6 

congratulations //25 

theme //32 

sports //53 

branch reports //62 

shradhdhanjalis //84 

Branch & HQ Lists //100 

donation Structure //103 

Meet the Designers //104 

Articles: 

GUJARATI POEM //13, 24 

Himalaya Trek //40 

NRI of the Year 2018 Award //41 

TUK TUK Prajapti //42 

Hardik Aabhar //44 

Canada Sovereign Volunteer Medal 

Presentation //45 

Great British Bake-Off Extra Slice //46 

BBC Family Cooking Showdown 

Winner //47 

Top 100 women in the Automotive 

industry in the UK // 63 

Thank You 

Graphic Design Team Liaison 

Dinesh Mistry (Preston) 

Graphic Design Consultant 

Preeya Mistry (Slough) 

Lead Graphic Designer 

Arun Mistry (Luton) 

Lead Graphic Designer 

Jaimini Mistry (Preston) 

Theme Topic Editor 

Vinay Chhana (East London) 

Contributing Writers 

CD Lad (Calgary, Canada) 

Bhupendrabhai Mistry (Stockport) 

Harishbhai Mistry (Enfield) 

Mitesh Mistry (Croydon) 

Nathubhai Mistry (London) 

Pradipbhai Mistry (Essex) 

Raveena Morar (London) 

Sumitraben N Mistry (Birmingham) 

Ushmaben P Mistry (Birmingham) 

Acknowledgements 

Ambalal B Mistry (Birmingham) 

BBC 

Dahyabhai Lad (Tameside) 

Kiranchandra D Mistry (Birmingham) 

http://www.freepik.com/ 

Editor 

Jasuben Mistry (London) 

Editorial Assistant 

Nimisha Mistry (Leicester) 

Distributor 

Shree Prajapati Association (UK) & SPA (UK) Branches 

www.prajapati.org.uk 

Printers 

Evolution Print and Design Ltd 

143 Cavendish Road 

Leicester 

LE2 7PJ 

+44 (0)116 274 7700 

E: sales@evolutiondc.co.uk 

www.evolutionprintmanagement.com 

© Copyright Shree Prajapati Association (UK) 2018 

The articles contained in this publication are the views and opinions of their 

authors. They may not necessarily reflect the views and opinions 

of SPA (UK), unless stated otherwise. 

4 vol. 43 | Prajapati Sandesh 2018 

Please note that every care has been taken to avoid errors. However, please 

accept our apologies for any errors that may have been overlooked.

EDITOR 

JASUBEN mistry 

“A League of Extraordinary Prajapatis...” 

Namaste and Jai Shree Krishna 

Every now and then we hear of 

extraordinary people. Tradition 

plays a great role and sometimes 

extraordinary people may 

experience resistance at first, but 

then as time is a great healer, so 

the new norm starts to change 

our perceptions, and after some 

time a new tradition is established, 

sometimes taking years. 

2018, it seems, has been a 

momentous year for so many 

‘‘.....Sandesh 

uncovers a 

new crop of bold, 

bright and the 

fierce folks in our 

community.....’’ 

extraordinary talents. From food 

to tattoos, the Sandesh this year 

uncovers a new crop of bold, bright 

and the fierce folks in our community. 

In this year’s Sandesh.. 

We invite you to give your 

undivided attention to the Theme 

article and share with you how 

Heleena, Sunita and Dina are 

sharing tradition in their own unique 

ways. You will find Bhupendrabhai 

and CD Lad achieve the accolade 

with awards in volunteering, the 

Mistry Family winning the coveted 

BBC Family Cooking Showdown as 

well as Raveena who just excelled 

in her hobby with cupcakes. The 

other extraordinary achievers are 

Harishbhai who Tuk Tuk’d his way 

in India and Pradipbhai, who at the 

age of 60, climbed the Himalayas. 

We hope you will enjoy the tradition 

they share with you. 

Graphics Design 

The League of Extraordinary 

Prajapatis… have been the 

motivation for the graphics design. 

Vinay compiled the expert editorial 

around the Theme article whilst 

Preeya turned it into a visual 

graphics masterpiece along with 

the front cover. Arun produced 

the Articles, Sports and Branch 

sections and will also publish 

the Sandesh on the internet. 

Jaimini took a back seat this year 

due to working in Scotland but 

provided moral support. Whilst 

Nimisha, as always, took on the 

all-important proof check role. We 

also congratulate Nimisha on her 

second new born. Dineshbhai has 

been at the centre of this whole 

process from printing quotes 

to the final design to print and 

delivery. A massive applause to the 

professionalism of this team. 

It is the collective effort of all 

volunteers that helps SPA (UK) 

to present this very attractive 

Sandesh to you. My sincere 

appreciation to the advertisers and 

all the contributors to making this 

Sandesh a pride of Prajapati Samaj. 

Jasuben Mistry 

Editor, SPA (UK), 2018/2019 

vol. 43 | Prajapati Sandesh 2018 

5

PRESIDENT 

SECRETARY 

VICE PRESIDENT 

TREASURER 

Bharatbhai C Mistry 

Balubhai Lad 

Vipulbhai H Mistry 

Kamleshbhai C Mistry 

O7777 684900 

balu_lad@hotmail.com 

O7968 776304 

bharat.mistry4@btinternet.com 

mistry197@btinternet.com 

kamleshkmistry@hotmail.com 

2018/2019 

SPA (UK) 

COMMITTEE 

PRO 

Kiranbhai D Mistry 

07774 704760 

kiran.mistry@colop.co.uk 

MAHILA CONVENOR 

Nayanaben N Mistry 

nayanamistry62@hotmail.com 

SINGLES EVENT 

CO-ORDINATOR 

Anilbhai D Mistry 

07949 179045 


SPAITF 

CHAIRPERSON 

Hansaben K Mistry 

01204 432166 

hansamistry@hotmail.co.uk 

SPAITF SECRETARY 

Hemantbhai R Mistry 

07830 375073 

hrmistry@gmail.com 

SENIORS 

CHAIRPERSON 

Dahyabhai L Mistry 

0116 268 0184 

dl_mistry@hotmail.comom 

SANDESH EDITOR 

Jasuben Mistry 

0208 933 4656 

jasumati.mistry@ntlworld.com 

6 vol. 43 | Prajapati Sandesh 2018

PRESIDENT 

BHARaTBHAI C mistry 


The past year, as ever, has been 

eventful. As an organisation we 

continue to function and are 

effective in serving our own 

community and we are continually 

receiving compliments from other 

Samajs’. However, our voice isn’t 

being heard in the wider society. 

Traditionally, we, as Hindus, 

have gone about our activities 

unhindered, and we are allowed to 

worship and follow our traditions 

freely. We’ve never really drawn 

attention to ourselves in case 

we get targeted. We tend to be 

classed at the moderate end of the 

spectrum when it comes to British 

society. But it is precisely because 

of that that we are largely ignored 

when it comes to accessing political 

or financial support. 

We must try and be more proactive, 

be visible, be noisy. There are many 

causes that we can align ourselves to, 

they may not be charitable, they may 

even be political but if they serve our 

cause they should be supported. 

What is our cause? One of our main 

objectives of our constitution is; 

“the advancement of Hindu religion 

and culture.” As an organisation 

we should support Hindu causes 

whether in the UK or other 

countries. As Hindus we have a duty 

to preserve and protect our Dharma. 

When it comes under threat, we 

must make ourselves heard, protest 

to all those that represent us; the 

local councillors, MPs, government 

ministers and governments. Write 

to them, attend their local meetings 

or surgeries, draw up petitions. 

After all, they do work for us, and 

our taxes pay for their salaries. 

We should send our protests to 

newspapers. When doing so, please 

remember to ensure that we adhere 

to our objectives as stated on our 

national or local branch constitution 

and work in conjunction with your 

local branch. 

For fear of repetition of all the work 

our people do, I will not comment 

on the work our sub committees 

carry out throughout the year. 

However, I would like to thank the 

Secretarial, Mahila, Senior, ITF, 

Treasury, Webmaster and the past 

Youth sub committees for the work 

they have done on behalf of SPA 

UK. Without their hard work we 

could not serve our members or 

all the charitable causes that we 

support. My thanks also to Jitubhai 

of Leicester who saw through 

the successful conclusion of the 

Nepal earthquake appeal when we 

handed over a cheque for £26,000 

to Sewa UK to help build a hostel 

to house and educate orphans in 

Nawakot near Kathmandu in Nepal. 

I would like to thank and 

congratulate all those members at 

a local level that support worthy 

causes through their fund raising 

or getting involved in community 

projects. Your involvement helps 

makes more people aware of SPA 

and the other work that we do. 

Finally I would like to emphasise 

my earlier message about making 

ourselves heard; 

“IF YOU DON’T FIGHT FOR WHAT 

YOU WANT, DON’T CRY FOR 

WHAT YOU LOSE” 

Pranam and Jai Shree Krishna 

Bharatbhai C Mistry 

President, SPA (UK) 


7

SECRETARY 

VIPULBHAI H MISTRY 

Jai Shree Krishna to SPA (UK) 

Trustees, Working committee, 

Prathindhis and fellow members. 

My heartfelt respect to Shri 

Balubhai Lad for all the hard work 

he did as the secretary during the 

previous year. At the Pratinidhi 

Meeting and AGM held on 20th May 

2018 in Birmingham I accepted the 

role as the Secretary, having been 

in this role at a local branch level. I 

hope that I can bring my experience 

with me and contribute towards 

taking Prajapati Samaj forward in an 

ever fast changing environment. 

Change is ever-present; in our 

personal lives, in our jobs, in 

the wider community and in all 

institutions, of which Prajapati 

Samaj is one. It is my vision to bring 

back the ‘glory days of Samaj and 

for the Prajapati Samaj to make a 

difference in society’. 

I have been involved with Samaj 

at a local level for over twenty 

years and have been fortunate 

to have had the opportunity to 

serve in various posts. I take pride 

in promoting and helping our 

community through involvement at 

all levels. My sincere appreciation 

to our community members 

who have served the Prajapati 

community wholeheartedly. 

My heartfelt gratitude to past 

committee members, all branches 

and SPA UK Officers who have 

done a marvellous job in promoting 

our culture and maintaining the 

Prajapati community as one. 

Over the years, Prajapati Samaj 

have shown that it is a forward 

thinking, progressive community 

through airing topics that matter to 

everyone in their personal lives at 

the big events like Mahila Samelan, 

promoted sports and social 

through Sports Day and Youth Ball, 

and over the past six years, the 

Senior members of our Prajapati 

Samaj has rekindled the old glory 

of Samaj through Seniors ‘Sneh 

Samelan’. Along with the charitable 

work done by individual members 

of our Samaj, branches and SPA UK 

Trust Fund, we have put SPA UK on 

the world map. 

As the rapid pace of change in 

the current tech savvy world of all 

things digital continues to take over 

individual lives (including the new 

born!), and rapidly changing the 

community fabric, the Samaj is also 

changing. In areas like social media, 

all officers of SPA UK and branches 

are now using Samaj email 

accounts, websites, Facebook, 

WhatsApp and cloud technology 

for mass communication (this 

would have only been possible via 

leaflets and the old landline phone 

in the past). 


On the other hand, it has also 

introduced challenges to the 

Samaj. Whereas in the past the 

whole family used to attend Samaj 

functions (including the AGM), 

now we see select generations 

participating in specific events. One 

of the main challenges, over at least 

the past five years, has been to keep 

the past two generations and their 

siblings engaged in Samaj. This is the 

challenge SPA UK and all branches 

are working with currently (and 

indeed all other external community 

or faith based organisations). 

And looking at the positive side, 

there are solutions and motivations; 

it is a case of how we channel 

them in the most effective way. 

Just give your time to look though 

this issue of Prajapati Sandesh 

which has highlighted “A League of 

Extraordinary Prajapatis” – A new 

crop of Bold, Bright and Fierce folks 

in our community, each showing, 

in their own way, how our culture 

has played a significant part in their 

own lives, where they have come 

unstuck, and how they solved the 

problem using the colours and 

creativity of our culture to design 

and promote everything that 

represents the goodness in our 

culture. Whether intricate tattoos, 

gift ideas, education material 

for babies through to adult age 

group, as well as tasty cooking and 

charitable work. They show some 

examples of the real-life solutions 

to show how our culture can be 

promoted, to engage with all age 

groups, whilst at the same time, 

making it fun and engaging with 

everyone around you: 

SPA UK Activities of the Past Year 

Mahilas 

I would like to congratulate both 

Bradford Branch and the SPA (UK) 

Mahila Committee for putting on 

an excellent Mahila Samelan on 

Saturday 14th May 2018 in Bradford. 

The main topic was Parkinson’s 

Disease and Associated Disabilities. 

The Samelan included talks from 

guest speakers on the specialist 

subjects as well as individuals who 

are dealing with these symptoms. 

On the the social front, the Mahila 

Team again organised the annual 

Family Funday on Sunday 30th June 

2018 at Wickstead Park in Kettering. 

In addition, they also volunteered 

their duties at the Seniors Sneh 

Samelan and at the Sports Day. 

Seniors 

I would also like to thank the 

Seniors Sub-Committee and Rugby 

Branch for hosting the 6th Seniors 

Samelan on Sunday 10th June 

2018 at the SPA Leicester Samaj 

hall. The main topics covered were 

“Hinduism – making it attractive 

and acceptable to the next 

generation” by Shri Jay Lakhani 

from Hindu Academy, and “Stroke - 

being aware of symptoms and care” 

by Shri Amit Mistri. This event also 

provided the opportunity to honor 

Shri Karsanji Madhavbhai Mistry 

(Karchelia, now in Leicester) with a 

garland on him reaching 100 years. 

ITF 

I would like to thank the SPAITF 

committee for processing all grant 

applications and awarding grants 

to students. A big thank you also to 

Arunbhai, who not only looks after 

the website, but also implemented 

the online grant application 

process, which is live via the SPA 

(UK) website. 

Website / Social Media 

Arunbhai Mistry (Luton) has been 

absolutely tremendous in ensuring 

that the website has been updated 

regularly. He is also an admin on our 

Facebook account. 

Sports Day 

The Sports Day was hosted by 

SPA (UK) Youth Team and held at 

Warwick University, Coventry on 1st 

September 2018. Whilst it is a good 

and jovial sports and social day 

out, we continue to see a decline 

in numbers. I would like to thank 

Divyenbhai, Nikhilbhai, Hirenbhai 

and Ravibhai for ensuring the Sports 

Day went ahead this year. We are 

hoping with a new Sports Team in 

place with experience, we will see 

an increase in attendance next year. 

We also largely depend on branches 

to promote and encourage their 

members to attend. This event is for 

all ages, so may I ask branches to 

see at least 40/50 members or more 

attending. We want to bring back 

the glory days and I am sure with 

encouragement and commitment 

from all it will turn around. 

Sandesh 

My sincere congratulations to the 

Sandesh Team, forever ensuring 

that the publication is of high 

quality and immaculate. I am 

so happy that we have a skillful 

Graphic Design team and proof 

check professionals, who work 

tirelessly to bring to you a highquality 

publication that all our 

members as well as external 

organisations are proud of. 

Single? Let’s Mingle 

Thank you to Anilbhai (Luton) who 

continues to organise the Single? 

Let’ Mingle! events. For any single 

boys and girls who are looking for 

future Prajapati partners, this is 

your event of choice. 

Webmaster 

As a Graphics Design professional, 

Arunbhai from Luton has been 

working on both improving the 

website and the Sandesh. Arun 

has now completed the new look 

website, which was published in 

early 2018. Arun has published 

Sandesh online and the online grant 

application forms for SPA ITF. My 

appreciation to Arunbhai for your 

tremendous contribution. 


9

Charity 

• The 2016-2018 nominated charities are the 

Muni Seva Trust in Navsari and Kasturba 

Ashram in Maroli Bazaar in Gujarat, India. 

Branches are continuing to collect donations 

until the closing date of 31st March 2019. 

• SPA (UK) donated £26,000 for the Nepal 

Disaster funds via SEWA International. 

The funds will go towards the construction 

of a hostel for children in the district of 

Nawakot, Nepal 

Other organisations 

• SPA (UK) continues to work alongside 

other organisations such as the Navsari 

Ashram, Ashram in Bilimora, Shree Prajapati 

Association Valsad, Canada, USA, DIPF, 

Hindu Forum of Britain and many more 

organisations nationally and internationally. 

• On behalf of SPA (UK), it was an honor to 

have been invited by the Consulate General 

of India Birmingham to take part in the 

celebration of the 143rd birth anniversary of 

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the ‘Rashtriya 

Ekta Diwas’. The event was attended by the 

Mayor of Telford & Wrekin, Councillor Raj 

Metha and many Indian Diaspora community 

leaders. The speakers lauded the role played 

by Sardar Patel in unifying the country after 

Independence. 

• On behalf of SPA (UK) it was also an honor 

to have been invited to the opening of the 

first Gandhi Centre outside India at the 

Tividale’s Shri Venkateswara Balaji Temple 

on Saturday 12th November 2018. Over 

300 hundred people gathered. The guests 

included Sandwell Mayor Cllr Joy Edis, Mrs 

Rajashree Birla, chair of the Aditya Birla 

Group, Indian Consul General Dr Aman Puri, 

Lord Bikhubhai Parekh, Lord Dolar Popat, 

and the Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy 

Street. Representatives from the Gandhi 

Foundation and faiths across the community 

attended the opening event too. The center 

has a permanent exhibition of Gandhi’s life. 

There are also yoga and teaching resources, 

a library and rare photographs. 

Other Issues 

• GDPR (General Data Privacy Regulation) 

came into effect on 25th May 2018 and 

replaces the Data Privacy Act 1998. It 

requires all organisations, including our 

Samaj, to demonstrate that they inform 

members of any personal data being held by 

the Samaj and how it is being used. In this 

respect, SPA (UK) have appointed Manubhai 

Mistry (Tameside) as the GDPR Officer. Each 

branch will also communicate with their 

members in this regard. 

• Caste Legislation: In March 2017, the 

Government launched a consultation on 

“Caste in Great Britain and Equality Law” to 

obtain the views of the public on how best to 

ensure that appropriate and proportionate 

legal protection exists for victims of caste 

discrimination. SPA (UK) communicated 

this issue to our members at the Mahila 

Samelan and via letters to all branches. 

The consultation was open for 6 months. 

Following over 16,000 responses, and after 

careful consideration, the government 

decided to invite Parliament to repeal the 

duty, as it states that the Equality Act 

provides protection. This is not necessarily 

the end of this matter. We request our 

members to be well informed about its future 

development. 

• We have also been informed about the 

persecution of minorities (including Hindus in 

Pakistan). We are supporting Dharmic Ideas 

& Policy Foundation to create awareness of 

this through documentary tours at locations 

around the UK. 

Finally 

Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to 

Divyenbhai Mistry from Coventry in assisting me 

as an assistant Secretary and also for his drive 

and determination to ensure that this year’s 

Sports Day did go ahead. 

I would also like to pay my sincere thanks to 

those individuals that continue to serve our 

Samaj without expectation for recognition and to 

those that have served in the past. Without past 

members our Samaj would not be here today. 

I look forward to working with you all. 

Jai Shree Krishna 

Vipul Harkishanbhai Mistry 

Secretary, SPA (UK) 2018/2019 


treasurer 

KAMLESHBHAI c 

mistry 


I was proud to be nominated and 

took over the SPA UK Treasurer 

post following the AGM in May. 

Firstly, I would like to express my 

gratitude and sincere thanks to 

the assistant treasurers Ranjanben 

Mistry (London) and Rajnibhai 

Mistry (Leicester) who have 

assisted and guided me and 

‘‘SPA (UK) 

has continued to 

raise funds and 

support charitable 

causes...’’ 

Bhupendrabhai Mistry (the previous 

Treasurer) over the last year. They 

work tirelessly behind the scenes 

and are ever present at events and 

meetings. My sincere thanks also go 

to Bhupendrabhai and also to Jay 

Mistry, our accounts examiner, for 

their continued support. 

SPA (UK) events continued during 

the year and we had a mix of 

surplus’ and deficits. Each event 

has its own income generating 

method and we must continue to 

ensure that we maximise these 

to ensure that each event can be 

funded on its own merit, especially 

those activities that continue to 

grow and are over-subscribed 

(Mahila Samelan and Seniors 

Sneh Milan). Where events return 

a deficit, we must continue to 

understand the underlying reasons 

why, debate and develop action 

plans and improve budgeting and 

forecasting to ensure better future 

financial management. The overall 

balance remains stable and we will 

continue to ensure that funds are 

appropriately used, and sufficient 

due diligence is carried out prior to 

approval and release. 

SPA (UK) has continued to raise 

funds and support charitable 

causes. This is the second year we 

are raising funds for the Kasturba 

Ashram and Muni Ashram, both 

in India, and to date we have 

raised £6,869.47. We have also 

supported SPA Birmingham in their 

“washroom refurbishment” project. 

The Nairobi Trust Fund’s income 

has continued to be used to 

fund charitable causes through 

SPA (UK) ITF. The value of the 

Nairobi Trust Fund at the end 

of the financial period stood at 

£103,175.69 of which £5,587.02 is 

available for charitable use. 

Kamlesh C Mistry 

Treasurer, SPA (UK), 2018-2019 


11

PRO 

kiranchandra 

d mistry 

‘‘The joys 

and 

shortcomings 

of 

social media...’’ 

How often do you read a book? How 

often do you write a letter? How 

often does the modern world allow 

you time to reflect? Has the modern 

world of WhatsApp, Facebook, 

Instagram and News Apps etc. 

made our world better? No doubt 

it has transformed our lives in many 

positive ways, however, one has to 

be cautious as to what we believe 

in a world of fake news, be careful 

with our personal data, and most 

importantly, not forget to maintain 

that physical contact with our 

nearest and dearest. 

We live in a modern era where 

you can be in touch with anyone, 

anywhere in the world. I sit here in a 

hot and sultry Cancun, Mexico and 

our Sandesh Editor, Jasuben will 

receive this report 5000 miles away 

in a matter of seconds. Talking on 

the phone is now overtaken by 

video calling. The joy of watching 

your grandchildren hundreds 

or thousands of miles away is 

limitless…and yet, you are lonely… 

that is one aspect of modern life. 

Family get-togethers and Samaj 

functions are invaluable. 

Another aspect more connected 

with social media apps like 

WhatsApp is more dangerous. 

People have lost their lives no thanks 

to fake rumours. In August this year, 

rumours of child abductors spread 

though WhatsApp in a small town 

in Acatlian, Puebla State, Mexico. 

The rumours were fake, but a mob 

burned two men to death before 

anyone checked. WhatsApp has 

been linked to a wave of lynching 

across India, often fuelled by fake 

stories. And it does not stop there….. 

the spread of fake news has been 

blamed for igniting ethnic violence 

in Somalia, sowing confusion among 

voters in Brazil, and even causing 

currency fluctuations in South 

Africa. As a result of the violent 

incidents, WhatsApp has now 

limited forwarding messages to 20 

people and in India, it is just 5. 


“...Has the modern world of WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram 

and News Apps etc. made our world better?...’’ 

