Lalit Chandra Dandiker

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Lal, as he is affectionately known, was born in Dandi, India in 1931. Dandi is a small fishing village, approximately 50km north of Bombay, in the state of Gujarat, where the great Mahatma Ghandi is said to have made salt out of seawater to confront the then colonial British rulers.

Following his marriage to Sushila he, like many other Indians, moved to Mombassa in Kenya, to work as a manager on the Kenyan railway. It was there that his first son Vijay and daughter Nayantara were born. Shortly after, he moved to a post in import-export in Daressellam, before taking up a post in Nairobi, Kenya, where his third son Pradeep was born.

Being a British passport holder, Lalit came to the UK in 1963. He lived and worked in Cheltenham for the then Dowty Seals Ltd. (Ashchurch division). By late 1966 he had saved up sufficient funds to bring his wife and young children to join him in the UK. The early years were difficult and burdensome as both parents worked hard, often having two or three different jobs in order to make ends meet, to buy their first home and to further the education of their children.

Lalit became the President and founding member of the Indian Association in 1970 and latterly was instrumental in the purchase of the building and forming of what subsequently became the Hindu Community Centre. His role involved management and funding, forging links at local, county and national government level and in the early 80's representing and chairing a conference in Geneva on Asian and ethnic issues.

He was involved in the assimilation, communications and correspondence in relation to expelled Ugandan Asians in Cheltenham and Gloucester in the late 70's. Lalit was involved in the finance and logistics, to help bring the statues of deities (Hindi Gods), over from India to the Hindu Temple, for the purposes of worship. He also appeared on BBC1's Sunday morning Asian programme Apna He Gher Samajehai and BBC Pebble Mill radio to comment on and represent Hindu community issues and views. Recently he has appeared on local radio in Gloucestershire to work with presenter Manny Mashi to educate and convey to a younger audience, Hindu music from an older generation perspective - "songs of purity, meaning and substance". He is concerned that these may be lost, in the new age.

He is proud of his children. His eldest, following a career in design, has moved successfully sideways into computing and IT. His daughter is a manager for British Rail's underground division. After studying at Cambridge University (where he obtained a 2:1 degree) and Guildford Law College, his youngest son went on to become a partner/lawyer in the City of London.

Lalit now enjoys his retirement by living for five months of the year at his birthplace, in India and the rest in Cheltenham. He has traveled extensively throughout India and the rest of the world and is a respected pillar of the Asian community in Gloucestershire having links with local councils and other official departments, as well as overseas communities, throughout the world.