Oldest Asian restaurant in Bradford? The Karachi!

Another heartfelt story is that of the reknowned “Karachi” restaurant.

Mr. M. Rafaqat (pictured here) remembers how his grandfather originally brought his culinary skills to the UK as a military chef in 1945. Establishing the Karachi in 1962, the Karachi may be the oldest existing Asian restaurant in Bradford - and one of the earliest in the UK. To quote the award winning chef Rick Stein, who is a passionate advocate of Asian cuisine and a great fan of the Karachi, “The food here is uncompromising; it doesn't tailor itself to western tastes.” Long may it continue!!!

Bombay Stores - An enterprising family

The Changing Bradford project has unearthed some fabulous stories. Here is one of the heartwarming from Bradford's most well established Asian businesses.

Sabra is the proud daughter of Abdul and Mariam Kader, founders of Bradford's famous Bombay Stores - "Spreading shopping delights since 1967" is the slogan above the doors. Sabra tells how her dad started life selling sweets in the street as a little boy in Bombay, India, "but he had a dream". Able to read and write, he later made a living helping people fill in visa application, then one day filled in one himself! Arriving by plane in London he was told that Bradford was a good place to go, so he did! Starting by sweeping up in Lister Mills, then working as a bus driver, he and his wife - who had previously been a seamstress, selling fabric from home - combined their skills and energies to set up a small fabric shop in a former fish and chip shop on Great Horton Road. From such small beginnings the Bombay Stores grew until it is now reputed to be the UK's largest Asian department store, attracting customers from far and wide. It is still a family business, with Sabra's brother Saleem playing a key role.

Accessing the archives

One of the project's important partners is the West Yorkshire Archive Services (Bradford) who have a huge collection of material relating to the history of the area from old maps and newspaper cuttings to important documents and photographs.

Archivist Ameena Mughal, who is herself a Bradfordian, has taken a keen interest in the Changing Bradford project from the outset and kindly gave a talk to new recruits at the very first workshop, using material she gathered for her undergraduate dissertation.

Today (Wednesday 3rd July) Ameena and her colleague Anthony were kind enough to host a visit to the Archive's search room so that we could see some of the interesting artefacts relating to South Asian immigration in Bradford. A small number of photographs, posters and newspaper articles were selected by project manager, Yvonne Deane, and New Focus volunteer, Rameez Khawaja, for possible inclusion in the project's forthcoming publication and exhibition. While we were there Ameena also related how her own family had come to Bradford from Pakistan. She recently wrote a fascinating blog post for Leeds Museum Service's Secret Lives of Objects web site about the way that South Asian family jewellery can create a symbolic personal and cultural links between generations.

Sikh Elders of Bradford!

Last week saw a fantastic workshop at the United Sikh Association Day Centre on Leeds Road with young New Focus members, Kaito and Rameez, interviewing 3 Sikh elders from the Bradford community. These interviews continue to reveal the fascinating diversity of people’s personal experiences and histories. 

Like many Bradfordians from ethnic minorities,  Mr Bhadur Javanda talked about his experience of coming to Bradford when he was very young. He spoke of his family's military background, a unique and intriguing part of his personal history.

Mr Harbhajan Desai, our second interviewee, gave us a fascinating insight into working in the mills in Bradford, recalling the experience of a typical working day. Harbhajan spoke particularly emotionally when reflecting upon the discrimination he witnessed in Bradford in the early days. During the interview, he spoke of how he was proud of his children's achievements in Bradford.

Another Bradfordian businessman, our final interviewee, Mr Lachman Singh talked in depth about his successful pub businesses in Bradford in the 1970's and reflected on them fondly. Lachman spoke of the contrasts between life in India and life in Bradford, explaining how he loved and appreciated both!

It was a delight to take a tour around the centre, and a privilege to meeting the members of the United Sikh Association Day Centre who are all very excited about seeing the final results of the project!

Bradford's women mean business!

At the latest workshop participants from Manningham Youth Project successfully interviewed and photographed three of Bradford’s most successful women  – Usha Parmer, Anita Rani and Naveeda Ikram.

Usha Parmer, Chief Executive of the award winning Sunrise Radio, provided an in-depth interview about her experience as a South-Asian woman. Her involvement in Bradford began when she was given the opportunity to run Sunrise Radio for six months but for Usha six months turned into a year which turned into twenty four years and she has “thoroughly enjoyed it”. Although it was challenging job for Usha, some of her earliest memories of Bradford are about how the South Asian community provided her with a close-knit community making her feel “like you were part of a family”. Usha also went on to say the South Asian community “have contributed a lot, not just to Bradford, but to the country itself”.

Next to be interviewed was Anita Rani (from BBC’s The One Show). Unfortunately, Anita was unable to come to Bradford in person so the interview was conducted online via Skype! Although Anita now lives in London she emphasised how she is “a Bradfordian through and through”. She told the group a lot about what Bradford meant to her when she was younger and how there was a strong sense of community in Bradford. In her view the South Asian community “are the backbone of Bradford”. Anita took the group on a mini ‘virtual tour’ of her house where she showed them a 1940s poster of the route from London to Yorkshire revealing that, not only does she have roots in Bradford, but she also has a poster of the route to Bradford! Anita ended her interview expressing her passion for Bradford saying “Bradford gave me everything, the most inspiring and creative city…I am proud, PROUD to be from Bradford.”

The workshop finally ended with Naveeda Ikram, the first female Muslim Lady Mayoress, provided us with an insightful view on her connections to Bradford. Although she wasn’t born in Bradford, her father’s work brought her and her family to the city. Naveeda brought along a medal which is important, not only to her, but to British history as it celebrates her role as the first Muslim Lady Mayoress. This position allowed her to change public perceptions of Muslim women and show what South Asian women can cheive in public life. Naveeda remains a social activist and is now the first Muslim female director on the Council of Mosques in Bradford.

Celebrating South Asian arts

Many fascinating stories have emerged from the oral history interviews. Dr Geetha Upadhyaya, Chief Executive Officer of Kala Sangam, is one of the leading figures in Bradford's arts scene. She told the story of how the company was started from her own living room, moving to offices in Carlisle Business Centre in Mannigham. The company eventually secured £1.5million in Arts Council funding, which enabled them to acquire St Peter's House on Forster Square, one of Bradford's finest Victorian buildings. Originally serving at the city's general post office, it is now a centre of excellence for South Asian and collaborative arts.

Inspired by Dr Geetha's account of the transformation of the building the Changing Bradford group extended the workshop to make a special visit to document St Peter's House and to see the arts in action!

Dr Geetha is an internationally respected dance teacher and choreographer. Through Kala Sangam's Academy, South Asian traditions of classical dance, music and language are being preserved and shared with the wider world

Mumtaz memories

The Changing Bradford group were delighted to interview one of Bradford's most famous business owners, Mumtaz Khan who thoughtfully brought along an old photographs and an original Mumtaz menu. 

Today Mumtaz is a global brand, and one of the reasons why Bradford is known as the curry capital of the world.

The workshop, which took place at Impressions Gallery on 6th June, offered plenty of opportunities to for participants to learn new photography skills and experiment with different portrait styles. 

Photographer Bip Mistry shares his expertise with group members.