BHUBANESWAR, 25 SEPTEMBER 2026 — Mayfair Hotels & Resorts, in association with Konark Publishers, launched Bespoken: From Tunapuna to Buckingham Palace at Mayfair Convention, bringing to the city the extraordinary story of Prof. Andrew M. Ramroop OBE CMTT — the Trinidad-born tailor who became the first Black owner of a Savile Row tailoring house. Written by Odisha-based author and former civil servant Ashok Kumar Bal, the 364-page biography traces Ramroop’s journey from his Caribbean beginnings in Tunapuna to leading Maurice Sedwell, one of London’s most storied bespoke tailoring institutions, and his eventual honour by Buckingham Palace.
The evening drew a distinguished gathering led by Chief Guest Hon’ble Mr Justice Sashikanta Mishra of the Orissa High Court, alongside Guests of Honour Ms Pooja Ray, Managing Director of Mayfair Hotels & Resorts; Dr Andrew Fleming, British Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata; Prof. Ramroop himself; and National Award-winning filmmaker Ms Balaka Ghosh. Their presence reflected the book’s sweep across continents and disciplines, linking Odisha’s literary and judicial circles with British diplomacy and the world of craft.
Beyond its subject’s remarkable rise, Bespoken is being read as a wider meditation on mastery, migration and the Indian diaspora — themes close to Bal’s own scholarship, which previously produced Gajapati: A King Without a Kingdom. Ramroop, who joined Maurice Sedwell in 1974 and acquired the house in 1988, later founded the Savile Row Bespoke Academy to pass his exacting craft on to a new generation, a legacy the biography treats as central to its story of skill, enterprise and representation.
“Bringing the book to Bhubaneswar is especially meaningful because Ashok Kumar Bal’s scholarship has long engaged with Odisha’s history and culture,” said K. P. R. Nair, Founder & Managing Director of Konark Publishers. Bespoken is now available on Amazon India, at leading bookstores, and directly through Konark Publishers.
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