Dripping with Honey

For a youngster who found fame and adoration doing what he loved doing, Sunny Saujan, had a surprisingly down-to-earth voice. "Hello Ramesh!" he chirped and waxed in a lyrical rhythm. "Really nice to hear from you."

Sunny had the distinction of being one of the youngest choreographers at the fashion scene in Britain. When he was 11, his parents packed him off to Sweden – where he studied dance at the SOLN Institute. When he came back, he got together with the famous Honey Kalaria (the not-so famous Honey in those days), and the rest of course is history. Together, they created a style that combined the masala of Bollywood dance, the grace of Bharatnatyam and the pace of hip-hop. And of course, the Asian audiences in Britain couldn’t have enough of Honey and Sunny. The more they dished out, the more it was lapped up.

"We started in small clubs initially," Sunny confided. "But soon graduated to top hotels and venues like Wembley Arena. We put a lot of effort into the choreography, music and loud costumes. People really liked our energetic, high octane dancing, which was different from anything they had ever seen before."

With the recent British fixation on Bollywood, it is not surprising that their shows have started cutting across Western audiences. Sunny has performed for Claridges and also recorded a dance sequence for Jamie Oliver’s TV show, Oliver’s Twist.

"We staged our first performance to raise money for eye camps in India on behalf of the Royal Commonwealth Eye Society" he reminiscised. " Recently we raised funds for the Krishna temple in Preston."

"And, er, what about Bollywood," I asked him with a sigh. Everyone wants a slice of the Bollywood cake, don’t they?

"Oh, we just finished shooting for the first Bollywood film that Honey and I choreographed and danced for," he responded with a grin.

"The film’s called, Indian Babu, right?" I asked nonchalantly.

"My, my ... you are way ahead of me - you already know the name of our film" he laughed.

"Well," I confessed, a bit sheepily. "Two months ago, when I called Honey, her secretary picked up the phone. She told me that Honey was dancing at that very moment on top of a bus for a film called Indian Babu."

"Oh, Honey and I danced together on top of that bus," Sunny finished off for me. Oh, well - It must have been a sunny bus ride that dripped with a lot of honey. Bus karo!
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Dr Giridhari Bhan, President of VHP UK always impresses me with his sincere concern for the Hindu community. He is an expert on Kashmir, a live database on Godhra and a walking encyclopedia on Indian history.

“All the various sects in Hinduism trace back to the Vedic scriptures,” he told me last week. “Until Hindus from all these sects and organisations come together, become united in our approach, agree on a consensus and speak with one voice, we will not achieve much. We must leave behind individual opinions and delve on our commonality.”

I looked at the chaotic state of the Hindu organisations in Britain and belched. There were hundreds of organisations and sects pursuing their own individual goals, often without relating to the community as a whole. Why were so disunited as a community but so successful as individuals?

“There are some reasons why we do not get together,” pointed out Dr Bhan. “First, the inherent broadmindedness of our scriptures makes us very tolerant; second, the traditional basis for family values means we do not feel insecure like others; third, we are hard working and economically secure so there is a lot less opportunity for us to feel discriminated. Therefore we do not feel motivated enough to come together and become vocal on a single platform.”

On 22nd September, the VHP is co-ordinating a Conference of Hindu organisations in Birmingham to promote the need for unity of Hindu organisations. The Conference will have three sections. In the first section, prominent holy men and sadhus will deliver sermons and lectures to provide an insight into Hindu dharma. The second section will have presentations from Hindu leaders and delegates on problems and issues of the Hindu community in Britain. The third section will comprise of meetings and dialogue to obtain consensus and pass resolutions so that the media and other stakeholders can understand the Hindu voice.

If representatives of Hindu organisations or temples would like to take part in this Conference, please feel free to contact Dr Bhan on 07788 66 0505.
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