Supporter Spotlight: Bharat Patel
His adventurous early childhood meant that by the age of eight he had lived on three continents!
Bharat Patel was a familiar face as a reporter on Central News until he became a freelance documentary producer, and he is a long-time HOPE supporter.
His adventurous early childhood meant that by the age of eight he had lived on three continents. He was one of the first Asian reporters on British radio and television and records his experiences in his autobiography, Indian Takeaway. Bharat very kindly donates all the profits to HOPE.
He first encountered HOPE a decade ago when the charity commissioned a new fund-raising film. At this time, he was providing media training and making films for organisations including Guide Dogs and the National Holocaust Museum. Bharat understood the power of visual storytelling and agreed to make our film.
He decided to write his autobiography after filming in India following an earthquake. On a day off he visited tombs of maharajas near Bhuj in Gujarat where there were two queues for admission: one for locals at ten rupees and one for foreign visitors, who paid 100 rupees. Bharat, who was born in the area and spoke Gujarati, joined the first queue but was refused admission on the grounds that he was ‘a foreigner’. The experience made him examine his identity and consider his upbringing.
He asked his family hundreds of questions, uncovering many stories, discovering that his grandfather had twice been jailed by the British for supporting Mahatma Gandhi’s Independence Movement and both his grandmothers were married by the age of two, as was the custom – though this was not revealed to them until they were 16.
Indian Takeaway details his childhood in India, Africa and England and the challenges faced by early Indian immigrants.
Bharat says, ‘I didn’t want these memories to die so I recorded them on scraps of paper until I had enough to write my book, which views a bewildering world through the eyes of a small boy.’
When he finished the book he decided any profits would go to charity and chose HOPE because, after making our film, he had a good understanding of what we do and the difference we make in our local area. We were thrilled by the offer!
But it isn’t just a case of putting the book up for sale and sitting back. Bharat often speaks at University of the Third Age events, where he sells his book to the audience. He includes stories from the book and behind-the-scenes television moments like his interviews with the world’s oldest donkey and the parrot which allegedly escaped to Spain and flew back three years later speaking Spanish!
He also reveals his chaotic humorous childhood growing up in a madcap Indian family. Until he went to Zambia at the age of eight, he had never seen anyone from Africa or Europe.
“My uncle told me English people live in a land far far away where it is always cold and rainy and so they never go outside. Some English people lived in Zambia, where it was too hot for them, so they stayed indoors. Spotting an Englishman is like spotting a tiger. You only see them rarely!”
Bharat’s experiences differed substantially from his expectations.
There will shortly be a second reprint of the book, with the proceeds continuing to go to Hope Against Cancer. If you would like a taster, BBC Sounds have an abridged version of Indian Takeaway on their website – you need to google ‘BBC Sounds,’ ‘Bharat Patel’ and ‘Indian Takeaway’. This audio version contains only 8,000 of the 67,000 words.
Both Bharat and HOPE would be extremely grateful if you purchased a copy. It’s available here.
