Voice Achievers Awards Gala 2011

Mississauga: The Voice Achievers Awards Gala 2011 was held at the Grand Victorian Convention Hall on April 1 and what an evening it turned out to be. People have not stopped gushing about this one of a kind of event hosted by the Voice Media Group.

Set in the absolutely elegant premises of the Radisson Plaza Hotel, over four hundred of the community members came to witness the Awards ceremony that recognized the contributions of eight of the best within the South Asian community of GTA. The awardees were:

Category: Entrepreneurship (Male)

Winner: Vasu Chanchlani

Vasu Chanchlani is a serial entrepreneur and a philanthropist supporting projects having transformational impact. To support his goal in giving India and Indians a global recognition for their achievements, Vasu created endowment of one million dollar to set-up fund for the “CIF Chanchlani Global Indian Award” that gives $50,000 every year to the award recipient. The award recognizes global leadership, professional excellence and exemplary achievements of leaders who have done the Indian Diaspora proud. The past recipients of this award have been Ratan Tata, Tulsi Tanti, and Sam Pitroda.

Presently, Vasu is actively invested and involved in about twenty businesses including two ventures in India. Awards and accolades for Vasu have followed celebrating his professional, entrepreneurial and philanthropic successes. Vasu was awarded the “Technology Achievement Award” by the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce for his significant contribution to the field of technology in Canada, the “Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year” Finalist Award among many others.

As he stresses, all this would not have been possible without the unwavering support of his family members- his wife and two daughters are medical doctors and his son is a final year medical student.

Category: Entrepreneurship (Female)

Winner: Ms. Baljindar (Belle) Kang

Baljindar Kang was born in Tanzania, Africa and lived in England and India

before coming to Canada in 1974 at the age of 17.  She worked at a few

factory jobs before landing an office job with the Government of Canada.

Her husband, Kamaljit started a wholesale business with a few partners

in the early eighties. After having their second child, Baljindar decided

to leave her job with the Government and work full time with her husband’s

business. They bought out the other two partners and expanded the business

on their own.

In 1989, Baljindar’s husband, Kamaljit passed away while on a business

trip. She stayed strong and decided to continue running the wholesale

business. Since then she has been nominated for several awards including

‘Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year’ and ‘Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of

the Year’.

Category: Professionals

Winner: Pankaj Mehra
Pankaj Mehra is currently the Director, India & South Asia Markets at The Bank of Nova Scotia. After obtaining his Mechanical Engineering degree, Pankaj commenced his banking career with Standard Chartered Bank in India. He subsequently worked in England and the Middle East prior to arriving in Canada in 1996 and joining Scotiabank in 1997. He is a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the Director, Trade & SME at the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, an active volunteer for several organizations and a Director on the Board of the Oakville Distress Centre. Married, with two children, Pankaj enjoys golf and the very wide range of Indian music.

Category: Healthcare

Winner: Dr. Dilkhush D. Panjwani

Born in Mumbai, Dr. Dilkhush Panjwani graduated from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, and got his postgraduate qualifications of DPM & MD from Bombay University and further qualifications of MRCPsych (UK) and FRCPC (Fellow, Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons), Canada. He is currently a Consultant Psychiatrist attached to Trillium Health Centre.

He works tirelessly to enhance the image of the South Asian community; he has been closely associated with the Ismaili community initiatives and volunteers for the BAPS organization in Etobicoke. He has travelled extensively and given several public lectures on mental health issues, with a special emphasis on removing the stigma attached with mental illness. On behalf of the mentally ill, he advocates “destigmatizing and humanizing mental illness”. He has been a Board Member for the Canadian Mental Health Association, Children’s Aid Society and other organizations. Dr. Panjwani responds to this honour: “Thank you for honouring me with the prestigious Voice Achievement Award. It will inspire me to continue my fight against the stigma of mental illness and validate the cause.”

Category: Community Service

Winner: Detective Sergeant B.J. Sandhu

A resident of Mississauga since 1987, Detective Sergeant Sandhu joined Peel Regional Police in 1989. Through his 20 plus years with Peel Police, Sandhu has served in many capacities and many locations. But most of his work came under 21 Division serving Bramlea and Malton area from 1989 till 2000. He has worked closely with the Malton community including its schools before shifting to the Airport Division. He has been recognized by several agencies. Among the many awards received by Det. Sgt. Sandhu are Brampton Board of Trade for Dedicated Service, Policeman of the Year by Knights of Columbus and Human Rights and Race Relations Centre award for Excellence.

Category: Entertainment

Winner: Vikas Kohli

Vikas Kohli, a Mississauga-based musician, wrote a popular song for the Bollywood film “Mission Istaanbul”  but had ‘arrived’ even before that. As he says he grilled a samosa while composing for the Canadian Film Centre’s “Shanti Baba Ram & The Dancers of Hope”, which aired on Global. He ate the samosa while composing for “I Do. Do I?” which won a Gold Remi at the Houston International Film Festival. He produced two albums with The Responsibles nominated for Punk Recording of the Year; co-wrote Jennifer Abadesso’s song “Did You Think”, which hit #1 in Paris; and collaborated with Mika Singh, Cappadonna (Wu-Tang Clan), Justin Nozuka, Moka Only and Apache Indian.