The digital platforms serve as 

instantaneous vehicles to channel 

the best and worst of us, including 

our fears and prejudices. And 

that becomes more evident in the 

absence of effective authorities that 

can guarantee our safety. Recently 

Prince William has criticised social 

media firms for not doing enough 

to deal with fake news, privacy 

issues and cyber-bullying. As 

a Samaj, we take new laws like 

GDPR (EU General Data Protection 

Regulation) seriously. 

Social media can really alter a 

community through the spread of 

false information that many of us 

perceive as truthful, because people 

we trust are sending it. Society 

really needs to evaluate what is true 

or what is false and decide what is 

trustworthy and what is not. 

Today, in a rapidly moving world, 

we can see change in every 

moment. Therefore, life is getting 

complicated in every phase, but 

technology has made life very 

convenient. It is evolving in the 

world at a very fast pace and 

affecting people in various ways. 

Whatsapp is an amazing App, and 

with the help of it we can connect 

ourselves to society and the whole 

world. As a Samaj, many branches 

use it highly effectively with sub 

groups such as Mahilas, Executive 

Committees, etc setting up their 

own channels for fast and effective 

communications and clear decision 

making. Inviting members to join 

a Branch group has allowed for 

closer engagement with members 

more than ever before. However, it 

has been proven to have a harmful 

effect often affecting our mental 

well-being. Phones have useful tools 

like screen time monitoring to help 

us bring balance and discipline into 

our digital lives. 

It is essential to know how social 

media is affecting society at large. 

An empirical study of the impact 

of WhatsApp on the youth of Agra 

was conducted recently. Positive 

benefits aside, it can impact on 

youth and adversely affects their 

education, behaviour and routine 

lives. It disrupts study time for 

students and spoils their spelling 

skills and grammatical construction 

of sentences. This app has been 

found to be highly addictive. Their 

happiness or sadness depends 

on the reply, which they receive 

from other users. They cannot 

control themselves from constantly 

chatting, replying and sharing of 

ideas. This issue does not just apply 

to youth. 

Social media provides a positive 

benefit of rapid information 

sharing, enables people to create 

false identities and superficial 

connections, causes depression 

and is a primary recruiting tool of 

criminals and terrorists. Although 

change is good, necessary, 

and inevitable, it always comes 

at a price. Uncensored and 

unmonitored, it can cause a gradual 

breakdown of social cohesion and 

the destruction of our traditional 

value systems, unless we take 

responsibility to ensure that our 

understanding of social media and 

its impacts are constantly evaluated 

with what’s happening in the world. 

As an individual, we should enjoy 

the positive benefits of social media, 

however, we do need to exercise 

care in our judgements and ensure 

our children are safe from cyber 

bullies and allow them more time 

with family / friends and nature. 

Wishing you a New Year VS 2075 

& AD 2019 full of good health, 

contentment and the prosperity 

you deserve. 


Kiran D. Mistry MBA 

PRO - SPA (UK) 

v$p¡õsu gp¡lu“p¡ kb„^ “’u, v$p¡õsu qv$g“p¡ kb„^ R>¡. 

L$p¡B“¡ “ L$fu iL$pe A¡hu hps S>¡“¡ L$l] iL$pe A¡ v$p¡õs R>¡. 

S>¡“u kp’¡ lku iL$pe A¡ “l], ‘Z S>¡“u kpd¡ fX$u iL$pe A¡ rdÓ R>¡. 

Aphp¡ rdÓ Æ„v$Nudp„ lp¡e sp¡ S> Æ„v$Nu Æhhp S>¡hu gpN¡ R>¡. 

gu. kyrdÓpb¡“ A¡“. rd”u, brd¯Nlpd 


13

YOUTH 

Youth Team 

“...we would like to 

say a big thank you 

and well done to all 

participants who took 

part at the 40th SPA 

UK Sports Day.’’ 

It’s been a strange, yet tough year, for the 

Youth side of the Samaj. 

This year is the first time that 

cancer charity) that was present 

there has been no elected Youth during the event. They collected 

Leader to represent on the Main HQ samples for stem cells from those 

Committee. Therefore, as previous, who attended and were interested. 

the out-going youth team, Hiren, This is a great cause to support and 

Ravi and I (Nikhil) took on the task a good drive on this will help to save 

to see through the 40th SPA (UK) lives. I would strongly recommend 

Sports Day. This is a difficult task that during your upcoming branch 

as many will appreciate to organise, celebrations, consider doing a drive 

with juggling our work and family on this, especially at times like 

lives with Samaj Sewa at both HQ Navratri where we find most of our 

and local level. 

younger members attending. If you 

would like more information, please 

Firstly, we would like to say a 

contact us and we will get in touch 

big thank you and well done to 

with Jay. 

all participants who took part 

at the 40th SPA UK Sports Day. We would like to acknowledge a few 

Even though the number of 

people for their help and support 

participants were significantly 

during and in the run up to the event. 

lower than previous years (170), the 

sportsmanship between players 1. Thank you to SPA Coventry for 

was great. There was also a good organising the car parking in the 

turn out from our younger members morning. You do this perfectly 

which in turn meant that we had every time. 

some younger families attending. 

2. SPA Rugby and Birmingham 

It was great to see the support 

branches for manning the Student 

shown to DKMS charity (blood 

Union and front entrances. 


3. To all the gentlemen from Coventry who helped to 

set up the darts venue and also managed this side of 

the event. Without your expertise and passion for the 

sport we wouldn’t be able to make this run smoothly. 

4. To all controllers from the branches who helped 

to ensure that the events ran smoothly - Rugby, 

Birmingham, Coventry, Bradford, and Walsall. 

5. There is one thank you that we would like to make. 

We all say and hear that our Mahila are the heart of 

any community and family. Well, on this year’s Sports 

Day this was demonstrated again. The Mahila who 

attended on Saturday got together and organised a 

raffle draw. They raised roughly £550 towards the cost 

of the event. This is an amazing amount. Our sincere 

thanks go to Hasmitaben, Revaben, Kamlaben and 

all the other Mahila who supported to sell the tickets. 

(Our apologies if we missed anyone out). 

Finally, after many years, this year we received two big 

donations towards the actual trophies presented to the 

participants. Natubhai from Preston and Jayantibhai 

from Leicester donated towards these. We would like to 

thank you for your continued support towards Samaj. 

The Cricket tournament was held later this year in 

September at the University of Leicester Cricket ground. 

The winners of the tournament were Leicester with 

Walsall just following shortly behind. We would like to 

thank all the participants on the day. 

Future - a common noise heard during the event was 

the lack of participants and the dwindling numbers. We 

need to push for participants and begin at branch level 

to introduce young members to Samaj. Branches are 

now getting younger members joining their committees, 

begin to make changes within your branches and 

introduce the younger members. Sports day on this 

scale is no longer feasible for our organisation due 

to the loss we make. There are varieties of different 

options available which have been discussed over time. 

If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to send 

these through to the president/secretary. 

On a final note, we would like to express that we are all 

volunteers at Samaj, and we do our best to accommodate 

and make changes where possible. The feedback we 

receive, we do our best to act upon this, however at times 

it may not be viable. We as a Youth Team over the years 

have made a decision collectively and not one individual 

alone per say. We ask that our younger members come 

forward and take over the Youth side of the Samaj to take 

it forward. People always say about the ‘Good old times… 

Sports Day used to be like this, etc…’ Times are changing 

and with this we need to change too. We need to rethink 

our format in terms of events such as these and make it 

viable both for the participants/attendees and financially. 

Thank you again for all your help support and 

participation over the year. 

Regards, 

Nikhil, Hiren and Ravi. 


15

Mahila 

Mahila Team 

‘‘...we would like to 

wish our Association 

members all the best for 

2019, and look forward 

to seeing you at our 

upcoming events” ... 

Mahila Committee 

for 2017 - 2019 

Mahila Convenor 

Nayanaben N Mistry (Leicester) 

Mahila Secretary 

Hasmitaben R Prajapati (Leicester) 

Assistant 

Nehaben U Mistry (Leicester) 

Assistant 

Padmaben B Mistry (Leicester) 

Firstly, on behalf of myself and 

the Mahila Team we would like 

to convey a sincere Thanks and 

gratitude to all the Branch Mahilas, 

HQ Officers and everyone who has 

co-operated and given us support 

during 2017/2018. 

2017 brought us into our roles with 

Naynaben being elected as Mahila 

Convenor, Nehaben as Mahila 

Secretary, who were both assisted 

by Padmaben and Hasmitaben. The 

past year has seen us work together, 

on and at, various events and at 

meetings held by us as a team as 

well as HQ meetings. 

The 38th Annual Mahila Samelan was 

held on Saturday 14th April 2018 in 

the Northern town of Bradford, and 

the topic for the day was Parkinson’s 

Disease and Associated Disabilities. 

The morning saw all the Bradford 

volunteers in place greeting, 

collecting tickets, and a team of 

volunteers serving breakfast. 

Once the Mahilas had eaten 

breakfast and were seated, the day’s 

programme started with the Aarti 

and Prathna. 

A general introduction by HQ 

Mahila Secretary Nehaben was 

given. This was then followed by 

a welcome speech by Bradford 

Branch President, Maheshbhai, 

and a Swaagat Geet presented by 

Bradford branch. 

Our first guest speakers of the day 

from Parkinson’s UK were Rebecca 

Ward-Dooley, Tracey Westgarth 

and Anita Vojnovic. They raised 

awareness by talking about what 

Parkinson’s is and the effect it has 

on those who suffer from it. They 

informed everyone that Parkinson’s 

is a progressive nervous system 

disorder and that symptoms of it 

can vary from person to person. It 

can also take years to develop and 

even today there is no real solution 

as to why people develop the 

condition. The speakers provided 

a very in-depth talk, which was 

equally translated into Gujarati by 

Kantaben and Jaishreeben. 

Dr Shukla, an Associate Specialist 

from NHS presented further 

information in Gujarati on Parkinson’s. 

Sarah Wadesman of Carers Resource 

identified who carers are and the 


valuable contribution they make, the 

emotional strain a carer goes through 

and covered what support is available 

to them. 

After lunch, a presentation from Age 

UK was presented by Waka Ahmed, 

translated by Sabera Hafezjee and 

Pradipbhai Mistry. This covered 

advice, guidance and support, and 

various benefit information. 

A further presentation was given by 

Dee Collins, Chief Constable West 

Yorkshire Police and Hate Crime 

Coordinator Mani Akhtar. They 

encouraged more women to join the 

police force, and bond together to 

support one another. Mani explained 

how to monitor hate crime in our 

daily lives and about victim support 

which is available nationally. 

No Mahila Samelan is complete 

without entertainment and we give a 

heart-warming thanks to those who 

took part in entertaining everyone 

on the day. A Drama on the impact 

of Parkinson’s was also presented by 

Bradford Branch. 

This year’s Mahila Samelan 

attendance saw us reach in the 

region of 800 attendees. We ask 

that we have continued support over 

the years to come. 

The HQ Mahila Team attended 

and supported the Senior Samelan 

on Sunday 10th June 2018 by 

selling raffle tickets. Seeing all the 

forefathers of our Association is so 

heart-warming. Without those who 

set the ground stones down we 

would not be as successful as we 

are. So, a heartfelt thanks goes out 

to all who worked so hard behind the 

scenes to make this a 

successful event. 

This year the Family Fun Day was 

held on Saturday 30th June 2018 

at Wicksteed Park in Kettering. 

The sun was shining from the early 

hours which is when all the members 

made their way to our allocated plot. 

Tents, gazebos and parasols were 

going up and people were seeking 

shade from the hot sun. As the day 

went on, barbecues were being lit 

and people were quenching their 

thirst. Food was flowing and being 

swapped from tent to gazebo and 

the atmosphere was just great. 

After some food and drink, the 

games started with a friendly match 

of rounders. A mixture of old and 

young people took part and laughter 

and fun filled the air. This was then 

followed by the doughnut line game 

which was presented by Kalaben 

of Leicester branch. Those who 

took part surely enjoyed eating a 

doughnut from a piece of string held 

in the air. Nilaben from Birmingham 

branch had two teams who took part 

in pass the hoop down the line, once 

again full of fun for all those who 

took part. 

The afternoon was completed by 

the Rugby branch Annual Bingo. 

The team was led by Sashibhai this 

year. To keep everyone out of the 

sun we took shelter in a corner of the 

allocated plot and played away. Not 

long after the bingo, the raffle draw 

took place and Play Your Cards Right. 

As the sun shone on, cars were 

still arriving late in the afternoon. 

We were pleased and welcomed 

members from as far as London and 

Bradford this year, and we hope for 

your support for years to come. A 

fantastic day was experienced by all. 

Mahila also supported the Annual 

Sports Day held in Warwick 

University by selling raffle tickets. 

The HQ Mahila Team have worked 

together and are always meeting 

to keep up with background work 

for events throughout the year. 

We are a team who not only have 

families but also hold down fulltime 

jobs. Personal commitments 

have meant that Nehaben, although 

still on the HQ team has taken a 

step down and Hasmitaben is now 

HQ Mahila Secretary. This kind of 

understanding and respect is what 

keeps the Mahila going strong. We 

request your continued support for 

the years ahead, as together we are 

one united team. 

With this, we would like to wish our 

Association members all the best 

for 2019, and look forward to seeing 

you at our upcoming events which 

are as follows: 

39th Mahila Samelan Sunday 7th 

April 2019 – Host by London in 

Leicester. 

Family Funday Saturday 6th July 

2019 – Wicksteed Park, Kettering 

Namaste & Jai Shree Krishna from 

Naynaben, Hasmitaben, Nehaben & 

Padmaben 


17

seniors SAMELAN 

Seniors Samelan Organising Committee Members L to R: Balvantbhai, 

Ranjanaben, Revaben, Taramati, Ambalal and Dahyabhai 

“It was unique... 

the function 

was held in 

Leicester while 

the volunteer 

force came from 

Rugby...” 


The 6th Seniors Sneh Samelan 

was organised in conjunction with 

SPA Rugby Branch. It was unique 

in the sense that the function 

was held in Leicester while the 

volunteer force came from 

Rugby! They did a marvellous job 

of setting up the hall, decorating 

the stage, preparing and serving 

breakfast, warmly welcoming 

everyone and organising other 

needs and serving lunch to 

over 1,000 people. The Seniors 

Committee expresses hearty 

congratulations to the whole 

team. 

The day was Ekadashi, 

Sunday 10th June 2018 in the 

Purushottam month of Jyestha, 

and the venue, 

Seniors Committee for 2016 - 2019 

Shree Prajapati 

Association 

Chairperson - Dahyanbhai L Mistry (Leicester) 

Leicester. 

Secretary - Ambalal B Mistry (Birmingham) 

The focal 

Assistant - Balvantrai M Mistry (SPM East London) 

Assistant - Revaben P Mistry (Rugby) 

point was the 

Assistant - Taramati N Sharma (Tameside) 

presentation on 

SPA UK Rep - Ranjanaben Mistry (SPM East London) 

two topics - “Hinduism - making 

it attractive and acceptable to 

the next generation” by Shri Jay 

Lakhani from Hindu Academy 

and “Stroke - being aware of 

symptoms and care” by Shri Amit 

Mistri, a consultant physician, 

and Shri Jaydeep Joshi from 

Joshi Ayurveda Clinic. All the 

speakers were well received and 

appreciated by the audience. 

The programme started with 

aarti, prarthana and shradhanjali 

followed by a warm welcome 

by Shri Rameshbhai and Smt 

Revaben (past and present 

presidents of Rugby Branch). 

After the swagat geet (Avo 

Avo O Pujya Vadilo ...), Shri 

Bharatbhai (President, SPA UK) 

and Shri Dahyabhai (Chairperson, 

Seniors Committee) welcomed 

the audience and thanked 

them for their support to the 

Seniors function. Shri Karsanji 

Madhavbhai Mistry (Karchelia, 

now in Leicester) was honoured 

with a garland on him reaching 

100 years. 


Various memorable photos from the 6th Seniors Sneh Milan held at Shree Prajapati Association Leicester on Sunday 10th June 2018 

Stuti and bhajans were recited 

by Vasantbhai from East London 

and Balwantbhai and group from 

Leicester. There were dances 

(Ghoomar Ghoomar Ghume ..; 

Ek Radha Ek Meera...) by Nikita 

and group and Savitaben, 

Chanchalben, Bhartiben 

respectively from Leicester as well 

as a drama (Melani Ramzat) by 

Savitaben, Balwantbhai and group 

from Leicester. All were performed 

with great enthusiasm and well 

appreciated by the seniors. 

To add variety to the programme, 

Shri Dineshbhai and Smt Jasuben 

highlighted the background 

and development of our yearly 

magazine Prajapati Sandesh since 

the time of its inauguration until 

now. Also, the SPA UK took this 

opportunity to present a donation 

cheque for the Nepal Fund to 

Sewa International, represented 

by Shri Bharatbbhai Vadukul 

who thanked the Samaj for their 

generosity. 

Besides having enough time for 

heart to heart talk with their long 

awaited friends and relatives, the 

audience was entertained by Shri 

Balvantbhai from East London and 

Shri Natubhai from Preston with 

their wit and songs. 

The Committee thanks Leicester 

Branch for allowing its premises 

to be used for the Samelan, 

Birmingham Branch for getting 

the first aiders ready and 

congratulates and expresses 

gratitude to all the participants 

for the cultural and entertainment 

items provided and making the 

programme lively. 

Without the generous donations 

from the members, buying the 

raffle tickets, donating towards 


19

Memorable moments at Seniors Samelan in Leicester from the stage, audience and the dining area 

raffle prizes, food and prasad and assisting in other 

forms, this sort of function cannot be possible - for 

which the Seniors Committee expresses grateful 

thanks. 

The main task of the Seniors Committee is to organise 

the Seniors Sneh Samelan for all the seniors in UK. 

Maybe, it is time to think about other avenues for 

the benefit and needs of the Prajapati seniors in UK. 

Suggestions are welcome provided they are feasible 

to implement when dealing with UK Prajapatis as a 

whole. Also it is high time that all branches should 

take interest and be prepared to offer new items. 

Lastly, but not the least, let us all take this opportunity 

of the Samelan to meet one another, exchange our 

views and take the Prajapati community to a greater 

height of achievement. 

Prayers to the Almighty for His blessings on us. 

Ambalal Balubhai Mistry 

Secretary, SPA (UK) Seniors Committee 

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ITF 

Hemantbhai mistry 

“The two 

charities of the 

year are Muni 

Seva Trust 

& Kasturba 

Trust...” 

Namaste to all our members and 

readers 

Introduction 

Since Shree Prajapati Association 

International Trust Fund (SPAITF) 

was formed we have had great 

success in connecting people who 

are in genuine need of our support 

to improve their lives and that of 

their families and hopefully our 

community in the long run. To 

date we have approved education 

grants in excess of £35,000. 95% of 

this grant is funded by the Nairobi 

Endowment to SPA (UK) which 

we started to distribute some 10 

years ago. It is helping to tackle 

the educational needs of those 

families who can ill afford without 

enduring greater financial burden 

or worse still not able to follow 

their dreams due to lack of money. 

This SPAITF programme makes 

us one of the largest voluntary 

sector funders within the Prajapati 

community supporting almost 

200 students since the start of the 

grant programme. The Prajapati 

community should be proud of their 

achievement so far, but this grant 

giving programme has only been 

made possible due to the generous 

support mostly from our first-and 

second-generation members. 

Why we have this programme 

The difference these small but 

significant grant fundings have 

made to those individuals and 

their families are literally lifechanging 

and we are proud of 

the role SPAITF is playing in this. 

However, we are only touching the 

surface because we do not have 

the ability or resources to publicise 

our programme in India and also 

because of the lack of the use 

of English in India and access to 

computer and Wi-Fi to complete 


21

“To date we have approved education grants in 

excess of £35,000. 95% of this grant is funded by 

the Nairobi Endowment to SPA (UK)...” 

applications by those who live in more rural 

villages. Education is one of the main means 

of moving out of poverty and deprivation 

and there is need for more community 

support. This is why we are encouraging the 

Prajapati community, business owners and 

organisations to support SPAITF to help us to 

continue to assist our community to thrive. 

We are all children of the Prajapati community 

and our forefathers sacrificed a lot to make 

sure that we have a better quality of life. 

We should now give something back to the 

community our children will live in. Giving is 

not a lifestyle, and it is not altruistic at all given 

that we get so much in return. 

I know SPAITF and all Prajapati organisations 

have a massive task to break down the 

barriers of belief that everyone in India is 

out to ‘fleece you’; that once they get the 

money you don’t hear from them. Also, those 

in position of authority are only there to line 

their pockets. But most of all there is very 

little trust between those in India and those 

living abroad. This may be true, but this does 

not mean we should not try to change this 

mistrust amongst our community. I would like 

to take this moment and sight my personal 

experience; a few years ago, we were visiting 

India and the final week we spent in Navsari 

and Valsad. After a nice family meal, we were 

returning to our residence in Navsari when 

we saw a mother, father and their young 

daughter sitting under a lamp post studying. 

On the next day I found out that the family 

was from our Prajapati community. What I 

witnessed that evening brings home to us all 

that we are lucky because of our parents and 

grandparents. We in the developed world 

should not stand by and see our community 

live in such poverty. 

Student support 

Since April 2017 to May 2018 SPAITF 

committee received 21 applications and 

supported over 65% of those applicants with 

a financial contribution towards their college/ 

university fees to the value of £4,370. Some 

of the students we provided assistance to are 

studying subjects such as: 

• Pharmacy, Engineering (e.g. Electrical, 

Civil and IT), Medicine, Nursing, 

Physiotherapy, Science, Optometry. 

Examples of why students apply for funding 

• Regarding my result of the previous year, I 

secured 1st class and came out successful 

with 66.80% marks. Thus, my career is well 

stood, and I further promised to maintain 

the same. Regarding my financial status, I 

may submit that my father is blind and not 

able to do any work. Whereas my mother 

is keeping livestock and we sell some milk 

and get some income. Student studying 

BSc in Nursing 

• I am making this application myself. My 

father is employed by Yashsvi Rasayn pvt 

ltd, Maroli as a chemist and his annual 

wage is 60,000 rupees. My grandfather 

has been paralysed science last 19 years. 

My mother is housewife and looks after 

my grandfather. My father’s income is very 

low and has to manage medical fees at 

any time for my grandfather. I have passed 

my HSC examination with 1st class but due 

to being of low caste, I can’t (did not) get 

admissions in Government college so I 

applied for admission in college. Student 

studying Mechanical Engineering 

• I am Studying for Bachelor of Computer 

Application (BCA) at college of applied 

science and Professional studies, Chikhli. 

My father was working in The Gulf, but 

due accident in the year 2013, he came 

back to India and now he is not in position 

to work hard. Hence my mother is working 

at Balaji wafers company as labourer. 

Her earning is Rs.6000/- per month from 

which our family survive. In this situation 

I applied to SPA U.K for education 

assistance. Any help for organization shall 

be blessing to my family. 


