British Gujaratis honoured at the FPA Awards 2011
10th September 2011

The Federation of Patidar Associations (FPA) celebrated the achievements of the British gujarati community with the inaugural FPA Awards on Saturday 10th September 2011 at their flagship venue 'Patidar House' in Wembley. Among those honoured were Lord Dolar Popat of Harrow, CEO of TLC Group; Dr Chai Patel CBE, Chairman of Court Cavendish; Mayank Patel OBE and Sonal Patel of Azibo Group; Subir Patel CEO of SGP Contracts Ltd; Rameshbhai S Patel, Founder Member of the FPA and former military officer Sandip Patel. Guests were entertained by dancers from resident South Asian dance and theatre company Encee Arts before dinner which was served to music by Shalini.

About the Federation of Patidar Associations

The Federation of Patidar Associations (FPA) is a Gujarati Hindu Patel community organisation established in the UK on 7 November 1976. It is one of the largest Patel organisations in the UK with 15 affiliated groups reaching approximately 17,000 families. The FPA is a UK registered charity (No. 1076284) and works to improve community wellbeing.

London Road Nursery was set-up in 1993 and today is one of the largest independent nurseries in Brent catering for fifty children aged two to 4 years. The nursery, housed on Level 1 of Patidar House, employs a dedicated team of eighteen staff members. The FPA has also been providing a Senior Citizens Club for over twenty years with a weekly programme including health workshops, yoga, meditation, fitness lessons, healthy eating advice and dental workshops.

The FPA helped to establish Encee Arts that stages theatre productions, dance, music and comedy. Encee Arts has over 150 students learning Kathak, Bharatnatyam and Bollywood Dance which over the past twenty years had attracted renowned artists to host performances and workshops. Encee Arts Theatre provides a platform for young Asians to perform artistic work and hone their talent. Performers from Encee Arts have been invited to showcase their skills at a number of mainstream events including Diwali in Trafalgar Square; Edinburgh Festival, Big Dance 2011 and a number of projects at London's South Bank.

About Patidar House

Patidar House is a £3 million flagship community centre with a 240-seater auditorium; a 240-seater banqueting hall, 2 dance studios, a music room, conference room and several smaller meeting rooms. Opened in 2005, the venue is on London Road, in the heart of Wembley. The centre is used by all communities for entertainment, festivals, theatre performances, book launches and film screenings. The centre also provides convenient conference, meeting room and training facilities with in house catering and full access for users with disabilities. Patidar House is close to Wembley Central station.

Patidar House, 22 London Road, Wembley, Middlesex HA9 7EX. T: 020 8795 1648, e: info@patidars.org, www.patidars.org.

* Patidar means "owner of land". 'Pati' means land and 'Dar' means the person who owns it. The Patidars are a large Hindu ethnic group found primarily in the state of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh in India. Patidars are also known as Patel, which is a common surname with in the community.