An award-winning Indian restaurant, Ellora, in Knowle, West Midlands has raised £14,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support, the national cancer charity.
Ellora’s manager Mash Hakim said he was "genuinely overwhelmed at the generosity of well-wishers," adding, "It makes us enormously proud and gives us great satisfaction in giving back to the local community whose loyalty and sincerity continues to motivate us.”
The Bollywood-themed fundraiser dinner and dance attracted over 200 guests, of all ages, reflecting the multicultural make-up of the Midlands region.
Founded in 1968 – the year in which for the first time in history humans orbited the Moon (Apollo 8) and revered leaders Martin Luther King Junior and Robert F Kennedy were assassinated – Ellora prides itself on its exemplary cuisine and its loyal customer base. To mark the Ellora’s 47th anniversary, a special souvenir was unveiled which featured goodwill messages from HM The Queen, actor Nitin Ganatra, MPs Julian Knight and Jess Phillips, popular comedian Shazia Mirza and Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer.
The family-friendly event was graced by the Mayor and Mayoress of Solihull, Councillor Mike Robinson and Mrs Jenny Robinson, who shared their personal story of how they lost their 36-year-old daughter, Emma Walker, to cervical cancer in February 2010.
Councillor Robinson said: “I miss my daughter everyday – she fought the cancer to the very end. As a father it is devastating to sit with your child while she slowly slips away you feel so inadequate and it is beyond heart breaking. Her memory lives on and yes I am sad but also proud to have had such a wonderfully brave and lovely daughter. He added: “A third of families will during a lifetime experience cancer in one form or another. The consequences for those with the condition and for the family can quite literally be life changing. We must do all we can to find a cure for this insidious and indiscriminate disease.”
Devi Compton, now 64, and her Late husband Sayeedur Rahman ran the Ellora from 1970 – 2001. “I feel honoured that the new owners since 2001 decided to keep the name Ellora going. It is not only a superb restaurant, but an institution,” she said.
The evening featured a five-course meal, Bollywood dances, a raffle draw and auction, a henna artist, a cake-cutting ceremony, speeches, a sitar player and more.
