Blog Style - Asian Sunday & Style

Appeal: Missing Bradford Woman – Seemberjeet Kaur

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October 24, 2013

Appeal: Missing Bradford Woman – Seemberjeet Kaur

Police are increasingly concerned for the welfare of a Bradford woman who has not been seen since yesterday (Wednesday, October 23).

Seemberjeet Kaur, aged 35, from East Bowling, took a taxi from her home to Saltaire at about 10am yesterday and was dropped off in the Salts Mill area at around 10.30am. Her disappearance is out of character.

She is described as Asian, about 5ft 4in tall, of slim build, with straight black shoulder length hair which she usually wears down. She was wearing a beige coat, blue jeans and metallic brown ankle boots.

Officers are increasingly concerned for her welfare as she has been suffering from depression. It is unknown whether she has taken her medication, but she has not taken any personal property with her.

Anyone who has seen her or who has any information on her whereabouts is asked to contact Bradford District CID via the non-emergency number 101.

Kimberley Walsh and Dynamo among celebrities to be honoured at launch of London Edition

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Showbiz

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October 22, 2013

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Kimberley Walsh and Dynamo among celebrities to be honoured at launch of London Edition

Following the unprecedented success of the now two-year-old Bradford Edition,
publishing group I & E Media will be unveiling the London Edition of pioneering
media title, Asian Sunday, at the House of Commons on Tuesday,October 29.

The milestone occasion will be witnessed by a high-profile guest list of London and
Bradford MPʼs, VIPʼs, dignitaries, celebrities and influencers across the media and
business sectors.

Supported by British Airways, Event Partner, Asian Sunday Londonʼs official
launch will welcome attendees joining to celebrate the theme of the launch event –
integration – and bridging the gap in terms of ethnicity, community, business and
geography, echoing the ethos of the newspaper. Among celebrities attending will be
Bradford-born Kimberley Walsh (singer-songwriter, model, television presenter,
actress and band member of Girls Aloud); and Dynamo (AKA Steven Frayne,
Dynamo: Magician Impossible) who will be honoured by the newspaper and
members of Bradford Metropolitan District Council – the UKʼs fourth largest
metropolitan council – for their contributions to the entertainment industry. Further
celebrity details to follow.

Founded by I and E Media Managing Director, Fatima Patel, Asian Sunday
newspaper has established itself as a benchmark publication – the UKʼs first free
Sunday paper; the first Sunday title across the UK Asian media sector; highlighting
news that focuses on South Asians living and working and their lifestyle in the UK
and sharing this insight with the wider community by distributing the newspaper free;
and the first UK Asian newspaper to be solo-owned by a female.

Fuelled by the success of the Bradford edition in achieving recognition and fostering
cross-community relations between the South Asian and wider, local communities,
Fatima decided to introduce the newspaper to the Capital, reaching its abundance of
diverse communities alongside the local, South Asian community.

Asian Sunday London will be delivered to over 20 tube stations across London, in
addition to supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, retailers, businesses
and to a further 20,000 door-to-door households. Over 250,000 newspapers will be
distributed per month, with a potential readership generated in excess of a million
monthly readers. The debut copy of Asian Sunday London will be distributed on
November 10, following the House of Commons launch event.

Asian Sunday focuses on community cohesion, sharing news on the South Asian
community living, working and their lifestyle in the UK with the wider community, with
specific focus on the 3rd and 4th generation experience, in turn engaging a better
understanding of the UK South Asian community. Editorial content spans politics,
news, lifestyle, arts, culture and entertainment, beyond the stereotypical and
encouraging interaction and dialogue with youth audiences also.

Fatima Patel, Managing Director of I & E Media and Managing Editor of Asian
Sunday, said: “Launching Asian Sunday London is very close to my heart, both on a
personal and professional level. It hopefully will allow me to continue my journey as a
female entrepreneur but also, being probably the only female-owned Asian
newspaper, will help me promote to the Asian community and the wider community
that dreams can become reality – the journey of a Muslim girl from Bradford, now
daring to launch a benchmark media title in London. I hope I can make my parents
proud that the girl who used to work in their corner shops, helping with the paper
rounds now owns a national newspaper.”

