Tag Archives: history

Going Digital…South Asian migration to Coventry

03/30/2023 Pippa Leave a comment

“exotic from ‘Cocked Hats at Coventry. By Major George Lambert. [With plates.]’.“/ pdm 1.0

As everyone is talking about OpenAI, I decided to experiment and try it out for myself and see what it can generate. The speed with which it generates the material is amazing, and below is the request plus response.

Create a blog about South Asian migration to Coventry:

Welcome to the South Asian Migration to Coventry blog! Here, we will explore the history and current state of South Asian migration to Coventry, a city in the West Midlands of England. We will look at the reasons why people from South Asia have chosen to move to Coventry, the challenges they have faced, and the positive impact they have had on the city. We will also discuss the cultural and religious diversity that has been created by the influx of South Asian migrants and how it has enriched the city. We hope that this blog will provide an informative and interesting insight into the history and present of South Asian migration to Coventry. Coventry has a long history of South Asian migration. The first South Asian migrants to the city arrived in the 1950s and 1960s, when people from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh moved to the city to find work in the car industry. This influx of South Asian migrants continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s, with many migrants settling in the city and bringing their families with them. This created a vibrant and diverse South Asian community in Coventry, which has grown and flourished over the years. Today, Coventry is home to a large and vibrant South Asian community. According to the 2011 census, over 11% of the city’s population is of South Asian origin. This community has had a huge impact on the city, bringing with it a rich cultural and religious diversity. South Asian migrants have also helped to revitalise the city’s economy, with many businesses and organisations being founded by South Asian entrepreneurs. Despite the positive impact that South Asian migrants have had on Coventry, they have also faced many challenges. These include racism and discrimination, as well as difficulties in finding employment and housing. However, the South Asian community in Coventry has remained strong and resilient, and has continued to make a positive contribution to the city. We hope that this blog will provide an interesting and informative insight into the history and present of South Asian migration to Coventry. We welcome your comments and feedback, and look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences. Thank you for visiting!

Having written a book about South Asian Migration to Coventry, I can see this is a very superficial AI generated response and in places an inaccurate too, however the AI text has provided a brief overview of the community, with some data from the Census too. The first South Asians to settled in Coventry can be traced as far back as the 1930s, albeit in small numbers, but the more significant numbers were in the post-war era when Coventry was being rebuilt. While the AI generated text mentions work, diversity, contributions to the city etc, there are actually very little detail or specific examples. I can see why there has been so much interest in this, and for us who work in the education sector, this has huge repercussions.

south asian coventry — AI generated image “South Asian Coventry”

To accompany this AI generated blog post, I decided to source my photos from the Openverse and AI generated images from WordPress. With pictures there are clearly limitations, because presumably there is insufficient source material and thus I can’t find suitable pictures to accompany the theme of my post. This has been an interesting incursion into the world of AI, which I really do not know that much about, but it has provided some food for thought (pun intended!).

Please leave any comments or feedback.

Mein Tenu Phir Milangi – I will meet you yet again by Amrita Pritam

02/25/2023 Pippa 1 Comment

Amrita Pritam’s poem recited by Gulzar

Main Tenu Fir Milaan Gi
Kithey? Kis Tarah? Pata Nai
Shayad Terey Takhayul Di Chinag Ban Ke
Terey Canvas Tey Utraan Gi
Ya Khowrey Terey Canvas Dey Utey
Ikk Rahasmayi Lakeer Ban Ke
Khamosh Tenu Tak Di Rawaan Gi

I will meet you yet again
How and where? I know not.
Perhaps I will become a
figment of your imagination
and maybe, spreading myself
in a mysterious line
on your canvas,
I will keep gazing at you.

Yaa Khowrey Sooraj Di Loo Ban Ke
Terey Rangaan Wich Ghulaan Gi
Yaa Rangaan Diyan Bahwaan Wich Baith Ke
Terey Canvas Nuu Walaan Gi
Pata Nai Kiss Tarah? Kithey?
Par Tenu Zaroor Milaan Gi

Perhaps I will become a ray
of sunshine, to be
embraced by your colours.
I will paint myself on your canvas
I know not how and where –
but I will meet you for sure.

Yaa Khowrey Ikk Chashma Bani Howaan Gi
Tey Jeevan Jharneyaan Da Paani Udd-da
Main Paani Diyaan Boondaan
Terey Pindey Tey Malaan Gi
Tey Ikk Thandak Jahi Ban Ke
Teri Chaati Dey Naal Lagaan Gi
Main Hor Kujh Nai Jaandi
Par Aena Jaandi
Ke Waqt Jo Vii Karey Ga
Aey Janam Mairey Naal Turey Ga

Maybe I will turn into a spring,
and rub the foaming
drops of water on your body,
and rest my coolness on
your burning chest.
I know nothing else
but that this life
will walk along with me.

