“Success is a journey”

"The fact that I was the first Zoroastrian Parsi to be appointed to the House of Lords hit home when I was asked to swear the oath, and they mentioned that they had a Bible, Bhagvad Gita, Koran, Old Testament — what would I like to use? I said I would like to bring in my Zoroastrian prayer book, to which they agreed immediately. Ervad Rustam Bhedwar (vice president of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe — ZTFE) gave me a beautifully bound Zoroastrian prayer book, the sacred Khordeh Avesta, with the prayers in Roman script and a translation of the meaning of the prayers alongside. I was handed this book by the reading clerk when I swore my oath and I found out afterward some senior peers had noticed it was a book they hadn’t seen before! It was a very special moment, and so good also to have Rustam himself present in the Chamber… Afterwards, I had the idea to ask if I could present the prayer book to the House of Lords, and to my delight they readily agreed. This is so special for me, that our Zoroastrian prayer book will always be present from here onwards in the Chamber of the House of Lords, and when the next Parsi swears his or her oath the book will be there for them.”

London based Karan Bilimoria recounted some of the highlights of his investiture as Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea, MBE DL (member of the British Empire, deputy lieutenant) in Britain’s House of Lords on July 24, 2006 in response to e-mail queries from Parsiana.

The founder and CEO of Cobra Beer, Bilimoria holds a number of public appointments, including membership of the Government’s National Employment Panel and the UK chairmanship of the Indo British Partnership. He is a deputy lieutenant of Greater London and the chancellor of Thames Valley University, one of Britain’s largest universities, apart from being a visiting entrepreneur at Cambridge University, whence he previously graduated in law. As one of the 10 youngest members of the 753-member House of Lords, Bilimoria intends to focus on entrepreneurship, enterprise, business, trade and investment, higher education and India.

(Top, L to R) Jehangir; Yasmin, Karan, Heather and Nadir Bilimo-ria. (Above): Karan (fourth from left) with members of the UK Parsi community

Bilimoria was appointed by the Appointments Commission, a non-statutory advisory body set up by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to make recommendations for non-party-political peerages. The Commission’s remit is to find people of distinction who will bring authority and expertise to the House of Lords. The Commission recommends individuals on merit and their ability to contribute specialist skills effectively to the work of the House. They sit facing the throne, perpendicular to the government and opposition benches. Seven new non-party-political peers recommended by the House of Lords Appointments Commission have been appointed this year and since the formation of the Commission in 2000, just 36 new peers have been appointed. These peers, who occupy the cross benches of the House of Lords, are distinct from the party-political appointments made by the government, some of which had created a stink with allegations of peerages for sale. Only one other peer was introduced in the House the day Bilimoria made his ceremonial entry.

"I am delighted, honored and deeply humbled to have been introduced to the House of Lords. I look forward very much to contributing and participating in the work of the House, to working with my new colleagues and to serving my country as best as I can. I am enormously grateful to my family, friends, my community and my team at Cobra for all the support and encouragement I have received over the years,” Bilimoria noted in his acceptance speech.

Referring to his introduction to the House as an "unforgettable” event, Bilimoria says "after my wedding day and the births of my children, hardly any day in my life has meant so much.” Describing the event he tells us, "The ceremony was unforgettable — You go through a very long induction process after the announcement of your appointment, and after my announcement at the beginning of May I went through a very detailed induction before taking my seat. Although I was incredibly well briefed and well prepared, there was no question that I was very nervous at my Introduction. I will always remember the packed Chamber of the House of Lords and all the galleries full, and the absolute pin-drop silence in the magnificent and beautiful Chamber when I walked in with my two supporters, Lord Navnit Dholakia and Baroness Usha Prashar. Her Majesty The Queen’s representative, Black Rod, also processed with us, as did the Garter Principal King of Arms.

"I remember handing my writ of summons to the reading clerk at the despatch box and then standing while the letters patent of my appointment to the peerage by the Queen were being read out. I looked up to the gallery and saw my elder daughter, Zara, wave to me. My younger daughter, Lily (15 months), had to be taken out of the Chamber because even before we had processed in she had started to make her presence known!... You know the ceremony is over when you walk past and shake hands with the Lord Speaker and the whole house cheers ‘Here Here!’

"I had my whole family there, which was very special. It was also very special that the Indian High Commissioner, Kamalesh Sharma, and his wife, and Deputy High Commissioner Ranjan Mathai and his wife were also present.” Bilimoria’s mother Yasmin, his brother Nadir and paternal uncle Jehangir had specially flown in from India to witness the event. Wife Heather is now officially Lady Bilimoria. Their four children, who were witness to this historic moment for the Zoroastrian community, will each be addressed as "the Honorable.” Bilimo­ria’s future daughters-in-law will also enjoy that title.

