Mahendra Kaul

{{Short description|British television presenter}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Mahendra Kaul

| honorific_suffix = OBE

| occupation = Radio producer
Producer
Television presenter
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 = 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.{{Cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06bxv79 | title=BBC - History of the BBC, Mahendra Kaul Interview with Sonia Deol| date=23 June 2018}}{{Cite web | url=http://www.bafta.org/heritage/in-memory-of/mahendra-kaul-obe | title=Mahendra Kaul OBE| date=2018-11-06}}

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.{{Cite news |date=2018-07-23 |title=Mahendra Kaul, broadcaster – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2018/07/23/mahendra-kahul-broadcaster-obituary/ |access-date=2019-08-31 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}} 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, meaning ('New Life' in Hindi and 'New Way' in Urdu, respectively), which ran for fourteen years, from 1968 to 1982.{{Cite news | 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| newspaper=The Times of India| date=11 July 2018}} 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.{{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}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Suroor |first=Hasan |date=4 September 2013 |title=Britain's 'Curry King' warns against dumbing down of Indian food |url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/britains-curry-king-warns-against-dumbing-down-of-indian-food-1084609.html |website=Firstpost}}

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.{{Cite web |date=17 July 2018 |title=Veteran NRI broadcaster Mahendra Kaul passes away |url=https://www.asian-voice.com/Community/Obituaries/Veteran-NRI-broadcaster-Mahendra-Kaul-passes-away |website=Asian Voice}} Rajni Kaul died on 31 August 2021.{{Cite web|title=The Times and The Sunday Times e-paper|url=https://epaper.thetimes.com/app/THE343|access-date=2021-09-09|website=The Times}}{{Cite web|date=2021-09-01|title=Veteran broadcaster Rajni Kaul passes away|url=https://www.easterneye.biz/veteran-broadcaster-rajni-kaul-passes-away/|access-date=2021-09-09|website=EasternEye|language=en-GB}}