Kohli is a member of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada.

Category: Sports

Winner: Ashish Bagai

Ashish Bagai, born January 26, 1982, in Delhi, moved to Canada at age 11 and became one of the most durable faces of Canadian cricket. He holds the Canadian record for highest ODI score after his unbeaten 137 in a losing cause against Scotland. He added 100 runs for 4th wicket with Asif Mulla which was the first ever century stand for Canada in an ODI.

Bagai captained the Canadian team during the 2011 Cricket World Cup and made 64 not out off 97 balls against Kenya as Canada won their first match of the tournament. This was the second World Cup win Canada had registered. Against New Zealand in the following ODI he scored 84 of 87 balls and he shared a 100+ parntership with Jimmy Hansra.

Category: Voice Special Award

Winner: B.K. Sethi

When Bhushan Kumar Sethi (B.K. to virtually everyone today) came to Canada from his native India in 1972, ethnic food was almost impossible to find in mainstream grocery stores. “There were some Italian products in the imported food sections,” he says, “but that was about all.” B.K. Sethi recognized early that with the rising tide of immigration, there will be a huge market for ethnic food products, and in 29 years since he launched B.K. Sethi Marketing Ltd, it has grown to be a dominant player in the ethnic food space with operations that stretch from coast to coast to yes, almost to the Arctic, as he services stores as far north as Dawson Creek and Yellowknife.

Over those 29 years, B.K. Sethi Marketing has won numerous awards, including a Canadian Grand Prix New Product Award from the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors for his India House brand of curries, pickles and chutneys. The company has also been awarded the Business Excellence Award by the Scarborough (Ont.) Chamber of Commerce.

B.K. Sethi’s vision is clearly coming true and he is preparing for the next big leap.

Mississauga: The Voice Achievers Awards Gala 2011 was held at the Grand Victorian Convention Hall on April 1 and what an evening it turned out to be. People have not stopped gushing about this one of a kind of event hosted by the Voice Media Group.

Set in the absolutely elegant premises of the Radisson Plaza Hotel, over four hundred of the community members came to witness the Awards ceremony that recognized the contributions of eight of the best within the South Asian community of GTA. The awardees were:

Category: Entrepreneurship (Male)

Winner: Vasu Chanchlani

Vasu Chanchlani is a serial entrepreneur and a philanthropist supporting projects having transformational impact. To support his goal in giving India and Indians a global recognition for their achievements, Vasu created endowment of one million dollar to set-up fund for the “CIF Chanchlani Global Indian Award” that gives $50,000 every year to the award recipient. The award recognizes global leadership, professional excellence and exemplary achievements of leaders who have done the Indian Diaspora proud. The past recipients of this award have been Ratan Tata, Tulsi Tanti, and Sam Pitroda.

Presently, Vasu is actively invested and involved in about twenty businesses including two ventures in India. Awards and accolades for Vasu have followed celebrating his professional, entrepreneurial and philanthropic successes. Vasu was awarded the “Technology Achievement Award” by the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce for his significant contribution to the field of technology in Canada, the “Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year” Finalist Award among many others.

As he stresses, all this would not have been possible without the unwavering support of his family members- his wife and two daughters are medical doctors and his son is a final year medical student.

Category: Entrepreneurship (Female)

Winner: Ms. Baljindar (Belle) Kang

Baljindar Kang was born in Tanzania, Africa and lived in England and India

before coming to Canada in 1974 at the age of 17.  She worked at a few

factory jobs before landing an office job with the Government of Canada.

Her husband, Kamaljit started a wholesale business with a few partners

in the early eighties. After having their second child, Baljindar decided

to leave her job with the Government and work full time with her husband’s

business. They bought out the other two partners and expanded the business

on their own.

In 1989, Baljindar’s husband, Kamaljit passed away while on a business

trip. She stayed strong and decided to continue running the wholesale

business. Since then she has been nominated for several awards including

‘Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year’ and ‘Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of

the Year’.

Category: Professionals

Winner: Pankaj Mehra
Pankaj Mehra is currently the Director, India & South Asia Markets at The Bank of Nova Scotia. After obtaining his Mechanical Engineering degree, Pankaj commenced his banking career with Standard Chartered Bank in India. He subsequently worked in England and the Middle East prior to arriving in Canada in 1996 and joining Scotiabank in 1997. He is a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the Director, Trade & SME at the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, an active volunteer for several organizations and a Director on the Board of the Oakville Distress Centre. Married, with two children, Pankaj enjoys golf and the very wide range of Indian music.

Category: Healthcare

Winner: Dr. Dilkhush D. Panjwani

Born in Mumbai, Dr. Dilkhush Panjwani graduated from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, and got his postgraduate qualifications of DPM & MD from Bombay University and further qualifications of MRCPsych (UK) and FRCPC (Fellow, Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons), Canada. He is currently a Consultant Psychiatrist attached to Trillium Health Centre.

