Going into the second week of South Asian Heritage Month, here is what you can look forward to as part of the national celebration of South Asian heritage, history, identity, art, and culture.
Tuesday 27 July:
An Evening of Women’s Flash Fiction Readings. Online, 7:30pm to 8:45pm.
A session of 12 short Flash Fiction readings on Zoom, by women writers of South Asian heritage. Hosted by Farahana Khalique and fellow writer Anita Goveas, the writers will discuss published stories that reference or take inspiration from the writers’ South Asian heritage.
Wednesday 28 July:
Safeguarding LGBTQ+ People – Banning Conversion Therapy. Online, 6pm to 7pm.
Chaired by Laks Mann, founder of Gaysians UK and hosted jointly by the Ozanne Foundation and Naz and Matt Foundation, the event will explain the various forms that “conversion therapy” can take, the negative impact that they have, and what needs to be done to ensure that LGBT people are protected from this abuse.
Speakers include Matt Mahmood-Ogston, Saima Razzaq, Dr Jagbir Jhutti-Johal, Jayne Ozanne and Laks Mann.
Native Flowers Master House Short. Online, 7:30pm to 8:30pm.
A collection of literary shorts (prose, video, poetry, spoken word, written word) with vintage, black & white and old colour photos, honouring mothers and their stories of emigration and relocation to different parts of the world from South Asia.
Thursday 29 July:
The PwC Journey – Walking in Our Shoes. Online, 5pm to 6pm.
A discussion on the experiences of being South Asian in the workplace and what PwC is doing to progress inclusion for everyone.
Open Minds Safe Spaces – LGBTQ+. Online, 7pm to 8pm.
This weekly session is for those who identify as Punjabi and/ South Asian whether culturally, geographically, or linguistically, and is a queer affirmative space for those who identify with any aspect(s) of gender, sexuality and relationship diversity. It is open to those of all faiths and none. The session is an invitation to come together and connect with ourselves and each other, as support and antidote to what has been (and may continue to be) difficult experiences during the pandemic.
Friday 30 July:
Healthy Friday – Chai & Chat: Living with Cancer. Online, 10am to 11am.
A discussion on how can our diet and lifestyle impact cancer risk and recurrence in conjunction with Penny Brohn UK – panel event lead by Toral Shah.
Saturday 31 July:
Diaspo Live Cooking lessons. Online, 1pm to 2pm.
Diaspo runs live cooking classes from home cooks with decades of experience. Get the tips, tricks and techniques you can’t get in a cookbook, learning heritage recipes that have stood the test of time. Cook along live, learning their steps, stories and secrets.
British Asian Sounds – Historical Interactive DJ Set. Online, 5:30pm to 6:30pm.
An interactive audiovisual DJ set that spans the musical history of British Asian music from the 60s to the present day. The host Prabijit Bains has edited multiple music documentaries to supplement the tracks and edited podcast clips into the tracks as commentary.
The media can also be seen as a deconstructed/live podcast. The interactive element comes from the audience, who choose the direction of the narrative for the set. This allows people to engage in what would be an otherwise static DJ set. There will also be a discussion about the reflections and the future of British Asian music.
Sunday 1 August:
Exploring Basildon Park: a historical flash fiction workshop. Online, 2pm to 4pm.
The National Trust has been looking into the colonial histories of many of its buildings. Basildon Park has many aspects that would be fascinating to delve into from a South Asian perspective. It was owned by Francis Sykes, a returning ‘nabob’ from the East India Company, was originally furnished with objects brought back from India, and there is evidence that Francis Sykes left money to an Indian servant called Thomas Radakissan.
Through flash fiction hosted by writers Anita Goveas and Farhana Khalique, this event will encourage people to learn about the history of Basildon Park through its people, objects and setting and produce three pieces of flash fiction.
Song Writing Workshop. Online, 3pm to 4pm.
Learn how to write and produce a song through a songwriting/production session and a Q&A session.
Sab Rab De Bande Lotus Visual × Sarbat × Gaylaxy × GIN – LGBTQ+. Online, 4:20pm to 7:30pm.
Sab Rab De Bande is a documentary that brings forth the various challenges that LGBTQ Sikhs in India grapple with and the different ways in which they reconcile their faith and gender and or sexual identities.
The 30 min documentary will be shared via zoom with all the participants and will be followed by a 30 min virtual panel discussion lead by Sarbat of Sikh LGBT+ group UK and Sukhdeep Singh a filmmaker from India.
