Super-rich Indians turn London suburb in 'Millionaires Row'
Sunday, 29 October 2006, 19:30 IST
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LONDON: Super-rich Indians in Britain are transforming a London suburb into what has been described as a 'Millionaires Row' where most properties are being bought by Indians who have prospered in business and other walks of life. In yet another indicator of the growing economic clout of the Indian community here, homes on Astons Road in Northwood, a quiet west London suburb, are being sold for nearly 5 million pounds each - and most of them are being bought by people of Indian origin. The homes include indoor swimming pools, marble staircases and extravagant landscaped gardens. According to the Sunday Times, the mention of the road's name is thought to be enough to impress both potential business partners and brides-to-be. Less than two decades ago, the paper reported that their parents were living in dilapidated flats in nearby Southall but the new generation had now moved out to the leafier areas such as Moor Park, the part of Northwood where Astons Road is situated. Keith Vaz, chairman of the National Ethnic Minority Task Force and MP for Leicester East, told the paper: "What the Moor Park community shows us is the real nature of what happens to first generation immigrants. "The stereotype view, that they are dependent on the state, is proved to be a myth because they have shown through hard work, dedication and enterprise that they are first-class contributors to our country." The report cited the example of Satish Ruparelia, 54, who made his fortune importing cappuccino machines from Italy and bought a 2 million pounds home in Moor Park. His home includes a large prayer room, complete with handcrafted marble Hindu gods imported from Jaipur in India. He said: "My father came here with 50 pounds in his pocket. He was born in India and then thrown out of Uganda during Idi Amin's Africanisation programme. In 1972 I came to England as well and got by on 29 pounds a month that my father was sending through. I was a paying guest in Finsbury Park. I had a very basic box room." Kulwinder Dhadwal, 42, a management consultant and property developer, said: "The Indian community are still fairly conservative about displaying their wealth, but now there is a desire more and more to show the fruits of their hard work."
Source: IANS
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