He works tirelessly to enhance the image of the South Asian community; he has been closely associated with the Ismaili community initiatives and volunteers for the BAPS organization in Etobicoke. He has travelled extensively and given several public lectures on mental health issues, with a special emphasis on removing the stigma attached with mental illness. On behalf of the mentally ill, he advocates “destigmatizing and humanizing mental illness”. He has been a Board Member for the Canadian Mental Health Association, Children’s Aid Society and other organizations. Dr. Panjwani responds to this honour: “Thank you for honouring me with the prestigious Voice Achievement Award. It will inspire me to continue my fight against the stigma of mental illness and validate the cause.”

Category: Community Service

Winner: Detective Sergeant B.J. Sandhu

A resident of Mississauga since 1987, Detective Sergeant Sandhu joined Peel Regional Police in 1989. Through his 20 plus years with Peel Police, Sandhu has served in many capacities and many locations. But most of his work came under 21 Division serving Bramlea and Malton area from 1989 till 2000. He has worked closely with the Malton community including its schools before shifting to the Airport Division. He has been recognized by several agencies. Among the many awards received by Det. Sgt. Sandhu are Brampton Board of Trade for Dedicated Service, Policeman of the Year by Knights of Columbus and Human Rights and Race Relations Centre award for Excellence.

Category: Entertainment

Winner: Vikas Kohli

Vikas Kohli, a Mississauga-based musician, wrote a popular song for the Bollywood film “Mission Istaanbul”  but had ‘arrived’ even before that. As he says he grilled a samosa while composing for the Canadian Film Centre’s “Shanti Baba Ram & The Dancers of Hope”, which aired on Global. He ate the samosa while composing for “I Do. Do I?” which won a Gold Remi at the Houston International Film Festival. He produced two albums with The Responsibles nominated for Punk Recording of the Year; co-wrote Jennifer Abadesso’s song “Did You Think”, which hit #1 in Paris; and collaborated with Mika Singh, Cappadonna (Wu-Tang Clan), Justin Nozuka, Moka Only and Apache Indian.

Kohli is a member of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada.

Category: Sports

Winner: Ashish Bagai

Ashish Bagai, born January 26, 1982, in Delhi, moved to Canada at age 11 and became one of the most durable faces of Canadian cricket. He holds the Canadian record for highest ODI score after his unbeaten 137 in a losing cause against Scotland. He added 100 runs for 4th wicket with Asif Mulla which was the first ever century stand for Canada in an ODI.

Bagai captained the Canadian team during the 2011 Cricket World Cup and made 64 not out off 97 balls against Kenya as Canada won their first match of the tournament. This was the second World Cup win Canada had registered. Against New Zealand in the following ODI he scored 84 of 87 balls and he shared a 100+ parntership with Jimmy Hansra.

Category: Voice Special Award

Winner: B.K. Sethi

When Bhushan Kumar Sethi (B.K. to virtually everyone today) came to Canada from his native India in 1972, ethnic food was almost impossible to find in mainstream grocery stores. “There were some Italian products in the imported food sections,” he says, “but that was about all.” B.K. Sethi recognized early that with the rising tide of immigration, there will be a huge market for ethnic food products, and in 29 years since he launched B.K. Sethi Marketing Ltd, it has grown to be a dominant player in the ethnic food space with operations that stretch from coast to coast to yes, almost to the Arctic, as he services stores as far north as Dawson Creek and Yellowknife.

Over those 29 years, B.K. Sethi Marketing has won numerous awards, including a Canadian Grand Prix New Product Award from the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors for his India House brand of curries, pickles and chutneys. The company has also been awarded the Business Excellence Award by the Scarborough (Ont.) Chamber of Commerce.

B.K. Sethi’s vision is clearly coming true and he is preparing for the next big leap.

Mississauga: The Voice Achievers Awards Gala 2011 was held at the Grand Victorian Convention Hall on April 1 and what an evening it turned out to be. People have not stopped gushing about this one of a kind of event hosted by the Voice Media Group.

Set in the absolutely elegant premises of the Radisson Plaza Hotel, over four hundred of the community members came to witness the Awards ceremony that recognized the contributions of eight of the best within the South Asian community of GTA. The awardees were:

Category: Entrepreneurship (Male)

Winner: Vasu Chanchlani

Vasu Chanchlani is a serial entrepreneur and a philanthropist supporting projects having transformational impact. To support his goal in giving India and Indians a global recognition for their achievements, Vasu created endowment of one million dollar to set-up fund for the “CIF Chanchlani Global Indian Award” that gives $50,000 every year to the award recipient. The award recognizes global leadership, professional excellence and exemplary achievements of leaders who have done the Indian Diaspora proud. The past recipients of this award have been Ratan Tata, Tulsi Tanti, and Sam Pitroda.

Presently, Vasu is actively invested and involved in about twenty businesses including two ventures in India. Awards and accolades for Vasu have followed celebrating his professional, entrepreneurial and philanthropic successes. Vasu was awarded the “Technology Achievement Award” by the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce for his significant contribution to the field of technology in Canada, the “Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year” Finalist Award among many others.

As he stresses, all this would not have been possible without the unwavering support of his family members- his wife and two daughters are medical doctors and his son is a final year medical student.

Category: Entrepreneurship (Female)

Winner: Ms. Baljindar (Belle) Kang

Baljindar Kang was born in Tanzania, Africa and lived in England and India

before coming to Canada in 1974 at the age of 17.  She worked at a few

factory jobs before landing an office job with the Government of Canada.