From a business perspective, Asian Sundayʼs London launch will help further link
businesses and build bridges between the North and South. As well as creating job
opportunities, links will be further cemented by the introduction of northern
businesses to the South and vice versa, building a network that will make it easier for
people to connect. British Airways is proud to partner the London launch and
support I & E Media, as an airline that is also building bridges and connecting
communities and enterprise. The launch of their three, daily flights between Yorkshire
and London has seen a huge growth and exceptional support from the South Asian
community. The route celebrates its 1st anniversary from Leeds Bradford Airport on
December 10.

Gandhi’s Iconic Spinning wheel to be auctioned in UK

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October 22, 2013

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Gandhi’s Iconic Spinning wheel to be auctioned in UK

The most sacred relic of Mahatma Gandhi, his prison Charkha (spinning wheel) will take center stage at British Auction house Mullock’s on November 5 and is expected to sell for £60000 – £80000 GBP.

When India was under British colonial rule. Cotton was grown in India where the men would harvest it and the British would ship this cotton back to England and have it woven and spun into cloth which was then shipped back to India and sold at a price that the people could not afford. In order to resist against the British, Gandhi encouraged the men to spin (which was traditionally women’s work) and weave their own cloth . Since the traditional charkha was typically bulky and difficult to move, he needed a charkha that could be transported easily.

During his imprisonment in Yerwada jail, Mahatma Gandhi had devised the portable spinning wheel (charkha) that folds and has a handle for carrying. He often mentioned that his daily spinning was a form of meditation

Mullock’s Specialist Richard Westwood Brookes said: “This would have been one of Gandhi’s most prized possessions as he devised the workings of it himself, the Charkha was used by him in Yerveda Jail and was a form of meditation, it has impeccable provenance and is without a doubt the most important Gandhi artefact we have ever had for sale.”

The sale will also include a number of historical items related to the Sikh and Mysore Kingdom, of note is a fine 19th century painting of Tipu Sultan, a British school painting of the Sultans daughter dated 1837 , an early account dating to 1805 of Maharajah Ranjit Singh the lion of Punjab and a rare miniature Koran printed for the Muslim soldiers who fought alongside allied forces in World War 1.

Other Highlights include a score of important documents and photographs, some signed by Mahatma Gandhi, including an early publication advising the Jews of Germany to take up Sartgarya (non-violence) during the holocaust.

Mr Westwood Brookes said: “We have a wide selection of Gandhi and India related artefacts for sale, they have been carefully selected based on rarity, quality and historical importance, I don’t think we will ever witness a Sale of this magnitude ever again.”

The sale takes place on November 5 at Mullock’s Auctions.

‘If only Shahrukh Khan’ – Citizen Khan Actress opens new play at Bradford theatre

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October 20, 2013

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‘If only Shahrukh Khan’ – Citizen Khan Actress opens new play at Bradford theatre

(Rani Moorthy will star in her new play ‘If only Shahrukh Khan’ in Bradford)

Actor, writer and presenter Rani Moorthy has returned to the theatre stage with her newest play ‘If only Shahrukh Khan’.

The play tells the story of three Asian women residing in one house yet living separate lives. The only thing that brings these women together is their weekly Shahrukh Khan fan club meetings. Their lives are turned upside down when a young man arrives looking for his biological mother; the mystery is that any of the women could be his mother. Along with the Bollywood hook, the play incorporates themes of migration, identity, race and gender.

Malaysian born Moorthy first discovered her passion for theatre when she stood on the stage at school, she realised that being a minority meant that it was even more important to have your voice heard.

Moorthy said: “I just felt the power of my own voice that I thought this is something that I can do and communicate.”