Working of the committee 

The SPAITF committee does not just meet to 

discuss applications, but also policy issues, 

directions, and future needs. For example, the 

committee discussed: 

a. Priorities for the future – what should we 

now concentrate on to make the best 

impact with our limited funds 

b. Budget setting – we have a limited 

budget, so we as a committee need to 

manage the funds better, this also means 

an investment of our funds that will give 

us maximum return 

c. We need to review where we are now – to 

carry out some type of survey to give us 

the information on the impact of our grant 

programme 

d. Special projects – how should we manage 

those in the future, is nominating a charity 

the best way forward or should we 

determine what we should classify as a 

special project 

e. Options – applications, such as those 

studying to be a doctor, accountant, civil 

engineer, bio-technician, physics etc. which 

are higher level studies that are desperately 

needed in our community than say IT or 

motor mechanic, how much grant should 

we apply 

f. Given that most of the degree courses 

are over 4 years should SPAITF have a 

4-year plan? 

g. Given that many of our Prajapati 

community members live in other parts 

of India should the committee consider 

applications from any part of India, as 

long as the applicant is from a genuine 

Prajapati family 

h. Finally, the committee also discussed the 

new Government Data Protection Act 

(GDPR) that came into force in May 2018 

This year, the committee also discussed how 

we should monitor the grant and its impact 

on the lives of the students and their families 

by introducing additional grant criteria and to 

perform a survey with past students. In April, 

the committee considered a paper on future 

priorities and whilst the committee is still 

considering the options, the committee are 

looking to host a graduate weekend in India 

as a possible option with a view to publicise 

our grant programme and engage more 

closely with past and future students. 

The committee is also mindful that we have 

families in England on low income and whilst 

there is government support in place, we as 

Prajapati community have a responsibility to 

give serious consideration about how Samaj 

might be able to assist. With this in mind, 

the SPAITF committee has discussed and 

drafted a survey programme with a view to 

being circulated during Navratri and possibly 

through the next issue of Sandesh. We will 

report on the findings next year. 


23

Charities supported by SPA (UK) 

The two charities of the year 

approved by SPA HQ were: 

• Muni Seva Trust, and 

• Kasturba Trust 

Samaj with support from branches 

raised £5,288.87 which would be 

split between both the charities. 

Donations have been extended till 

end of March 2019. 

Information Technology: 

We have moved on from “paper” 

to “On-Line” application process 

which has simplified the process 

and cut out the delays in receiving 

information by post. Furthermore, 

I am delighted to report that after 

much hard work and support from 

SPAITF committee members we 

have managed to resolve number 

of start-up problems. The new 

“On-Line” application went live 

in January 2018 and so far it is 

working well. 

Nepal Earthquake update 

Wow, what can I say, after the 

difficulties we faced last year about 

foreign aid going to Nepal the 

governments and Non-Government 

Organisation have found a way 

forward to resolve the issue. SPA 

(UK) has now managed to secure 

a Capital Project in Nuwakot, 

approximately a 4-hour drive from 

Kathmandu. The project is a hostel 

for 40 students. Construction 

is complete, and students have 

started to occupy the premises. The 

launch of the project took place at 

the end of September 2018. I am 

very humbled and honoured to 

have been the SPAITF secretary 

at the time when we as Prajapati 

community came together to raise 

much-needed funds for those who 

are affected by a natural disaster 

in the world. In Nepal, over 3,000 

small villages were completely 

destroyed and displaced thousands 

of families, and I on behalf of the 

Prajapati community am proud of 

the small part we have played in the 

rebuilding of the lives of some of 

the Nepalase young people. 

It is important to note that our 

project would have not been 

possible without partnering with 

SEWA International. Jitubhai our 

past HQ President and project 

“...the committee 

are looking to host 

a graduate weekend 

in India as a possible 

option with a view to 

publicise our grant 

programme...” 

lead for Nepal built a strong 

relationship with senior members 

of SEWA International here in 

the UK and they provided all the 

necessary documents and papers 

and progress report of our joint 

project. Other than partnering with 

SPA (UK)ITF SEWA has built close 

to 2,000 schools in Nepal with the 

funds they raised internationally. 

I am delighted to inform you that 

together as a community, we raised 

£26,000 with support from all 

the branches and some individual 

members. It is not our policy to 

single out any branch, but I hope 

you will allow me on this occasion 

to personally thank Birmingham 

branch for raising over £6,000. 

Finally 

It gives me great pleasure to write 

my final annual report for SPAITF 

committee. I have no doubt that 

the work of SPAITF is of immense 

value to the Prajapati community 

NOW and in the future. Whilst we in 

the UK and the western world have 

easy access to education, what so 

many Prajapati families in India have 

to endure is heart-breaking. 

It has been an honour and a 

privilege to serve as secretary of 

SPAITF and I would like to take 

this opportunity to thank the 

SPAITF committee members for 

their dedication, without their 

commitment and support the 

work would prove difficult. At 

times there are individuals on our 

committee who take on additional 

responsibilities and I believe it is 

good practice to give recognition. 

On behalf of SPAITF I like to thank 

Jitubhai for taking the lead on 

Nepal project, Arun for our website 

and Dineshbhai our new secretary 

who is full of enthusiasm and 

energy. It would be remiss of me if 

I do not mention and recognise the 

huge contribution of all our Branch 

Associations who raised much 

needed funds for major projects 

and/or host ITF meetings. 

Hemantbhai R Mistry 

Hon Secretary - on behalf of the 

SPAITF Committee 

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KEJAL MISTRY 

Congratulations on achieving 

BSc (Hons) 

in 

Economics with Econometrics 

from University of Kent in July 2017 

Dearest Daughter of 

Vijay Amritlal Mistry & Meena V Mistry of Northampton 

Dearest Granddaughter of 

Mr Mahendrabhai Vallabhbhai Mistry & (Late) Mrs Manjulaben M Mistry (Gandevi, India) 

& 

Mr Amritlal Jivanbhai Mistry & Mrs Kamlaben A Mistry (Degam, India) 

Many congratulations on your achievement Kejal. As always we are very proud 

of you and wish you continued success and happiness in all you do. 

May your path always be blessed and shine brightly for you. 

Love from Mum, Dad, Viran and all the family. 

Northampton 

A donation of £275 has been gratefully received by Prajapati Sandesh 


25

Nivesh Mistry 


BSc (Hons) in 

Economics 

in July 2017 

University of 

Reading 

Devshia Mistry 


BSc (Hons) in 

Psychology 

in July 2018 

University of 

Hull 

Beloved Grandson and Granddaughter of 

(Late) Mr Pragbhai Nathubhai Mistry & Mrs Maniben P Mistry (Degam, India) & 

(Late) Mr Govindbhai Prabhubhai Mistry & Mrs Lalitaben G Mistry (Bodali, India) 

& 

Dearest Son and Daughter of very proud parents 

Mr Bipinchandra Pragbhai Mistry & Mrs Anjana Bipinchandra Mistry 

of Dorset, UK (Degam, India) 

Well done and CONGRATULATIONS to you both. We are very Proud of your well 

deserved achievements. Wishing you both success and happiness in all that 

you do to enhance your future. YES you both did it. 

Special Love & Blessings from your Grandparents, Dad, Mum and your sister 

Vikita and all your Uncles, Aunties & Cousins. We sincerely wish that all your 

hope and aspirations are fulfilled. 

100 Windsor Road, Leyton London E10 5LR 



Bhavin Mistry 


BSc (Hons) in 

Computer Science with 

Industrial Experience 


The University of 

Manchester 

Henna Mistry 


LLB (Hons) in 

Law 


University of 

Liverpool 

Dearest Son and Daughter of 

Mineshkumar & Kalpanaben Mistry 

Dearest Grandson and Granddaughter of 

Maganbhai (Balubhai) J Mistry & Ushaben M Mistry (Ambada, India) 

& 

Parshottambhai L Mistry & Urmilaben P Mistry (Khaparwada, India) 

Well done and congratulations on your achievements, we are very proud of 

both of you. We wish you all the best for the future. 

Best wishes from Mum and Dad. 

5 Cottingham Drive, Ashton Under Lyne, Lancashire OL6 9JL 



27

DEVINA MISTRY 


BSc (Hons) 

in 

Business and Mathematics 

from Aston University (Birmingham) in July 2018 

Beloved Granddaughter of 

Mr Prabhubhai Kunverjibhai Mistry and Mrs Savitaben P Mistry 

Of Walsall (Sarbhan Vadoli, India) 

& 

(Late) Mr Ramanlal Gulabbhai Mistry & Mrs Nirmalaben R Mistry 

of Leicester (Kansad, India) 

& 


Mr Jayeshbhai Prabhubhai Mistry & (Late) Mrs Malaben J Mistry 

Of Birmingham (Sarbhan Vadoli, India) 

“Education is the most powerful weapon which 

you can use to change the world” 

Well done and congratulations on your fantastic achievement. 

We are very proud of you and wish you all the very best for the future ahead of you. 

Lots of Love from Dad, (Mum) and all the Family. 

35 Peak House Road, Great Barr, Birmingham B43 7RY 



PRIYA MISTRY 


BA (Hons) 

in 

Fashion Business and Promotion 

from Birmingham City University in June 2018 

Beloved Granddaughter of 

(Late) Dayarambhai Z Mistry & (Late) Dhanuben D Mistry (Karan, India) 

Chhaganlal D Mistry & (Late) Ratanben C Mistry (Sarbhon, India) 

(Late) Alfred Fawlk of Cornaa, Isle of Man 

& 


Naresh D Mistry & Mina N Mistry 

of Walsall (Karan, India) 

We are very proud of your hard work and determination in successfully achieving 

your qualification. She believed she could, so she did. We wish that success keeps 

following you in everything you do, today and always, love from Mum, Dad, 

Brother Dipen, family and friends 

211 Lichfield Road, Rushall, Walsall, West Midlands WS4 1EA 



29

TIYA KALPANA MISTRY 


BSc (Hons) 

in 

Mathematics with Economics 

from Loughborough University in July 2018 

Daughter of 

Mr Mahesh Maganbhai & Mrs Daksha M Mistry of Cardington, Bedfordshire (Kaliawadi, India) 

Congratulations on a well-earned and fantastic result. You have made us all very proud. 

Wishing you all the best for the future. 

Granddaughter of 

Mr Maganbhai Jinabhai Mistry & Mrs Shantaben Maganbhai Mistry of Luton, Bedfordshire 

Mr Chhanbhai Lalbhai Mistry & Mrs Savitaben Chhanbhai Mistry of Stanmore, London 

With lots of love and Best Wishes for a very bright and successful future. 

Mum, Dad, Sian, Kurtish, Baa, Bapa, Ajima and Ajabapa 

Cardington, Bedfordshire 



www.payal.co.uk 

Wedding Planning 

Event Management 

Gourmet Food 

Please contact Sunil Mistry, quoting SM001 for complimentary canapes. 

+44 (0)845 009 5221 

Offices in London, Birmingham & Manchester 


31

BOLD, 

BRIGHT 

& FIERCE 

three takes on tradition 

Written by 

Vinay Chhana 


TATTOO ARTIST 

Heleena Mistry 

Heleena Tattoos 

Tradition is a great word - 

it gives you comfort, clarity and 

sometimes prasad. 

We thought in these dark 

winter months, we’d give you 

just that and present to you 

three young, dynamic members 

of our Samaj, who are doing 

just that: sharing their way of 

doing things. Tradition for this 

generation means the stories 

they pass to us as Prajapatis, 

Hindus and members of the 

British public. These stories 

take several different forms and 

are sometimes a fierce show of 

identity, gentler religious stories 

or a new way of showing our 

experience in everyday items. 

They also come from across the 

country: Manchester, Leicester 

and London. We hope you enjoy 

the traditions they share 

with you: 

Tattoo Artist 

Heleena Mistry 

GRAPHIC DESIGNER 

Dina Mistry 

CHILDREN’s AUTHOR 

Sunita Mistry Shah 

Heleena Mistry is a tattoo artist based in 

Leicester, tailoring classical Indian designs 

and portraits to Western tastes for people of 

all ethnicities. Based in Leicester, she is the 

founder of Heleena Tattoos. 

We love your work here in the Prajapati 

community and seen that you’ve also been 

on BBC News recently talking about your 

tattoos. What got you into tattoo art? 

I’ve always loved tattoos. I grew up watching shows like 

Miami Ink and I was really fascinated by the markings 

I saw on older Indian women. When I was 18 I really 

wanted my first tattoo and I started designing my own 

tattoo (which I never ended up getting!). 

One day whilst watching a show about tattooing, my 

mum said I’d probably be good at it. From that point, 

I built a portfolio, worked really hard for a couple of years 

and finally got into the industry. 

Was there anywhere or any tradition in 

particular that got you into tattoos? 

My grandmother used to live in a senior’s home when 

I was little; when I used to visit her there, I’d also see 

elderly women with markings on their skin. It was only 

when I got older I realised those markings were tattoos 

and India had this history of tribal tattoos. Only through 

talking to people, did I finally find the name Trajva to 

label the tattoos. We didn’t even have a name for them 

in my family. I felt empowered knowing I came from a 

culture where tattoos were a sign of good luck, wealth 

and overall positive connotations. At the same time, I was 

so unsettled by how tattoos are now a taboo and the lack 

of Asian tattoo artists in the tattoo industry. This, despite 

how much of Indian artwork is tattooed and in fashion. 

Getting a tattoo is quite an involved task, so 

I imagine you get to know people well whilst 

you are tattooing them. What are the main 

reasons for people choosing tattoos? 

I agree. Tattooing is quite an intimate process, and the 

main reason to choose tattoos by me is because all of my 

work is based on traditional Indian artwork. 


33

My clients are 80-90% South Asian and see it as a way 

of reconnecting with their culture. 

Our conversations sprout from how much we share from 

the cultural experience of upbringing and trying to fit 

in with the western society. For most of us, we’ve spent a 

lot of our lives rejecting our cultures and now there’s this 

large rise in South Asians reconnecting with our cultures 

- tattoos are just one of many ways people are achieving this. 

What’s the tattoo scene like in the Midlands? 

Does it differ to say, Manchester or London? 

The tattoo scene all over England is massive, there’s 

always new studios popping up and new artists joining all 

the time. Though in terms of diversity, there’s not much. 

Most studios are white male dominated and it’s really 

rare to find a person of colour tattoo artist. 

The last two generations have seen internet 

culture change how people build and show 

their identity. What do you think that means 

for a modern-day Samaj like ours? 

I think it means we need to be open minded and let 

go of certain traditions that don’t fit today’s generation. 

Things like not fitting in to the Asian societal norms 

should be championed instead of frowned upon, being 

true to ourselves and not worrying about what others 

will say will allow us to modernise our Samaj. 

Any advice to aspiring artists out there in 

our community? 

My advice to aspiring artists is to live each day like it’s 

your last and only chance to achieve the things you want. 

If you want to paint, don’t put it off, go and do it, even 

if it’s 3am. If you want to sell your work, get to it, don’t 

worry about whether it sells or not, at least you tried and 

you don’t ever have to wonder what if. 

And finally, do you have any Netflix 

recommendations? 

I would definitely recommend you watch anything to do 

with Hasan Minhaj, Nanette by Hannah Gadsby and 

Latin History for Morons by John Leguizamo. 

Instagram: @heleenatattoos 


CHILDREN’s AUTHOR 

Sunita Mistry Shah 

The Jai Jais 

Sunita Mistry Shah is a children’s author writing traditional tales 

with a modern approach. Introducing the ‘The Jai Jais’, a series 

of books designed for new-born to 8 years old. 

Sunita, we absolutely love your vision in ‘The Jai Jais’ 

and can imagine that a number of young families in 

our Samaj would love a fun, digestible way to tell 

our stories for their children. How did the idea for 

the book come about? 

The main inspiration to start my writing was my eldest son Syon. 

At home when we do “jai jai”, he would ask about “the monkey god 

and the elephant god”, and why we pray to so many idols and what 

each statue represented. 

My knowledge was basic enough for a child’s inquisitive mind… 

but he wanted to learn more… Luckily my granddad is still here 

today at a great age of ninety nine years. I thought he would be 

able to quench the inquisitive mind of my son…. But this was not 

enough… I showed him some comics of what we read when we 

were little, but he was only three years old and some of the stories 

were too complex and the demons slightly too scary for him 

So I went to what we know best…. Amazon and Google. 

After hours of searching, I realised there were few stories in the 

UK for younger children, which introduced them to Hindu 

deities, that were modern and engaging….. There was my eureka 

moment…… “Okay then I will make my own….”. 

Who is the most popular character 

in your stories? 

Hanuman is always the most popular character 

in the books; he features in three books: 

Hanuman, Rama’s book and the latest ‘The 

Jai Jais’ rendition of the Diwali story. Children 

love “the monkey god”, his strength and 

magical powers always captivate children. 

How have you worked with the 

traditions you present in ‘The Jai Jais’? 

I am so lucky to have the most amazing 

illustrator James Ballance - the images we create 

of gods and goddesses have been softened and 

modernised. They are very colourful and are 

relatable to the interests of children. One of 

the things we have had to remember that this 

range is not a Disney range so there are limits, 

we respect the fact that the characters are 

religious, and want children to understand this 

too. We want to ensure the story we present 

also has the same religious message. The 

illustrations have also been so well received by 


35

children: one parent told me her child had ditched all 

her Julia Donaldson books, and takes her Jai Jais books 

everywhere she goes! 

As a business I always inspire to be the “Peppa Pig” of 

the Indian story world, I think the model they have used 

to develop their character and range is phenomenal. 

Where do you want to take ‘The 

Jai Jais’ in future? 

One of things we aim to do with ‘The Jai Jais’ is to make 

them grow with the child. We recently released a series 

of board books for babies called “The Baby Jai Jais”, 

to introduce children to our wonderful deities from birth. 

The gods and goddesses themselves have been made 

to suit a very young generation in a loveable way. 

Our standard ‘The Jai Jais’ range targets children from 

2 ½ years to 6-7 years. Our festival collection is from 

5-8 years. I am in the process of writing the Ramayana 

for children aged 8-12 years targeting a new market for 

‘The Jai Jais’ and making the gods and goddesses come 

to life in a superhero kind of way, which tallies with their 

other interests. 

Do you think we look at books more 

differently now in a smartphone age? Does 

that change how we work as a Samaj going 

forward? 

I think it’s important to keep children up to date with 

trends. For instance, we have developed ‘The Jai 

Jais’ app for smart phones and tablets. We have used 

technology in a fun interactive way for parents to 

share with children the wonderful world of ‘The Jai 

Jais’, at the touch of the button. The app is useful and 

has a calendar with key Hindu dates and the reason 

behind celebrating the auspicious days. It also has a free 

downloadable Ganesh book and set of flash cards with 

all the gods, goddesses, animals and demons. 

As a Samaj, there are ways to use technology to 

bring the community together especially for sharing 

information, and Samaj updates. I have seen lots of our 

parents’ generation with smart phones taking selfies! 

Any advice to any aspiring writers out there? 

My top tips: 

• Believe in yourself and your concept 

• Be organised 

• Have an understanding of what you are doing and why, 

and who for 

Please describe a typical day for yourself 

Each day is so different, which is what I love. From the 

moment I wake to the moment I go to sleep there are 

constant diary appointments, reminders and long lists 

of things to do! Sometimes I feel like Goddess Durga 

with multiple arms... I certainly need a few extra pairs of 

hands. During the day, I work as a speech and language 

therapist and have done for over 22 years, where I 

specialise in bilingualism and paediatrics. I have my own 

practice (www.tlc-speechtherapy.co.uk), and work two 

days a week with another practice. The evenings are 

then a mad rush to pick the boys up to take them 

to any hobbies and then the evening routine of cooking, 

cleaning, homework, play, baths, and my favourite part 

of the day snuggling between two cosy boys and reading 

bedtime stories or mummy’s “make up stories”. 

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR WORK? 

The most enjoyable thing about my journey as an author 

is the responses from children and their families. It’s 

amazing to see how special the books have become in 

homes across the world. My readers say they bridge the 

generation gap to have a topic in common for children 

and their parents, grandparents and great grandparents. 

Where, outside of religious texts, 

do you draw your inspiration from? 

Children...I am surrounded by so many lovely 

inspirational children. My first point of call is always 

my eldest son Syon, he is mummy’s research team! He 

is so inquisitive and the books were developed because 

of him. He tells me what he likes and what looks good! 

I also have parents contact me with messages from their 

children about what book they want next! 

Website: https://thejaijais.com 


GRAPHIC DESIGNER 

Dina Mistry 

The Playful Indian 

Dina Mistry is an illustrator with a range of cards and gifts in an online 

shop called ‘The Playful Indian’. Her designs work traditional Indian 

festivals and food references into the playful, upbeat tone of voice we see. 

Dina, we absolutely love your work and can 

really see that festivals AND tradition do 

not have to be serious all the time. What was 

your experience of your own festivals and 

tradition growing up? 

From a young age, tradition and festivals have always 

been instilled into myself and my brothers. I remember 

sitting with my grandad singing bhajans in the evenings 

and playing manjira, visiting the mandir for garba and 

getting together to visit family and friends during Diwali. 

Despite moving away for a few years, I realise how 

important it is these days to keep these traditions going 

and appreciate what they mean to me and that it makes 

me who I am. 

So from that, how did you get the original 

idea for ‘The Playful Indian’? 

The Playful Indian came from my feeling of there being 

a lack of fun and modern Asian greeting cards available 

for people of my generation. There was nothing on 

the High Street and I didn’t find what was available 

appealing or new so I thought why not come up with my 

own range of cards. 

Are there any shops, artists, illustrators 

who you take inspiration from? There are so 

many amazing and talented creatives out there but 

I will share my favourites… 


37

Saira Hunjan and Heleena Mistry both ladies who are 

breaking boundaries as tattoo artists. 

Emily Coxhead has a newspaper called The ‘Happy 

Newspaper’ which is filled with positive news and stories, 

it’s so refreshing to read. 

Canadian artist @hatecopy who creates humorous 

illustrations that all South Asian women can relate to 

with a cheeky tribute to aunties! 

Why do you think cards and mugs with designs 

like yours have become so popular? 

I think my products are popular as they’re relatable to 

most people. Indians are all foodies; we love to eat and 

we love to feed others! With our busy work schedules and 

social lives, it’s so much easier to show loved ones you 

care and are thinking of them by sending a little card or 

gift that is meaningful and relatable. 

With people moving further away from family, 

home and community, what do you think this 

means for our Samaj and how we operate? 

We all have times when life gets super busy but one 

thing that should always be priority is family and friends. 

With our Samaj, I think it’s important that we can work 

together with all generations being careful not to 

alienate people. 

Sending a card shows we care, do you think 

we as a Samaj should do more of that? 

YES! Sending a card is more than just popping a piece 

of card through the post. A card is more than that, 

it’s a caring message, help and support, motivation and 

so much more. Sending a card generates positivity and 

creates that warm feeling that makes loved ones feel far 

more special than a text or a message via social media. 

It’s the time, care and thought you’ve put into it. 

Can you share any advice to any aspiring 

illustrators and designers out there? 

Be yourself, keep at it and don’t get caught up in what 

other people think or say of your work. Everyone is a 

work in progress and things take time to build up and 

you’re not going to please everyone. 

I would have liked to name A LOT more but these are 

the ladies I feel are paving the way for my generation and 

changing the things we see as acceptable/not acceptable. 

We see a lot of aspects of Indian culture 

used in everyday British culture e.g. ‘yoga’, 

‘chai’, ‘holi’. Are images of Indian culture in 

Britain moving away from wellness and balance 

towards something more playful and cheeky? 