Her husband, Kamaljit started a wholesale business with a few partners

in the early eighties. After having their second child, Baljindar decided

to leave her job with the Government and work full time with her husband’s

business. They bought out the other two partners and expanded the business

on their own.

In 1989, Baljindar’s husband, Kamaljit passed away while on a business

trip. She stayed strong and decided to continue running the wholesale

business. Since then she has been nominated for several awards including

‘Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year’ and ‘Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of

the Year’.

Category: Professionals

Winner: Pankaj Mehra
Pankaj Mehra is currently the Director, India & South Asia Markets at The Bank of Nova Scotia. After obtaining his Mechanical Engineering degree, Pankaj commenced his banking career with Standard Chartered Bank in India. He subsequently worked in England and the Middle East prior to arriving in Canada in 1996 and joining Scotiabank in 1997. He is a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the Director, Trade & SME at the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, an active volunteer for several organizations and a Director on the Board of the Oakville Distress Centre. Married, with two children, Pankaj enjoys golf and the very wide range of Indian music.

Category: Healthcare

Winner: Dr. Dilkhush D. Panjwani

Born in Mumbai, Dr. Dilkhush Panjwani graduated from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, and got his postgraduate qualifications of DPM & MD from Bombay University and further qualifications of MRCPsych (UK) and FRCPC (Fellow, Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons), Canada. He is currently a Consultant Psychiatrist attached to Trillium Health Centre.

He works tirelessly to enhance the image of the South Asian community; he has been closely associated with the Ismaili community initiatives and volunteers for the BAPS organization in Etobicoke. He has travelled extensively and given several public lectures on mental health issues, with a special emphasis on removing the stigma attached with mental illness. On behalf of the mentally ill, he advocates “destigmatizing and humanizing mental illness”. He has been a Board Member for the Canadian Mental Health Association, Children’s Aid Society and other organizations. Dr. Panjwani responds to this honour: “Thank you for honouring me with the prestigious Voice Achievement Award. It will inspire me to continue my fight against the stigma of mental illness and validate the cause.”

Category: Community Service

Winner: Detective Sergeant B.J. Sandhu

A resident of Mississauga since 1987, Detective Sergeant Sandhu joined Peel Regional Police in 1989. Through his 20 plus years with Peel Police, Sandhu has served in many capacities and many locations. But most of his work came under 21 Division serving Bramlea and Malton area from 1989 till 2000. He has worked closely with the Malton community including its schools before shifting to the Airport Division. He has been recognized by several agencies. Among the many awards received by Det. Sgt. Sandhu are Brampton Board of Trade for Dedicated Service, Policeman of the Year by Knights of Columbus and Human Rights and Race Relations Centre award for Excellence.

Category: Entertainment

Winner: Vikas Kohli

Vikas Kohli, a Mississauga-based musician, wrote a popular song for the Bollywood film “Mission Istaanbul”  but had ‘arrived’ even before that. As he says he grilled a samosa while composing for the Canadian Film Centre’s “Shanti Baba Ram & The Dancers of Hope”, which aired on Global. He ate the samosa while composing for “I Do. Do I?” which won a Gold Remi at the Houston International Film Festival. He produced two albums with The Responsibles nominated for Punk Recording of the Year; co-wrote Jennifer Abadesso’s song “Did You Think”, which hit #1 in Paris; and collaborated with Mika Singh, Cappadonna (Wu-Tang Clan), Justin Nozuka, Moka Only and Apache Indian.

Kohli is a member of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada.

Category: Sports

Winner: Ashish Bagai

Ashish Bagai, born January 26, 1982, in Delhi, moved to Canada at age 11 and became one of the most durable faces of Canadian cricket. He holds the Canadian record for highest ODI score after his unbeaten 137 in a losing cause against Scotland. He added 100 runs for 4th wicket with Asif Mulla which was the first ever century stand for Canada in an ODI.

Bagai captained the Canadian team during the 2011 Cricket World Cup and made 64 not out off 97 balls against Kenya as Canada won their first match of the tournament. This was the second World Cup win Canada had registered. Against New Zealand in the following ODI he scored 84 of 87 balls and he shared a 100+ parntership with Jimmy Hansra.

Category: Voice Special Award

Winner: B.K. Sethi

When Bhushan Kumar Sethi (B.K. to virtually everyone today) came to Canada from his native India in 1972, ethnic food was almost impossible to find in mainstream grocery stores. “There were some Italian products in the imported food sections,” he says, “but that was about all.” B.K. Sethi recognized early that with the rising tide of immigration, there will be a huge market for ethnic food products, and in 29 years since he launched B.K. Sethi Marketing Ltd, it has grown to be a dominant player in the ethnic food space with operations that stretch from coast to coast to yes, almost to the Arctic, as he services stores as far north as Dawson Creek and Yellowknife.

Over those 29 years, B.K. Sethi Marketing has won numerous awards, including a Canadian Grand Prix New Product Award from the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors for his India House brand of curries, pickles and chutneys. The company has also been awarded the Business Excellence Award by the Scarborough (Ont.) Chamber of Commerce.

B.K. Sethi’s vision is clearly coming true and he is preparing for the next big leap.

