Nikesha Patel

Nikesha Patel is a British Indian model and film actress. Born in the United Kingdom, she was part of several BBC TV shows, before moving to India and entering the film industry. She debuted in the 2010 Telugu film Puli and later went on to work in Kannada and Tamil cinema.

Early life

Nikesha Patel was born to a Gujarati family in the United Kingdom and raised there. She was a finalist in the 2006 Miss Wales beauty pageant. She called herself "a terrible actor" and said that she was rejected six times by Peter Woolridge’s acting school in three years, but she finally made a diploma in acting. Since she was 15, she has been part of BBC TV shows like Casualty, Tracy Beaker and Doctor Who.

Career

Patel then moved to India planning to work in Bollywood. She got an offer from actor and filmmaker Dev Anand, who was a friend of her father, to act in his film Beauty Queen, but it was shelved. made her film debut in the 2010 Indian Telugu language film, Puli, playing the lead female role. The film was a critical and financial failure and she moved to the Kannada film industry. Her next three releases were Kannada films: Narasimha, for which she was nominated for SIIMA Award for Best Female Debutant, Dakota Picture and Varadhanayaka, a remake of the Telugu film Lakshyam (2007). Although Narasimha and Varadanayaka were successful at the box office, she said that these films "were unsatisfying for me as an actress". 2013 she was seen in her second Telugu film Om 3D too, which she called "the most satisfying so far". She had stated in 2012 that she would make her Malayalam debut in Newsmaker opposite Mammootty, playing a reporter. She was also reported to have been signed for Rosshan Andrrews' Malayalam film Mumbai Police. While the former did not materialize, the latter film did not feature her.

Patel

Patel is a surname representing a caste of village leaders. The 'Patel' of a village in the mid-1500-1900 state of Gujarat, would be a member of the village committee who would help represent the whole village's views to the local council and take the lead in resolving problems and implementing ideas. They would do this by working closely alongside the village pandit and other members of the 'Brahmin' Community mainly found in Gujarat, India but also across all parts of India such as Telangana and Pakistan. It is currently also used as a surname like Patidar or Bhakta, or replaced by an ancestorial name.

Etymology

The term patel derives from the word Patidar, "Pat," which refers to a piece of land. Consequently, the name "Patel" referred to one who was tasked with taking care of or farming that piece of land or normally called for headman of community

Distribution

The name Patel is found primarily in the Indian state of Gujarat, as well as the states of Uttar Pradesh,Rajasthan, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and in some eastern part of Madhya Pradesh; and metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Kanpur,Banda and Delhi.

Village accountant

The village accountant (variously known as Patwari, Talati, Patel, Karnam, Adhikari, Shanbogaru, etc.) is an administrative government position found in rural parts of the Indian sub-continent. The office and the officeholder are called the patwari in Telangana, Bengal, North India and in Pakistan while in Sindh it is called Tapedar. The position is known as the karnam or adhikari in Tamil Nadu, while it is commonly known as the talati in Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The position was known as the kulkarni in Northern Karnataka and Maharashtra. The position was known as the shanbogaru in South Karnataka.

History

The Patwar system was first introduced during the short but eventful rule of Sher Shah Suri and the system was further enhanced by Emperor Akbar. The British colonial era made minor amendments but continued the system.

In 1814, legislation was enacted requiring all villages to maintain an accountant (talati) as an official agent of the government. The Kulkarni Watan was abolished in 1918 and paid talatis from all castes were appointed to the new office of the Talati. In some cases, the talatis were the oppressed castes and the abolishing of the Kulkarni Watan system was viewed as a progressive move.