Notes Bilimoria, "My elder son Kai, nine, my elder daughter Zara, seven, my son Josh, five, and daughter Lily, 15 months, were all there, and one of my lasting memories will be when I returned to the Sovereign’s Robing Room after the ceremony and my family was then brought in and my little daughter Lily ran across the room with her arms outstretched followed by the other three. They all ran up and hugged me. They were the first people to congratulate me and I will never forget that moment…

"My mother said the ceremony was very moving and that when I swore my oath it reminded her of my father, whose photograph I carried with me in my pocket throughout the ceremony.” The former General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C)of India’s Central Army Command, Lt Gen Faridoon Bilimoria, in whose honor his son has created the line of General Bilimoria wines, had passed away on August 31, 2005. Notes Bilimoria, "Throughout the ceremony I kept thinking of my father and missed him enormously. I felt as though he was there with me. Over the years, whenever I or Cobra received an award or achieved a milestone, he would say ‘Son, I’m so proud of you,’ and I would always say ‘Dad, there’s nothing to be proud of.’ With this appointment I know he would have been enormously proud, and when he said it this time I would have said ‘Yes Dad, you can be proud of me!’ In this exciting time my only regret is that my father is not here to share this with me. However, I know his spirit is with me, and this privileged position is so much thanks to everything he did for me throughout my life and to his inspiration.”

Another source of inspiration for Bilimoria has been his maternal great-grandfather Dinshaw D. Italia, who founded a business from scratch in southern India and built a sizeable business group. A philanthropist who put back into his own community and the wider community, Italia was appointed a member of the Rajya Sabha. He looked after his family extremely well, says Bilimoria, adding, "In all my life I have never heard a bad word said about him. I am very honored that three generations later I have been given the opportunity to sit in the Upper House myself, this time in the UK, and to have the rare distinction of being part of a family that has sat in the upper houses of both India and Britain.”

Zoroastrian members of the House of Commons — Dadabhai Naoroji, Sir Mancherjee Bhownagree and Shapurji Saklatvala — who were the first Asian MPs in Britain, is a prized legacy for Bilimoria. "These people have been such an inspiration. Whenever I show guests around Parliament I show them the beautiful portrait of Naoroji just next to the Westminster central lobby.” He also acknowledges the support of the ZTFE. "A lot of people don’t realize that the Zoroastrian Association, founded in 1861, was the first Asian association in the country. I am very grateful to my community for all the support I have received over the years.”

For Zoroastrian youth everywhere Bilimoria can do no better than to pass on the advice his father had given him when he left India to study in the UK: "My father said to me that wherever you live in the world, integrate with the community to the best of your abilities but never forget your roots. I have never forgotten that. I am proud of my Zoroastrian Parsi heritage, proud of my Indian roots, proud to be an Asian in Britain and proud to be British. In the Parsi community we are so fortunate to have such a rich history and tradition. Parsis have excelled in just about every field — politics, the arts, professions — and have reached the very top and been an inspiration to the whole community. And although we are a tiny community, one of the smallest in the world, we have always punched above our weight. What never fails to amaze me is that people never lack good things to say about the Parsi community. We have always had a tradition of not just looking after our own but putting back into the wider community and I am proud to be a member of such an extremely special community. I believe the potential for young Zoroastrians and the community looking ahead is enormous, wherever in the world they are.”

Happy to be in the "fortunate position to put back into the community and to practice corporate social responsibility,” Bilimoria adds, "We always say at Cobra Beer, ‘It is not just what you do but how you do it.’ Corporate social responsibility is something we do every day (rare is the day when Bilimoria is not called upon to contribute towards some cause or the other) and the creation of the Cobra Foundation earlier this year will allow us to pursue these goals to an even greater extent.” With an initial hefty donation from Cobra Beer, the Foundation is a charity open to public donations. Field Marshal Sir John Chapple GCB CBE DL as president and Bilimoria, Dynshaw Italia, Fabrizio Carpanini, Maurice Ostro as trustees, the Foundation aims to place Cobra’s myriad charities on an organizational level. The late Faridoon Bilimoria was its founder president.

"Where Cobra is concerned, I started out with the mission to brew the finest ever Indian beer and to make it a global beer brand, starting from scratch against all odds. I am so proud that 16 years later Cobra is brewed in five countries worldwide — Britain, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium and India. In India we’re brewing in one brewery but have signed up agreements for three more to capitalize on the growing market and the booming economy, and will continue to grow in South Africa and the USA, where we also have offices. I’m delighted also that for two years running we have won more gold medals at the Monde Selection awards (in Brussels) than any other beer brand in the world.” Yet Bilimoria adds,"At Cobra we are still just scratching the surface – we have so much left to achieve.”

"I have huge faith in India’s future — there’s a saying that ‘some people fail because of, others succeed in spite of,’ and despite all of India’s challenges it is succeeding and will succeed for many years to come. I am in a very fortunate position, in my role as UK chairman of the Indo British Partnership, to help build on the extremely close relationship between our countries. I see a very bright future for India and Britain.

"I’m looking forward to working and interacting with my new colleagues – the House of Lords is full of most remarkable people, people who are world authorities, the best of the best, and whose wisdom and experience in the House never ceases to amaze me. Like anything in life, the experience will be a question of what you get out is what you put in,” conveys Bilimoria who sees his elevation as "a tremendous honor (and a) wonderful opportunity at a relatively young age.”

"At one of my induction meetings at the House, a senior official said to me, ‘You’ve arrived.’ But I feel you never arrive. Success is a journey not a destination.”