They are mainly Roman Catholics. Most of them are newly arrived in England and work in the National Health Service and other hospitals in the county. The Malayalees, as the people from Kerala are called, have formed an association to promote the welfare of the community and to provide a venue for meeting from time to time and engaging in leisure activities and celebrations such as Onam, Id al Fitr and Christmas. There is also a smattering of Asian Christians from Tamil Nadu, from Northern India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Gloucestershire. Most of them are professionals such as computer scientists and technical hands, working in various offices and industries in the county. Manny Masih Manny presents the popular Asian magazine Sangeet Mahal on BBC Radio Gloucestershire and is also organises the station's annual Asian Mela celebration of Indian culture in the county. Born a Christian in the Punjab in India, he came to the UK at the age of 10 in 1967. He couldn't speak any English then and by his own admission, some say it's still a little dodgy! He is married to Vanita who is a Hindu, and they have two daughters - Rebekah and Gabriella. He describes himself as a 'people person' who enjoys talking to anyone and everyone.  | Manny in the radio studios |
"I've been to about 11 countries and have found that people are the same all over the world," he says. Manny has worked as a programmer for IBM and as a lecturer at Gloscat. He has also been an Air Cadets commanding officer, and a proprietor of a Traidcraft charity shop selling fairly-traded goods. He first got into broadcasting in 1988 when Radio Gloucestershire invited him onto a show to teach a novice how to use a computer - live on air and within three hours! He went on to work on the Asian programme, during which he did an interview with Yusuf Islam (the former 1970s pop star Cat Stevens) in front of a live audience of about 500 people. » See 'An Historical Perspective' | 
