Shanta Pathak: Difference between revisions

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==Early life==
==Early life==
She was born Shanta Gaury Pathak Pandit in [[Zanzibar]], [[Tanganyika (territory)|Tanganyika]],  on 2 February 1927, and was of Gujarati descent. <ref name="ONDB">{{cite web|last1=Pimlott Baker |first1=Anne |title=Shanta Gaury Pathak [née Pandit] (1927–2010) |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/65904/103129 |website=ONDB |publisher=OUP |accessdate=25 November 2017}}</ref>  
She was born Shanta Gaury Pathak Pandit in [[Zanzibar]], [[Tanganyika (territory)|Tanganyika]],  on 2 February 1927, and was of Gujarati descent.<ref name="ONDB">{{cite web|last1=Pimlott Baker |first1=Anne |title=Shanta Gaury Pathak [née Pandit] (1927–2010) |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/65904/103129 |website=ONDB |publisher=OUP |accessdate=25 November 2017}}</ref>  


In 1945, she married [[Laxmishanker Pathak]], who in 1938 had emigrated from [[Gujarat]] in British India to [[Mombasa]], Kenya, where his eldest brother had a small business making sweets and samosas to the city's burgeoning Indian population.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/finance-obituaries/8222809/Shanta-Pathak.html|title=Shanta Pathak|date=23 December 2010|publisher=|accessdate=25 November 2017|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> After the Mau Mau insurgency, they left for England in 1956, reaching London with just £5.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/>
In 1945, she married [[Laxmishanker Pathak]], who in 1938 had emigrated from [[Gujarat]] in British India to [[Mombasa]], Kenya, where his eldest brother had a small business making sweets and samosas to the city's burgeoning Indian population.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/finance-obituaries/8222809/Shanta-Pathak.html|title=Shanta Pathak|date=23 December 2010|publisher=|accessdate=25 November 2017|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> After the Mau Mau insurgency, they left for England in 1956, reaching London with just £5.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/>

Latest revision as of 11:43, 11 December 2022


Shanta Pathak
File:Shanta Gaury Pathak died 2010.png
Pathak stood by a company van.
Born
Shanta Guary Pandit

(1927-02-02)2 February 1927
Died23 November 2010(2010-11-23) (aged 83)
OccupationBusinesswoman
Known forCo-founder of Patak’s
Spouse(s)
Laxmishanker Pathak
(
m. 1945)
Children6

Shanta Gaury Pathak (neé Pandit; 2 February 1927 – 23 November 2010) was a British businesswoman and the co-founder (with her husband Laxmishanker Pathak) of the Patak's brand of Indian-style curry pastes, sauces and spices.

Early life[edit]

She was born Shanta Gaury Pathak Pandit in Zanzibar, Tanganyika, on 2 February 1927, and was of Gujarati descent.[1]

In 1945, she married Laxmishanker Pathak, who in 1938 had emigrated from Gujarat in British India to Mombasa, Kenya, where his eldest brother had a small business making sweets and samosas to the city's burgeoning Indian population.[2] After the Mau Mau insurgency, they left for England in 1956, reaching London with just £5.[2]

Career[edit]

Patak's papadums, paste pot and Curry paste in 2018

She was unhappy about her husband's job cleaning the drains for St Pancras Council, and decided that they should start a similar business to what they had in Kenya, run from the kitchen of their Queen's Crescent flat in Kentish Town.[3] Progress was slow, and it was not until the late 1950s that they had enough money to buy a small shop close to Euston Station, followed by another in 1961, in Bayswater.[3]

In 1962, their neighbours complained about the noise and smell, and the Council gave them three months to find alternative premises.[2] They found a converted mill in Brackley, Northamptonshire, and left London.[2] Later, they relocated to Lancashire.[4]

Over time, the business grew to have an annual turnover of £55 million, when in 2007, it was taken over by Associated British Foods for a reported £105 million.[3]

Personal life[edit]

In 1945, she married Laxmishanker Gopalji Pathak.[1] They had four sons and two daughters.[1]

Her husband died in 1997, but the will he left was unclear, and there were long-running family disputes and various acrimonious court cases.[4]

Later life[edit]

Pathak died of heart failure on 23 November 2010, at the Royal Bolton Hospital, Farnworth, Bolton, and was survived by her six children.[1]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Pimlott Baker, Anne. "Shanta Gaury Pathak [née Pandit] (1927–2010)". ONDB. OUP. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Shanta Pathak". 23 December 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2017 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wainwright, Martin (31 December 2010). "Shanta Pathak obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2017 – via www.theguardian.com.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Obituary: Shanta Gaury Pathak, "Curry Queen" of Patak's foods". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 25 November 2017.