Mississauga: The Voice Achievers Awards Gala 2011 was held at the Grand Victorian Convention Hall on April 1 and what an evening it turned out to be. People have not stopped gushing about this one of a kind of event hosted by the Voice Media Group.

Set in the absolutely elegant premises of the Radisson Plaza Hotel, over four hundred of the community members came to witness the Awards ceremony that recognized the contributions of eight of the best within the South Asian community of GTA. The awardees were:

Category: Entrepreneurship (Male)

Winner: Vasu Chanchlani

Vasu Chanchlani is a serial entrepreneur and a philanthropist supporting projects having transformational impact. To support his goal in giving India and Indians a global recognition for their achievements, Vasu created endowment of one million dollar to set-up fund for the “CIF Chanchlani Global Indian Award” that gives $50,000 every year to the award recipient. The award recognizes global leadership, professional excellence and exemplary achievements of leaders who have done the Indian Diaspora proud. The past recipients of this award have been Ratan Tata, Tulsi Tanti, and Sam Pitroda.

Presently, Vasu is actively invested and involved in about twenty businesses including two ventures in India. Awards and accolades for Vasu have followed celebrating his professional, entrepreneurial and philanthropic successes. Vasu was awarded the “Technology Achievement Award” by the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce for his significant contribution to the field of technology in Canada, the “Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year” Finalist Award among many others.

As he stresses, all this would not have been possible without the unwavering support of his family members- his wife and two daughters are medical doctors and his son is a final year medical student.

Category: Entrepreneurship (Female)

Winner: Ms. Baljindar (Belle) Kang

Baljindar Kang was born in Tanzania, Africa and lived in England and India

before coming to Canada in 1974 at the age of 17.  She worked at a few

factory jobs before landing an office job with the Government of Canada.

Her husband, Kamaljit started a wholesale business with a few partners

in the early eighties. After having their second child, Baljindar decided

to leave her job with the Government and work full time with her husband’s

business. They bought out the other two partners and expanded the business

on their own.

In 1989, Baljindar’s husband, Kamaljit passed away while on a business

trip. She stayed strong and decided to continue running the wholesale

business. Since then she has been nominated for several awards including

‘Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year’ and ‘Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of

the Year’.

Category: Professionals

Winner: Pankaj Mehra
Pankaj Mehra is currently the Director, India & South Asia Markets at The Bank of Nova Scotia. After obtaining his Mechanical Engineering degree, Pankaj commenced his banking career with Standard Chartered Bank in India. He subsequently worked in England and the Middle East prior to arriving in Canada in 1996 and joining Scotiabank in 1997. He is a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the Director, Trade & SME at the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, an active volunteer for several organizations and a Director on the Board of the Oakville Distress Centre. Married, with two children, Pankaj enjoys golf and the very wide range of Indian music.

Category: Healthcare

Winner: Dr. Dilkhush D. Panjwani

Born in Mumbai, Dr. Dilkhush Panjwani graduated from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, and got his postgraduate qualifications of DPM & MD from Bombay University and further qualifications of MRCPsych (UK) and FRCPC (Fellow, Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons), Canada. He is currently a Consultant Psychiatrist attached to Trillium Health Centre.

He works tirelessly to enhance the image of the South Asian community; he has been closely associated with the Ismaili community initiatives and volunteers for the BAPS organization in Etobicoke. He has travelled extensively and given several public lectures on mental health issues, with a special emphasis on removing the stigma attached with mental illness. On behalf of the mentally ill, he advocates “destigmatizing and humanizing mental illness”. He has been a Board Member for the Canadian Mental Health Association, Children’s Aid Society and other organizations. Dr. Panjwani responds to this honour: “Thank you for honouring me with the prestigious Voice Achievement Award. It will inspire me to continue my fight against the stigma of mental illness and validate the cause.”

Category: Community Service

Winner: Detective Sergeant B.J. Sandhu

A resident of Mississauga since 1987, Detective Sergeant Sandhu joined Peel Regional Police in 1989. Through his 20 plus years with Peel Police, Sandhu has served in many capacities and many locations. But most of his work came under 21 Division serving Bramlea and Malton area from 1989 till 2000. He has worked closely with the Malton community including its schools before shifting to the Airport Division. He has been recognized by several agencies. Among the many awards received by Det. Sgt. Sandhu are Brampton Board of Trade for Dedicated Service, Policeman of the Year by Knights of Columbus and Human Rights and Race Relations Centre award for Excellence.

Category: Entertainment

Winner: Vikas Kohli

Vikas Kohli, a Mississauga-based musician, wrote a popular song for the Bollywood film “Mission Istaanbul”  but had ‘arrived’ even before that. As he says he grilled a samosa while composing for the Canadian Film Centre’s “Shanti Baba Ram & The Dancers of Hope”, which aired on Global. He ate the samosa while composing for “I Do. Do I?” which won a Gold Remi at the Houston International Film Festival. He produced two albums with The Responsibles nominated for Punk Recording of the Year; co-wrote Jennifer Abadesso’s song “Did You Think”, which hit #1 in Paris; and collaborated with Mika Singh, Cappadonna (Wu-Tang Clan), Justin Nozuka, Moka Only and Apache Indian.

