South Asian Heritage Month: My big fat identity crisis

By Trisha Vadher

Reading time: three minutes

For South Asian Heritage Month 2024, Trisha Vadher shares her thoughts on what this month means to her.

Hi my names Trish! I’m a British Indian from London currently living in Portugal as apart of my degree. I speak four languages one of which is the language I speak in my Indian household at home.

The Richness of South Asian Culture

The South Asian Culture is so rich, it’s rich in food, clothing, music, religious practises, medicine and so much more. As a British Indian I am so proud of our culture. The migration of South Asians worldwide is something that isn’t spoken enough within South Asian communities and around the world. From British colonisation to the expulsion of Ugandan Indians from Uganda in 1972, I think a lot of people miss the extent to which South Asian culture is varied worldwide. And how South Asian heritage is not constrained to just a persons country of origin.

Embracing My Heritage

Growing up I was always embracing my culture, I frequently listened to Bollywood songs and watched movies, I spoke my mother tongue at home and I ate Indian (specifically Gujarati food) nearly everyday. I LOVE my lenguas, there was actually a time I wore one to school so I had the privilege of being surrounded by my culture constantly while living in the UK.

One thing I couldn’t get to grasps with was why my Gujarati accent was so different to other Gujaratis especially my dad’s accent, this was not the only thing I picked up on. I realised a lot of my dishes at home, a lot of Gujaratis didn’t know what they were. I was told my mother’s family was from Uganda and my grandma’s side was from Kenya. But it was in these last few years I realised the influence that Ugandan culture had on my family; a lot of the meals we ate were Ugandan and the accent was different to that of mainland India.

Exploring My Mixed Heritage

My family were never fond of going back to Uganda, and a lot of the time they didn’t acknowledge their Ugandan culture. But they also didn’t consider India to be home either, to be quite honest, I don’t know what part of Gujarat my family actually originated from.

So where is home and what do I identify as?

The more i delve into my heritage and learn more about my culture, I’m embracing more of the Ugandan culture my family grew up with, the Swahili my grandad would speak to confuse me, the Matooke sak that I thought was an Indian dish and the pure fact that my family all the way back to my great grandparents grew up in Uganda.

The Impact of Displacement

I think a lot of this disassociation is to do with the expulsion of Indians from their home, my family fled to UK to start life anew, so a lot of this stems from the fact that they can’t imagine returning home because they were kicked out of the place they once lived in.

Celebrating Our Individuality

I hope that South Asian kids get the privilege to delve into the individuality of their cultures, because collectively we are so rich in culture it’s difficult to imagine life not fully indulging into our South Asian culture. Embrace every part even the parts that you might not find yourself fully identifying with.

For more blogs about life, travel and relatable South Asian content follow Trish on instagram: @trisha.beyondborders.