I think there’s room for them both, it’s personal 

preference. The wellness and balance keeps us grounded, 

whereas being playful and cheeky is just fun. There’s a 

time and place for both. 

And finally, do you have any Netflix 

recommendations? 

I’m a total binge watcher of Netflix and there are some 

great series to watch: Sacred Games, Person of Interest 

and Kim’s Convenience are my faves. There’s also 

great films such as Angry Indian Goddess and Bright. 

Although some of these may be controversial, they really 

make you think. 

Dina has kindly offered a 10% discount 

on products at ‘The Playful Indian’ website: 

www.theplayfulindian.com/. Please enter the code 

SAMAJ10 at the checkout, so readers can get 10% 

off items online (Excluding sale items, minimum 

spend £2.25.) 


making 

our 

culture your 

culture 

MAKING 

OUR 

CULTURE YOUR 

CULTURE 

Heleena’s tattoos show that 

the younger generations do want 

to engage with Hindu traditions 

and stories, but maybe do not have 

time to go to the mandir or attend 

that Samaj meet that often. But 

ultimately, they want to show their 

faith as British Hindus to their 

fellow British neighbours. 

Paramparā 

Chances are, you don’t really use this word. 

The word ‘tradition’, its English translation, I think you’ve might have 

heard of. 

It’s an idea you can’t escape, because it’s social by nature. It’s the idea that 

you pass on a whole package of things to the next generation: the stories you 

tell, a way of cooking, which festivals to celebrate, when the family meets 

up, who you send cards to or even how you fold clothes. 

You expect the older generations to pass this down. Yes, true. That would 

make sense. 

However, our everyday life in Britain has changed since the 1960s, when 

many of our esteemed Samaj-folk first arrived here - we watch films on 

‘the cloud’, scroll daily on Instagram and buy our Kashmiri chillis from 

Amazon now. There’s probably a bit less racism too now. My generation 

and younger generations (born in the 80’s onwards) sometimes help our 

elders navigate it all. So maybe, there’s something the older generations can 

learn our way of doing things. 

You’ll have seen in this edition of the Sandesh three young, dynamic 

members of our Samaj, who are doing just that: sharing their way of doing 

things. Tradition can be ha-ha, hee-hee, and easier for children to digest. 

The message does not really change. The way it appears to us as Samajmembers 

changes, but only slightly: 

Dina’s cards and mugs show us that Diwali cards, or in fact any cards 

we send to our community, don’t only need a diva and rangoli pattern on 

them. They can highlight the other parts to our traditions at Diwali i.e. 

someone can be the dosa to your chutney. 

Sunita’s children’S stories 

show us that today’s British Hindu 

parents want to tell stories about 

Gods and Goddesses from our 

Hindu tradition, but with a more 

Western European style. Hanuman 

has always appealed to kids, but 

now with new media for this 

generation, they need these stories to 

find them where they are e.g. more 

vividly coloured books, tablets, and 

a different English language. 

So please, have a think about 

tradition and how we live it every 

day. It’s what we share, what we talk 

about and it’s personal to us all and 

the whole world of interests we have. 

But it’s never only owned by the 

older generation, it’s shared by us 

all and we all get to shape it. If you 

need, it can be serious. If you want, 

it can be ha-ha, hee-hee. 

But ultimately, it’s yours and you 

can share it in how ever which way 

you want. 

ps 

For me, that means never using the 

word Paramparā. 


39

An amazing 

trek in the 

Himalayas 

Pradipbhai Mistry, London 

Pradipbhai is a Later 

Life Coach and among 

other things, works with 

people preparing for 

retirement life. 

An active member of our community, 

Pradipbhai, has completed a trek in 

the Himalayas to celebrate his 60th 

Birthday and it was also for a great 

charitable cause. 

Pradipbhai raised over £3,250.00 for 

Age UK Essex. He has been a regular 

contributor to the Samaj activities 

for over 30 years including a few 

presentations at the recent Mahila 

Samelans on key subjects, as well as 

supporting his local branch. 

Pradipbhai and his team encountered 

some treacherous terrain following 

the devastation of the Nepal 

earthquake two years earlier, as well 

as torrential rain, hailstones and his 

own breathlessness at high altitude. 

But reaching the Poon Hill Summit 

at 3,210m summit had made it all 

worthwhile. 

Pradipbhai said “I was just stunned 

and excited, the exhaustion 

disappeared, and I ran around the 

Poon Hill area like an excited child full 

of energy”. 

“The atmosphere was just electrifying 

with the cool crisp early morning 

breeze. I felt I could sit there eternally 

and absorb the majestic views”. 

The trek has had a profound impact on 

Pradipbhai’s work and how he inspires 

and supports his clients going through 

their own challenges in life. 

Preparation for the Trek 

The 6 months training started from 

the day he agreed and registered 

to take part in the trek. It included 

cycling, swimming, gym work 

outs, and lots of walking on rough 

landscapes. Also, there was plenty 

of help and advice on trekking gear, 

boots, waterproof clothing, diet, 

cultural awareness, high altitude 

awareness and personal training 

programmes. 

A bit about the trek 

The team flew into Kathmandu 

where they met with an experienced 

trek guide, Nagima Sherpa, for their 

briefing. The next day they flew into 

Pokhara with a short drive to the 

starting point at Nayapool. From 

there, the team walked continuously 

for 6 days, stopping at tea houses 

and staying the nights at simple 

guest houses. 

Being able to speak Hindi, it was 

enjoyable to engage in conversations 

with the locals. The guest houses were 

very simple with no heating, 

single beds, and some with a 

pillow and blankets. 

Main highlight 

“We reached Poon Hill 

Summit on the 5th day, 

blessed with clear weather, 

compared to the previous 

two days with torrential 

rainfall and hailstones. The 

highlight was the breathtaking 

view of the Purnima 

Mountain Range”. 

“The climb to the summit 

started in pitch darkness at 

“Reaching the summit was 

such a relief and I felt an 

overwhelming joy at seeing 

the glorious sunrise. I hadn’t 

quite realised what I had 

achieved until we returned to 

our guest house.” 

4.00 am. The path was lit by the LED 

head lamp. The final 100 metres were 

the most challenging at high altitude. 

The meaning of being out of breath 

took on a profound meaning. After 

every 5 steps, I had to wait to catch 

my breath. My heart must have been 

pounding overtime and felt it was 

about to burst out of my chest.” 

“Reaching the summit was such a 

relief and I felt an overwhelming joy 

at seeing the glorious sunrise. I hadn’t 

quite realised what I had achieved until 

we returned to our guest house.” At 

breakfast I pulled out my cognac hip 

flask and enjoyed a celebratory sip 

with my team mates. 


The Times of India Group awards 

NRI of the Year 

for Philanthropy 2018 

to Bhupendra Mistry 

“The Award celebrates 

the success of remarkable 

Indians” 

TIMES OF INDIA GROUP 

Held annually, the NRI (Non Resident 

Indian) of the Year Awards – India’s 

only distinctive awards for Global 

Indians, recognises and honours 

exceptional achievements of Indians 

who leave the comforts of home for 

unknown challenges across the globe, 

going beyond the ordinary to make a 

huge difference. 

The NRI of the Year Award for 

Philanthropy 

This award is given to those who 

have demonstrated outstanding 

commitment to the wider community 

through various means such as, 

support of charitable programmes, 

engineering and leading public 

awareness campaigns, empowering 

minorities, supporting the most 

vulnerable in society and through 

demonstrating leadership in 

philanthropy. 

The Times of India says….. 

Recognising and honouring 

unsung heroes 

“These Business Leaders, Scientists, 

Doctors and Philanthropists, are 

heroes of the contemporary world. 

They have overcome hurdles, 

Bhupendra and his wife Hersha Mistry 

Miss India, Bhupendra Mistry, The Right Honourable Mr Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of 

State for Home Affairs and the Chairman of ICICI Bank (the sponsors of the event) 

inspired and awed people native of helping some of the most stigmatised 

the land they now reside in. With members of Indian society develop 

nearly 30 million Indians now living their capacity to meet basic needs 

across the world, the NRI of the and create solutions to poverty and 

Year Awards are a testimony to the injustice….ultimately giving a ‘voice’ 

significant contribution of the Indian to those that have never had one. 

Expats, to the immense success of Success for the Foundation is guided 

their host nation”. 

by its ability to innovate, influence and 

in the end generate maximum impact. 

In his mother’s memory, he formed a 

Charitable Foundation 

Through the delivery of its crucial 

Bhupendra has spent his entire work, the Foundation has changed 

career, championing social change the lives of over 30,000 people. The 

within communities experiencing Foundation continues to provide 

isolation and disadvantage in the U.K. hope and inspiration to the most 

and overseas. 

vulnerable in rural India. 

Eleven years ago, in memory of his To find out more about the work of 

mother, Bhupendra set up a Charity – Kamla Foundation please log onto 

Kamla Foundation. The Foundation is www.kamlafoundation.org 

Bhupendra says….. 

“I am humbled and honoured to receive this prestigious award. My 

deepest thanks go to The Times of India Group and to the esteemed 

Panel of Judges who selected me. I share this award with all those 

who have been on this remarkable journey with me. My wife Hersha, 

my siblings, my wonderful Board of Trustees, who over many years 

have given me their wisdom, support and generosity and not least, 

my immense gratitude to the Foundation’s army of dedicated 

supporters. 

Finally, I thank the generous donors who give so kindly of their time, 

talent and monies. Together our life changing work is inspiring many to 

get involved and secure our legacy of making a huge difference to the 

lives of the poorest in India”. 


41

Another 

Challenge 

of a lifetime 

– Tuk Tuk 

– India 

by Harishbhai, London 

Mumbai start 

A group of us undertake extreme and sometimes dangerous challenges 

around the world to raise cash for girls who have been empowered in 

India – managed by a humanitarian organisation called Food for Life 

Vrindavan (FFLV) 

For me, the hardest challenge so 

far has been to successfully climb 

a range of the Himalayas (Stok 

Tangri, elevation 20,182 feet). See 

my detailed article in the Prajapati 

Sandesh edition, year 2014, Page 41. 

In November 2016, I took up a 

challenge that I consider to be the 

most dangerous trek that I have 

undertaken so far. 

The dare was to drive a Tuk Tuk 

(Ricksaw) from Mumbai to Kanya 

Kumari in India over a 10-day period 

covering some 1200 miles. 13 of us 

left London joined by two more in 

India. We had 5 Tuk Tuks. Although 

we used to leave the hotels at the 

same time, we very rarely travelled 

together as conditions were horrific 

and impossible to be together. 

We trained in Mumbai for half a 

day which was daunting in itself. 

We were given several instructions 

but the one that sticks in my mind 

is ‘There are driving rules in India, 

but nobody follows them’. The only 

thing you need to remember is if 

police stop you – do not argue – just 

give them what they ask for (bribe). 

I was stopped about three times 

before I even got out of Mumbai – 

quite frustrating when you do not 

understand why they have stopped 

you. One of the questions from us 

was ‘So do we drive on the left or 

right of the road? With a grin the 

response was ‘On the road, there is 

no ‘left’ or ‘right’ – What is left on 

the road is yours – meaning drive 

however you please, just get to the 

next destination. You will have to 

learn how to dodge traffic – that’s 

why horns are popular – just hoot 

your way around. 


Vivek Oberoi (Bollywood actor) waved us off from the Sun-n-Sand hotel, Juhu Beach 

in Mumbai. The route was: 

Day 1 

Mumbai to Alibaug – 62 miles. 

and petrol. 

Short 6-hour drive to familiarise 

with roads, traffic, pollution and 

noise (hoots) 

Day 5 Bhatkal to Nileshwara – 146 

miles – Superb temples and 

scenic routes 

Day 2 

Alibaug to Ratnagiri – 173 miles 

– Long day and time taken - 

Day 6 

Rest Day – relax aching body 

very tiring 

Day 7 

Nileshwara to Calicut – 95 miles 

TUK TUK Accident 

Day 3 

Ratnagiri to Panjim – 149 miles 

– Another long day – most of 

– Dodge heavy loaded trucks, 

animals, bikes and traffic 

Day 4 

us got lost – very dangerous 

driving in the dark – Tuk Tuks 

have single light 

Panjim to Bhatkal – 142 miles 

– No cash - had to talk local 

businesses into supporting the 

cause or literally beg for food 

Day 8 Calicut to Cochin – 111 miles – 

Rough drive 

Day 9 Cochin to Trivandrum – 124 

miles – Beautiful coconut filled 

fields and countryside 

Day 10 Trivandrum to Kanyakumari – 111 

miles - Final Point - Hooray 

The adrenaline flowed from the moment 

I started the engine and remained until 

I reached the finish line. On the way we 

had to encounter anything from noise, 

roads that did not have holes but craters, 

pollution, extreme heat, rain, jungle 

tracks, scenic plains, golden beaches, 

grand palaces to amazing temples, all 

safe in the knowledge that we were 

being supported by a dedicated team of 

mechanics. The breakdown and running 

out of petrol was an everyday event. 

Every day was filled with so many 

different unexpected events. The one that 

threw us out completely was on the third 

day when Prime Minister Modi declared 

that all 500 and 1,000 rupee notes were 

invalid to be replaced by new notes. It 

was a difficult time because nobody 

would accept our notes and banks had 

mile long queues with no money left to 

give out. If you asked anyone to show 

you directions – they would say ‘Sidha 

Sidha’ (straight) and get in for a free ride. 

There is a lot to say in a short article, but 

we did raise just under £80,000 that will 

go a long way towards our plea. 

Making that little difference to 

underprivileged people is very fulfilling. 

I feel our Prajapati youths can organise 

such trips and do much more in this field 

of achieving and giving. I dedicate my 

dares to my mother Kasiben and father 

(Late) Lallubhai Dayabhai Mistry. 

I love you. 

Kanyakumari 

Driving 


43

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Medal was presented by Chancellery of Honours, Her Honour, the Honourable Lois Mitchell, 

Lieutenant Governor of Alberta and House speaker Honourable Robert E. Wanner 

Ceremony took place at the Federal Building Near Legislature of Alberta, Edmonton, 

Canada on 15 October 2018. 

Congratulations 

Chandrakant Lad for being awarded The Sovereign’s Medal for Voluteers for his 

significant and continual contributions to the Indian Community in Canada and India. 

Shri Chandrakantbhai Lad (CD Lad) is a Founder of Shree 

Prajapati Education Foundation charity registered in Navsari, 

for education assisting less privileged Prajapati Students at a 

University Level, from the city of Vapi to North of River Tapi. 

In the past CD Lad has held many posts in the capacity of 

President, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President of many social 

and charity organisations. 

The following links provide more information about some of 

the organisations that CD Lad has been involved with: 

Shree Prajapati Education Foundation 

www.prajapatieducationfoundation.org 

Maharashtra Seva Samiti Organisation Calgary 

www.mssoonline.org 

Muni Seva Ashram Western Canada 

munisevaashram.org 

Sovereign Citation 

“Chandrakant Lad has been involved 

in the Gujarati Mandal of Calgary 

and the Calgary Indo Canadian 

Centre Association for more than 

25 years and is well known for his 

organisational and leadership skills. 

He mobilises volunteers and donors 

to fundraise for worthy causes in India 

and Africa, with a focus on health, 

education and social service.” 

Extract from Sovereign’s Medal for 

Voluteers Citation 

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45

The Great British 

Bake off 

An Extra Slice 

Raveena Morar, London 

Hello! My name is Raveena Morar and I’m 

a self-taught hobby-baker from London. 

I first started baking after I finished 

University, just for a bit of fun! I bake for 

family birthdays, Christmas, Easter… give 

me any theme and I will bake! 

My interest in baking lies more in the decorating – I find 

it very therapeutic. I tend to get most of my inspiration 

from YouTube or Instagram, and I like to add my own 

flare to the bakes by challenging myself and seeing 

what my mind lets me create. 

In September 2018, I was invited to the Channel 4 TV 

Studios to appear in the audience for ‘An Extra Slice’ 

- the after show to The Great British Bake Off (GBBO). 

The producers encouraged everyone to bring a bake - 

be it bread, cakes or pastry, and these were then judged 

for a chance to appear on the show! Luckily for me, it 

was ‘Dessert Week’! On a previous GBBO episode, the 

bakers were tasked with producing Claude Monet’s 

favourite birthday cake, and I felt inspired to try and 

paint one of his art pieces on a cake. For the show, I 

baked a Pistachio, Cardamom and White Chocolate 

cake which I covered in buttercream using a range of 

different piping nozzles to try and recreate a 3D version 

of Monet’s painting ‘Water Lillies’. 

On the day of filming, I was amazed at the imagination 

of the other bakers. From a pretty cupcake flower 

bouquet to heavenly brioche doughnuts – they were 

all incredible and it was a great chance to meet others 

who share the same passion as me. It turned out that 

the producers loved the look of my cake and I ended up 

being featured on the show! You can catch it on All4 - 

just search for An Extra Slice – Series 2, Episode 4. 

Follow me on my baking journey 

@raveenabakescakes on Instagram! 


Mistry Family 

BBC 

Family Cooking 

Showdown 

2018 Winner 

What did it feEL like to 

win the BBC Family Cooking 

Showdown? 

It feels amazing to have won the 

BBC Family Cooking Showdown. We 

never thought we would get this far, 

so we are very proud of ourselves 

that we were able to showcase our 

food and claim the victory. Our 

aim throughout the competition 

was to showcase regional Indian 

cuisine, food that is not mainstream 

and served in restaurants, but 

food which is found in the regional 

corners of India. We feel proud to 

have represented the British Asian 

community on a national stage, and 

we feel our success is testament 

to the culinary prowess that our 

heritage has imbibed us with. 

What was our journey like? 

Being part of this competition was 

extremely tough. What people don’t 

see is the tireless hours of practice 

and dedication that go on behind 

the scenes. Myself and Prachi used 

to stay up till 1am practicing for the 

next episode once the challenges 

were announced. It takes time to 

brainstorm ideas, shortlist them, 

and work on perfecting the dishes 

- and that too after a busy working 

day. We’re glad though that we put 

in this effort because it sincerely 

helped us out on the day and made 

sure we could operate as a welloiled 

unit. As they say, practice 

makes perfect. 

What was the most 

difficult round? 

The most difficult round for us was 

without doubt the baking round in 

the semi-finals. Having never baked 

a cake before in our lives, this was 

going to be tough, and having 

to do it on national television…. 

Crikey!!! But hey, every challenge is 

an opportunity, we gave it our best 

shot and we did a decent job of it. 

Our motto - treat each experience 

as a learning opportunity. We have 

now started baking seriously and 

have been creating birthday cakes 

for friends and family since then. We 

recently produced a fusion Rasmalai 

cake which went down like a storm 

at a nearby event. 

My favorite moment of 

the show? 

Teaching Tommy Banks how to do 

bhangra was epic!! I totally love all 

things bhangra! And the look on 

the judges faces when they had 

our Chocolate Pani Puri, that was 

priceless! 

The competition and our 

composure in the finals? 

The finals were tough! The 

Whitakers had been with us 

throughout each round in the 

competition and we knew they 

Photo by BBC 

would be a tough match. There was 

no room for error and we really 

had to be spot on with our dishes 

and I’m glad we were. The hard 

work definitely paid off. Personally, 

I feel it is important to ‘focus on the 

endeavor, and not the outcome’. I 

feel this approach really helped us 

stay calm on the final and focus on 

delivering our dishes to perfection. 

So… what next? 

We have started our new blog: 

www.themistrykitchen.com so stay 

tuned. We will be writing up our 

most authentic recipes allowing 

our readers to recreate these in 

their home. I’ve also been busy 

performing across the United 

Kingdom in my role as Vishwamitra 

in the story of Shakuntala, produced 

by Subrang Arts. You’ll get a chance 

to see me in action again next year. 

We’ll also be looking to make an 

appearance at food festivals across 

England showcasing our regional 

Indian cuisine, so stay tuned next 

year. We’ve also been catering at 

corporate events, which have gone 

down like a storm. 


47

Mini Vada 

Pav Bites 

By the Mistry Family 

Winners of the 



The Mini Vada Pav 

Ingredients 

1 teaspoon ginger paste 

1 teaspoon red chilli powder 

1 teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds) 

1 teaspoon coriander-cumin powder 

4-6 medium sized potatoes (chopped 

and boiled) 

½ teaspoon turmeric 

1 tablespoon lime juice 

1 tablespoon oil 

1 teaspoon Salt 

8 slices of normal loaf of white bread 

(Medium thickness) for the cups 

for Batter 


¾ cup gram (chickpea) flour 

Salt to taste 

Upto 1 and ¼ cup water 

Oil - for deep frying 

Making the Vada 

1. Finely Chop and boil 4-6 potatoes 

2. Mash the potatoes 

3. In a pan add oil, add cumin seeds and chopped ginger and garlic 

4. Saute then add all the powdered masala 

5. Add salt and add mashed potatoes 

6. Add lime juice and mix the mixture 

Making Vada Batter 

1. Add the gram flour to a bowl and add some salt along with red chilli powder 

2. Mix the dry ingredients 

3. Add the water in small quantities and keep stirring until the batter forms a 

nice thick mixture and non lumpy 

Frying the Mini Vadas 

1. Heat plenty of oil in a frying pan 

2. Shape the balls into circles and coat them in the batter 

3. Deep fry until golden brown, careful that they do not stick together. 

Making the Bread Cups 

1. Cut circular disks in the bread using a cookie cutter 

2. Use a cup-cake baking tray and oil them. 

3. Place each bread disk in the individual cup cake slots and bake in oven for 10 

minutes - 180 degrees 

The Sweet Meethi Chutney and Teekhi Chutney 

Ingredients 

for Meethi Chutney 

1-2 tablespoon sugar 

1/2 cup dates (pitted) 

Tamarind Pulp - 1-2 tablespoon 

for Teekhi Chutney 

Cumin Seeds 

5 cloves of garlic 

¼ cup dessicated coconut 

½ teaspoon red chilli powder 

Salt to taste 

Making the Sweet Meethi Chutney 

1. In a medium heat pan add sugar, water (just enough to melt the sugar) 

dates and stir 

2. Add tamarind pulp and salt and blend in a blender to make a fine paste. 

Making Teekhi Chutney 

1. In a pan add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 5 cloves of garlic 

2. Sautee 

3. Add ¼ cup of dessicated coconut. Saute until it changes colour. 

4. Turn off the heat. 

5. Add red chilli powder and salt 

6. Put into blender and blend to a course powder (Spice Grinder) 

Final Assembly 

In each of the bread cups add in the Vada. Add in ½ a teaspoon of the sweet 

chutney and then sprinkle over some of the teekhi chutney. 

If you wish - you can sprinkle over some green corainder-mint green chutney as 

well which goes well with the Vadas. 


49

Hyder badi Dum 

Chawal with Raita 

By the Mistry Family 

Winners of the 


This shows what the the biriyani would look like 

with the Dum dough still on the cooking container. 

