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They
are mainly Roman Catholics. Most of them are newly arrived in England
and work in the National Health Service and other hospitals in the
county.
The
Malayalees, as the people from Kerala are called, have formed an
association to promote the welfare of the community and to provide
a venue for meeting from time to time and engaging in leisure activities
and celebrations such as Onam, Id al Fitr and Christmas.
There
is also a smattering of Asian Christians from Tamil Nadu, from Northern
India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Gloucestershire.
Most
of them are professionals such as computer scientists and technical
hands, working in various offices and industries in the county.
Manny
Masih
Manny
presents the popular Asian magazine Sangeet Mahal on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio Gloucestershire
and is also organises the station's annual Asian Mela celebration
of Indian culture in the county.
Born
a Christian in the Punjab in India, he came to the UK at the age
of 10 in 1967.
He
couldn't speak any English then and by his own admission, some say
it's still a little dodgy!
He
is married to Vanita who is a Hindu, and they have two daughters
- Rebekah and Gabriella.
He
describes himself as a 'people person' who enjoys talking to anyone
and everyone.
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Manny
in the radio studios
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"I've
been to about 11 countries and have found that people are the same
all over the world," he says.
Manny
has worked as a programmer for IBM and as a lecturer at Gloscat.
He
has also been an Air Cadets commanding officer, and a proprietor
of a Traidcraft charity shop selling fairly-traded goods.
He
first got into broadcasting in 1988 when Radio Gloucestershire invited
him onto a show to teach a novice how to use a computer - live on
air and within three hours!
He
went on to work on the Asian programme, during which he did an interview
with Yusuf Islam (the former 1970s pop star Cat Stevens) in front
of a live audience of about 500 people.
»
See 'An Historical Perspective'
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