Kohli is a member of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada.

Category: Sports

Winner: Ashish Bagai

Ashish Bagai, born January 26, 1982, in Delhi, moved to Canada at age 11 and became one of the most durable faces of Canadian cricket. He holds the Canadian record for highest ODI score after his unbeaten 137 in a losing cause against Scotland. He added 100 runs for 4th wicket with Asif Mulla which was the first ever century stand for Canada in an ODI.

Bagai captained the Canadian team during the 2011 Cricket World Cup and made 64 not out off 97 balls against Kenya as Canada won their first match of the tournament. This was the second World Cup win Canada had registered. Against New Zealand in the following ODI he scored 84 of 87 balls and he shared a 100+ parntership with Jimmy Hansra.

Category: Voice Special Award

Winner: B.K. Sethi

When Bhushan Kumar Sethi (B.K. to virtually everyone today) came to Canada from his native India in 1972, ethnic food was almost impossible to find in mainstream grocery stores. “There were some Italian products in the imported food sections,” he says, “but that was about all.” B.K. Sethi recognized early that with the rising tide of immigration, there will be a huge market for ethnic food products, and in 29 years since he launched B.K. Sethi Marketing Ltd, it has grown to be a dominant player in the ethnic food space with operations that stretch from coast to coast to yes, almost to the Arctic, as he services stores as far north as Dawson Creek and Yellowknife.

Over those 29 years, B.K. Sethi Marketing has won numerous awards, including a Canadian Grand Prix New Product Award from the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors for his India House brand of curries, pickles and chutneys. The company has also been awarded the Business Excellence Award by the Scarborough (Ont.) Chamber of Commerce.

B.K. Sethi’s vision is clearly coming true and he is preparing for the next big leap.

Mississauga: The Voice Achievers Awards Gala 2011 was held at the Grand Victorian Convention Hall on April 1 and what an evening it turned out to be. People have not stopped gushing about this one of a kind of event hosted by the Voice Media Group.

Set in the absolutely elegant premises of the Radisson Plaza Hotel, over four hundred of the community members came to witness the Awards ceremony that recognized the contributions of eight of the best within the South Asian community of GTA. The awardees were:

Category: Entrepreneurship (Male)

Winner: Vasu Chanchlani

Vasu Chanchlani is a serial entrepreneur and a philanthropist supporting projects having transformational impact. To support his goal in giving India and Indians a global recognition for their achievements, Vasu created endowment of one million dollar to set-up fund for the “CIF Chanchlani Global Indian Award” that gives $50,000 every year to the award recipient. The award recognizes global leadership, professional excellence and exemplary achievements of leaders who have done the Indian Diaspora proud. The past recipients of this award have been Ratan Tata, Tulsi Tanti, and Sam Pitroda.

Presently, Vasu is actively invested and involved in about twenty businesses including two ventures in India. Awards and accolades for Vasu have followed celebrating his professional, entrepreneurial and philanthropic successes. Vasu was awarded the “Technology Achievement Award” by the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce for his significant contribution to the field of technology in Canada, the “Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year” Finalist Award among many others.

As he stresses, all this would not have been possible without the unwavering support of his family members- his wife and two daughters are medical doctors and his son is a final year medical student.

Category: Entrepreneurship (Female)

Winner: Ms. Baljindar (Belle) Kang

Baljindar Kang was born in Tanzania, Africa and lived in England and India

before coming to Canada in 1974 at the age of 17.  She worked at a few

factory jobs before landing an office job with the Government of Canada.

Her husband, Kamaljit started a wholesale business with a few partners

in the early eighties. After having their second child, Baljindar decided

to leave her job with the Government and work full time with her husband’s

business. They bought out the other two partners and expanded the business

on their own.

In 1989, Baljindar’s husband, Kamaljit passed away while on a business

trip. She stayed strong and decided to continue running the wholesale

business. Since then she has been nominated for several awards including

‘Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year’ and ‘Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of

the Year’.

Category: Professionals

Winner: Pankaj Mehra
Pankaj Mehra is currently the Director, India & South Asia Markets at The Bank of Nova Scotia. After obtaining his Mechanical Engineering degree, Pankaj commenced his banking career with Standard Chartered Bank in India. He subsequently worked in England and the Middle East prior to arriving in Canada in 1996 and joining Scotiabank in 1997. He is a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the Director, Trade & SME at the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, an active volunteer for several organizations and a Director on the Board of the Oakville Distress Centre. Married, with two children, Pankaj enjoys golf and the very wide range of Indian music.

Category: Healthcare

Winner: Dr. Dilkhush D. Panjwani

Born in Mumbai, Dr. Dilkhush Panjwani graduated from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, and got his postgraduate qualifications of DPM & MD from Bombay University and further qualifications of MRCPsych (UK) and FRCPC (Fellow, Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons), Canada. He is currently a Consultant Psychiatrist attached to Trillium Health Centre.

