A Glimpse from the past 

(By M I Tabassum the Founder of  Aakash)

Unforgettable memories from 16 June 1999 to 8 October 2006.

The Aakash, a very special place, has been described as the Eighth Wonder of the World. However, it wasn't always so.

I'd like to tell you our story - a story of the near death and rebirth of a beautiful elegant old building. A place of worship was first established on the site in 1710.

Let us travel back in time to the mid Victorian era when the honorable aldermen of the mill town of Cleckheaton needed a place to worship. In 1857-59, designed by the famous family of architect Lockwood & Mawson, the Congregational Chapel of Cleckheaton was born. An imposing three - story building of golden stone with gleaming mahogany fittings, a horseshoe gallery supported on cast iron pillars, bidding goodwill to all men. Fast forward to 1959, the golden stone was soot stained, and by the 1980s,  the congregation had dwindled and eventually the chapel was abandoned. By the 1990s it was wrecked, vandalized, semi-derelict, humbled by rot and decay, and inhabited by pigeons. In 1997 The English Heritage Foundation were so concerned about it that the building was placed on the "AT Risk" register.

At about the same time as this sad old building was dying, I was discussing a new business venture with my brother, Mr Aslam Parvaiz, and two very close friends of mine, Mr Abdul Qudoos Khan and Mr Parvaiz Qureshi. At the end of 1997 and into the beginning of 1998, I was in the business of importing sports goods in to England from the far East, India and Pakistan. At that time business had taken a downturn and I had no choice but to consider other options. Indian food is exceptionally popular in England; some Indian foods are now even considered a National British dish! We thought it wood be a good idea to open an Indian Restaurant, but it wood have to be different; somewhere customers would feel proud to be seen, a restaurant like no other.

We thought that if we found a really special old building in exciting surroundings, then that would be an ideal place to start. Of course we would also need excellent service, outstanding food and highly professional staff, but without a home we could not even start on the rest, so we started to look for our dream building and location.

We, Mr Parvaiz Qureshi and I looked all over. We went to York, we went to Liverpool, we went to the Lake District, but all without any luck. We could not find what we were looking for. One day I heard about a Golf Club for sale in Dewsbury. We decided to go and see it. On the way to Dewsbury on Bradford Road, just before Cleckheaton Town Centre, we saw an old Victorian building, standing very quietly on our left. "Gosh! Tabassum Bhai (brother), look at this wonderful building. If we could get hold of this old Chapel, our desperate search can end here", Mr Parvaiz Qureshi said to me.

We stopped our car in front of the building and got out to take a look around. Even though the building was in quite a dilapidated state, the overall structure was intact and was still very impressive. We looked at it with wonder and longing. After a few minuttes, we left the building and continued on our journey. It was little more than wishful thinking, but we left with a feeling that this building and location would be perfact for what we had in our mind.

When we arrived at Dewsbury, we met with the owner, Mr tom Senior, and looked around. Though the site was very good, it was not suitable for our purpose. We politely told Mr Senior that unfortunately this site was not quite what we had in our mind.

Mr Senior asked us what we were looking for in terms of the building and location. When we explained him about our requirement, he suggested that we must take a look at an alternative building he had that was in Cleckheaton. Our hearts started pounding at the mentioned of Cleckheaton, and it became difficult to hide our excitement as he continued to describe the place. Without trying to seem over eager , we immediately accepted his offer to view the building with him. It was to our absolute delight that it turned out to be the same building we had stopped at earlier! 

When we entered in to the building! what a mess. I could see right through the roof, and inside all I could see was debris and rubbish. But somehow I knew, I had found our home. I fell in love with the old building. Despite her lamentable conditioned she made me very welcome. I knew, it would take a lot of money, a lot of work and an immense amount of courage but the architecture, the design inspired me that this was the building I was looking for.