Welcome to the Asian Voices Project

 

The Asian voices project is collecting audio interviews of South Asian men and women who came to Huddersfield, West Yorkshire in the 1950’s and 1960’s through oral history recordings.

The aim of the project is to show the contributions this community has made to Huddersfield and the way in which the communities have integrated into a now culture rich Huddersfield. We want to celebrate the hard work of this once unheard community and want to relive with them the highs and lows of coming to a foreign land, leaving behind their families and working in what was then a ‘blackened’ Huddersfield.  

 

Greenhead Park, Huddersfield 1975

For the next two years, I will be collecting audio interviews, requesting photos from the 1950’s onwards in relation to Huddersfield and will welcome any comments and suggestions to improve or compliment the project (more of the latter please!!).

 

I have had a lot of media interest from the Examiner, Huddersfield and have a look at the Yorkshire Post web video ‘Eastern Eye’ http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/video/Eastern-eye-The-Asian-experience.4385233.jp

The website is now up and running and have a browse and listen to the interview which is now in dual languages English and Punjabi http://www.asianvoices.org.uk/  so enjoy J

                

End of the Project

Community events

With the run up to the end of the project in June, I am seeking more and more people to take part in the project and have their oral histories record. If you are from a South Asian background and your family migrated in the 1950’s, 1960’s or 1970’s get in touch and have your history recorded and documented for life. The project run by The University of Huddersfield will be archiving all interviews and you will be able to see your biography on the Asian Voices website, www.asianvoices.org.uk.

During this month I have been working with Lindley Infant School, conducting Oral History workshops teaching students to reflect on their family history and learn to interview each other and have collected interviews from The Indian Workers Association with thanks to Baldev for allowing me access to his men’s social group who gave me some fascinating stories. Have a listen to them on the website.

So get in touch; this is a chance for ordinary people to have their life histories recorded… be part of the future now!

Curry for Christmas

 

snowy days in Huddersfield

A curry for Christmas, that’s what I’ll be having for Christmas lunch along with a roast chicken, Brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce and if we’re really lucky we might have a turkey instead of the roast chicken! So this is what you call an Asian Christmas. Don’t get me wrong we love Christmas dinner, Christmas decorations and in all, the Christmas spirit (apart from the rush of the shops) so where does the curry fit in? Well, we always have a curry don’t we? In my household not so much, it’s mainly pasta, wraps, rice pizzas, but the older generations still do and if they don’t, on Christmas day you will be guaranteed to have some chilli piled on one of the veggies!! This is what you call the best of both worlds and dual cultural heritage. I can’t wait to get the crackers out and have the kids wake up knowing its Christmas. As Muslims we have had our religious celebrations and the kids were inundated with presents on Eid which still seem to be coming out of the corners of the house, but they still hold onto the idea of Santa Claus and Rudolf, know about the birth of Jesus and participate in Christmas concerts. With two cultures they understand both and are happy having the opportunity to have both, so a curry it will be for Christmas, with all of the trimmings of course…and if we’re really, really lucky we might even get snow!

Oral history and what it means.

So far, the Asian Voices project has interviewed many people from the South Asian community and documented their experiences and memories about coming to England.  It has been an eye-opening, fascinating experience to take part in and it will provide an invaluabe archive of the thoughts and feelings of those who experienced this important period in British history first hand.  This, however, is not the sole purpose of Asian Voices or indeed oral history as a whole.  Looking at some parts of various transcripts it is easy to see why.

“We got Saturday and Sunday off, but we had to go shopping and clean the house.  We were tenants but we had to clean the house, and cook for ourselves.  We used to cook fish but there wasn’t an awful lot of fish around.  We used to put curry powder into it and make a sort of curry.  After a few years, there were a couple of shops where we could get halal meat on George St. There was a Pakistani shop there, but we used to kill our own chickens.  We used to go to a farm to get chickens and halal them ourselves.” – Sabir Hussain

This part of Mr. Hussain’s interview shows clearly how and why oral history is such a relevant tool for more than just the cataloguing of events.  For a community such as South Asian immigrants, particularly in Britain, oral history serves to give  people a voice where, in many cases, they haven’t had one before. 