The bowl above shows the biriyani once it is cooked 

and taken out of the dum preparation container 


The Hyder badi Dum Chawal 

Ingredients 

1 cup thick greek yoghurt - 1 cup 

1kg - Chicken thighs and drumsticks 

Skinless 

Whole Spices 

1 tablespoon shahi jeera (whole) 

1 black cardamom 

Powdered Masala 


1 teaspoon turmeric 

1 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon garam masala 

1 tablespoon ginger paste 

1 tablespoon garlic paste 

1 lime 

1 cup fried onion 

Chopped Mint - ½ cup 

Chopped Coriander - 1 cup 

4 slit green chillies 

Basmati Rice - 2 cups 

2 teaspoon of Kevda Water 

Saffron 

Ghee 

For Dum dough 

1 cup plain flour or wheat flour 

Step 1 - Cooking the Rice to different amounts 

1. Heat a large pot of boiling water and add in 2 cups of rice after 

being washed. 

2. Add salt to the water and season it 

3. We want to cook the rice to different degrees (40%, 60%, and 80%) 

4. Once the rice has reached a certain cooked threshold we remove it 

and leave it to cool. 

Step 2 - Bowl for Marinating 

1. Add raw chicken 

2. Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and shahi jeera 

3. Add ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, yoghurt, fried onion, chopped 

mint, chopped coriander, slit chillies and mix well 

Step 3 - Making the Dum ka Chawal 

1. Take a large cooking pot put the raw marinated chicken mixture at 

the bottom. If you want to add a layer to prevent the mixture sticking 

- add a layer of tomatoes at the very bottom as well 

2. Add a spoonful of ghee around the mixture 

3. Add the rice layer by layer for each of the different ones 

4. Add the kevda water and (saffron dipped in milk) and drizzle over 

some more ghee 

5. Add some of the fried onions on top as well 

6. Cover over the container with a layer of dough, or if you have a lid, 

seal the container with the dough around the sides 

7. Put on low to medium heat for 40 minutes to an hour. 

The receipe provided is a normal pan cook method, however it can 

be finished off in the oven if oven-cook safe pans are used. 

The Raita 

Ingredients 

Grapes (handful) 

Walnuts (handful) 

Cumin Seeds - 2 teaspoon (ground 1 teaspoon) 

Greek Yoghurt 

Salt 

Caster Sugar 

Red chilli powder - ½ teaspoon 

Method 

1. Roast the cumin seeds on a dry pan until the roasted cumin flavour comes 

2. In a bowl add yoghurt then add salt, little bit of sugar 

3. Grind the cumin seeds to a powder 

4. Mix the cumin powder and some red chilli powder into the yoghurt 

5. Add in the chopped walnuts and a handful of chopped grapes 


51

ARE YOU CREATIVE? 

DO YOU ENJOY 

DESIGNING & WRITING? 

We’re looking for creative thinkers to join the 

Prajapati Sandesh Editorial team. 

The Sandesh provides an opportunity to express your CREATIVITY and 

SHOWCASE your publication skills (graphic design, photography, illustration, 

proof reading, marketing, and Gujarati language to name but a few). 

The Sandesh is distributed throughout the UK and overseas where your 

talent will be showcased. 

STILL INTERESTED? 

Then Contact Dineshbhai: 

E. dinesh.mistry2@gmail.com M: 07903 83 5028 


Sports Day 2018 

Hosted by the SPA UK Youth Team 

Saturday 1st September 2018 

Warwick University 


53

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

Badminton 

12 and Under 

Under 16’s Girls 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

1. Shraya Mistry (Rugby) 

2. Roshan Mistry (Rugby) 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

5. Rupa Mistry (London) 

6. Priya Mistry (Bradford) 

Under 16’s Boys 

Mixed Doubles 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

3. Rohan Mistry (Tameside) 

4. Kiran S Mistry (London) 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

7. Heena & Elesh (London) 

8. Rajeshree & Kiran Mistry (Tameside) 


7 

8 

11 

12 9 

Badminton 

Men’s Singles 

Men’s Doubles 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

9. Miten Prajapati (Leicester) 

10. Bhavek Mistry (London) 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

11. Amit & Dipan Mistry - Rohan/Kiran (London) 

12. Jinesh & Jenish Mistry (Preston) 

Presenters 

1&2 - Natubhai & Parvatiben Mistry. Shield donated by Nikhil K Mistry (Donor) || 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 & 10 - Natubhai & 

Parvatiben Mistry (Donor) || 5&6 - Natubhai on behalf of Bhupendrabhai Mistry (Donor) || 11&12 - Natubhai & 

Parvatiben Mistry Shield donated by Mahendrabhai & Dakshaben Mistry (Donor) 


55

13 

15 16 

17 18 

Carrum 

Darts 

Seniors 

Singles 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

13. Bharatbhai P Mistry (Birmingham) 

14. Hiren Lad (Bradford) 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

15. Ramanbhai (Tameside) 

16. Katan Mistry (Rugby) 

Presenters 

13&14 - Bharatbhai Mistry (President) || 

15&16 - Kiranbhai Mistry (Donor) || 17&18 - 

Kalpana & Ela Mistry on behalf of Kantaben and Sandip (Donor) 

Doubles 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

17. Pramodbhai & Dhiren (Rugby) 

18. Chandubhai & Thakorbhai Mistry (Rugby) 


19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

Pool 

Pool 

Under 16’s 

Ladies 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

19.Kamran Mistry (Walsall) 

20.Priyen Mistry (Walsall) 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

23. Bijal Mistry (Leicester) 

24. Vaneesa Mistry (Coventry) 

Men’s 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

21. Dipesh Mistry (Rugby) 

22. Sarju Mistry (Coventry) 

Presenters 

Bhikubhai & Taraben Mistry (Donor) 

19&20 - Ravi Mistry (HQ Asst Youth Leader) || 

21&22 - Ramanbhai L Mistry on behalf of 


57

25 

26 27 

28 

29 30 

Squash 

Table Tennis 

Men’s Seniors 

Men’s 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

25. Neetesh Mistry (Leicester) 

26. Krish Misty (Leicester) 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

27. Kishan Mistry (Leicester) 

28. Sumant Mistry (Walsall) 

Presenters 

25&26 - Kesavbhai Lad (Dart Controller & SPA Cov) || 27&28 - Jitubhai Mistry on behalf of Jayantibhai Mistry 

(Donor) || 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 & 36 - Natubhai & Parvatiben Mistry (Donor) 


31 

32 33 

34 

35 36 

Swimming 

Boys Age 6-8 

Boys Age 9-12 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

29. Kishan Mistry (Preston) 

30. Dylan A Mistry (Birmingham) 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

33. Tyreece Mistry (London) 

34. Aakash Mistry (Preston) 

Girls Age 6-8 

Girls Age 9-12 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

31. Ria S Suthar (Birmingham) 

32. Hemali Mistry (Leicester) 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

35. Nina C Tailor (Bradford) 

36. Anya Mistry (Bradford) 


59

37 

38 

39 

40 

Football 

Seniors 

Over 40 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 

37. Birmingham Branch 

38. Rugby Branch 

Winner: 

Runner Up: 



Presenters 

37&38 - Revaben Mistry (Donor) || 39&40 - Rameshbhai/Nikhil Mistry (Football Controller & Youth Team) || 42 

- Jayantibhai P Mistry on behalf of Pravinbhai & Sushilaben Mistry (Donor) || 43 - Bharatbhai & Balubhai (HQ 

President & VP) 


41 

42 43 

Branch Awards 

Chetan Trophy 

41. Swimming participants group photo 

Winner: 


Fair Play Trophy 

Winner: 

43. Leicester Branch 


61

Birmingham 

“Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah”: 

they who protect the dharma, the dharma protects them! 

Birmingham branch continues to flourish through the 

increased participation of its members, increased vibrancy 

in all the activities we have conducted and the impact we 

are making in the wider society that we live in. This year 

has once again been a busy year for us and we’re proud of 

the progress we continue to make as a branch. 

Programmes: We held 5 bhajan programmes 

through the year - for Maha Shivratri, Ram Navmi, 

Hanuman Jayanti, Janmashthami and Shraddh. For the 

last 2 years, we have been holding Shraddh bhajans in 

the morning followed by lunch and this has been a great 

success with record attendance. This year we had new 

younger members step up to lead the Bhajans which is 

a very encouraging change. The Mahila also organised a 

Kichhi night in August where there were several mouthwatering 

dishes, including “kichhi no lot” that everyone 

enjoyed. 

This year Birmingham branch was pleased to put forward 

a large team of sports participants at the HQ Sports day 

– this is a significant improvement from the recent years 

and we are proud to have won 4 trophies. This has given 

our youth a huge boost and we hope to continue to 

attract and engage the youth in our Samaj. 

Our Seniors continue with their monthly get-together 

on the second Wednesday of each month which has a 

variety of activities in the morning followed by lunch. The 

Seniors also organised 2 coach trips in the summer – one 

to Great Yarmouth seaside and one to Mandirs in London. 

On both occasions, the trips were oversubscribed 

illustrating how popular these trips continue to be! 

We once again had great participation from our younger 

children at the Christmas party where they played 

many games, decorated cards and made Christmas tree 

decorations. We also held a very successful children’s 

workshop during Navratri where they decorated aarti 

plates and were treated to a film show and presentation 

on the significance of Navratri. The children performed the 

first aarti using the aarti plates that they had decorated. 


Building Project: Our flagship project this year has 

been the refurbishment of our washrooms in our Samaj 

building – this is part of an ongoing programme of much 

needed modernisation of the Samaj hall. We are thankful 

to have received the support of SPA UK in terms of a loan 

to fund part of the overall costs of this project (and we 

will be repaying this loan in full very soon). We are very 

pleased that we completed the project within the required 

timelines. Even more encouraging has been the fact that 

most of our members supported the call for support with 

sizable monetary donations to cover the costs. 

One of the fund raising events we held was “Rangeeli 

Holi” The highlight of the evening was when everyone - 

young and old - joined the dance floor to play Holi with 

confetti and glitter. There was so much fun spraying 

each other with confetti while dancing to some lovely 

tunes. Everyone also got an opportunity to take photos 

in a “Rajasthani Style“ photo studio. The evening raised 

£14,000 for the washroom refurbishment project! 

Community: We continued in our drive to build 

relationships with local MPs and other Hindu 

organisations in Birmingham. This year SPA Birmingham 

celebrated Raksha Bandhan by tying a “Rakhi” to Julian 

Knight (Member of Parliament for Solihull). We gave 

him the background on our Samaj and the various 

activities we do, how we have supported various UK 

and international charities, discussed the 

significance of the festival of Raksha Bandhan 

with him, and then proceeded to tying the 

Rakhi and offering him some mithai. 

Achievements by our ladies: 

“Tu Nari Hein, Tu Shakti Hein” – the 

Birmingham Mahila continue to 

make us all proud with their “girl 

power” achievements. In the recent 

years, a number of our younger 

ladies have taken up long distance 

running and raised a lot of funds for 

charities of their choices. This year, 

Vernise Narenbhai Daji completed 

the London Marathon (in scorching 

heat) which was a proud moment for 

all of us. Equally Raksha Kantibhai 

Mistry has also completed a few 

half marathons (Leamington and 

Budapest half marathons this year), 

and Trishna Riam Daji also recently completed the 

Birmingham Half Marathon. 

Reenaben Mukeshbhai Mistry, who has taken up playing 

football with a few mums locally, appeared on the 

posters for West Bromwich Albion FC and was filmed by 

the club, and her interviews were shown on the Midlands 

News Today and Sky Sports. 

Ushmaben Piyushbhai Mistry won an award for being 

recognised in the top 100 women in the Automotive 

industry in the UK, and now features on the careers 

website and Youtube channels for Jaguar Land Rover for 

encouraging women to develop careers in engineering. 

Health and Safety: During the year, we also held a 

First Aid training course and a Food Hygiene course – 

both courses proving to be very popular! In accordance 

to the Charity Commission guidelines, our Safe Guarding 

policies have been reviewed and updated. 

Communications: We continue to improve our 

communication channels with our members – our 

bi-annual newsletters continue to receive excellent 

feedback and hand delivering these to our members 

is helping us build the intimacy with the households. 

We continue to use social media channels including 

WhatsApp, Facebook and emails to great effect - posting 

live videos on Facebook has proven to be a huge hit 

This year Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh held 

their annual national leadership training camp 

In Birmingham and our Mahila offered their 

sewa through making 2,000 puris for the lunch 

served after the closing ceremony. 


63

and as a consequence those who 

have left Birmingham are now able 

to keep in touch with our activities 

and we continue to receive positive 

comments on this. 

Supporting SPA UK: Birmingham 

continues to support SPA UK 

through providing volunteers when 

needed (eg. golf day, sports coordinators, 

registration desk services 

at the Mahila Samelan and Sports 

Day, first aiders at the Senior Sneh 

Milan etc) and taking on leadership 

roles (Bharatbhai C Mistry as 

President, Vipulbhai H Mistry as 

Secretary and Kamleshbhai C Mistry 

as Treasurer). 

I am personally very proud of 

the increased vibrancy within the 

Birmingham branch and how the 

branch activities have continued 

to grow from strength to strength. 

These achievements are only 

possible when members come 

together and work in unity. It is 

our responsibility to protect our 

Dharma and culture so that the same 

can protect our future generation 

– “Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah”. I 

sincerely thank the Birmingham 

branch members for their continued 

support, and a heartfelt thanks to my 

executive committee of “rock stars” 

without whom none of the above 

would have been possible, and the 

trustees for their continued guidance 

and support. 

Piyush Ambalalbhai Mistry 

President, Shree Prajapati 

Association Birmingham 

Congratulations 

Top 100 women in the Automotive industry in the UK 

Ushmaben (Urmila) Piyushbhai Mistry 

Birmingham 

Ushmaben Mistry now features on the careers website 

and Youtube channels for Jaguar Land Rover for 

encouraging women to develop careers in engineering. 

One of Ushmaben’s digital projects, “Mind Sense” which 

investigated whether brain waves could be used to 

control elements of the car, won her a Jaguar Land Rover 

Technical Excellence award as a finalist in the Innovista 

contest. Ushmaben has been granted several global 

patents for the innovations she has introduced in her work. 

Watch her on YouTube, at the video titled: 

Urmila Mistry, Research Strategy and Innovation 

Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmGl-ArA2q8 

Or find her on the Jaguar Land Rover careers website: 

https://www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com/content/Blog/?post_id=550 


Coventry 

Over the year, Coventry branch of Shree Prajapati 

Association has maintained their annual activities of 

religious, culture and socialising. These activities have 

been well attended by members, which has assured that 

our culture and religious values as Hindus are maintained. 

The annual religious programme of Shraddh Bhajans 

and Navratri was celebrated in September and October 

respectively. Once again members supported these events 

in good numbers. The nine days of festival of Navratri had 

colourful fancy dress and Aarti competition. It was very 

pleasing to see both young and old generations coming 

together to celebrate this annual festival. 

The summer events of charity walk and BBQ at Draycote 

Water was successful and many members joined the walk 

and raised donations for good causes. For this year, the 

nominated charity was Myton House cancer hospice in 

Coventry and a special one-off donation was given by 

Ramanbhai L Mistry in memory of his late wife Madhuben. 

Due to weather conditions, the Children’s Christmas party 

was held later than planned, and the children with their 

parents joined in to celebrate the event. 

As a branch, The Association has maintained close links 

with SPA UK (HQ) programmes, functions and events. 

These included attending Mahila, Seniors Samelan and 

sporting events. 

There has been demand for the Seniors group to be 

formed and this group had started to meet once a month. 

The main objective of this group is to meet and discuss 

the issues which affects in old age. There has been regular 

attendance of 35 to 40 people at these sessions. At Diwali 

a sit-down meal was organised and nearly 60 Seniors 

attended this session. Guest speakers have been invited 

to talk on health issues such as Diabetics, Dementia and 

Cancers. These sessions have been supplemented with 

information and slide shows. Some of these talks has been 

in our mother language and has been proven beneficial. In 

addition, outings have also been organised to visit Hindu 

temples and the sea side. 

In conclusion, it was a busy and eventful year and on 

behalf of all the Trustees I would like to thank all the 

members for their continued support during the year. 

Finally, on behalf of Coventry Branch, we would like to 

wish all Prajapati members a very prosperous Diwali 

and New Year. May the new year bring Good Health and 

Happiness for all of you. 

Shailesh Prajapati, 

Secretary, SPA (UK) Coventry branch 


65

Bradford 

2018 has been a very exciting and very eventful year for the Bradford 

Branch that represents the Prajapati community of West Yorkshire. As 

you’ll see in this report, we are very proud of our achievements this year, 

especially with the two standout events - hosting the Mahila Samelan and 

celebrating our 35th Anniversary. 

Our biggest achievement this 

year has been to host the Mahila 

Samelan for over 800 attendees. 

This event was a huge success. The 

main subject of this year’s event 

was Parkinson’s Disease. There 

were presentations, a short play 

and supporting information about 

the topic to raise awareness and to 

support those who may be impacted 

by this condition. Other presentations 

were also given by Carers’ Resource, 

Equality Together (disabled people 

user led organisation), and Age 

UK. We also welcomed West 

Yorkshire Police who delivered a 

presentation on hate crime. The 

Chief Constable for West Yorkshire 

Police, Dee Collins, was invited as 

a special guest and she gave an 

inspirational presentation about her 

successful progression in the police 

force as a woman. Chief Constable 

Dee Collins also recognised the 

organisation and effort that was 

required to host the Mahila Samelan 

and said that she looked forward 

to future engagements with the 

Gujarati community of Bradford. 

The event also included dances and 

short comedy acts to make this an 

entertaining and informative event. 

SPA Bradford also celebrated its 

35th anniversary in August with 

special ceremonies presided by 

Swami Kesavanandji Maharaj, a Raas 

Garba and lunch for all attendees. 

There was great attendance from 

our community with guests including 

the SPA UK President, Bharatbhai, 

and representatives from Bradford 

Council, West Yorkshire police and 

local faith groups. The celebrations 

concluded with a Ram Yagna. 

Other highlights of 2018 for the 

Bradford branch are: 


The Shiv Mahapuran Katha by 

Pujya Shree Giribapu. This event was 

hosted at our Mandir for the first time 

and was attended by over 200 people 

every day over the 5 day period. 

Navratri 

There was a mixture of Garba and 

Raas over 9 days at the Mandir hall. 

This year, we encouraged children 

to wear traditional Indian outfits and 

we also had an Aarti competition. 

Chief Constable Dee Collins and 

other members of the West Yorkshire 

police force visited as well. 

Diwali 

A Diwali party was organised at 

the Bradford Bulls stadium with 

250 people attending and all the 

proceeds going to a local food bank 

and a charity for disadvantaged 

children. The party was very 

positively received with everyone 

having a great time. 

Sports 

Two events were held for all ages 

– 5-a-side football and a family fun 

day at Bharat Social club for Darts, 

Dominoes, Pool and Carrom. 

Indian Republic Day 

An “Anand Bazaar” was held that was 

organised by our Mahila team who 

raised £722.05 towards the Mahila 

fund. The Lord Mayor also attended. 

International Yoga Day 

Approximately 200 people of all 

ages took part in Yoga exercises with 

instructor Jayesh Mistry and Hindu 

Comminty Groups to promote health. 

This year, new volunteers have also 

come forward to organise a Blackpool 

illuminations trip, a Leicester shopping 

trip, a new Cycling Club and to provide 

support to the SEWA day initiative. 

Thanks to our dedicated volunteers, 

throughout this year, our Mandir 

has had undertaken some extensive 

renovation work including complete 

new paintwork and carpet 

replacement. This work continues with 

other improvements in the pipeline. 

A big thank you to Ganpatbhai for 

leading this renovation work. A big 

thank you also to all the volunteers 


67

who have dedicated a lot of their time (even weekends) 

and efforts to restoring and rejuvenating our Mandir. 

Finally, we received a letter by the Prime Minister to wish 

us a happy Diwali and to recognise our organisation for 

all its work for the Hindu community. 

We would like to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt 

thank you to all of our members who have given “sewa” 

to our “Samaj” during 2018 and over the last 35 years. 

They have contributed with their time, their services and 

their participation in religious and social activities for 

the West Yorkshire Prajapati community. They have also 

helped to maintain the SPA Bradford Community centre 

which is the core of all SPA Bradford’s activities. All of 

our achievements would not have been possible without 

their support, commitment and dedication. 

We are now looking forward to 2019 where we hope to 

go beyond the achievements for 2018 for our community. 

Jai Shree Krishna. 

London 

Throughout 

2017-18 has been 

another exciting 

year with multiple 

events and activities 

throughout the year for 

SPA London Branch. 

Religious functions namely Shraddh 

Bhajans, recital of Hanuman Chalisa 

(including a speech by a local Priest 

on the meaning of the Chalisa), 

Navratri, Diwali celebration, Children’s 

Party and New Year gathering were 

held. Our youth members have 

continued to participate in Sports 

Day hosted by SPA UK. 

With the help of SPA London 

volunteers, we have celebrated New 

Year’s Eve on 31st December 2017 with 

lots of fun activities until midnight. We 

have hosted a musical Mehfil night in 

May 2018. This event was full of old 

and new songs which were performed 

by professional singers. 

the year, at each 

of our social events, we have 

been continuously updating our 

members’ records. Our primary 

method of communication has been 

through digital media such as email, 

e-newsletter and social media. 

Wednesday club for senior citizens, 

which started in April 2014, is 

proving a real success. During this 

year, visits to London city landmarks 

and a trip to Portugal were 

organised. In addition, there were 

activities around healthy lifestyle, 

seminars and knowledge sharing 

sessions were held. 

Hall hire charges were revised to 

offer discounts to our members. 

Our members have utilised the hall 

in low season by organising social 

gatherings to raise funds. We have 

secured regular hiring of the hall to 

keep up with the maintenance of 

our building. All essential building 

maintenance has been carried out to 

keep our hall at its best. 

We are looking forward to yet 

another successful year due to your 

ongoing support and contribution. 

Bhavesh Mistry (Secretary) 

Executive Committee for 2017-18 


Loughborough 

Time for Change 

On 29th April 2018 SPA Loughborough branch elected a new Executive Committee. We are pleased to announce that 

we now have a younger and highly motivated team to drive forward our future vision. 

We welcome the injection of fresh ideas and a new 

vision for our Samaj and look forward to supporting 

them in any way. We also want to thank the outgoing 

committee members for their hard work over the years. 

Activities this year 

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 

came into effect on 25 May 2018. The newly elected 

committee successfully implemented and carried out 

this huge task as instructed by SPA UK. 

The ever popular three nights of our Navratri Festival 

programme and the Nutan Varshabhinadan Meet & 

Greet Get-together were well attended and enjoyed 

by our members. Great opportunities to bring our 

members together and to socialise. 

The organised events by SPA UK i.e. the 38th Mahila 

Samelan in Bradford and 6th Senior Sneh Milan in 

Leicester - both highly successful events - were well 

attended and enjoyed by many of our members. 

This year our branch was represented by Badminton 

players at the SPA UK Sports Day held at Warwick 

University. Congratulations to Akshay Dipak Mistry 

who reached the semifinal in Badminton. Although not 

many took part in Sports Day this year, we now hope to 

improve in the area of sports activities and aim to achieve 

better participation from young people. A dedicated team 

is now actively working on a project, 

especially for children and parents to 

get interested and involved in sports and 

exercising. 

Here are some opening comments from the new 

Executive committee. 

“The needs of the entire community may not be the 

same today as it was when it was formed and I want 

to work with the members of our Samaj to make this a 

Samaj that caters for all generations.” 

