Samosa Wallah pays tribute to his mum after her sad passing

Anna Turakhia lived in Melton for 28 years and enjoyed a close relationship with son, Keran, who found fame in the town for his business supplying homemade samosas.

An only child, she lived with her mother in a flat on the Fulham Road in London until her late 20s.

Everything changed when she went to a party and met Indian student, Bhupesh, the son of a successful industrialist.

The couple were married in 1963 in Bombay at a Gujarati wedding with more than 500 guests but not a single person from her family.

They had two children and both were sent to boarding school at a young age.

When Anna moved to Melton following the death of her husband she immersed herself in the local community while strengthening family links with Keran and his family, who live at Burton Lazars.

A frequent customer of the former English bistro in Melton, she was affectionately nicknamed ‘Lady Anna’.

Anna was a regular customer on a Saturday morning in More Coffee Co in the town and she also loved amateur dramatics, making an appearance on stage as a lunatic in Gaslight Theatre’s performance of ‘Sweeney Todd’.

She also had a reputation as the oldest Thai kickboxer in Melton after joining Mark Barlow’s Thai kickboxing club, The Assassins, to keep fit.

Anna sadly passed away at 6am on November 27.

Her son, Keran, said: “She will be sorely missed and was happy in our little town of Melton Mowbray, so thank you Melton and thank you mum.”