It took her a long time to discover that theatre is where she wanted to end up, she says that: “I can look back at it now and think ok. The need to tell a story is stronger than ever for somebody who always felt like an outsider.”

Moorthy says that the play is universal as it allows women from all backgrounds to relate to the characters.

“With this play I realised that we as older women are teased, misunderstood and not considered to be funny or in use anymore and that’s the kind of voice we need to hear.”

She explains that the universal feeling of love, the love of family, safety and wanting to be valid and important are all emotions that she addresses in the play.

She also feels that as an Asian woman it is the Asian women’s voices that she is able to offer and portray to an audience.

Moorthy says: “The three women in this play feel like they have portrayed all their love and romantic love onto Shahrukh khan because they didn’t have that in their real lives, Shahrukh khan represents loss of their youth, beauty and so many things”.

The play also explores the theme of migration, Moorthy says that this play along with many of her others, allow her to present her culture and background to an audience “It allows me to look at who I am as an immigrant and the global idea of how we have all travelled.”

She says it’s a “Huge privilege” to be able to portray her background to an audience and to see how the cultural background of south East Asia can be used in the medium of English language theatre. “I bring a very different perspective, as in this case I’m exploring Asian culture through Kenya.”

Moorthy plays Kasi in this play and she says it might be way ahead of its time as people are not used to seeing Bollywood in this way.

“I think it’s very difficult to get an Asian audience to come to a theatre, unless its Shahrukh khan himself, and I recognise it as something we need to work harder on. The reason I write the way I do is because I want to entertain people, I want to allow people to be able to relate to what’s on stage and give them something to think about.”

She explains that the play is very funny but becomes dramatic as it goes on.

Moorthy also stars in the BBC One programme Citizen Khan, which is now in its second series, and says Mrs Bilal “Is a very interesting older woman, she’s always in the mosque and we don’t know where Mr Bilal is. People love her as a character I think.”

When asked what else we can expect from Rani Moorthy in the future she stated “More plays, more jalebis and fun.”

‘If Only Shahrukh Khan’ opens at Bradford’s Theatre in the Mill from October 23-26.

Celebrity to be honoured at the launch of Asian Sunday London

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October 18, 2013

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Celebrity to be honoured at the launch of Asian Sunday London

Leaders of Bradford Council will be attending the official launch of Bradford’s very own publishers I & E Media’s new title – Asian Sunday London.

It is believed that one of Bradford’s three finest, Kimberley Walsh, Dynamo the magician and Zayn Malik are in the run up to receiving a special honorary award for their contribution and achievements within the entertainment industry.

Deputy Leader of Bradford Council, Imran Hussain said: “Bradford has given birth to some outstanding talent, and it will be a great privilege to honour this talent in London, at the official launch of yet again another home grown publisher of the country’s first and only Sunday Newspaper for the Asian community.”

Editor and founder of Asian Sunday Newspaper, Fatima Patel, said: “I’m delighted at the response and support we have had from both London and Bradford. This launch will go down in history not only for the fact that we’re launch the first Asian Sunday Newspaper, but also that we’re able to use this as an opportunity to show integration, cohesion and above all beat the North and South divide and create better links and opportunities to work together.”

The launch takes place at the House of Parliament on Tuesday, October 29.

Asian Sunday Newspaper Edition 52

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October 7, 2013

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If you missed the hard copy of last Sunday’s edition then don’t worry as edition 52 is available to read online.

