imported>Clovermoss at 00:29, 26 August 2021

2021-08-26T00:29:10Z

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{{Short description|British television presenter}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mahendra Kaul
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]
| occupation = [[Radio producer]] <br/> [[Film Producer|Producer]] <br/> [[Television presenter]] <br/> [[Restaurateur]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1922|7|28}}
| birth_place = [[Kashmir]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2018|7|11|1922|7|28}}
| death_place = [[London]], [[United Kingdom]]
| years_active = 1948-2018
| nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
| awards = Community Service Award ([[Asian Voice]] Political & Public Life Awards 2014)
| honours = [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]]
}}

'''Mahendra Nath Kaul''' {{postnom|OBE}} (28 July 1922 – 11 July 2018) was a British television presenter for the [[BBC]] Asian Unit.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06bxv79 | title=BBC - History of the BBC, Mahendra Kaul Interview with Sonia Deol}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.bafta.org/heritage/in-memory-of/mahendra-kaul-obe | title=Mahendra Kaul OBE| date=2018-11-06}}</ref>

Kaul was born in [[Srinagar]], [[Kashmir]] in northern [[India]], and was a [[Kashmiri Pandit]]. He was a presenter for [[Radio Kashmir]] from 1948 and then the [[All India Radio]]. He became a presenter for [[Voice of America]] in Washington DC, and also wrote India-related speeches for [[Richard Nixon]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2018/07/23/mahendra-kahul-broadcaster-obituary/|title=Mahendra Kaul, broadcaster – obituary|last=Obituaries|first=Telegraph|date=2018-07-23|work=The Telegraph|access-date=2019-08-31|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}</ref> He moved to the UK as a [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|non-resident Indian]] ([[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|NRI]]) in 1961 to work for the BBC. He presented the programme [[Apna Hi Ghar Samajhiye]] ("Make Yourself At Home") and then [[Nai Zindagi Naya Jeevan]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2018/07/23/mahendra-kahul-broadcaster-obituary/|title=Mahendra Kaul, broadcaster – obituary|last=Obituaries|first=Telegraph|date=2018-07-23|work=The Telegraph|access-date=2019-08-31|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}</ref> meaning ('New Life' in [[Hindi]] and 'New Way' in [[Urdu]], respectively), which ran for fourteen years, from 1968 to 1982.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/other-news/veteran-nri-broadcaster-mahendra-kaul-dies/articleshow/64947726.cms | title=Veteran NRI broadcaster Mahendra Kaul dies - Times of India}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2018/07/23/mahendra-kahul-broadcaster-obituary/ | title=Mahendra Kaul, broadcaster – obituary| newspaper=The Telegraph| date=2018-07-23| last1=Obituaries| first1=Telegraph}}</ref> Many immigrants to the [[United Kingdom]] of [[South Asian]] heritage primarily spoke other languages, such as [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] or [[Bengali language|Bengali]], but the programmes were presented in a mix of simple Hindi and simple Urdu, dubbed [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]], which it was hoped would be widely understood.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/people-nation-empire/make-yourself-at-home | title=BBC - One of us? Make Yourself at Home - History of the BBC}}</ref>

Kaul was made an [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] in the [[1975 Birthday Honours]], for services to race relations, and was the first British Asian to receive one. He also received the [[Commonwealth Green Pennant]] from the [[Duke of Edinburgh]], after participating in COMEX 10. Kaul received the Community Service Award at the Asian Voice Political & Public Life Awards 2014, from [[Baroness Boothroyd]] at the [[House of Commons]].

Besides broadcasting, Kaul was also a prominent restaurateur. He was the Chairman of [[India's Restaurants Limited]] in London, and opened the United Kingdom's first [[tandoori]] restaurant, [[Gaylord (restaurant)|Gaylord]] on [[Mortimer Street]], [[Fitzrovia]] in 1966. This became very successful, leading to the opening of many more restaurants around the world, working alongside [[Hari Harilela]] among others.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/britains-curry-king-warns-against-dumbing-down-of-indian-food-1084609.html | title=Britain's 'Curry King' warns against dumbing down of Indian food}}</ref>

He died a few weeks before his 96th birthday. He was survived by his wife Rajini, and their daughter, the barrister and judge Kalyani Kaul [[QC]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.asian-voice.com/Community/Obituaries/Veteran-NRI-broadcaster-Mahendra-Kaul-passes-away | title=Veteran NRI broadcaster Mahendra Kaul passes away}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Indian journalists]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaul, Mahendra}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]

Mahendra Kaul - Revision history

imported>Clovermoss at 00:29, 26 August 2021