“I feel we have an opportunity for more inclusion within 

our Samaj and also have a vision that we improve the 

gender diversity within the leadership team. I am excited 

by the challenge of determining how the Samaj can still 

be relevant and have a place in the 21st century.” 

“I believe the Samaj has a lot to offer to all 

generations. I would like to see the Samaj bring the 

youth back in collaboration with sports and charitable 

work. Also, to engage some annual activities like nights 

out, dinner & dance events, theme park trips or even 

an annual seaside trip! Ultimately to bring some fun, 

enjoyment and relaxation into our increasingly busy 21st 

century lifestyles.” 

“I would like to reach out to the younger members and 

encourage them to be more involved by listening to 

their valuable thoughts and ideas so we can progress 

the Samaj and make it even more successful.” 

Some of our members completed the 

Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge in May. 

They raised funds for their chosen 

charity Sewa UK. Well done and 

Congratulations to them. More charity 

events are planned in the near future. 

Finally, our committee would like to 

thank all our members and volunteers 

for their continued loyal support and 

generous donations. 

Our best wishes to all our members. 

SPA Loughborough Branch Committee 


69

The demand for tickets 

was so great we are 

already planning future 

trips next year. 

Leicester 

Last Diwali, I am proud to say that we had a tremendous response from 

our members to join the board of trustees and volunteering teams. 

It’s been one year and all the 

volunteers who came forward have 

settled in their roles really well. 

This year they have also taken on 

additional responsibilities, a great 

example is we are noticing more 

interest shown by our younger 

generation to come forward and be 

part of the team. 

The enthusiasm shown by the young 

team is fantastic; the Trustees and 

volunteers continue to help the new 

volunteers settle into their roles. The 

board of trustees and volunteers 

have changed their approach to 

make SPA Leicester a more family 

friendly place. 

This year we have been busy with 

all the transformation which is 

taking place around our site. Next 

time you visit SPA Leicester you’ll 

see the difference. 

What we are celebrating here 

comes due to all the hard work 

many of our members have 

contributed over the years and 

the members who continue to 

contribute daily in ensuring the 

continuity of SPA Leicester. 

Our annual events continue to enjoy 

the success that we have had over 

the years. The main highlights of this 

year have been: 

Tuesday Sports Club 

The re-start of our Tuesday Sport 

Club for children. The start was a 

little slow but now the participants 

are increasing. Minaben and her 

team have done a fantastic job of 

rejuvenating the Sports club. 

They worked really hard this year 

to ensure that we as SPA Leicester 

take a team to the SPA UK Sports 

day that was held in September and 

the results have been fantastic. 

They’ve also organised two social 

evenings this year with both being 

sold out almost immediately. Each 

one was so successful that at the 

end of each event Minaben was 

asked, “When is the next one?” 

The events included Bingo, a Quiz, 

Karaoke and general socialising. The 

Karaoke also helped us to find our 

own talents for future SPA Leicester 

events. Well done to the team! 

Buckingham Palace Trip 

Indiraben together with our 

Mahila team (Kalaben, Ranjanben, 

Bhagwatiben and Kamuben) worked 

really hard to organise a trip to 

Buckingham Palace. 

The trip was sold out almost as 

soon as it was announced. We even 

managed to accommodate 4 groups 

of members who visited Buckingham 

Palace over two weekends in 

September. The event was so 

successful that on their return they 

could not stop talking about it. 

The demand for tickets was so great 

we are already planning future trips 

next year. Well done to all involved. 

We have a vey exciting year ahead, 

so please keep checking our new 

website www.shreeprajapati.org.uk 

to keep track of what is happening at 

SPA Leicester and we look forward 

to seeing you all. 

Jay Shree Krishna 

Jay D Mistry (President) 



71

Luton 

After 20 years Luton Branch are 

going to be celebrating their 

20th Anniversary since it was reestablished 

in 1998. In the 2016 

Sandesh we wrote about how our 

Branch evolved and then diminished 

and re-evolved. 

As a branch we support a number of 

local charities helping to raise funds 

and also support HQ charities. Over 

the years we have made donations 

to our local Mandir – Shree Sanatan 

Seva Samaj in the form of cookers, 

fridges, micro phones and lighting to 

name but a few. The other charities 

we have raised funds for are Luton 

and Dunstable Hospital – The Heart 

unit, The Stroke unit and most 

recently for a new Helipad. We also 

support our local hospice annually - 

Keech Hospice Care where we take 

part in sponsored walks, the Night 

Walks and The Colour Dash. We also 

help on the Smiley Sam Tour train 

which takes Santa around the streets 

of Luton every year knocking on 

doors and collecting donations and 

on the odd evening driving the Tour 

train around town. 

National Charites we have supported 

are Great Ormond Street children’s 

ward, Food Bank, Cancer Research 

UK and Diabetics UK. We thank 

all the people who donated at 

our events and sponsored our 

fundraisers – THANK YOU!! 


Over the years we as a Branch have 

helped at SPA UK events, namely the 

Mahila Samelan, Senior Samelan and 

our Anilbhai has also organised the 

Single? let’s Mingle events 

What have we been up to in this last 

year? We had our usual events; the 

Dinner and Dance event, Shraddh 

Bhajan-Bhojan and our annual BBQ at 

Wicksteed Park. We wanted to enjoy 

the lovely summer weather and we were 

all looking forward to a great day out 

to Bournemouth but on that one day in 

July we had torrential rain. Luckily for 

us, our local coach company were more 

than happy to cancel our booking and 

not charge us a cancellation fee. 

We would like to thank all the members 

of the Samaj who have sacrificed their 

time and made efforts in doing Sewa 

throughout the town and supporting 

us as a Branch. 

This year we celebrated our 20th Anniversary. Below are 

a few pictures from those celebrations. To see more go to 

www.spaluton.com or follow us on instagram @spaluton 


73

SPM 

East 

London 

It has been another successful year for 

SPM East London. 

Over the course of the year, our members have 

supported us well in our key events of Navratri 

and New Year gathering. We held our 3rd 

Shraddh Bhajans event and it’s safe to say that 

it is becoming one of our key events. This year, 

we also held a Hanuman Chalisa in March 2018. 

We are sad to say that this year, we lost 2 of 

our founding members. Ramanbhai Vasanji 

Mistry and Govindbhai Prabhubhai Mistry 

both sadly left us over the course of this year. 

Ramanbhai most recently served as member 

of the SPA Seniors Committee and Govindbhai 

served as an advisory member to the Mandal 

Committee. Their efforts in establishing the 

Mandal were vital and we will dearly miss their 

presence and support. 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank 

all of our committee members, volunteers and 

all those who have donated generously over the 

years and continue to do so. Their support is 

invaluable to the Mandal and our events would 

not be possible without their continued support. 

Vinubhai B. Mistry 

President 

One of our members, Pradipbhai Makanbhai 

Mistry, this year took on the Yorkshire 3 Peaks 

Challenge with some family and friends in 

order raise money for Sewa UK, one of SPA 

UK’s charities. 

His story is on the next page… 


Yorkshire 3 Peaks 

by Pradipbhai Makanbhai Mistry 

Following my amazing Himalayan trek 

last year, many of my sponsors were 

inspired to take up a local challenge. 

A group of 12 of us decided to take 

up the challenging Yorkshire Three 

Peaks Challenge. This took us on the 

peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and 

Ingleborough. These peaks form part 

of the Pennine range, and encircle the 

head of the valley of the River Ribble, 

in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. 

Our training for the 3 Peak Trek was 

taken extremely seriously by all and 

started from the beginning of January 

2018. We trained together and were 

able to maintain a strict diet and 

training regime, including regular 

sessions at our local gym. 

We travelled on May bank holiday 

weekend to meet with our trekking 

teams on Saturday evening for an early 

dawn start the next day. Our group 

met at the SEWA camp in Horton-In- 

Ribblesdale where we were greeted, 

registered and given our T-shirts and 

waited to start enthusiastically. 

We were amazed at the sheer number 

of trekkers gathered at the SEWA 

camp. There were some 500 trekkers 

on the day, being the largest number 

ever. The trekkers ranged from some 

under 10 to several elders in their 

70’s. The routes were organised to 

accommodate those with varying 

levels of fitness. 

We started with a gradual ascent 

through some beautiful fields and the 

paths became much steeper as we 

progressed along towards the first peak. 

We were blessed with cool, clear and 

dry weather that made it comfortable. 

As we progressed along the second 

peak, the terrain became more 

challenging, particularly on reaching 

the summit. The sheer steepness of the 

cliff face meant we had to climb on all 

fours and with the strong wind and chill 

factor, we had to be extremely vigilant 

and support each other. The third peak 

was even more challenging and the 

wind became stronger and conditions 

more treacherous. Nevertheless, we 

persevered and kept going steadfastly. 

We trekked over a challenging 

range of terrain for a total of 24 

miles. We covered over 2,000m 

(7,064ft) of ascent and trekked 

between 9-13 hours. 

Taking in the beauty whilst walking, 

the challenge left us with a great sense 

of achievement as we conquered 

the three highest mountains in the 

Yorkshire Dales. 

It was definitely a life changing 

experience. We now see our lives in a 

much more positive way and feel we 

can take on any of life’s challenges. We 

also realise how we can all prove to be 

more physically and mentally resilient 

given the opportunities. 

The trek was in aid of the SEWA UK 

Charity. My family and friends joined 

me from Manchester, London and 

Loughborough raising over £2,000.00 

It has been a privilege to share our 

story and we hope this has inspired 

other SPA members and their families 

to step up and experience the benefit 

of their own trekking journeys. 


75

Rugby 

2017/18 has been a rewarding year for SPA Rugby, 

in which we successfully hosted the Senior Sneh 

Samelan and with branch events raised significant 

funds for the local Charities 

The Senior Sneh Samelan a former Stroke Awareness Officer. 

Rugby SPA were proud and 

Both gave relevant topical information 

honoured to host the annual SPA on the types of strokes and physical 

UK Senior Sneh Samelan on 10th effects, support services available to 

June 2018. This event attracted just those affected and their carers. 

under 1200 guests, who enjoyed 

For SPA Rugby this event took 12 

an informative and fun packed 

months of preparation and planning, 

day. Additionally the day enabled 

more importantly Rugby provided 

members to socialise together with 

over 100 volunteers to cover the 

family and friends. 

day. The volunteer’s duties included 

One of the themes of this year’s marshalling, looking after the elderly 

Senior Samelan was ‘the Awareness and disabled, preparing and serving 

of Strokes’, which affect many within breakfast and lunch for nearly 1200 

the Asian Community. Guest speakers guests. “The town can be very proud 

were Dr Amit Mistri, a Consultant in of all its members and volunteers 

Stroke Medicine and Dr Jay Joshi, who did a tremendous job in 

managing this huge event plus it 

enabled raising the profile of ‘Stroke’ 

within the Asian community”. 

Charity Fund Raising 

We are pleased to announce that a 

magnificent £2500 was raised by the 

Branch for three local charities. The 

donations will go towards equipment 

and support services for use by the 

charities here in Rugby. 

The monies raised came from a 

successful Dinner Dance held in 

December 2017 and a fun filled Family 

Darts Tournament held in February 

2018. The latter involved people of 

all ages and abilities taking part, who 

also gave generous donations 

SPA Rugby was then able to support 

Friends of Rugby Hospital, Coventry 

& Warwickshire MIND and Rugby 

Myton Hospice respectively 


For SPA RUGBY this was a great 

achievement and demonstrated the 

importance of these charities within 

the community. 

For Ramesh Mistry from SPA Rugby 

the support to the MIND charity 

became even more significant when 

a close work colleague sadly took his 

own life earlier this year 

Other Activities 

During the year the HQ Mahila 

Samelan and our own Shradh 

Bhajan Bhojan were well attended. 

At the annual Sports Day Rugby 

excelled once again, taking top 

honours and runners up in several 

categories. Congratulations to all 

our participants. 

Finally, the committee would like to 

take this opportunity to thank all our 

members for their continued support, 

kind donations and generosity and 

to all the volunteers for their time as 

without their active support these 

events could not have taken place so 

successfully. 

We wish you all a happy new year. 

Jai Shree Krishna from 

Shree Prajapati Association Rugby 

kpv¹$f “dõL$pf 

2017 

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lp¡õ‘uV$gdp„ ‘p¥.1,000 v$p“ L$ep¯. 

2018 

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A„sf’u âp’®“p. 

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f¡hpb¡“ ‘fcycpB“p S>e îuL©$óZ. 


77

Tameside 

We would like to say big thanks to the 

SPA Tameside members and all the 

people that have supported us on our 

journey through another successful 

year. We have continued the regular 

activities throughout the year, plus 

ventured on new ways of thinking; to 

bring new life in to the Samaj. 

I am happy to report some of the key 

accomplishments of the year. 

Tameside Branch AGM was 

held on the 9th April 2017 at Shree 

Bharatiya Mandal. It was well 

attended, and the existing committee 

were elected to continue lead the 

Tameside Branch. 

Day trip to Llandudno on the 

12th August 2017. It was a lovely 

sunny day, enjoyed by 48 people. 

Llandudno is a very friendly family 

resort and a good place for walking 

with a clean beach. 

Curry Afternoon was held on 

the 25th June 2017. SPA Tameside 

Branch supported the personal 

wishes of Pushpaben to raise money 

for charity in memory of her parents. 

Over 150 people came to this very 

successful event, raising over £1,000 

for the Macmillan Charity. 

Bhajan Bhojan was held on 

the 17th September 2017. This 

was an excellent event with good 

food, bhajans and a presentation 

to Ramanbhai Jivanbhai Mistry to 

celebrate his life time of services to 

the community. 

Diwali Get Together was held 

on the 22nd October 2017. As an 

alternative to large Diwali shows 

and events which are plentiful 

during the festive time, Tameside 

branch decided to deviate and hold 

an informal get-together at a local 

pub rather than visit each other’s 

houses, where everyone brought a 

dish, enjoyed the food and drinks 

whilst mingling and wishing each 

other a very Happy Diwali and Happy 

New Year. The Get-Together was 

extremely successful and therefore 

we are planning to repeat it again. 

Last year Tameside branch decided 

that we should also raise money for 

local causes, therefore it was decided 

that the money that was raised during 

the Bhajan Bhojan would be donated 

to a local church which requires 

endless funds for repairs. During the 

Diwali Get Together; SPA Tameside 

presented a cheque for £1,100 to the 

Albion United Reformed Church, the 

church is devoted to our community; 

who use the facilities for funeral 

services. This was well received, and a 

vote of thanks was published by the 

church in the local newspaper. 

Sports Day was represented by 

18 participants. Tameside Branch 

assisted with set up and presentation 

of the trophies. We came back with 

the following trophies: Badminton 

Junior Winner - Rohan Mistry, Darts 

Runner up - Ramanbhai Mistry, Pool 

Runner up - Shashibhai Mistry 

Trustee Resignations. 

Tameside Branch would to say a 

big thanks to two long standing 

Tameside Branch Trustees, who have 

retired as Trustees. Jamnadasbhai 

Mistry and Keshavbhai Lad who 

are both pioneers of SPA and 

their contribution to serving the 

community has been invaluable. 

A big THANK YOU from all the 

Tameside Branch and members. 

SPA Tameside Branch 

Telephone Directory. This year 

Tameside Branch are releasing a 

new members telephone directory 

after 10 years and have been busy 

updating our outdated records. 

Tameside branch have continued 

to maintain good representation 

at most of the SPA UK events and 


programmes; such as assisting with Sports Day and the 

Mahila Samelan. 

Finally, on behalf of the SPA (UK) Tameside Executive 

team and Trustees; I would like to convey our 

appreciation to all our members, volunteers and HQ for 

their relentless contribution in supporting the success of 

the Tameside Samaj. Thank You! We would like to wish 

everyone the very best. 


Sailesh B Mistry 

SPA Tameside Branch Secretary 

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79

Recognition to 

Ramanbhai Jivanbhai Mistry 

for his of Services to the Community 

At this year’s Bhajan Bhojan 

Tameside Branch decided to extend 

the event in recognition of people’s 

contribution to the community. 

The committee agreed to honour 

Ramanbhai Jivanbhai Mistry 

(‘Raman Boy’) of Ashton-Under- 

Lyne. On the 17th September 

2017 during the Bhajan Bhojan, 

Ramanbhai was presented with a 

plaque in gratitude of his of services 

to the community. His presentation 

was extremely well received by the 

community and his family. 

Ramanbhai first moved to Ashton, 

from Uganda, in 1960 at a tender 

age of 19 years old. There were 

only about 30 Asians living in 

Tameside at the time. As more and 

more people arrived, he decided to 

start the Indian Community Centre 

because he thought we should 

preserve our religion, our language 

and our unity. The first meeting was 

on 2nd October 1964 - the birthday 

of Mahatma Gandhi. Ramanbhai 

was inspired by Gandhi, because his 

motivation was to help others. 

Ramanbhai gained his nick name 

of ‘Raman Boy’ back in the sixties, 

because he was the youngest, and 

even now, people young and old still 

know him by his nick name. 

Ramanbhai lives in Ashton with wife 

Lalita and has four children and four 

grandchildren. 

Ramanbhai is one of the founders 

of the Indian Community Centre on 

Union Street, Ashton-Under-Lyne. 

A former social worker, he has also 

been a school governor, a postman, 

driving instructor, a voluntary 

interpreter, sat on the Commission 

for Racial Equality and was the first 

Asian magistrate in Tameside. 

Ramanbhai is also well known 

because of his involvement in the 

80 vol. 43 | Prajapati Sandesh 2018 

Indian community. If there are any 

bereavements or legal matters, for 

example, he was the first person 

they came to. He gained a 

Diploma in Social Service from 

Huddersfield Polytechnic. 

Ramanbhai used to go to the Indian 

Community Centre three days 

each week, taking part in a range 

of activities such as the ‘Wadil 

Welcome Group’ for older people, 

language classes, exercise classes 

and the youth club. 

Ramanbhai will always be highly 

regarded by all members of our 

community. 

On behalf of the SPA UK Tameside 

Executive team, Trustees and 

members; I would like to thank 

Ramanbhai for all that you have 

achieved and your services to our 

community. 

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Preston 

The working committee continues to maintain cultural 

and religious programmes for our community. 

We would like to congratulate “Team Preston” at the SPA 

(UK) Sports Day at Warwick University who brought 

back three trophies; Jinesh Mistry and Jenish Prajapati 

were runners up in the Men’s Doubles Badminton, Aakash 

Mistry was runner up in swimming (age 10-12) and Kishan 

Mistry who won swimming (age 6-8). Our appreciation 

to all the participants and spectators. We encourage all 

youths to participate at the next event too. 

After a year’s break, Natubhai Tailor and Khushalbhai 

Kumar in conjunction with Baba Travels, led an 8-day trip 

to Lake Garda in Italy from 20-27th September 2018. This 

time the focus was to provide a relaxing break which was 

reflected by the itinerary consisting of coach excursions, 

boat tours, wine tasting and cable car rides. The uptake 

was excellent, and all the places had been filled. As per 

the previously organised trips, this trip also attracted 

people of all ages and from the wider community. Our 

sincere thanks to Khushalbhai, Natubhai and all the 

participants for visiting this beautiful destination. 

On 17th March 2018, the Father-Daughter team Dineshbhai 

& Minal Mistry along with her fiancé Chintan Dabhi flew to 

Kathmandu, Nepal, to begin the first part of the gruelling 

trek to the EVEREST BASE CAMP at 5,364 metres altitide! 

Their climb started on 20th March 2018 from Lukla 

Airport (the world’s most dangerous airport strip), and 

successfully completed the ascent to the Base Camp on 

Tuesday 27th March 2018. The final part of the ascent was 

almost hampered by the weather but with a very quick 

start for the final leg and a determined dash, they made it 

to their GOAL. Despite all the preparation for the trek, the 

harsh Himalayan environment and thin air at high altitude 

makes it an extremely difficult but extraordinary journey. 

Congratulations to them on this outstanding achievement! 

For people without shelter, something as simple as a 

sleeping bag can make a significant difference to their 

comfort and wellbeing. In recognition of national Sewa 

Day, Anjanaben Mistry took on the task of collecting 

sleeping bags for the homeless. In total, 22 bags plus 

additional items were collected which were donated to the 

Foxton Centre; a local homeless shelter in Preston. Well 

done to Anjanaben for setting up this unique appeal. 

In recent years, with the younger generation settling out 

of town due to job prospects, and an ageing community, 

we have been unsuccessful in electing a full executive 

committee, so the branch administration has been 

performed as a working committee. This has worked well 

in sustaining the branch, but it is not an ideal situation. 

We would like to acknowledge the support we continue 

to receive from all our members. It is key to maintaining 

our local activities and encouraging all to recognise that 

amongst all other interests, the Samaj also has a role to 

play in our lives. 

On behalf of SPA (UK) Preston branch we wish everyone 

the very best and Jai Shree Krishna. 

Working Committee, SPA (UK) - Preston Branch 


81

Wellingborough 

It’s been another busy year in 

Wellingborough with lots of activities 

both at a local and national level. Our 

charity fundraising activities continue 

and we’re delighted to say that we’ve 

now raised almost £40,000 for over 

40 local, national and international 

charities and disaster appeals 

since 2005. 

In 2017 we raised funds for 2 local 

charities donating £1,001 each to: 

Dostiyo - an organisation for 

Asian men and women providing 

social activities to help them 

overcome cultural, religious, physical 

and social barriers that they face in 

their daily lives. 

Independent Diabetes Trust – 

an organisation for people living with 

diabetes run by people with diabetes. 

In addition to this, we continue 

to sponsor child education in 

Gujarat and support the annual HQ 

fundraising appeals. 

Our nominated charities for 2018 are: 

Mencap – who work with people 

with learning disabilities and also 

support their families and carers. 

Mencap work collaboratively, fighting 

for equal rights, campaigning 

for greater opportunities and 

challenging attitudes and prejudice. 

Children are Butterflies – a 

charity based in Northampton who 

offer practical and financial support 

when arranging a funeral for a child 

that was probably not expected or 

planned for, and more importantly, 

emotional support through an 

established network of parents 

and families who have suffered 

similar losses. 

As always, we’d like to thank our 

branch members as well as our 

friends from other communities who 

continue to give us their support and 

backing. Here are some of our branch 

activities from the last 12 months. 

Black & White Charity 

Fundraiser 

On Saturday 18 November 2017, 

Wellingborough branch celebrated 

the 10th annual Charity Fundraiser at 

The Ruby Lounge in Diana’s Health 

& Fitness Club, Wellingborough 

with a Black & White theme. 

Once again, this event was very 

well supported with just over 150 

people in attendance from various 

communities. 

There was a fantastic music set 

from DJ Baz from Leicester, a 

raffle, tombola and some lovely 

food. During the evening, cheque 

presentations were made to our 

two charities for 2017 – Dostiyo and 

Independent Diabetes Trust who 

both received £1,001 each. 

The committee are very appreciative 

and express their thanks to the many 

volunteers who helped engineer 

such a successful event. Also very 

big thanks to the numerous people 

and companies that donated prizes 

for the raffle and tombola. The 2018 

event has just taken place … more 

news on that in next year’s Sandesh. 

