Tribute to MF Husain: Art Exhibition - 15 November 2011

MF Husain and Peter Virdee

MF Husain dubbed the Picasso of India who sadly died in London on 9th June 2011, aged 95 however myself along with others met in London to celebrate his life and works. Close friends of M.F. Husain, who have collected his works for many decades, held a very private and very subtle exhibition last night of a couple of dozen of his paintings at the Royal Academy in London.
The paintings were full of colour and dash and included not only Husain’s trademark horses but also Hindu deities as well as family and witty self-portraits. Collectively they did look amazing, all present agreed.
It was an honour to be involved in this event but furthermore to have met the legend and to have spent some evenings in his company.

Masterpiece 2011

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a gathering which attracts some great people and exhibits all things fantastic from whether you're into wine, sporting memorabilia or classic cars, the London gathering of art-lovers and foodies will be exhibiting pieces ranging from a 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT to a one-of-a-kind Vacheron Constantin Watch.

The last Masterpiece fair saw Sirs Michael Caine, Mick Jagger and Roger Moore assemble to admire the finest collector's items and decorative arts.

www.masterpiecefair.com

Morgan Stanley Roundtable Lunch with John Paulson - 14 June 2011

Attended a very interesting Lunch hosted by the international financial institution Morgan Stanley and a discussion with the one and only multi billionaire John Paulson.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paulson.


Had some interesting predictions for the future and the timescales for how long this financial crisis is going to last but in any event it’s a learning curve for everyone – Survival of the fittest in my opinion!

Peter Virdee

Peter Virdee born and raised in Birmingham has been working in the property business for the last 19 years. Peter is a founding Partner of B & S Property and has interests in numerous other businesses. B & S Property has set up HK & JH Charitable Trust which contributes significantly in relieving people all over the world of their hardship or distress as a result of local, national or international disaster or by reason of social or economic circumstances.
Peter has had an invaluable impact through his commitment and dedication in supporting worldwide causes. Over the years, a considerable amount has been donated to various charities, including The Princes Trust (www.princes-trust.org.uk), Mencap (www.mencap.org.uk), Sense International (www.senseinternational.org.uk), British Red Cross Chile (www.redcross.org.uk), Marie Curie Cancer Care (www.mariecurie.org.uk), The Jaralam Trust as well as contributions towards the Tsunami disaster. Last year, through supporting the Caudwell Charity (caudwellchildren.com), we were able to pay for terminally ill children to go to Disney land.
With regards to other social entrepreneurial charity work, Peter has an aspiration to work hard and create enough wealth in order to donate 50% of his wealth to charitable causes.

He has solely set up Sardar Jagat Singh Charitable Trust in India (named after his late grandfather) which has successfully carried out 400 cataract operations from start to finish. The charity has sponsored 80 children starting from primary education in the hope that this sponsorship will lead to future scholarships. Furthermore he’s UK based contribution and donations are made through The Virdee Foundation (www.petervirdee.com).

This same charitable trust has provided support to Bharuch Welfare Hospital based in Gujarat which holds 700 beds. This Charity has made a positive contribution to the Gujarat crisis whereby 172 houses were built in the area following the earthquake in 2001.

Peter is a Patron of the NSPCC (www.nspcc.org.uk), in support of this charity he has contributed a substantial amount of money in helping to build Hargreaves Centre in Merseyside. Alongside this children’s charitable work, he has had a large amount of involvement in the Full Stop Appeal. Through being an active supporter of the Guru Ram Das Project (www.grdp.co.uk) he has been able to sponsor The Women’s Alcohol Service at Foundation 66. This sponsorship will ensure that women who suffer from drug and alcohol abuse and those who are affected by domestic violence will continue to receive support for an additional year. Peter has personally (through his own wealth) sponsored a number of other charities which are close to his heart including Variety Club (www.varietyclub.org.uk), Living the Dream Trust (www.livingthedreambandd.org.uk/), Leonard Cheshire Disability (www.lcdisability.org) and Cancer Research UK (www.cancerresearchuk.org). In his desire to assist disadvantaged children in the developing world he has helped to build St Paul’s Children Care Centre in Nairobi.

Currently he is he first Sikh Patron on the board of the English National Opera and sits on the UK philanthropy board of Coutts & Co Private bank UK, in recent times he has been invited to St James Palace to meet the Queen and was part of a select Sikh Delegation to welcome HRH The Prince of Wales at the Indian war memorial in Neuve-Chapelle in France. In 2010 Peter was given the honour of laying a wreath along side Baroness Thatcher to commemorate those who contributed to the 1st and 2nd World Wars. (www.bandshomes.co.uk).

Recent initiative and involvements also include supporting the Loomba Trust which supports widows around the world, Sankara eye foundation which has helped 730,000 regain sight to date, the Libya Foundation which raised over £500k in one night alone and Pratham a childrens education charity which rasied over £2.2m in one single event.

World for Libya

On Wednesday 15^th June I attended the “World for Libya” charity ball at the Four Seasons Hotel in London.

Reem and Salah Mussa’s team created a fantastic evening and in such a short period of time, to be able to create such a successful evening within a short 4 weeks is truly an exceptional achievement.

It was great to see such a good cause being helped and supported by so many people, the auction being a great success and resulting in necessary funds being raised to help those in need in Libya. With lots of great entertainment and a wonderful atmosphere.  

A success and wonderful evening. 

Pratham Summer gathering

A warm summers evening, drinks and canapés, the setting was perfect for Pratham’s summer gathering. Pratham is a charity for children in India and was seeded in Mumbai by UNICEF and Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai in 1994 with a mission to ensure "every child in school and learning well". The organisation was formed as a tripartite partnership between the government, the corporate sector and citizens. Today the mission has expanded to 21 of India’s 28 states and is the largest non-governmental children's charity working to provide quality education to underprivileged children in rural and urban India.
An excellent evening raising awareness, an organisation providing a solution.
I praise and continue to support all the hard work done by Prathams.

http://www.pratham.org.uk/

Premier Summer Ball

Summer has started in fantastic fashion; on Saturday 4^th June 2011 I was honored to attend one of the best dinner party events I have experienced. Mr Athwal’s 25 years of business acumen was reflected in his organisation and execution or this truly special evening.

“A Bollywood night to remember” was written on my initial invite, and true to these words, this evening was a night I will never forget.

I must thank Mr Athwal and everybody who made this evening possible, a wonderful and magical night.

Setting the standards high