Mohanlal Valabhji Pathak, also known as Bapuji, was born on 1^st January 1907 in Rabari, a village near Porbander, Gujarat, India. In 1926 Bapuji married Champa Gauri and in 1927 he moved to Malawi.  They had 5 sons (Manharlal, Bhupatrai, Chandrakant, Narendra Kumar and Dilip) and 2 daughters (Indira and Bhanumati). For the best part of his life, Malawi became his new home.

In Malawi, he initially worked for Amarsi Vithaldas and was based in Port Herald (Nsanje).  He later moved to Blantyre and then to Mwalaphanda. He finally settled in Thyolo where he setup a retail business.

Soon after moving to Thyolo, Bapuji became one of the first councillors at Thyolo District Council.  During his term he fought and initiated the formation of Thyolo Indian School now known as Mpinji School.  With the help of other councillors, he also brought piped water and electricity to Thyolo.

He has lots of good memories of Malawi and amongst his fond recollections includes that he met the Queen Mother during her visit to Malawi during the late 1950s.

He retired in May 1978 and moved to Nottingham in the UK.  He and his wife were happily married for 55 years - she died in 1981.  His family which includes 21 grand children and 18 great grand children now live in the UK (in Nottingham, Leicester and Welwyn Garden City).

Today, 1st January 2007, we are here to celebrate his 100th birthday.