Shababs Column: What’s auto enrolment

Money

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October 7, 2013

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What’s auto enrolment
Roughly about a year ago the government started auto enrolment. This is an initiative to get the British public to save more for retirement. Initially auto enrolment started with the largest employers in the UK and by 2018 all employees who earn over £5, 668 will be opted into a pension scheme. If you choose to remain opted in you will have to pay 5% gross salary as well as your employer paying 3% of your salary into the scheme.
Your hard earned monies shall be invested into funds within the Nest scheme. In theory this money should grow and supplement state retirement income.
So is it worth being in the Nest scheme? Well at the moment only 10% of people whose employers have had their staging date have said no thank you I am not interest, and the remainder feel it’s a good idea.
So whose probably chosen to opt out? Well at a guess it’s probably individuals whose whole pay packet gets spent on accommodation, food and bills, as well as those near retirement who do not see the point in joining a scheme in their later years and probably graduates with a large debt who do not want more money going out of their wage packets.
Let’s face it we all need to prepare for retirement because our country is no longer financially strong, and with a growing population of elderly individuals, can the country really afford to give us a good state pension? I would say most people under 40 would agree with me that 25 plus years is a long time of uncertainty to retirement. How many of us can really put their hand on their heart and say yes I will get a good state pension and that we can rely on kids to support us or even that our kids will be able to afford or willing to support us. I know I am not relying on the state pension, and neither would I want to have to be a burden to my kids in the future; therefore i guess the only solution is save more now, or work much longer!
As someone who advises clients, I think Nest is a good idea, but in this day and age, when everything is getting more and more expensive, NEST will be the last thing people want to contribute into. The scheme is for everyone, but sadly those that should be saving the most i.e. people on incomes below £15, 000 will probably not remain in the scheme for long because, put simply, I am not sure how they can afford to do so.
For more information on auto enrolment please visit www.pensionadvisoryservice.org.uk
Please note the above is an expression of my opinion, and not advice.

Sub-Editors Column: Simon says – Back our special Athletes

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October 7, 2013

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Sub-Editors Column: Simon says – Back our special Athletes

Back our special Athletes
This week I have been out and about at various events across the district. As much as I would like to use this column to complain about how badly people have been parking near me, I would like to go on to something a bit more than just a rant (maybe look at that another edition).
One of the events I have been to this week was a civic reception for our successful Special Olympics team, who brought home 32 medals from the competition in Bath.
I don’t really envy the task of having to choose a charity, as there are so many doing important work out there, but it is moments like this where you have to congratulate our current Lord Mayor Councillor Khadim Hussain for choosing a charity such as Bradford Disability Sports and Leisure for his appeal this year and raising the awareness of their work.
Before he was officially sworn in as Lord Mayor, Councillor Hussain spoke passionately to me about his aims for this year. He said he wanted to do more to help people with disabilities and help them have a say in mainstream society.
It is charities like Bradford Disability Sports and Leisure who are helping to train these athletes for events such as the recent Special Olympics.
The Bradford team, which contained 24 athletes, was one of the smallest teams to attend and only had six coaches.
The medal haul, which earned them the civic reception, was the best in their history and shows that these athletes are worth our backing.
Not only does sport help give them confidence, but the athletes learn new skills that they can transfer into their career and day to day lives.
I have seen many people looking to back the Lord Mayor’s Appeal this year and if people continue to do this, it could help maintain and even improve our district’s athletes for years to come.
We have seen the good and bad in the district over the last few weeks. We have just witnessed Positive Bradford and seen a number of exciting books, shows and projects being launched or announced across the district.
Unfortunately, I feel I need to mention the bad. Now when I say bad, I mean the horrific details of Hamzah Khan case. The case is truly tragic and words cannot describe what Hamzah went through.
The court case has come to an end now but questions must now be asked on how this happened and why nothing was done. I have read the notes regarding how many ‘failed’ visits were made by officials. Everything we say now is in hindsight, but I find it hard to believe that if you have one meeting regarding a child’s safety, let alone three, you would make sure that the child in question was ok.
Last week, I was full of positivity but at times in this world, you unfortunately see the good, the bad and the ugly.

Until next time…

A Whole Lot of History – Asian Sunday speaks to Kimberley Walsh

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September 23, 2013

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A Whole Lot of History – Asian Sunday speaks to Kimberley Walsh

Bradford-born popstar Kimberley Walsh is on the verge of releasing her first book – A Whole Lot of History.

