Kailash Puri, the ‘agony aunt’ of the 60s was a self-proclaimed sexologist, poet, broadcaster, poet, and author. Many Punjabi women and families settled across India, Canada, the US, Germany and other European countries confided in Puri for their issues and queries.
According to Better India, “After a stint in Nigeria, the family returned to England in 1966, where Kailash began teaching oral Punjabi to the police force and other professionals whose work required it. She also gave cookery classes, and was appointed by Marks & Spencer as a consultant on Indian cuisine and was among the first few south Asians to publish texts on Indian cooking, much before stalwarts such as Madhur Jaffrey took over.”
Kailash was awarded the Woman of Achievement Award in 1999, the position of the Ambassador of Peace in 2000, Woman of the Year in 1984, and the Lifetime Achievement Award (Ealing) in 2004. She was also the Chairperson of the Community Relations Council in the UK from 1968-75, an executive member of the Women’s League for Peace and Freedom from 1970-90, and the President of the UK Women’s Asian Conference from 1980-95.
