Welsh | Indian
I am half Welsh, half Indian. I Identify as British as I was born in the UK and have a British passport. When I was 11, my family moved to France, which was such an adventure. I learned French while living there and did my studies there. I moved back to London two years ago but still go to France a few times a year to see my best friend and my sister who still lives there. I don’t believe in god and I am not religious, but I think if I was to believe in a religion, I’d like to put those beliefs into looking after our planet, as this is what ‘god(s)’ gives us to live.
My Mother was born and raised in Punjab, India. My Father is from Wrexham, Wales. They met in England. It’s quite a romantic story actually; my Mother was on holiday in the UK visiting her sister who lived here. My Father was selling my Aunty a ‘dodgy’ car for way too much money! He saw my Mum and fell in love instantly. They were married 3 months later! My Dad jokes that he didn’t get a good deal on the car because he got my Mother and ended up fixing the car for free! In December they will be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary.
My parents always say not to let family and religion interfere. To love, respect and celebrate each other’s cultures as much as your own. They believe that if there is a problem respecting your partner’s culture or beliefs, then you shouldn’t be with that person. My Mother was raised Sikh, and my Dad raised Christian. My Dad doesn’t believe in god, but he knows my Mother does and respects that, and even goes to the Gurudwara with her. Just as she has been to Church many times with his family over the years. They respect each other’s families and luckily for them, their families never had huge issues with their relationship.
Raising my sister and I, my Mum took the time to teach us about both Christianity and Sikhism. We’ve been to Church and Gurudwara. We had a kid’s bible, and books about Sikhism. She said that we can choose to be Christian, Sikh or neither. I decided I don’t believe in god, and my sister decided she believes in the Sikh faith, and both my parents are fine with that.
I definitely see it as becoming a lot less taboo and frowned upon than before. I know there are still many issues to be faced, and that many people are still being persecuted for interracial relationships, but there are more and more people in these relationships, and more people are accepting of them. My parents were very lucky and didn’t have too many issues, but I know that in their time that was a rare occurrence. Now, many of my friends, and most of my cousins are in interracial relationships, and there isn’t an issue around it.
I think it’s so amazing that more and more people aren’t bothered by it and fall in love. I think it will only make this world a kinder, more accepting place.
How amazing is it that people can be raised on different continents, with an entirely different way of life, and still fall in love and create a life together? It’s such a shame when people don’t see it for the beautiful thing it is.
I don’t think my culture affects the way I choose partners. I just knew I wanted to be with someone I could talk to, share everything with and laugh with every day. My partner is British Gujurati and having seen the Sikh side of Indian culture growing up, I find it interesting seeing who different these cultures are, even though they’re from the same country. It’s crazy that cultures within one country can be so different, and yet people from other sides of the world can come together and live a happy life.
I just think it’s important to learn from each other and share each other’s cultures and experiences. My partner and I talk about having children, and I often think about how our kids will be more Indian than Welsh, but we both agree that our kids will learn about all cultures in their lives, like how my parents raised me. I want my children to celebrate their mixed heritage the way I now do.
The thing I love about being mixed-race is I’ve grown up seeing two different stories. I believe it’s made my life richer, and I think I’m more open minded thanks to it. I feel like I can connect with more people and I appreciate people’s differences. I never learned Punjabi or Welsh but having lived in France most of my life means I speak French, and people are still amazed by that even though so many other people are multilingual. I started working in Logistics thanks to this and am glad that it has opened more doors to me.
Living in the French country side for many years, it was hard for some people to grasp the concept of me being ‘British’ as opposed to ‘English’ seeing as I was born in England. Also, even now, many forget I’m half Welsh and just call me Indian. I’ve never understood why it is so difficult to understand my mixed identity! It’s not a massive challenge, I know others face worse on a daily basis, it’s just a frustration I’ve always had to live with, and a constant job teaching people about my mixed heritage… and how to say my name the Welsh way and not the English way!
I’ve always found it easier to connect to my Indian side, as I guess it’s been the stronger influence in my life. I love Bollywood films and music and I love incorporating Indian fashion and jewellery into my everyday looks. I celebrate Diwali with my family and my partner’s family and I even understand Punjabi better than I do Welsh.
For my Welsh side, my favourite place in the world is a big park near where my Grandparents used to live in North Wales. Wales is such a beautiful country, and I’m planning on climbing Mount Snowdon next year. I also want to take more of an interest in Rugby as it’s such a huge part of Welsh culture. But I think most of all I love the music! I grew up listening to classical music with my dad, and my Great Uncle used to be in the London Welsh choir. And who doesn’t love Tom Jones!
I have been to Wales many times. We used to go once or twice a year when my Grandparents were alive. I want to continue this and go every year and visit the whole country.
I haven’t been to India yet, but I really want to! I’m hoping to go next year as I still have family there who I’d love to visit, and I’d love to go maybe for Diwali or Holi to witness the celebrations, colours and music!
I think my outlook on my mixed-race ethnicity has changed from when I was a child. Growing up I don’t believe I thought about it as much. I had friends of all races and ethnicities. I enjoyed that I had two cultures in my life, and it helped me make friends of all cultures. Now, I think about it a lot more. I think about if I’m being ‘fair’ to both of my cultures and whether I’m engaging with both equally. I think about how I will raise my kids. I think about the lack of mixed-race representation in the media. I think about how confused people can be by me. I wonder if as I get older, I may find the answers to some of these questions, but as I’m a curious person, I might stumble upon even more questions. I think I just try to stay open to everything as it’s still something that’s unusual to others.
I am happy to say I have never experienced issues with my culture, gender and sexuality in the workplace. My workplace is quite inclusive. I know I am lucky, because everyday I see people who have struggles at work because of these reasons. I know that my Welsh name on my CV as opposed to an Indian one has helped me get interviews. I know that I am lucky that I’ve never been held back in my career for being a woman. I know being heterosexual has probably meant that barriers haven’t been put up where they may be for others. I do think this may change as I progress in my career. In all the places I have worked, it’s clear that there are less women, people of colour and people of different sexual orientations in higher positions. I hope that as I progress, I can break through these stereotypes and represent others like me.
If I had the opportunity to be reborn I’d want to return as I am now. I love that I’m mixed-race, I love my family and how close we are and open to each other. I love that I have a different knowledge to other people and that I don’t just fall into one category. Being mixed-race is such an amazing thing, and I’m glad it’s being more celebrated. I just wish I’d taken more time to learn about my different cultures earlier. I wish I hadn’t been so stubborn and I’d learned my parent’s first languages.