The former Girls Aloud member is now focusing on her own career after a starring role in West End smash Shrek The Musical and appearing on Strictly Come Dancing.

Kimberley also released her first solo album, Centre Stage, in February this year and performed with Girls Aloud’s on their final tour.

Asian Sunday caught up with Kimberley as fans up and down the country anticipate the release of the stars autobiography.

How did writing this book come about? Is it always something you wanted to do?

No not really. There was never a real desire to write a book but I was given an opportunity and I felt the time was right. If there was ever a time to write a book, it was now. It is the end of an era after finishing with girls and I was worried if I did not do it now, I would be too old to remember everything (laughs). I am just so glad I have got it all down now as it will be good for me to look back on.

Where does your book start?

The book starts right back to my childhood in Bradford. Some people may not know but I started in entertainment at a young age. I had my first TV part at five so I have always been in the business. I hope my story will inspire young people who want to be in this industry and show them what it takes.

You have showcased a number of different talents throughout the years, how did writing compare to anything you have done before?

It was very different but it came at the perfect time. I had just finished one of the most intense work schedules with the reunion stuff with the girls, my solo career and Strictly Come Dancing. I was working a crazy amount of hours. Once the reunion had finished, I had some free time, which I don’t get to appreciate as often. But I was still disciplined with myself, I kept making sure I did a certain amount of words every week as I wanted this to be the best book that I could write.

How have your friends and family reacted to the book? Did it reveal anything they didn’t know about you?

They have really enjoyed it. It has been really nostalgic for them and even though they know me quite well, they still said ‘oh I didn’t know you were experiencing that’ or that is the way you feeling. But everyone has said they are really happy with the book and that is something that really pleases me as I wanted all my friends and family to be comfortable with it.

A lot of talk before the release of the book has been comments of your relationship with Nadine Coyle and Sarah Harding, do you think that has been blown out of proportion?

You always know that the national’s will pick on something like that. I was very honest in writing this book. Basically what I said there was you work with people, whether that be in a group or an office, and a still have a lot of love for Nadine and Sarah but my choice to socialise with is Nicola and Cheryl. It is just the way the press have serialised it. When you are thrown into a group with four other girls, you get to know them and care about them but it is just like at anyone else’s work. What I have written about this is not a big deal. I just hope fans read the book and then they will see that.

As I said before, a lot of negativity has been focused in the press, but the book must have brought back some really good memories. What is your favourite part of the book?

I really like the first few chapters as they are of my childhood. From the first moment I realised I could sing and when I was practicing with my brothers and sisters. There is also climbing Mount Kilimanjaro which was a great experience and was good fun with Cheryl. Then we have working in Shrek on the West End and Strictly Come Dancing which was great. There are some really uplifting parts of the book. It’s a very warm read.

You are coming to Bradford to do a signing, I guess it was important for you to return to your hometown, are you excited for this?

That is what these signings are all about. It is very fitting to back where it all started. Yorkshire people, especially from Bradford, will be able to relate to my upbringing and I really hope this book will be an inspiration to the young people from there.

Nominations for the Bradford Inspirational Women’s Awards are opening soon, we would like to know who is your most inspirational women?

For me, I think Beyonce is the perfect inspiration. She just ticks every box, she is performer, producer, choreography, businesswoman. I just think she has done some really fantastic work and is a great role model for people.

Now the book is finished and will be released soon, what is next for you?

Honestly, I don’t know. This is the first time in ten years where I have not been working as crazy. I think for the first time I might sit back and enjoy it. There have been a few TV ideas, films and shows floating around but I just don’t know what I would like to sink my teeth into yet.

Kimberley will be signing copies of her new book from 12pm on September 25 at Morrisons, Enterprise 5, 275 Bradford Road, Idle, BD10 8EG. A Whole Lot Of History will be released nationwide on September 26.

Asian Sunday Newspaper Edition 51

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September 23, 2013

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If you missed the hard copy of last Sunday’s edition then don’t worry as edition 51 is available to read online.