He works tirelessly to enhance the image of the South Asian community; he has been closely associated with the Ismaili community initiatives and volunteers for the BAPS organization in Etobicoke. He has travelled extensively and given several public lectures on mental health issues, with a special emphasis on removing the stigma attached with mental illness. On behalf of the mentally ill, he advocates “destigmatizing and humanizing mental illness”. He has been a Board Member for the Canadian Mental Health Association, Children’s Aid Society and other organizations. Dr. Panjwani responds to this honour: “Thank you for honouring me with the prestigious Voice Achievement Award. It will inspire me to continue my fight against the stigma of mental illness and validate the cause.”

Category: Community Service

Winner: Detective Sergeant B.J. Sandhu

A resident of Mississauga since 1987, Detective Sergeant Sandhu joined Peel Regional Police in 1989. Through his 20 plus years with Peel Police, Sandhu has served in many capacities and many locations. But most of his work came under 21 Division serving Bramlea and Malton area from 1989 till 2000. He has worked closely with the Malton community including its schools before shifting to the Airport Division. He has been recognized by several agencies. Among the many awards received by Det. Sgt. Sandhu are Brampton Board of Trade for Dedicated Service, Policeman of the Year by Knights of Columbus and Human Rights and Race Relations Centre award for Excellence.

Category: Entertainment

Winner: Vikas Kohli

Vikas Kohli, a Mississauga-based musician, wrote a popular song for the Bollywood film “Mission Istaanbul”  but had ‘arrived’ even before that. As he says he grilled a samosa while composing for the Canadian Film Centre’s “Shanti Baba Ram & The Dancers of Hope”, which aired on Global. He ate the samosa while composing for “I Do. Do I?” which won a Gold Remi at the Houston International Film Festival. He produced two albums with The Responsibles nominated for Punk Recording of the Year; co-wrote Jennifer Abadesso’s song “Did You Think”, which hit #1 in Paris; and collaborated with Mika Singh, Cappadonna (Wu-Tang Clan), Justin Nozuka, Moka Only and Apache Indian.

Kohli is a member of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada.

Category: Sports

Winner: Ashish Bagai

Ashish Bagai, born January 26, 1982, in Delhi, moved to Canada at age 11 and became one of the most durable faces of Canadian cricket. He holds the Canadian record for highest ODI score after his unbeaten 137 in a losing cause against Scotland. He added 100 runs for 4th wicket with Asif Mulla which was the first ever century stand for Canada in an ODI.

Bagai captained the Canadian team during the 2011 Cricket World Cup and made 64 not out off 97 balls against Kenya as Canada won their first match of the tournament. This was the second World Cup win Canada had registered. Against New Zealand in the following ODI he scored 84 of 87 balls and he shared a 100+ parntership with Jimmy Hansra.

Category: Voice Special Award

Winner: B.K. Sethi

When Bhushan Kumar Sethi (B.K. to virtually everyone today) came to Canada from his native India in 1972, ethnic food was almost impossible to find in mainstream grocery stores. “There were some Italian products in the imported food sections,” he says, “but that was about all.” B.K. Sethi recognized early that with the rising tide of immigration, there will be a huge market for ethnic food products, and in 29 years since he launched B.K. Sethi Marketing Ltd, it has grown to be a dominant player in the ethnic food space with operations that stretch from coast to coast to yes, almost to the Arctic, as he services stores as far north as Dawson Creek and Yellowknife.

Over those 29 years, B.K. Sethi Marketing has won numerous awards, including a Canadian Grand Prix New Product Award from the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors for his India House brand of curries, pickles and chutneys. The company has also been awarded the Business Excellence Award by the Scarborough (Ont.) Chamber of Commerce.

B.K. Sethi’s vision is clearly coming true and he is preparing for the next big leap.

Mississauga: The Voice Achievers Awards Gala 2011 was held at the Grand Victorian Convention Hall on April 1 and what an evening it turned out to be. People have not stopped gushing about this one of a kind of event hosted by the Voice Media Group.

Set in the absolutely elegant premises of the Radisson Plaza Hotel, over four hundred of the community members came to witness the Awards ceremony that recognized the contributions of eight of the best within the South Asian community of GTA. The awardees were:

Category: Entrepreneurship (Male)

Winner: Vasu Chanchlani

Vasu Chanchlani is a serial entrepreneur and a philanthropist supporting projects having transformational impact. To support his goal in giving India and Indians a global recognition for their achievements, Vasu created endowment of one million dollar to set-up fund for the “CIF Chanchlani Global Indian Award” that gives $50,000 every year to the award recipient. The award recognizes global leadership, professional excellence and exemplary achievements of leaders who have done the Indian Diaspora proud. The past recipients of this award have been Ratan Tata, Tulsi Tanti, and Sam Pitroda.

Presently, Vasu is actively invested and involved in about twenty businesses including two ventures in India. Awards and accolades for Vasu have followed celebrating his professional, entrepreneurial and philanthropic successes. Vasu was awarded the “Technology Achievement Award” by the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce for his significant contribution to the field of technology in Canada, the “Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year” Finalist Award among many others.

As he stresses, all this would not have been possible without the unwavering support of his family members- his wife and two daughters are medical doctors and his son is a final year medical student.

Category: Entrepreneurship (Female)

Winner: Ms. Baljindar (Belle) Kang

Baljindar Kang was born in Tanzania, Africa and lived in England and India

before coming to Canada in 1974 at the age of 17.  She worked at a few

factory jobs before landing an office job with the Government of Canada.