Aey Jism Mukda Hai
Tay Sab Kujh Muk Jaanda
Par Chaityaan Dey Dhaagey
Kaainaati Kana Dey Hundey
Main Onhaan Kana Nuu Chunaan Gi
Dhaageyaan Nuu Walaan Gi
Tey Tenu Main Fair Milaan Gi…

When the body perishes,
all perishes;
but the threads of memory
are woven with enduring specks.
I will pick these particles,
weave the threads,
and I will meet you yet again.

Poetry in Punjabi by Amrita Pritam
Translation in English by Nirupama Dutt

Read further: Mein Tenu Phir Milangi: Remembering Amrita Pritam through Her Life, Love, and Works by Kartikeya Shankar. The Times of India, 17 July 2021

India, Pakistan, Short Essays

The festival of Lohri in Punjab

01/13/2023 Pippa Leave a comment

© Pippa Virdee 2004, celebrating lohri in Lahore.

A few days back I was in Punjab and Delhi, which were clouded and submerged in the winter chill and fog. With every passing comment about the cold, there is another reference, “it will only last until lohri, after that the weather will improve”. This points to the passing of the winter solstice and the changes in the season. Many of the popular festivals in Punjab are associated with seasonal changes, these are easy markers and reference points before formal calendars and dates arrived, and in this case the winter festival of lohri means anticipating longer and warmer days.

Growing up, there were always certain foods which we associated with lohri (and associated with the winter harvest). Rewris/revdis, jaggery and sesame-based dishes, and peanuts, are all warming and seasonal foods during the winter days of North India. Sarson da saag and makki di roti is another essential. Jaggery, sesame sweets and peanuts are quite often distributed and exchanged amongst friends and families. Traditionally, this special occasion was reserved for the birth of a son, but thankfully many have started celebrating the birth of a child, regardless of its gender.

In Indian Punjab the festival is public holiday but unfortunately across the border in Pakistan Punjab it is barely recognised. In recent years commentators and activists have been trying to revive it and re-introduce it to the wider public, with limited impact. Lohri is not and was not a religious festival, and yet the division of such festivals is emblematic of Partition, which increasingly entrenched what was deemed to be Hindu/Sikh and what was considered Islamic. In the video above for BBC Urdu, you can hear Mazhar Abbas narrate the history of lohri for a new generation.

Going back to Delhi, I was fortunate enough to meet up with Harinder Singh (1469) who was busy curating his lohri exhibition at the India International Centre. Do go and have a look, if you are around Delhi.

Read more about the history and origins of lohri.

Lohri: A joyous bonfire festival of Punjab to mark the end of winter by Mala Chandrashekhar

Lohri the legend of Dulla Bhatti by Aashish Kochhar

Watch lohri de rang with Noor Art and co.

Misc

Indian Tiffin and Thali

11/30/2022 Pippa Leave a comment

It is the end of November and I find myself at a conference on 75 years of Pakistan Independence at The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard University. On the sidelines of the conference I take a walk and observe the diversity on display around me.

In 1990 President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations, under variants on the name (including “Native American Heritage Month” and “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month”) have been issued each year since 1994. Read more about this.

At the same time I can’t help but notice that more detailed demographic data emerges from the ONS, in which ‘Leicester and Birmingham have become the first “super-diverse” cities in the UK, where most people are from black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, according to the 2021 census’. Read further ‘Diversity is a beautiful thing’: the view from Leicester and Birmingham. As I’m based in Leicester, I hope to explore some of the recent changes in the city in more detail.

A basic thali with palak paneer, daal and rice.

In the meantime, I indulge in the desi ‘home made’ food offered by Mr Harpreet Singh at Singh’s Dhaba. He established his business in 1990 and like many other diasporic Sikhs he came from Virk, a village near Phagwara, in the Jalandhar district.

Gallery, Pakistan

Welcome to Nankana Sahib

11/08/2022 Pippa 1 Comment

Nankana Sahib is the Birthplace of Guru Nanak. This town was originally known as Talwandi of Rai (Rai Bhoi di Talwandi) and today it forms the core of the small Sikh community in Pakistan. Every year on Guru Nanak’s birthday (Gurpurab), Sikhs (and others) gather around Nankana Sahib to remember the founder of the Sikh faith. Over the years the Gurdwara complex has grown considerable. I first went there in 2003 when it was a small gurdwara with a largely Pathan Sikh community of about 50 families who lived there. The last time I went there was on Gurpurab in 2016, and the small town was transformed into a mela of 20-30,000 people from around Pakistan, including the Nanak Panthis (mostly from Sindh) and Sikhs from around the globe (including India). The area now has district status and attracts the Sikh diaspora, who come here in huge numbers on pilgrim visas. The growth in the pilgrims and tourism is one of the main reasons for the growing investment in places like this and hence the transformation of this area.

I leave you with the voice of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – born in Lyallpur (Pakistan) with ancestral roots in Jalandhar (India) – who is performing/reciting Koi Bole Ram Ram Koi Khuda (Some call the Lord ‘Ram, Ram’, and some ‘Khuda’) at the Ramgarhia Sabha Gurdwara (Slough, UK) for the Sikh Diaspora in 1989 – many of whom appear to be from East Africa. But the words of the Guru and music know no borders.