KALVINDER DHESI
On his right shoulder Kalvinder – or Kal as everyone knows him – has a fearsome tattoo of two crossed swords. This marks the fact that he is a Sikh warrior.
Kal is a big, powerful, Asian man and he’s proud to be Asian. He’s also proud to be a Sikh. And he’s also one hard bastard.
Kal is well-known within Asian communities. Inevitably, the Asian community has its own clubs, its own gangs and its own tough guys to control those clubs. Kal is a troubleshooter for a lot of Asian clubs in the south-east.
Being Asian, Kal has had to put up with his share of racism. His smashing girlfriend, the mother of his children, is white so she gets it, too.
I loathe racism – my mother is half-cast so I grew up witnessing racial hatred and I understood what they were talking about. But I was shocked when she talked to me. She told me that older Asians had spat at her and Kal in their own home town when their youngest was a baby.
‘The baby was crying so Kal picked him up and people kept looking at us,’ she said. ‘Because the baby is quite light-skinned, they couldn’t imagine what Kal was doing picking up this baby. Most people are OK, but I do think the older generation have a problem with mixed-race relationships and families.
‘All Kal’s friends have been brilliant – they’ve never looked at us differently, but when my first baby was very young I do remember someone looking in the pram and saying, “Look at that black baby there.” I’ve never forgotten that and I never will.’
Kal and his family live in a huge, flash house with electric gates and a Mercedes in the drive on the outskirts of Kent. He is not, definitely not, the stereotype of what people expect an Asian businessman to be. He doesn’t run a corner shop for a start!
He was nervous when he met me and a little bit suspicious. Everything about him was big – the house, the car, even his hands, and he shook mine with a vice-like grip.
But he was very polite and very softly spoken. He had eyes like crushed black velvet … an interesting man, I think, and, maybe, a dangerous one.
BACKGROUND
I’ve worked on doors for the last 12 years. It wasn’t something I set out to do but I got the job because of my reputation; it came along, I took it and 12 years later I’m still doing it.
I was born in Plumstead. My mum and dad were from India originally. I’m the second of three brothers. We’re three very different characters. I suppose I’m what you might call the black sheep of the family. I’m divorced and I’ve got four kids – two from my last marriage and two from a previous relationship. If any of my kids ever wanted to do door work, I’d have a serious talk with them, a very serious talk.
LIFE OF CRIME
I’ve been in prison but it was a short sentence – 28 days. I was done for possession of firearms, cannabis and stolen goods. It was all around the time of the firearms amnesty in the late Eighties. I had a shotgun and didn’t hand it in and someone grassed on me.
IS PRISON A DETERRENT?
No. Inside you meet other inmates who are into other things, you learn things. Basically it’s an education for criminals.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN CAPITAL PUNISHMENT?
Yes, for child molesters and paedophiles. Personally, I think they should be tortured first; they should go through mental and physical hell. Straightforward capital punishment is too easy for them.
WHAT WOULD HAVE DETERRED YOU FROM A LIFE OF CRIME?
Nothing.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN STABBED/SHOT?
No.
SCARIEST MOMENT?
I don’t know. I can’t think of any scary moments.
SADDEST MOMENT?
When me mum and me nan passed away. My mum passed away four years ago and my nan just recently.
WHAT RATTLES YOUR CAGE?
Racism. Racist abuse. I did used to get a lot of it when I first started on the door at Rochester after I’d turned people away, and endured a lot of comments. I used to snap but I’ve accepted it now. I ignore it. But then sometimes I can snap just like that because I don’t see why you should get treated like that because of your colour.
If I turn someone away from the door, it isn’t because of their colour, there’s always a valid reason. Other doormen – white doormen – don’t get that abuse so why should I? I have been arrested a few times when I’ve retaliated. When I’m not working I get it, too, and – especially if I’m with the kids – I don’t retaliate. I just ignore it and walk on.
I do think things have improved in Britain since the early Eighties. It’s better now than it used to be. People are more tolerant. And I don’t think it depends on whether you live North or South. It all depends on what the situation is like where you are – unemployment, housing, things like that. I’ve worked the door on Asian clubs and sometimes I’ve had more trouble there than in mixed clubs! Then there’s the problems of caste, religion … all that. But here in Rochester I get respect from Asian people and no trouble from local people and if they’ve got any grief, I’ll try and sort it out.
HAVE YOU EVER REALLY LOVED ANYONE?
Yes. My girlfriend.
WHAT FRIGHTENS YOU?
Anything to do with my kids being hurt. That frightens me. I was with my son a few years ago in the park and he fell into a pool. I grabbed his arm and he was OK but I was in a state, I was sweating all day. I felt so utterly helpless, sick.
DESCRIBE A HARD BASTARD
Someone who is fair and firm and who can deal with complications without going out and getting guns. Someone who can assess a situation and deal with it nicely, verbally, always firm and fair. If it comes to it – then fair enough. But a hard bastard can make someone walk away from a fight. There’s nothing wrong with swallowing your pride and walking away from a fight that’s unnecessary.
NAME A HARD BASTARD
Roy Shaw.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS?
I haven’t thought about it. Maybe still doing the door – but who knows?
ANY REGRETS?
None whatsoever.