South Asian immigrants to the UK possess some of the richest, most diverse and most interesting cultural history, yet in a historical sense it is an aspect of our country’s history which has been overlooked.  With oral history, the very people who participated in this movement are able to say what they feel about it themselves before it is too late.

When the British Empire collapsed in the late 1940s due to Britain’s heavily weakened state after World War 2, Britain needed workers.  Men like Sabir came from their homes in Southern Asia to aid Britain at a time when their labour was invaluable.  Asian Voices has given these people the chance to say what it was like to come to Britain and find work, mostly in industrial jobs, and form a community that has remained strong and secure ever since.

“The first job I did, the name of the firm was TA Corckings.  They used to make hydraulic rings for aeroplanes and ships.  Technically I was very good and I made many  rings and I checked rings and could say whether they were good rings or bad omes.   That’s why the firm owner was very taken with me and thought I was a real asset to the firm.” – Sabir Hussain

The purpose that men like Sabir served in those early days of South Asian immigration to the UK is what oral history and the Asian Voices programme is all about.  It aims to show the community how and why these men and women came to Britain, and tell the fascinating stories they have about their experiences in doing so.

Snow up to your knees

Forty years ago not only was society different with regards to culture, ethnicity and social activities, bit climate was also different. For South Asians coming into Britain, one of the shocking things for them was the weather. In the 1960’s summer was summer and winter was winter. In the summer the sun would shine and the beaches would be filled and in the winter the snow would fall and wellies and shovels would come out. On the Asian voices website (www.asianvoices.org.uk) we have many recollections of the snow, going to the outdoor toilet in your wellies, remembering the snow falling and staying on the ground for months at a time and my favourite is the way in which Mohammad Siddique describes the ice in his mother tounge punjabi as looking like “sheets of glass on the rooftops”. The description oral history provides to the past highlights the imporatance to which it must be preserved and if you would like your oral histories recorded, please contact me via the Asian Voices website.

Accents in ‘uddersfield

View of Castle Hill from Sikh Temple in Springwood

With transport being so readily available and travel instant, people are diluting their accents to an acceptable form as they are no longer restricted to living and working in one town or city. I am born and bred in ‘uddersfield, and with fellow Yorkshire men and lasses my accent will go back to the Yorkshire form it should be, but in the workplace and even on the phone I find I am speaking the way one should… but how should one speak? and how long will we be able to keep our regional accents and dialects without diluting them to the extent they no longer exist?

Oral history is the way in which this can be preserved. For years now oral historians have been recoding and archiving hundreds if not thousands of interviews with people on subjects of the past. Going back to World War I and the experience of the soldiers in the trenches, World War II and the migration of the South Asian community after the collapse of the British Empire. Here are just a few of the subject areas in which people have delved into, but listening back to the sound archives makes you appreciate the language and tones in which ordinary people communicated in. How times have changed, how diverse language has become, with the Oxford dictionary taking on new words constantly, words originating from across cultures and continents, it is something to think of. Try recording your older generations on your phone and see if you can catch a glimpse of the past through their voice.

Afghanistan: what’s going on?

There has been much controversy over the presidential elections which have been taking place in Afghanistan over the last few months, but what’s actually happening?

In August, Hamid Karzai won the election outright, with a clear majority of votes, but it came to light shortly after that this outcome was the product of widespread fraud throughout the election process. President Karzai was accordingly stripped of his victory and it was decided that there should be a second round of the election. Controversially, this second round, which was planned to take place on the 7th November, was called off after Dr. Abdullah Abdullah – President Karzai’s main rival – pulled out of the election race claiming that the vote would not be ‘free and fair’.

So on Monday it emerged that, after the entirety of this long and drawn out election, with all its various complications, that Hamid Karzai will in fact be resuming the role of Afghan President for a second term. Naturally, this decision has provoked yet more outcries at the state of affairs within the Afghan government and electoral system. Dr. Abdullah called the decision ‘illegal’ due to the issues of fraud in the election, whereby Karzai did not win a majority of votes, so he does not technically have the public’s consent to rule them.