SPA Darts Tournament 

Wellingborough Branch were 

delighted to support the SPA 

darts tournament held in Rugby 

on Saturday 10 February 2018. It 

was brilliantly organised and a very 

fun evening. We had 4 participants 

who played against players from 

Rugby, Coventry, Leicester and even 

Canada! The evening included a 

raffle, snacks and a lovely dinner 

with over 150 people in attendance. 

Well done to Rugby branch for 

organising this event. 


Waendel Walk 

On Sunday 13 May 2018, eight of 

our branch members participated 

in the International Waendel Walk in 

Wellingborough and the surrounding 

areas covering 11 miles and raised 

almost £1,000 for charity. This was 

the 12th year we’ve participated and 

it was another thoroughly enjoyable 

event as the walkers took in the 

lovely villages and fields around 

Wellingborough. 

Shree Bhuvaneshwari Mataji 

Samuh Katha 

This event took place on Sunday 20 

May 2018 at the Hindu Community 

Centre in Wellingborough with 

around 150 people in attendance. 

The event started at 9am and we 

were pleased with the support of 

the yajmans and the public who 

attended. The pooja was conducted 

by Shree Labshanker Shastri from 

Gondal Mandir in a very peaceful and 

holy atmosphere. After the katha, 

thal and aarti, a discourse was given 

by Adhyaksh Shree Dr Ravindersanji. 

This was followed by darshan, 

pranam and bhojan prasadi for all. 

The committee would like to thank 

all yajmans, donors, the public for 

their support and especially the 

volunteers who were up very early 

on a Sunday morning preparing the 

food and setting up the hall. All of 

which made this charity fundraising 

event a great success. 

Family Fun Day 

The HQ Family Fun Day was held 

at Wicksteed Park in Kettering 

on Saturday 30 June 2018 and 

Wellingborough Branch were proud 

to support this event. There was a 

great turnout from all around the 

UK. The weather was extremely hot 

and everybody had an excellent 

day. Great food, great company and 

the drinks went down well. Looking 

forward to next year’s event. 

From all of us in Wellingborough, 

we wish you all the best! 


83

cphcfu îÙp„S>rg 

± c|c®h: õh: ss¹$ krhsyh®f¡Îe„, cNp£ v$¡hõe ûdrl rêp¡ ep¡ “: âQp¡v$eps —&& 

± “pfpeZ 

Maniben Dahyabhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. dZub¡“ X$püpcpB rd”u 

24.04.1938 (kumbhar faria, India) - 25.04.2018 (London, UK) 

24.04.1938 Ly„$cpf amuep, cpfs - 25.04.2018 g„X$“, ey.L¡$. 

A Thousand Moments that I had which I took for Granted – Mostly because I had 

assumed there would be Thousands More. 

Adpfp dps©îu dZub¡“ X$püpcpB rd”u A¡d“p “pih„s iqff“p¡ ÐepN L$fu L¥$gpk^pd âcy ifZ¡ Nep. 

A¡d“u r“d®m R>ÓR>pep ldpfp Æh“dp„ A“p¡Mu flu. 

Adpfp Ly$Vy„$b ‘f Aphu ‘X¡$g AZ^pfu Ap‘rÑh¡mp ê$bê$ ‘^pfu, V¡$guap¡“ A“¡ Bd¡Bg Üpfp S>¡ k„v$¡ip ‘pW$ìep R>¡, s¡dS> 

A„rsdq¾$ep kde¡ lpS>f flu cphcfu îÙp„S>rg s¡dS> ‘yó‘p„S>rg Ap‘hp bv$g Adpfp v$f¡L$ kNpõ“¡luS>“p¡ s’p rdÓp¡“p¡ 

ìe[¼sNs Apcpf dp“hp¡ Ai¼e lp¡hp’u Adp¡ Ap âÅ‘rs k„v$¡i Üpfp Ap‘ kp¥“p¡ lpqv$®L$ Apcpf dp“uA¡ R>uA¡. 

kyM vy$:Mdp„ kv$pe lksp füp, 

kp¥“p úv$edp„ hksp füp—& 

Ap‘“p¡ ^prd®L$ A“¡ dpepmy õhcph, 

Dv$pf qv$g s’p, Ap‘“u ‘fp¡‘L$pfu h©rÑ“u 

epv$ l„d¡ip ldpfp qv$gdp„ fl¡i¡¸—&—& 

± “pfpeZ 

‘fd L©$‘pmy ‘fdpÐdp kv¹$Ns“p Adf ApÐdp“¡ rQf ip„rs bnp¡ A¡S> ldpfu A„s:L$fZ“u âcy âp’®“p. 

I never truly learned what the words ‘I MISS YOU’ were until I reached for your 

hand and it was not there. I LOVE YOU MUM. 

Bhupendrabhai Dahyabhai Mistry (Son) America 

Bhavnaben B Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Ramnikbhai Dahyabhai Mistry (Son) 

Shilaben R Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Dakshaben P Mistry (Daughter) 

gu 

Pravinbhai K Mistry (Son-in-Law) 

Mukeshbhai Dahyabhai Mistry (Son) Canada 

Bhavnaben M Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Grandchildren: Suraj & his Wife Trushna, Sapna & her Husband Karan, Reena, Neil, Preeya & Nisha 

Tamanna & Master Trishul 

Great Grandchild: Niam 

s¡dS> kh£ Ly$Vy„$buS>“p¡“p ± “pfpeZ 

36 Hay Lane, London NW9 0ND 

kv¹$Ns“p ‘yÎep’£ âÅ‘rs k„v$¡i“¡ ‘p¦X$ 250.00 “y„ v$p“ Ap‘hpdp„ Apìey„ R>¡, Apcpf 




Thakorbhai Dahyabhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. W$pL$p¡fcpB X$püpcpB rd”u 

30.08.1946 (Kapletha, India) - 07.07.2017 (COSELEY, UK) 

30.08.1946 L$‘g¡’p, cpfs - 07.07.2017 L$p¡Tgu, ey.L¡$. 

In loving memory of a dear husband, loving father and grandfather. We will always miss you 

and are so grateful for everything you have done for us. You worked hard for your whole life 

and did sacrifices for us to give us better life. 

Your generosity and willingness to help others was your virtue and will be forever 

remembered. 

You will always have a special place in our hearts and may your smile be looking down on 

us. May his soul’s onward journey be blissful and rest in eternal peace. 

OX$u OX$u epv$ Aph¡ sdpfu, hfkphu “p„M¡ Ap„Mp¡ Adpfu—& vy$:M v$¡MpX$éy„ “rl, kyM R>gL$pìey„ “rl—& 

lõsy dyMXy$ kv$pe lksp guû rhv$pe, L$d®ep¡Nu sd ApÐdp“¡ âcy lõsp¡ fpM¡ kv$pe—&& 

kde“p hl¡Z ¼epf¡e fp¡¼ep “’u. aŸg sp¡ L$fdpe Ney„ ‘Z kyN„^ L$fdpsu “’u. Ap‘“p¡ â¡dpm cqfep¡ õhcph kv$p epv$ 

Aph¡ R>¡. sdp¡A¡ kp¥ hÃQ¡’u rhv$pe gB guû. Ap‘“y„ dyMXy kv$p Æhs füy„ R>¡. sdpfp rh“p Æh“ ky“y ky“y R>¡. Ap‘ Äep„ lp¡ 

Ðep„ âcy sd“¡ ip„rs Ap‘¡ A¡S> âp’®“p. 

Om Shantih Shantih Shantih 

Late Dahyabhai Bhagabhai Mistry (Father) 

Late Vallabhbhai Kikabhai Mistry (Father-in-Law) 

Jayeshbhai Thakorbhai Mistry (Son) 

Chanchalben Thakorbhai Mistry (Wife) 

gu 

Late Revaben D Mistry (Mother) 

Late Ambaben V Mistry (Mother-in-Law) 

Darshnaben J Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Amishbhai Thakorbhai Mistry (Son) 

Grandchildren: Dev Krishna J Mistry & Siya J Mistry 

Jai Shri Krishna 

44 Upper Ettingshall Road, Coseley, WV14 9QZ 



85



Jamnaben Vallabhbhai Gosai (Late) 

õh. S>d“pb¡“ hëgccpB Np¡kpB 

29.12.1940 (Matwad, India) - 23.10.2017 (Coventry, UK) 

29.12.1940 dV$hpX$, cpfs - 23.10.2017 L$p¡h¡ÞV²$u, ey.L¡$. 

cygp¡ cg¡ buSy> b^y„, dp-bp‘ “¡ cygkp¡ “lu 

ArZs R>¡ D‘L$pf A¡“p, A¡l rhkfkp¡ “lu—& 

In loving memory of a dear wife, loving mother, doting grandma, great-grandma and a caring 

mother-in-law. Those of you that had the pleasure of knowing our mother will remember her true 

kindness, caring nature and her many sacrifices in helping others. 

Mum (Ba) we thank you. 

You were always there for us. You put us before yourself and you gave us your best. When you 

suffered a double stroke in May 2013, we were fortunate to bring you back home and spend over 

4 years with you. This allowed us to care for you and spend quality time with you - creating more 

memories that we will cherish forever. 

We all miss you so much, our heart is sore, as time goes by we will miss you more. Your loving 

smile, your gentle face, no one can fill your place. Your wise words and advice you gave us will stay 

in our memories for ever. Mum, you will not be forgotten, nor will you ever be as long as life and 

memory last. 

Mum may you rest in Peace. 


Vallabhbhai Bhaga Gosai (Husband) 

Sons: Rajesh Gosai, Kishor Gosai, Mukesh Gosai and Bhupendra Mistry (Son-in-Law) 

Daughters: Shushila Mistry, Vimla Gosai and Kalpana Gosai (Daughter-in-Law) 

Grandchildren: Vivek, India, Dhiren, Jessica, Hetesh and Tina (Granddaughter-in-Law) 

Great Grandchild: Nayan 


28 Cannon Close, Coventry CV4 7AS 





Chhaganlal Jivanbhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. R>N“gpg ÆhZcpB rd”u 

08.11.1941 (Navsari, India) - 07.02.2018 (Leeds, UK) 

08.11.1941 “hkpfu, cpfs - 07.02.2018 guX¹$k, ey.L¡$. 

Son of 

(Late) Jivanbhai Laxmidas Mistry 

In loving memory of a dear husband, a wonderful father, brother and a proud grandfather. 

Those who knew our dad will remember a jovial man, someone who enjoyed his food and 

drink and would always make you laugh. He was a qualified mechanic and shared his 

knowledge with many family members. He loved listening to old Indian songs and he was a 

fantastic singer. He loved his shop and had a brilliant relationship with his customers. 

He put his family first and he made everyone who met him smile from ear to ear. He was 

an inspiration to his sons and grandchildren, a source of pure joy and loving embraces. The 

grandchildren will always remember their sweet Dada Bob with love and happiness. We 

miss you so much and our memories of you will always have a special place in our hearts. 

Thank you to all our family and friends who have supported us through these tough times. 

May his soul rest in peace. 


(Late) Dahyiben Jivanbhai Mistry 

Kanchanben Chhaganlal Mistry (Wife) 

Dharmeshbhai Chhaganlal Mistry (Son) 

Dinaben D Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Ajaybhai Chhaganlal Mistry (Son) 

Nileshbhai Chhaganlal Mistry (Son) 

Sameetbhai Chhaganlal Mistry (Son) 

gu 

Gitaben A Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Preetiben N Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Ashmeben S Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Grandchildren: Aaron, Krishan, Kanai, Jai, Dillon, Ujjaini, Aryan & Kellen 


5 Kent Crescent, Pudsey, Leeds, LS28 9EE 



87



Nanubhai Rambhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. “p“ycpB fpdcpB rd”u 

06.11.1928 (Undach Vania Falia, India) - 20.06.2017 (Leicester, UK) 

06.11.1928 JX$pQ hpZuep afuep, cpfs - 20.06.2017 g¡õV$f, ey.L¡$. 

l¡ “p’ Å¡X$u lp’ ‘pe¡ â¡d’u klº dp„Nue¡, 

ifÏ„ dm¡ kpQy sdpfy„ A¡ úv$e’u dp„Nue¡. 

S>¡ Æh Apìep¡ Ap‘ ‘pk¡ QfZdp„ A‘“phÅ¡, 

‘fdpÐdp A¡ ApÐdp“¡ ip„rs kpQu Ap‘Å¡.. 

Adpfp ‘rs îu “p“ycpB fpdcpB rd”u“y„ Ahkp“ ’sp Adpfp Ly$Vy„$b ‘f Aphu ‘X¡$g AZ^pfu Ap‘rÑh¡mp ê$bê$ 

‘^pfu, V¡$guap¡“ A“¡ Bd¡Bg Üpfp S>¡ k„v$¡ip ‘pW$ìep R>¡, s¡dS> A„sp¡dq¾$ep kde¡ lpS>f flu cphcfu îÙp„S>rg 

s¡dS> ‘yó‘p„S>rg Ap‘hp bv$g Adpfp v$f¡L$ kNpõ“¡luS>“p¡ s’p rdÓp¡“p¡ ìe[¼sNs Apcpf dp“hp¡ Ai¼e lp¡hp’u 

Adp¡ Ap âÅ‘rs k„v$¡i Üpfp Ap‘ kp¥“p¡ lpqv$®L$ Apcpf dp“uA¡ R>uA¡. 

‘fd L©$‘pmy ‘fdpÐdp kv¹$Ns“p Adf ApÐdp“¡ rQf ip„rs A‘£ A¡S> ldpfu A„s:L$fZ“u âcy âp’®“p. 

In loving memory of a dear Husband, a wonderful Father and a proud Grandfather. 

Your hard work, passion, courage and sacrifices are an inspiration to us all. We will never 

forget your generous nature, wisdom in wise words and your love for us all. 

We miss you, are grateful for everything you did for us all and your 

memories will live in our hearts always. 

May God rest your soul in Eternal Peace. 

± ip„rs: iprs: ip„rs: Om Shantih Shantih Shantih 

Nandiben Nanubhai Mistry (Wife) 

Son & Daughter-in-Law: 

Bharat & Mita Mistry 

Daughters & Son-in-Laws: 

Niru & Bhagu Prajapati, Bhanu & Rajni Tailor, Josna & Rajesh Keshav 

Pushpa & Dilip Mistry, Varsha & Shailesh Mistry 

and all beloved Grandchildren 


79 Huggett Close, Leicester LE4 7PZ 





Manjulaben Navinbhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. d„Sy>gpb¡“ “hu“cpB rd”u 

09.06.1962 (Degam, India) - 22.02.2018 (Eastcote, UK) 

09.06.1962 v$¡Npd, cpfs - 22.02.2018 BõV$L$p¡V$, ey.L¡$. 

In loving memory of a dear wife, sister and loving mother, who is dearly missed 

by everyone that had the pleasure of knowing her. We are very grateful for your 

inspiration, guidance and support that you have given us. We will cherish your love, 

wisdom, open nature and memories in our hearts and minds forever. 

She was always fit and strong, and on the ball. She had so much to live for 

and so much love to give. 

We wish to express our heartfelt thanks to all those who have given their 

support, compassion and love throughout this very difficult time. 

To have lost Manju is heart-breaking – it has come as such a 

shock to us all. Her life was far too brief. 


gu 

Navinbhai Maganbhai Mistry (Husband) 

Ushma, Dasal, Yeshna, Narinder 


26 Columbia Avenue, Eastcote, Middlesex 



89



Vasanjibhai Dahyabhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. hk“ÆcpB X$püpcpB rd”u 

04.04.1922 (Amri, India) - 31.10.1965 (Southport, UK) 

04.04.1922 Apdfu, cpfs - 31.10.1965 kpD’‘p¡V®$, ey.L¡$. 

Nandiben Vasanjibhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. “„v$ub¡“ hk“ÆcpB rd”u 

04.01.1922 (Vesma, India) - 05.03.2018 (Luton, UK) 

04.01.1922 h¡õdp, cpfs - 05.03.2018 gyV$“, ey.L¡$. 

kyM vy$:Mdp„ kv$pe lksp füp, kp¥“p úv$edp„ hksp füp—& 

Ap‘“p¡ ^prd®L$ A“¡ dpepmy õhcph, Dv$pf qv$g s’p, 

Ap‘“u ‘fp¡‘L$pfu h©rÑ“u epv$ l„d¡ip ldpfp qv$gdp„ fl¡i¡¸—& 

Adpfp ‘fd-‘|Äe dpsp r‘sp “pih„s iqff“p¡ ÐepN L$fu“¡ âcy ifZ¡ Nep. s¡Ap¡“p¡ c[¼sde A“¡ ^d®ie Æh““p 

A„Ly$fp¡A¡ Adpfp Æh“dp„ A“p¡Mu R>p‘ ‘pX$u. Ad“¡ ^d®“p dpN£ hmhp“y„ âp¡Ðkpl“ Apàey„ S>¡ Adyëe R>¡. 

Adpfp dps©îu “„v$ub¡““p Ahkp“’u Adpfp Ly$Vy„$b ‘f Aphu ‘X¡$g AZ^pfu Ap‘rÑh¡mp ê$bê$ ‘^pfu, V¡$guap¡“ 

A“¡ Bd¡Bg Üpfp S>¡ k„v$¡ip ‘pW$ìep R>¡, s¡dS> A„rsdq¾$ep kde¡ lpS>f flu cphcfu îÙp„S>rg s¡dS> ‘yó‘p„S>rg 

Ap‘hp bv$g Adpfp v$f¡L$ kNpõ“¡luS>“p¡ s’p rdÓp¡“p¡ ìe[¼sNs Apcpf dp“hp¡ Ai¼e lp¡hp’u Adp¡ Ap 

âÅ‘rs k„v$¡i Üpfp Ap‘ kp¥“p¡ lpqv$®L$ Apcpf dp“uA¡ R>uA¡. 

‘fd L©$‘pmy ‘fdpÐdp Adpfp õhN®õ’ dpsp-r‘sp“p ApÐdp“¡ rQf ip„rs Ap‘¡. A¡d“u 

R>ÓR>pep Ly$Vy„$b ‘qfhpf ‘f âcy Aprii ê$‘¡ fl¡ A¡S> âcy âp’®“p. 

± ip„rs: iprs: ip„rs: 

Vinodkumar Vasanji Mistry (Son) 

indumati V Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Parvatiben Thakorbhai Mistry (Daughter) 

Thakorbhai P Mistry (Son-in-Law) 

Late Diwaliben Mohanlal Mistry (Daughter) gu Late Mohanlal D Mistry (Son-in-Law) 

Dahiben Govindbhai Mistry (Daughter) 

Govindbhai G Mistry (Son-in-Law) 

Late Ratanben Champaklal Mistry (Daughter) 

Late Champaklal A Mistry (Son-in-Law) 

Grandchildren: Bhavini & Rakesh Mistry, Nayan, Jayesh, Hasmita, Ketan, Sanjay, Kiran, 

Hina, Hitendra, Satish, Hiren, Mukund, Kalpesh & Great Grandchild Siya 


36 Manton Drive, Luton, Bedfordshire LU2 7DJ 





Lakshmidas Vallabbhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. gnduv$pk hëgccpB rd”u 

30.10.1937 (Pethan, India) - 31.03.2018 (London, UK) 

30.10.1937 ‘¡’pZ, cpfs - 31.03.2018 g„X$“, ey.L¡$. 





In loving memory of our father, Lakshmidas Vallabbhai Mistry. 

We love you and miss you dearly. Your guidance and support throughout our lives, and 

to family and friends, was always shown in the way you put other’s needs before yours. 

You have been a rock to us all, and, will always be in our hearts. 

May your soul rest in peace. 


gu 

(Late) Kamuben Mistry 

Bharat Mistry (Son) 

Naina Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Nalini Mistry (Daughter) 

Vijay Mistry (Son) 

Chandni Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Grandchildren: Arun, Kirti, Devan & Kiran 


16 Nathan’s Road, North Wembley, Middlesex HA0 3RY 



91



Jivanbhai Dayalji Mistry (Late) 

õh. ÆhZcpB v$epmÆ rd”u 

13.05.1936 (Vesma, India) - 17.03.2017 (Ashton-Under-Lyne, UK) 

13.05.1936 h¡õdp, cpfs - 17.03.2017 ApõV$“-A„X$f-gpB“, ey.L¡$. 





Adpfp ‘rs îu ÆhZcpB v$epmÆ rd”u“y„ Ahkp“ ’sp Adpfp Ly$Vy„$b ‘f Aphu ‘X¡$g AZ^pfu Ap‘rÑh¡mp 

ê$bê$ ‘^pfu, V¡$guap¡“ A“¡ Bd¡Bg Üpfp S>¡ k„v$¡ip ‘pW$ìep R>¡, s¡dS> A„sp¡dq¾$ep kde¡ lpS>f flu cphcfu îÙp„S>rg 

s¡dS> ‘yó‘p„S>rg Ap‘hp bv$g Adpfp v$f¡L$ kNpõ“¡luS>“p¡ s’p rdÓp¡“p¡ ìe[¼sNs Apcpf dp“hp¡ Ai¼e lp¡hp’u 

Adp¡ Ap âÅ‘rs k„v$¡i Üpfp Ap‘ kp¥“p¡ lpqv$®L$ Apcpf dp“uA¡ R>uA¡. ‘fd L©$‘pmy ‘fdpÐdp kv¹$Ns“p Adf 

ApÐdp“¡ rQf ip„rs A‘£ A¡S> ldpfu A„s:L$fZ“u âcy âp’®“p. 

In loving memory of a wonderful husband, who will be missed not only the day you left 

us, but everyday. Your hard work and sacrifices toward family has created a better life for 

all of us. Your generosity and willingness to help others was your virtue and will be forever 

remembered. You will always hold a special place in our heart and will never be forgotten 

by family and friends. May God rest your soul in eternal peace. 


Deviben Jivanbhai Mistry 

Late Bhuliben Dayalji (Mum) 

Late Dayaljibhai Mistry (Father) 

Ruxmaniben Kunverji Mistry (Sister) 

Late Kunverjibhai Jinabhai Mistry (Brother-in-Law) 

Shardaben Narottambhai Mistry(Sister) gu Late Narottambhai Rambhai Mistry (Brother-in-Law) 

Ushaben Maganbhai Mistry (Sister) 

Maganbhai Jaga Mistry (Balubhai) (Brother-in-Law) 

Late Lalitaben Bhagubhai Bhana (Sister) 

Bhagubhai R Bhana (Brother-in-Law) 

Veenaben Bhagubhai Bhana 


80 Blandford Street, Ashton-Under-Lyne, Lancashire OL6 7HF 





Dalpatram Makanji Mistry (Late) 

õh. v$g‘sfpd dL$“Æ rd”u 

30.03.1930 (NaLod Bigri, India) - 07.01.2017 (Bradford, UK) 

30.03.1930 “mp¡v$ buN°u, cpfs - 07.01.2017 b°¡X$ap¡X®$, ey.L¡$. 

In loving memory of a dear husband, kind hearted father and grandfather. 

We will always remember you for everything you did for us. 

Your sacrifice for the family will never be forgotten and 

will be remembered forever by all of us. 

May your soul rest in eternal peace. 