Her husband, Kamaljit started a wholesale business with a few partners

in the early eighties. After having their second child, Baljindar decided

to leave her job with the Government and work full time with her husband’s

business. They bought out the other two partners and expanded the business

on their own.

In 1989, Baljindar’s husband, Kamaljit passed away while on a business

trip. She stayed strong and decided to continue running the wholesale

business. Since then she has been nominated for several awards including

‘Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year’ and ‘Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of

the Year’.

Category: Professionals

Winner: Pankaj Mehra
Pankaj Mehra is currently the Director, India & South Asia Markets at The Bank of Nova Scotia. After obtaining his Mechanical Engineering degree, Pankaj commenced his banking career with Standard Chartered Bank in India. He subsequently worked in England and the Middle East prior to arriving in Canada in 1996 and joining Scotiabank in 1997. He is a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), the Director, Trade & SME at the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, an active volunteer for several organizations and a Director on the Board of the Oakville Distress Centre. Married, with two children, Pankaj enjoys golf and the very wide range of Indian music.

Category: Healthcare

Winner: Dr. Dilkhush D. Panjwani

Born in Mumbai, Dr. Dilkhush Panjwani graduated from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, and got his postgraduate qualifications of DPM & MD from Bombay University and further qualifications of MRCPsych (UK) and FRCPC (Fellow, Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons), Canada. He is currently a Consultant Psychiatrist attached to Trillium Health Centre.

He works tirelessly to enhance the image of the South Asian community; he has been closely associated with the Ismaili community initiatives and volunteers for the BAPS organization in Etobicoke. He has travelled extensively and given several public lectures on mental health issues, with a special emphasis on removing the stigma attached with mental illness. On behalf of the mentally ill, he advocates “destigmatizing and humanizing mental illness”. He has been a Board Member for the Canadian Mental Health Association, Children’s Aid Society and other organizations. Dr. Panjwani responds to this honour: “Thank you for honouring me with the prestigious Voice Achievement Award. It will inspire me to continue my fight against the stigma of mental illness and validate the cause.”

Category: Community Service

Winner: Detective Sergeant B.J. Sandhu

A resident of Mississauga since 1987, Detective Sergeant Sandhu joined Peel Regional Police in 1989. Through his 20 plus years with Peel Police, Sandhu has served in many capacities and many locations. But most of his work came under 21 Division serving Bramlea and Malton area from 1989 till 2000. He has worked closely with the Malton community including its schools before shifting to the Airport Division. He has been recognized by several agencies. Among the many awards received by Det. Sgt. Sandhu are Brampton Board of Trade for Dedicated Service, Policeman of the Year by Knights of Columbus and Human Rights and Race Relations Centre award for Excellence.

Category: Entertainment

Winner: Vikas Kohli

Vikas Kohli, a Mississauga-based musician, wrote a popular song for the Bollywood film “Mission Istaanbul”  but had ‘arrived’ even before that. As he says he grilled a samosa while composing for the Canadian Film Centre’s “Shanti Baba Ram & The Dancers of Hope”, which aired on Global. He ate the samosa while composing for “I Do. Do I?” which won a Gold Remi at the Houston International Film Festival. He produced two albums with The Responsibles nominated for Punk Recording of the Year; co-wrote Jennifer Abadesso’s song “Did You Think”, which hit #1 in Paris; and collaborated with Mika Singh, Cappadonna (Wu-Tang Clan), Justin Nozuka, Moka Only and Apache Indian.

Kohli is a member of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada.

Category: Sports

Winner: Ashish Bagai

Ashish Bagai, born January 26, 1982, in Delhi, moved to Canada at age 11 and became one of the most durable faces of Canadian cricket. He holds the Canadian record for highest ODI score after his unbeaten 137 in a losing cause against Scotland. He added 100 runs for 4th wicket with Asif Mulla which was the first ever century stand for Canada in an ODI.

Bagai captained the Canadian team during the 2011 Cricket World Cup and made 64 not out off 97 balls against Kenya as Canada won their first match of the tournament. This was the second World Cup win Canada had registered. Against New Zealand in the following ODI he scored 84 of 87 balls and he shared a 100+ parntership with Jimmy Hansra.

Category: Voice Special Award

Winner: B.K. Sethi

When Bhushan Kumar Sethi (B.K. to virtually everyone today) came to Canada from his native India in 1972, ethnic food was almost impossible to find in mainstream grocery stores. “There were some Italian products in the imported food sections,” he says, “but that was about all.” B.K. Sethi recognized early that with the rising tide of immigration, there will be a huge market for ethnic food products, and in 29 years since he launched B.K. Sethi Marketing Ltd, it has grown to be a dominant player in the ethnic food space with operations that stretch from coast to coast to yes, almost to the Arctic, as he services stores as far north as Dawson Creek and Yellowknife.

Over those 29 years, B.K. Sethi Marketing has won numerous awards, including a Canadian Grand Prix New Product Award from the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors for his India House brand of curries, pickles and chutneys. The company has also been awarded the Business Excellence Award by the Scarborough (Ont.) Chamber of Commerce.

B.K. Sethi’s vision is clearly coming true and he is preparing for the next big leap.