Meanwhile in Helmand, the conflict between British forces and the Taliban remains fierce as 5 more British soldiers have been shot dead. The attack has been blamed on a rogue policeman who was being mentored by the men. This news brings the total number of British deaths this year to 92, which is the highest in any year since the Falklands War in 1982. Following the shooting, Gordon Brown stressed that he was confident and hopeful that the new Afghan government would “play its part in confronting the challenges Afghanistan faces”.

In Huddersfield, we would all agree that we have a harmonious and co-operative attitude and there is very little in the way of friction or conflict between different groups of people. Evidently this is not the case at the minute in Afghanistan, although the British troops are doing their best to help the people move on and fight extremism and terrorism. The new Afghan government will have a large part to play in promoting and leading the way to peace. The question is, will they be successful?

 

Diwali

Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights which will start on the 17th October 2009. Here are some recipes to get you cooking for Diwali:

Wheat Laddu
Ingredients:
1 cup Wheat Flour
1/4 cup Gram Flour
11/2 cup Sugar Powder
1/4 cup Grated Coconut
1/4 cup Dry Fruit almonds, raisins, kaju etc
1 cup Ghee

Preparation:
1. Heat the ghee.
2. Put both the flours in the heated ghee.
3. When nearly roasted put coconut and sliced dry fruit in the mixture.
4. Now put the ground sugar in the mixture and stir thoroughly.
5. Take off from the heat quickly and make laddus. You may also put the mixture in an oil based thali & make small pieces.

 

 Kheer

Ingredients:
1 litre milk, 1 tbsp basmati rice(washed), 1 cup sugar, 2-3 bay leaves, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 5 cardamoms, 4 cm cinnamon, 4 cloves, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp ghee.
For Garnishing:6 almonds(sliced), a handful of raisins, 8 cashewnuts(chopped), a little ghee.

Method:
Heat ghee in a pressure cooker.Add bay leaves and cuminseeds.When they splutter add 2 tbsp sugar.Lower the heat and stir the sugar.When it caramelises to a dark brown colour, add milk, When the milk comes to a boil, add rice.Stir well.Pressure cook for 10-15 minutes.When cool, mix the rice and milk well with a hand beater.Add sugar and simmer for 5 minutes.Remove from heat.Powder cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves finely, and add to the milk.Stir well. Heat a little ghee and fry the raisins, cashewnuts and almonds lightly.Add to the milk and serve.

Yorkshire in Pictures

 

Yorkshire events in pictures, 2009.

Education Pack

Asian Voices is developing an education pack in which schools can teach their students aspects of oral history though a social, historical and geographical context. Oral history is about capturing people’s feeling, emotion and experiences of past life to allow individuals to trace developments within an area.

Asian Voices is looking at Huddersfield’s geographical landscape and the way it has changed since the 1960’s through the South Asian influence. We are hoping to produce an education pack viewed through South Asian history in which students from all backgrounds can explore their local community.

Packs will be available free to Kirklees schools from January 2010.

The month of fasting

Cresent moon

Ramadham is the month in which the Holy Quran was sent down from heaven by the angel Gibrael (also know as Gabriel) for Muhammad to read and is the month in which all Muslims fast from sunrise until sunset. There are exceptions for the sick, elderly and young, but many will observe the month of Ramadham (pronounced Ram-zaan) for the complete 29-30 days. Muslims go with out food and water during the daylight hours and this year they have been starting their fast from 4am to 8pm, to remember the poor and go through a process of self purification. Fasting enables Muslims to feel sympathy for one another and be grateful for what they have through the process of prayer and abstinence.

Ramdham is the ninth month in the lunar year and starts at the sighting of the crescent moon and continues for up to 30 days. This month is very special for Muslims as they believe the gates of heaven are open and they persevere with good deeds to gain self control and purification. During this month there is a ‘night of power’ on the 27 day of fasting; Muslims pray from the Quran during this night as they believe this night is better than any other, as during the time of the Prophet Muhammad angels were sent down to level one of heaven to pray for mankind. 

The full moon then signals the celebration day of Eid-ul-Fitr in which Muslims start the day with Eid prayer from which celebrations commence. The day is often filled with feasting and visiting relations. The moon is used throughout the Islamic calendar to count days which was the Arab method during the time of the Prophet Muhammad.