Indian Weekender Top 25 Kiwi-Indian Community Leaders 2021

List of top 25 Kiwi-Indian
Community Leaders in NZ
List of top 25 Kiwi-Indian
Community Leaders in NZ
SHIVANI ARORA
Restaurateur, Business Owner and
Member, Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan in NZ
SRILATHA MAGATALA
Known within her close social circles as the
leading lady of Indian hospitality in New Zealand,
for owning and managing the two most famous
restaurants, India Gate & Shivani Vegetarian
Restaurants in the heart of Papatoetoe and
Mt Roskill suburbs - Shivani Arora has another
strong community service side that deserves
equal attention as the entrepreneurial side of
her personality.
Not many people in the community would
know that Mrs Arora is deeply involved in
the core team managing the Shirdi Sai Baba
Sansthan in New Zealand, which eventually led
to the establishment of the Sai baba temple
in Onehunga, Auckland, and often dividing her
time and energy between her business and the
service to the community.
In her own words, the basic foundation of her
restaurant business was laid decades ago when
at the tender age of 12, she would not only cook
for her extended family but would go out and
pick her own spices, roast them and make her
own special masalas.
It was this innate desire to build everything from
scratch that was probably ingrained into her right from the very beginning,
which prompted her to work on the ground level within the space of community
work when such calling came from inside of her heart.
Being a devout follower of Sai Baba, Shivani Arora involved herself in core
volunteer activities such as managing the temple kitchen along with other
responsibilities that came her way within the various activities of Shirdi Sai
Baba Sansthan.
President, New Zealand
Telugu Association
Coming from a joint family in India, Ms Magtala
missed having the love and support of her parents
and extended family when she moved to New
Zealand in 2003. Looking for a way to connect
with new people, Ms Magatala volunteered to
cook dinner for 300 people at a New Zealand
Telugu Association event, and thus began her
journey of community work in New Zealand.
As with any young family that moves to New
Zealand, Ms Magatala and her husband initially
struggled to find the right balance between
their personal and professional lives. Realising
that this life is not the life they wanted for their
children, Ms Magatala then started a courier
franchise followed by taking up contract work in
the taxi industry, which allowed her the flexibility
to be with her growing children, and manage her
community commitments.
And as they say, behind every great woman is
a family that’s cheering her on, inspired by her
husband’s work as the President of the New
Zealand Telugu Association, Ms Magatala went
from being a volunteer of the association to now
serving her third term as its President. Motivated
by the difference their parents’ work has made
to the community, Ms Magatala’s two daughters
have also been engaged in community work of
their own.
For quite a long time, she has remained deeply involved in Sansthan’s activities
in Sai Temple as a committed volunteer worker without allowing the glamour
and the glitz of being a successful businesswoman to impact in any manner.
The fact that she has a supporting family, including husband Kuldeep Arora
and three children, who equally shares her passion for excellence in business
and service to the community – keep her going strong – in this life journey.
The New Zealand Telugu Association was established in 1998 with an intention to maintain the culture of
Telugu people of India. Since Ms Magatala’s involvement, the association has invested in initiatives that
focus on giving back to the community such as blood donation camps, meals on wheels for the elderly,
health awareness programs, badminton competitions and ‘go green’ campaigns with Auckland Council.
With an aim to be more inclusive, Ms Magatala continues to work with other ethnic and community
organisations, looking for opportunities of collaboration and knowledge sharing.
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www.iwk.co.nz
www.iwk.co.nz
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