Spanish | Indian (BHF Cardiac Nurse)
My Father was born in India to a military family with a mixed Persian heritage, he himself joined the British Navy when his navy ship was invited to join the Queen’s coronation parade in London. On finishing his navy service he decided to set up in London. My Mother was born in Galicia, Spain. She spent many years at the conservatory and was a music teacher but moved to London where she trained as a nurse at St George’s hospital. It was probably quite difficult having a mixed ethnicity relationship back then, but they were such a stylish looking couple!
As children our family home was often full of guests and family members from both sides along with my Dad’s many friends. My Dad had a lot of interesting contacts from unusual backgrounds and on my Mum’s side we had lots of cousins at university who spent long summers with us. We were exposed to many cultures including those of my own school friends who were just as mixed as myself. I experienced Spanish culture from quite a young age and have a large extended family there. Galicia has a very unique and different vibe to it; it has a Celtic origin which I love. I also lived for a while in the foothills of the Himalayas where my Dad’s family moved to after partition. I experienced a remote tribal mountain culture which was really quite unique.
Being mixed has never been an issue at my workplace, I feel comfortable to be myself. My first experience with the British Heart Foundation was when it funded my first ever clinical research role, which I am very grateful for. I joined the British Heart Foundation as a Cardiac Nurse knowing that this is an organisation that I respect and with a mission I am committed to. An organisation’s reputation outlasts its members, so with the 60-year anniversary next year I think it’s good to think about the legacy that we as members wish to leave for the next 60 years in a uniquely unsettled global economic and health crisis. Ethnicity, heart and circulatory conditions have been major underlying themes to the pandemic and that along with addressing inequalities in health care is an area that the British Heart Foundation can make a big difference in.
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