Radio producer Producer Television presenter Restaurateur
Years active
1948-2018
Awards
Community Service Award (Asian Voice Political & Public Life Awards 2014)
Honours
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Mahendra Nath KaulOBE (28 July 1922 – 11 July 2018) was a British television presenter for the BBC Asian Unit.[1][2]
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.[3] He moved to the UK as a non-resident Indian (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,[4] meaning ('New Life' in Hindi and 'New Way' in Urdu, respectively), which ran for fourteen years, from 1968 to 1982.[5][6] Many immigrants to the United Kingdom of South Asian heritage primarily spoke other languages, such as Punjabi, Gujarati or Bengali, but the programmes were presented in a mix of simple Hindi and simple Urdu, dubbed Hindustani, which it was hoped would be widely understood.[7]
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 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.[8]
He died at age 95. He was survived by his wife Rajni, a broadcaster and librarian, and their daughter, the barrister and judge Kalyani Kaul QC and grandchildren Symran and Callum.[9] Rajni Kaul died on 31 August 2021.[10][11]
^"BBC - History of the BBC, Mahendra Kaul Interview with Sonia Deol".
^"Mahendra Kaul OBE". 6 November 2018.
^Obituaries, Telegraph (23 July 2018). "Mahendra Kaul, broadcaster – obituary". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
^Obituaries, Telegraph (23 July 2018). "Mahendra Kaul, broadcaster – obituary". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
^"Veteran NRI broadcaster Mahendra Kaul dies - Times of India".
^Obituaries, Telegraph (23 July 2018). "Mahendra Kaul, broadcaster – obituary". The Telegraph.
^"BBC - One of us? Make Yourself at Home - History of the BBC".
^"Britain's 'Curry King' warns against dumbing down of Indian food".
Mahendra Nath Kaul OBE (28 July 1922 – 11 July 2018) was a British television presenter for the BBC Asian Unit. Kaul was born in Srinagar, Kashmir in northern...
Kaul , Indian rapper, known as KR$NA, and formerly as Prozpekt MahendraKaul (1922–2018), British BBC broadcaster and television presenter Manav Kaul...
Bageshri, as he found it simple. In a 1978 interview at BBC studios with MahendraKaul, he explained this, while playing songs like (Radha na bole – Azad,...
also included, and so were music performances. It was presented by MahendraKaul and Saleem Shahed, amongst others. Usually broadcast at the beginning...
programme and read the news in Hindi. Whilst working at AIR, she met MahendraKaul, a newsreader in Kashmiri and Urdu and a drama producer. The couple...
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (/məˈheɪndrə ˈsɪŋ dhæˈnɪ/ ; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian professional cricketer who plays as a right handed batter and a wicket-keeper...
Samajhiye meaning "Make Yourself at Home". In 1966 it was presented by MahendraKaul, with Saleem Shahed. The theme song was composed and sung by Pandit...
programmes, for the Asian community. These were presented and produced by MahendraKaul and directed by Ashok Rampal, and broadcast on Sunday mornings on the...
/Double Role Anupam Kher as Mahendra Prasad Harish as Sunny Sunil Lahiri as Ashwini Mehra Sakshi Sivanand as Madhu Sodhi Satish Kaul as Rajiv Sodhi Anant Mahadevan...
Mahendra Kapoor (9 January 1934 – 27 September 2008) was an Indian playback singer. In a long career spanning decades, his repertoire included popular...
(2009–2012), cancer. Ji Chunhua, 56, Chinese actor and action choreographer. MahendraKaul, 95, Indian-born British television presenter. Laurie Kelly, 89, Australian...
programmes for the Asian community. These were presented and produced by MahendraKaul, directed by Ashok Rampal and broadcast on Sunday mornings. Apna Hi...
wider extent. This was led by such directors as Gulzar, Shyam Benegal, Mani Kaul, Rajinder Singh Bedi, Kantilal Rathod and Saeed Akhtar Mirza, and later on...
Narendra Singh) 13 Nov 1862 – 14 April 1876: Mahendra Singh (b. 1852 – d. 1876) (from 28 May 1870 Sir Mahendra Singh) 13 Nov 1862 – 26 February 1870: Jagdish...
Bansi Kaul (23 August 1949 – 6 February 2021) was an Indian theatre director and the founder of Rang Vidushak, a theatre group in Bhopal. He was a recipient...
produced and directed by Prakash Mehra, and written by Kader Khan, Vijay Kaul and Laxmikant Sharma. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, in his fifth of nine films...
Neha Kaul as Ayesha Ishtiyak Khan as AD Sergei Khashkouski as Uzbek foreign Secy Hemant Maahaor as Gyan - Arun's Friend (as Hemant Mahaur) Mahendra Mewati...
distribution company established in 1995, and founded by Shrikant Mohta and Mahendra Soni. Based in West Bengal, this entertainment media company has produced...
Chaudhary Madhumati as Courtesan Master Anwar as Young Gopal Kaveeta Oberoi Kaul as Young Seema Mauji Singh as truck driver Mohan Choti as Buddhuram Kedarnath...
hangs back. Rekha as Sudha Naseeruddin Shah as Mahendra Anuradha Patel as Maya Shammi Kapoor as Mahendra's Grandfather Shashi Kapoor as Sudha's Husband...
Upendra Kaul is an Indian cardiologist and one of the pioneers of interventional cardiology in India. He is the Chairman and Dean Academics and Research...
one of them, Mahendra Ashwini Kumar becomes Additional Commissioner of Police and the other Raj Pratap Singhal becomes a smuggler. Mahendra has two sons...
Global Information