Heritage project captures 'untold' stories of migration

The "untold" stories of some of the first people to migrate from South Asia to Wiltshire are being documented for generations to come.

The Kahaani Project - meaning story - is being delivered by Create Studios based in Swindon, with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

More than 30 interviews have been collected so far, with the community's elders telling how local people were "curious", but how they could also be left with a sense of being "outsiders".

"These stories are different to those arriving in London or Birmingham. The South Asians that came to the rural West had to integrate a lot quicker... they were the ones who broke down barriers," creative director Gurch Singh said.

"They started playing sport, going to the pub, they really became one with the community around them."

Work opportunities and changing immigration patterns means that Asian communities are the fastest growing ethnic minorities in Swindon and Wiltshire, according to the latest census from the Office of National Statistics.

The project aims to capture the moment in history when the first generations arrived in order to create a living history for the region.

Indu Sharma left India where she was a professor teaching political science to follow her new husband to the UK. They arrived in Swindon in 1978 with two young children after spending a short-time in London.

In the late 1970's Swindon was transforming from a small railway town into a regional centre for new business and retail.

Mrs Sharma, who was brought up in India's large cities, recalls the moment the train pulled up in the town.

"I could not believe it," she said.

"Swindon station was like a village, just one track and the platform was muddy."

Stepping off the train Mrs Sharma said people looked at her family as if they were asking 'have they come from a different planet?'

"I found it amusing," she said.

"I think its natural for people to get a bit scared or suspicious or just amused looking at other people they haven't seen before, because Swindon was largely a white population at that time."

Talking to everybody, making friends and sharing music was Mrs Sharma's approach to becoming part of the Swindon community and she founded the South Asian Performing Arts Centre in 2009.

Arriving in central rural Wiltshire during the 1990's, Sanjeen Payne-Kumar, said: "I think we were the only Indian faces for 20 miles in any direction."

He said people were "friendly" and "curious" but that there was a sense of being "outsiders".

He added that this was not just because the family was of Indian heritage, but because they had arrived from outside the county with the area being Wiltshire born for multiple-generations.

"We were very welcomed and it (Wiltshire) is home," he added.

Speaking about the project, creative director, Gurch Singh, said: "It's been like a dream, you know how you always want to be able to interview your grandparents and ask them questions - this is what we are getting to do."

People with South Asian heritage - who arrived in the region 40 to 70 years ago - have until the end of June to take part in the project, which will culminate in an online historical archive, a short film and an educational resource for schools.

The stories are being edited together with archive footage and photographs and will be published online in July.

Kiara Wakeley, production manager for Create Studios, said: "It's really important that young people today hear about the South Asian migration, it's something that isn't generally covered in schools.

"It's amazing that something like this, can bring these largely untold stories to life."

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