A¡L$ ìlpgp ‘rs, â¡dpmy r‘spîu A“¡ v$pv$p“u epv$ s¡dS> Adpfp dpV¡$ L$f¡g AÞe L$pep£ Adp¡ l„d¡ip dpV¡$ epv$ fpMiy„. 

Ly$Vy„$b dpV¡$ sdpfp¡ Ad|ëe cp¡N L$p¡B qv$hk Adpfp’u cygpi¡ “rl. s¡ Adpf¡ dpV¡$ epv$Nufu ê$‘¡ l„d¡i fl¡i¡. 

‘fd L©$‘pmy ‘fdpÐdp kv¹$Ns“p Adf ApÐdp“¡ rQf ip„rs A‘£ A¡S> ldpfu A„s:L$fZ“u âcy âp’®“p. 

N„.õh. v$¡hub¡“ v$g‘sfpd rd”u (‘Ð“u) 

± ip„rs: ip„rs: ip„rs: 


Deviben Dalpatram Mistry (Wife) 

Hasmukhlal Dalpatram Mistry (Son) 

Padmavati H Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Pravinbhai Dalpatram Mistry (Son) 

Bharatkumar Dalpatram Mistry (Son) 

Jasumati D Mistry (Daughter) 

gu 

All Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren 


Manjulaben P Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Bhavnaben B Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Dolatbhai Nichhabhai Mistry (Son-in-Law) 

24 Norland Street, Great Horton, Bradford BD7 4DY 



93



Hargovindbhai Hirabhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. lfNp¡thv$cpB rlfpcpB rd”u 

25.08.1938 (Degam, India) - 22.12.2017 (Dukinfield, UK) 

25.08.1938 v$¡Npd, cpfs - 22.12.2017 v$L$u“qaëX$, ey.L¡$. 





In loving memory of a caring husband, a loving father, grandfather and brother. 

You will be missed by us all. 

Our hearts and minds are filled with wonderful memories that we will cherish forever. 

We have been blessed with your guidance, wisdom and strength. 

We are proud to be part of your life and will continue to learn from you in all walks of life. 

You were very disciplined and meticulous in everything you did. 

You were a source of inspiration to us all by your well-mannered, honest and dignified approach. 

You had a remarkable passion for life and enjoyed your many years in Kenya, UK and India. 

MAY GOD REST YOUR SOUL IN ETERNAL PEACE 


Kamlaben Hargovingbhai Mistry (Wife) 

Pravinbhai Hargovindbhai Mistry (Son) 

Hasumati P Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Prafulbhai Hargovindbhai Mistry (Son) gu Priti P Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Geeta D Mistry (Daughter) 

Dhansukhlal Lallubhai Mistry (Son-in-Law) 

Grandchildren: Sunil & Jas, Arti & Ajay, Chetan & Dhvani, Sunita, Dimple & Henna. 

s¡dS> kh£ Ly$Vy„$buS>“p¡“p S>e îuL©$óZ 


4 Belverdere Drive, Dukinfield SK16 5NW 





Vasantlal Dullabhbhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. hk„sgpg vy$ëgccpB rd”u 

17.05.1936 (Pethan, India) - 27.05.2018 (London, UK) 

17.05.1936 ‘¡’pZ, cpfs - 27.05.2018 g„X$“, ey.L¡$. 

kyM vy$:Mdp„ kv$pe lõsp füp, kp¥“p úv$edp„ hõsp füp 

OX$u OX$u epv$ Aph¡ sdpfu, hfkphu “p„M¡ Ap„Mp¡ Adpfu 

cf¡gy„ Of fX$sy„ d|L$u, sdp¡ Nep õh^pd 

L$d®ep¡Nu sdpfp ApÐdp“¡, âcy lksp¡ fpM¡ kv$pe 

Adpfp Ly$Vy„$b ‘f Aphu ‘X¡$g AZ^pfu Ap‘rÑh¡mp ê$bê$ ‘^pfu, V¡$guap¡“ A“¡ Bd¡Bg Üpfp S>¡ k„v$¡ip ‘pW$ìep R>¡, 

s¡dS> A„sp¡dq¾$ep kde¡ lpS>f flu cphcfu îÙp„S>rg s¡dS> ‘yó‘p„S>rg Ap‘hp bv$g Adpfp v$f¡L$ kNpõ“¡luS>“p¡ s’p 

rdÓp¡“p¡ ìe[¼sNs Apcpf dp“hp¡ Ai¼e lp¡hp’u Adp¡ Ap âÅ‘rs k„v$¡i Üpfp Ap‘ kp¥“p¡ lpqv$®L$ Apcpf dp“uA¡ 

R>uA¡. ‘fd L©$‘pmy ‘fdpÐdp kv¹$Ns“p Adf ApÐdp“¡ rQf ip„rs A‘£ A¡S> ldpfu A„s:L$fZ“u âcy âp’®“p. 

In loving memory of a dearly departed husband, beloved Dad, Kaka and a proud Bapa. 

We are truly grateful for everything you did for us and your presence will be missed. 

Your hard work and sacrifices have created a better life for us all. 

We will cherish your love, wisdom & kind nature. 

Your memory will remain in our hearts forever. 

May your soul rest in peace. 


Bhupendra Mistry 

Shantaben Vasantlal Mistry 

Daksha Mistry 

Raghubhai Dullabhbhai Mistry (Late) 

gu 

Usha Mistry 

Vinay Mistry 

Bhikhiben Raghubhai Mistry (Late) 

Anil & Chandrika Mistry, Bipin & Vasu Mistry, Vinod & Bharti Mistry 

Rohit & Ranjan Mistry, Hansa & Dalpat Mistry (Late) 

Nila & Thakorlal Mistry, Manjula & Hemant Mistry 


20 Booth Road, Colindale, London NW9 5JR 



95



Ramanbhai Vasanjibhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. fdZcpB hi“ÆcpB rd”u 

18.12.1946 (nairobi, kenya) - 24.01.2018 (London, UK) 

18.12.1946 “pBfp¡bu, L¡$Þep - 24.01.2018 g„X$“, ey.L¡$. 

In loving memory of our beloved father, devoted husband and proud grandfather, 

late Ramanbhai Vasanjibhai Mistry. 

Our Dad was a man with a heart of gold. He was smart and talented and always ready to 

teach or lend a helping hand. A happy, trustworthy, respectable and compassionate man so 

full of love who will be truly missed by all who knew him. 

Dad always believed that there was no substitute for hard work. You get what you work for 

in life, if you fail at first don’t give up, keep going. From the moment we arrived in the U.K. 

from Kampala our dad was determined to build a new life and home for the entire family. 

He succeeded in creating an environment in which everyone flourished. 

To Dad, family was everything, nothing made Dad happier than being surrounded by those he loved; 

his diamonds were his grandchildren, nephews and nieces. Seeing everyone together, united, and happy 

brought out his wit and his sweetest and unfaltering love for our mum, his forever Prabha. 

His strength, boundless determination, courage and achievements are an inspiration to us all. We 

are extremely proud of our dad, he will always be our hero and we will be forever grateful for all 

that he has taught us and continue building on the legacy he leaves behind. 

Dad passed away on the 24th of January 2018, at the age of 71 leaving an immense void in our lives. We 

take comfort in knowing Dad lives on in our hearts and memories and in all that we do. We can smile, 

and stand tall and proud knowing that he is always by our side as we navigate through life. 

You will always be in our hearts and will forever be missed, 

May God rest your soul, Dad, in eternal peace. 

Prabhaben Ramanbhai 

Jaimini & Kamlesh 

Kalpesh & Sheetal 

Taneeka, Karishma, Shayan, Aaron & Aaruv 

349 Stradbroke Grove, Ilford, London 





Dahiben Naranbhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. X$plub¡“ “pfZcpB rd”u 

11.01.1936 (Katargam, India) - 21.12.2017 (Birmingham, UK) 

11.01.1936 L$spfNpd, cpfs - 07.07.2017 brd¯Nlpd, ey.L¡$. 

Naranbhai Dhanjibhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. “pfZcpB ^“ÆcpB rd”u 

17.06.1932 (Mota Varachha, India) - 18.06.2014 (Birmingham, UK) 

17.06.1932 dp¡V$p hfpR>p, cpfs - 18.06.2014 bftdNlpd, ey.L¡$. 

From the Grandchildren: Chatan & Hina, Vanisha & Deepesh, Jeetan, Sunil, Priya, 

Jaynesh, Keayan, Tejus, Alisha, and Great Grandchildren: Aneri, Madhav and Zuri. 

To Ba and Bapa 

Our grandparents were known as the pioneers, who travelled continents in 

adolescence and paved the way for our futures. 

Baa we say farewell, but not without thanking you. You were once someone’s beloved 

daughter, an endeared sister and a playground friend, but also as a mother, a wife, and most 

of all the best grandmother to us all. 

From our births you have nurtured and taught us right from wrong and perseverance at the 

hardest of times. Suuhun Shakti to have faith in the one above and faith in oneself and success 

will be yours to savour! Your sanskar have given us the solid foundations we have built our 

lives upon and together you both have given us the luxuries of kings. 

We are lucky to have so many cherished memories together. Your sweet spirit and calm 

temperament. We will miss 4 o’ clock chai and biscuits and the stories you would tell us. Amazing 

stories from a bygone era, some of pyaar, some of sorrow and all with a lesson to learn! We are 

honoured to have had a role in the story of your amazing life. 

To our beautiful Ba and Bapa, you have set an example of true unconditional love and dedication. 

We will continue to share your knowledge and wisdom, so we can grow and prosper to be better 

people, families and communities. We love you forever with all our hearts. 

Bhanuben & Dahyabhai Mistry 

Rajendrabhai & Kailashben Mistry 


gu 

Prakashbhai & Hansaben Mistry 

Jayantilal & Hemlataben Mistry 

Harshadbhai Naranbhai Mistry and the extended family 


72 Wilton Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham 



97



Maniben Bhanabhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. dZub¡“ cpZpcpB rd”u 

12.03.1941 (Vesma, India) - 06.01.2018 (Ashton-Under-Lyne, UK) 

12.03.1941 h¡õdp, cpfs - 06.01.2018 ApõV$“-A„X$f-gpB“, ey.L¡$. 

In loving memory of a wife, mother, grandmother and a dear friend to all, whose 

presence will be deeply missed and be forever in our hearts. 

Maniben was born in 1941 in Vesma, India, and after marrying Bhanabhai Govindbhai 

Mistry in 1955, went to live in Kenya in 1956, before finally coming to the UK, and 

settling in Ashton-Under-Lyne in 1968. 

A well respected, honest and devoted lady with a kind and generous nature, who was loved 

and liked by all. She led a simple life but enjoyed travelling, cooking, spending time with her 

family and dedicating time to sewa within the community and mandir. 

Throughout her life she was always regarded as being very hard working and self-motivated, 

making many sacrifices, to make a better life for her family and friends. 

She always thought of others before herself. Always regarded as being loyal and 

trustworthy, her guidance was invaluable, she always had time to listen and advise 

therefore people confided in her. 

We are grateful for all you have done for us and the positive impact you have made on every 

person you touched. Each memory will be forever cherished. We will always miss you and 

will always respect the values and dharma that you have instilled in us. 

We love you dearly and are honored to be your children. 

Vimlaben B Prema (Daughter) 

Mradulaben M Mistry (Daughter) 

Saileshkumar B Mistry (Son) 


gu 

(Late) Mukundrai B Mistry (Son) 

Balkrishna V Prema (Son-in-Law) 

(Late) Manharlal D Mistry (Son-in-Law) 

Mamtaben S Mistry (Daughter-in-Law) 

Grandchildren: Nimish, Nisha, Jitin, Sarena, Vishal, Rishi, Sapna, Anup, Neea & Khian 


12 Whernside Avenue, Ashton-Under-Lyne, Lancashire OL6 8UY 





Maniben Naranbhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. dZub¡“ “pfZcpB rd”u 

12.04.1930 (Valoti, India) - 29.12.2017 (London, UK) 

12.04.1930 hgp¡V$u, cpfs - 29.12.2017 g„X$“, ey.L¡$. 

Naranbhai Vallabhbhai Mistry (Late) 

õh. “pfZcpB hëgccpB rd”u 

26.11.1926 (Degam, India) - 07.05.2010 (Wolverhampton, UK) 

26.11.1926 v$¡$Npd, cpfs - 07.05.2010 hyghl£d‘V$“, ey.L¡$. 

In loving memory of our dearly beloved Ba. 

The day you left us was a very sad moment in our lives, we still cannot believe that you 

are no longer here. You are now at peace with Bapuji and we know that you will be 

looking over us together. 

Ba and Bapuji, together, you were there for us all when we needed you. You loved us, 

guided us and encouraged us to be the best we can. You will always be remembered for your 

kindness, strong characters and the laughter we shared with you both. Your absence has 

created a void in all our lives that can only be filled with memories engraved in our minds. 

From Grandchildren: Sangeeta & Manooj, Ajay & Kavi, Ketan & Pratibha, Hema, Dipesh & 

Suki, Pritesh & Kajal, (Late) Baby Mistry, Arun, Manisha, Manesh & Harsha, Bhavini 

We love you and miss you a lot Big Ba 

From Great Grandchildren: Urvi, Vishali, Dillon, Siena, Rohan, Sai, Mia & Avni 

In loving memory of our beloved Mother and Father who will be dearly missed by 

everyone who has had the pleasure of meeting you. We are grateful for everything you 

have done to create a better life for us all. You may not be here, but your smile and 

warm heart will forever remain with us. 

Hasmukhbhai Naranbhai Mistry 

Jasuben Uttambhai Mistry 

Harishkumar Naranbhai Mistry 

Urmilaben Purshottambhai Mistry 

Manjulaben Manoharbhai Mistry 


gu 


Ramilaben H Mistry 

Uttambhai Lallubhai Mistry 

indiraben H Mistry 

Purshottambhai Bhanabhai Mistry 

(Late) Manoharbhai Purshottambhai Mistry 

9 Buckingham Road, Penn, Wolverhampton WV4 5TL 



99

Birmingham 

- 

President 

Piyushbhai A Mistry 

Secretary 

Bhavanaben D Mistry 

Treasurer 

Pravinbhai G Mistry 

Shree Prajapati Association 

Birmingham 

249 Warwick Road 

Birmingham, B11 2QX 

+44 (0) 121 753 2893 

E: spabirminghamsecretary@gmail.com 

Bolton 

- 

President 


Secretary 

Champakbhai N Fakira 

Treasurer 

Subhashbhai N Mistry 

Bradford 

- 

President 

Maheshbhai A Mistry 

Secretary 

Chetan T Mistry 

Treasurer 

Dharmishta Tailor 


Bradford 

Hindu Temple and Community Centre 

Thornton Lane, Off Little Horton Lane, 

Bradford, BD5 9DN 

+ 44 (0) 1274 578115 

E: secretary@spabradford.org.uk 

London 

- 

President 

Bhagwandas K Mistry 

Secretary 

Bhavesh R Mistry 

Treasurer 

Ranjanben M Mistry 


London 

519 North Circular Road 

London, NW2 7QG 

E: spalondonsecretary@gmail.com 

Loughborough 

- 

President 

Nileshbhai S Mistry 

+44 (0) 1509 557016 

Secretary 

Dipakbhai C Mistry 

+44 (0) 1509 557128 

Treasurer 

Babubhai R Mistry 

+44 (0) 1509 211216 

Luton 

- 

President 

Yogeshbhai G Mistry 

+44 (0) 1582 583332 

Secretary 

Kirtiben B Mistry 

+44 (0) 1582 580007 

Treasurer 

Ashockbhai P Mistry 

+44 (0) 1582 573551 

www.spaluton.com 

www.facebook.com/spaluton 

instagram: @spaluton 

Branch Officers 


Coventry 

- 

President 

Dilipbhai R Mistry 

Secretary 

Shailesh J Prajapati 

Treasurer 

Rajeshbhai D Mistry 

East London 

& Ilford 

President 

Vinubhai B Mistry 

+44 (0) 7400 069307 

Secretary 

Hansaben R Mistry 

+ 44 (0) 7850 069 582 

E: hansa.mistry@hotmail.co.uk 

Treasurer 

Uttambhai S Mistry 

+44 (0) 7956 696 289 

Leicester 

- 

President 

Jayantilal D Mistry 

Secretary 

Kalpanaben C Mistry 

Treasurer 

Arvindbhai P Mistry 


Leicester 

Ulverscroft Road, Leicester, LE4 6BY 

+ 44 (0) 116 262 8560 

E: leicester@shreeprajapati.org.uk 

Preston 

- 

President 

- 

Secretary 

Umeshbhai A Mistry 

+44 (0) 1772 497705 

Treasurer 

Sunilbhai P Lad 

+44 (0)1772 774853 

Rugby 

- 

President 

Mrs Revaben P Mistry 

+44 (0) 1788 579915 

Secretary 

Shashikant M Mistry 

+44 (0) 7855 32 0622 

Treasurer 

Vasanji G Chhana 

+44 (0) 1788 815898 

Tameside 

- 

President 

Bharatbhai V Mistry 

+44 (0) 161 344 1658 

Secretary 

Saileshbhai B Mistry 

+44 (0) 7972 067222 

E: spatameside@hotmail.com 

Treasurer 

Amratbhai G Mistry 

+44 (0) 7918 134809 


- 

President 

Bhupendrabhai K Mistry 

+44 (0) 1933 383428 

Secretary 

Hiren Prajapati 

+44 (0)7956 005949 

Treasurer 

Kalpanaben S Mistry 

+44 (0) 1933 276584 

Walsall 

- 

Acting President 

Jayantibhai P Mistry 

+44 (0) 1902 494147 

Secretary 

Mukeshbhai T Mistry 

+44 (0) 1922 720205 

Treasurer 

Nileshbhai J Mistry 

+44 (0) 1922 610510 

18/19 


101

Charity Registered No. 802570 

Charity Trustees, Holding Trustees & Working Committee 

2018/19 

Charity Trustees 

President 

Vice President 

Secretary 

Treasurer 

Youth Leader 

Charity Co-Ordinator 

SPA (UK) ITF Chair 

Mahila Convenor 

Birmingham 

Bolton 

Bradford 

Coventry 

East London 

Leicester 

London 

Loughborough 

Luton 

Preston 

Rugby 

Tameside 

Walsall 


Bharatbhai C Mistry (Birmingham) 

Balubhai Lad (Bradford) 

Vipulbhai H Mistry(Birmingham) 

Kamleshbhai C Mistry (Birmingham) 

- 

Jitubhai C Mistry (Leicester) 

Hansaben K Mistry (Bolton) 

Nayanaben N Mistry (Leicester) 

Kiranchandra D Mistry 


Shantilalbhai V Mistry 

Bhikhubhai Mistry 

Uttambhai S Mistry 


Gulabbhai Mistry 

Rameshbhai Mistry 

Yogeshbhai G Mistry 

Umeshbhai Mistry 

Rameshbhai Mistry 

Bharatbhai Mistry 

Vasantbhai K Mistry 

Bhupendrabhai K Mistry 

bharat.mistry4@btinternet.com 

Balu_lad@hotmail.com 


kamleshkmistry@hotmail.com 

- 

jitumistry@ntlworld.com 


Nayanamistry62@hotmail.com 

kiran.mistry@colop.co.uk 


svrmistry@gmail.com 

bicmistry@hotmail.com 

w.mistry@ntlworld.com 

jay.mistry1@sky.com 

mistrylaw@hotmail.com 

ramesh.1951@hotmai.co.uk 

ymistry52@gmail.com 

umistry23@googlemail.com 

ram.mistry@tiscali.co.uk 

baz_prav@hotmail.com 

vasant.mistry@yahoo.co.uk 

bhups66mistry@hotmail.co.uk 

Holding Trustees 

Birmingham 

Bolton 

Bradford 

Coventry 

East London 

Leicester 

London 

Loughborough 

Luton 

Preston 

Rugby 

Tameside 

Walsall 


Amratbhai B Mistry 

Bhagubhai B Mistry 

Bhagubhai F Tailor 

Pravinbhai Mistry 

Balvantrai M Mistry 


Jayantibhai L Mistry 

Jayantibhai N Mistry 

Ashockbhai P Mistry 

Prakashbhai P Mistry 

Kantibhai Rambhai Mistry 

Manubhai G Mistry 

Jayantibhai Mistry 

Nanubhai Mistry 

amritbmistry@yahoo.co.uk 

bhagwanjibhana@hotmail.com 

secretary@spabradford.org.uk 

pravin.mistry@hotmail.co.uk 

balmistry@ymail.com 

jay.mistry1@sky.com 

jay.mistry48@gmail.com 

jmistry2@sky.com 

ashock_mist@btopenworld.com 

prakashmistry@aol.com 

krambhai87@hotmail.com 

manumistry@aol.com 

jayanti_p@live.co.uk 

jamispus@hotmail.com 

Working Committee or 

Sub-committee Members 

Assistant Secretary 

Assistant Treasurer 

Youth Team 

PRO 

SPA (UK) ITF Secretary 

Mahila Secretary 

Mahila Assistant 

Single/Mingle 

Sandesh Editor 

Sandesh Design Lead 

Accounts Examiner 

Webmaster 

GDPR Officer 

Seniors Chair 

Seniors Secretary 

Seniors Assistants 

Divyen Mistry (Coventry) 

Ranjanaben Mistry (London), Rajnikantbhai L Mistry (Leicester) 

Nikhil Mistry (Rugby), Hiren Prajapati (W’boro), Ravi Mistry (Coventry) 

Kiranbhai D Mistry (Birmingham) 

Dineshbhai L Mistry (Coventry) 

Hasmitaben Prajapati (Leicester) 

Nehaben Mistry (Leicester), Padmaben B Mistry (Leicester) 

Anilbhai D Mistry (Luton) 

Jasuben Mistry (London) 

Dineshbhai V Mistry (Preston) 

Jaybhai Mistry (London) 

Arunbhai A Mistry (Luton) 

Manubhai G Mistry (Tameside) 

Dahyabhai L Mistry (Leicester) 

Ambalal B Mistry (Birmingham) 

Balvantrai M Mistry (East London), Revaben Mistry (Rugby), Taramati Sharma (Tameside) 


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103

MEET THE 

PRAJAPATI SANDESH 

EDITORIAL TEAM 

Arun Mistry 

Digital Designer 

arun@arunmistry.co.uk 

Dinesh Mistry 

Sandesh Design Liaison 

dinesh.mistry2@gmail.com 

Vinay Chhana 

Writer 

vinay.chhana@googlemail.com 

Jaimini Mistry 

Graphic Designer 

jaimini.mistry3@gmail.com 

Preeya Mistry 

Graphic Designer & Art Director 

preeya@sutharcreative.com 

ARE YOU CREATIVE? 

DO YOU ENJOY DESIGNING 

& WRITING? 

INTERESTED? 

Then contact Dineshbhai: 

dinesh.mistry2@gmail.com 

07903 83 5028 

We’re looking for creative thinkers to join 

the Prajapati Sandesh Editorial team. 

The Sandesh provides an opportunity to express your 

CREATIVITY and SHOWCASE your publication skills 

(Graphic Design, Photography, Illustration, Proof Reading, 

Marketing, and Gwujarati language to name but a few). 

The Sandesh is distributed throughout the UK and overseas 

where your talent will be showcased.

SPA UK Sandesh - Volume 43 (2018)

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