Inspiring Others Through Celebrating South Asian Heritage Month
Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT)
Creating a simpler better railway for everyone in Britain
Hi, I’m Suad (pronounced Sue-add), and Head of Corporate Affairs here at GBRTT.
South Asian Heritage Month is important to me because representation matters. When I first landed in rail, I remember being able to count on one hand the other South Asian employees that I worked alongside at head office which felt so disproportionate to my community outside of work.
Not only that, but the limited representation seemed uneven to the many South Asian influences that are prominent in our day to day lives here in the UK; through food, music, clothing, and even words we use every day at work and home.
Fast forward twelve years, it’s encouraging that ethnic minority representation within our industry is improving but there is still some way to go. According to the most recent stats shared by the National Skills Academy for Rail, only 12.5% of the rail industry are from a UK ethnic minority background. This shows that we are not yet representative of the communities our people belong to. People like me.?
South Asian words
On a more personal note, as mum to two dual heritage ‘Benglish’ (Bengali and English) children, I’m very passionate about retaining the richness of my South Asian, namely Bengali, heritage. Language is a big part of that, and at home we have many conversations in Bengali to help shape different ways for Sami and Ethan to communicate. You may not think you know any South Asian words or use any at home yourself, but you probably do every day. Here are a few favourites:
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Blighty?– often understood to be a traditional British word for the UK but it’s actually a play on the Urdu word ‘bilāyati’ meaning foreign.
Cot?– from the Hindi word ‘khāt’ which translates as small, light bed.?
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Mantra?– a Sanskrit word meaning sacred message or text.
Dinghy?– from the Bengali and Hindi word ‘dingi’ which translates as a tiny boat.
Pyjamas?– from the Hindi word ‘pajamas’ which literally means leg clothing.
Brother?– originates from the Sanskrit word ‘bhrātr’
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South Asian Heritage Month 2023 is ending soon, but I hope you take this as an invitation to dig deeper and learn more about the various South Asian influences in your everyday lives, cuisine, and language. I’d love to hear from you!
Wow, this is so insightful, we learnt a few things from this post - thanks so much for sharing! The British rail industry has really a stellar job with celebrating South Asian Heritage Month this year, we can't wait to see what you have in store for next year ! Tom Ketteringham Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT)
GBRTT Engagement and Programme Lead Partnerships
1 年Thank you for sharing Suad Chowdhury. I love languages and this is so interesting
Principal Consultant at JVR Consultancy Ltd, Occupational Health Manager at Med-Fitplus Ltd, Director of Claydon & Barham Community Centre
1 年How about sorting out the railway instead. I thought this team was to arrange the transition of the railway and not setting about pleasing WOKE promoters. No wonder this is taking so long. Employ professionals for their skill only irrespective of their Colour, sex, religion etc. Stop trying to employ /fit people to meet %.
Absolutely love this Suad Chowdhury thank you for sharing - also love the origins of language so really interesting to see South Asian influences ??