Running two restaurants, building a mosque and setting up a secondary school are among the achievements of Sheikh Abdul Khalique, as NICOLA TAYLOR discovers

Step into the Polash restaurant on West Road, Shoebury, and you enter a comfortable and colourful setting which has more than a hint of elegance.

At the tables covered in pristine white cloths Indian food rated as some of the best in England is served.

Yet the average diner would not guess that the genial, dapper man serving them is a dedicated charity worker who has done much to improve life in his home village.

Sheikh Abdul Khalique, 47, the eldest of six brothers who own the restaurant and a sister, has been a main man behind the building of a mosque and a school for 400 children in Sylhet in Bangladesh.

To do this he has set up a trust fund and a foundation and spent many days of many years travelling around Britain encouraging the Bangladeshi community to donate time and money to the cause.

He is modest about his success, but push him further and he will tell you about the his work for the Essex Bangladeshi Welfare Association which also involves many hours, most of them unsocial.

After ill health forced him to abandon his promising Education Khalique followed his father to England when he was 16. He worked as a waiter at an uncle's restaurant and so learned his trade, as did his brothers who gradually joined him.

In 1979 they set up the Polash in the premises of a former launderette. It quickly established an excellent reputation, with people travelling some distance to taste the tandoori, bhuna and vegetable specialities.

Although now faced with much more competition, it remains popular, and holds a firm place in the British Curry Guide's top 30.

Despite the success of the Polash, food was not the main thing on Khalique's mind.

He explains: "It had been a dream of my father's since he came to this country to build a mosque in our home village.

"He had acquired some land but did not have the money for the building. When he died in 1985 I asked my uncles if we could set up a trust fund for the mosque, which we did.

"In 1996 I went to Sylhet for a holiday and I spoke to the local community. It is no good building a mosque if the people will not go there.

"They were supportive and the mosque has now been running for two years and is well-attended."

Yet it is not quite complete. More money is needed to fund the stipend of the mosque's holy man. Khalique's plan to is to build six shops near the mosque, the rent of which will cover wages and running costs.

He also dreams of setting up a small 10-bed hospital which will specialise in maternity services and cut down the number of problems suffered by women during childbirth.

He said: "I am really proud because after a long time we fulfilled my father's dream. It took 38 years, and if we have to we can wait another 38 years for the rest, but I have the plans all drawn up ready for when we have the money."

A mosque is not the only building Khalique has provided for his home village. He and his 1,000-odd compatriots from Sylhet living in England raised enough money to build a high school, which opened in 1991.

Today it has more than 400 pupils, up to 80 of whom receive Government grants - a sure sign that it is a good school. A further 20 pupils are supported by people in Britain.

Khalique said: "Education is the backbone of having a good life. We believe that if we can at least support people in one village they can learn what is happening around the world and pass that on to others.

"In Bangladesh education is not free and schools are still few and far between. Just 38 per cent of people are literate.

"Although the Government has spent a lot of money on primary education, secondary schooling is still a luxury for many.

"This school is providing an education for poorer students and for young women who are kept close to their families and cannot travel far."

A foundation has now been set up in England to ensure the school is supported for many years to come.

Closer to home Abdul is involved in the Essex Bangladeshi Welfare Association. That involves acting as an intermediary when problems arise between families.

As most members run restaurants committee meetings are held at midnight and Abdul is often to be found travelling home from them at four or five in the morning.

When he is not working Khalique spends time at home in Shoebury with his wife Syeda and their seven children, aged from three months to 13. He does not envisage them following him into the restaurant business.

He said: "They have many more educational opportunities than I had. Two of my nephews are grown up. One has graduated in business studies and has a job in a bank. The other graduates this year.

"It is different for this third generation. When I and my brothers came here we were not highly educated. I had no opportunity to do anything else. But now I have taken a degree in life."

Dream maker - Sheikh Abdul Khalique's father dreamed of building a mosque in their home village in Bangladesh.

Though he died before it could be realised, Khalique rallied the Bangladeshi community in this country to make it come true

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.