Being An Asian In Modern British Society

In this episode, me and Nikita talk about her personal journey through different styles of dance and the challenges she has faced during this. We delve into the cultural barriers associated with dancing and how Nikita has overcome these by creating the company, BollyHeels. Disclaimer: This episode does include personal opinions and thoughts which are intended to offend.

Hey guys and girls, So here we are, at Chapter 23. Sorry that I ghosted you for a while, let’s just say I had a lottttt to deal with in the past year and a bit. I just wanted to say thank you to those who encouraged me to get back into my podcast and pour into myself. This year has been the most challenging year of my life and I’m about to get really raw and deep about it, because in case you didn...

And we're back! Thank you for tuning it to this episode of the podcast! I hope the first four months of 2024 have been brilliant and to add to the fun, I’ve got an exciting new episode for you. I’m super psyched for this one as I am in conversation with my digital marketer, PA and business owner herself, Alinah Rajah. Alinah is a qualified football coach and has launched her own business Power Up...

Happy New Year!!! I hope you all had a lovely festive break and all are geared up for 2024! Me, Monisha and Nimah finally did it! We've been itching to have this conversation on air for a while and finally sat down yesterday to record it. This episode is all about the ways we seek validation and how it links back to our inner child, societal expectations, our self perceptions with friends and fami...

Well hello there - I’m back after a little break from the podcast. If this is the first episode you’re listening to, I’m giving you a warm welcome and for my returning listeners,  a warm virtual hug for you too! Life have really caught up on me but I’m so pleased to announce that this is the 20th episode so far! To honour it, I thought it would fitting to invite my friend Nimrah Zaman, who is not...

Hey everyone and welcome back to being an Asian in modern British society. Tonight, I invite three of my good friends from the University of Bradford, Hamza Yousaf, Zarafshaan Hussain and Fatouma Sanyang to talk about a very important yet often disregarded topic – our names. Have you ever been annoyed because you’ve had to repeat your name more than once because someone simple couldn’t pronounce i...

Welcome back to the podcast of Being an Asian in Modern British Society. I’m going to hit you with a very sciencey episode today so brace yourselves because this topic is very close to my heart. On Wednesday 26th October at midnight, I was admitted into the hospital with the paramedics and doctors not knowing what was wrong with me. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t talk but I was completely aware of my...

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Being an Asian in Modern British Society. Today I decided to take a break from the PhD and pay a visit to see my dad. It dawned on me that a lot of our conversations often revolve around fighting the battles life throws our way and I know one person who truly understands that is my dad. My dad’s family were very poor and at the age of 17, my grandfathe...

Thank you for tuning in yet again to another episode of the podcast! So we’ve done Defining Success in a Desi Household from a girls perspective - now let’s flip it over! Sanjai is a good friend of mine from University who brings a unique angle to defining success from a males perspective. He grew up in Singapore and moved to England to study medicine. Now we do go off on our tangents in this epis...

Thank you for tuning into this episode of the podcast. I am currently recording this during the Christmas limbo of eating neverending blocks of cheese, living in my pyjamas and fluffy socks and watching mindless TV. It just seemed like the perfect time to record a conversation with one of my new friends, Monisha about a topic we frequently talk about… What success is perceived as in a Desi Househo...

It's been MONTHS since I’ve sat at my desk, put my headphones back on, dusted off the microphone and tuned back in. I’m about to take you on an emotional rollercoaster with this episode as we delve into my mother’s past as well as many of your parents pasts as well. To fully understand the background of this fight for freedom in Bangladesh, we need to travel back to 1947, when India won its indepe...

In celebration of International Women's Month, I thought it was fitting to invite my old school friend Ayesha to share her amazing story into academia. Me and Ayesha went to underperforming schools where most of us didn't make it very far. However, Ayesha has broken the mould by not only being the first in her family to go to University but she is also pursuing a PhD in exploring the emotional geo...

In Part II of this episode, Saquib talks about exploring his sexuality at university, marrying and divorcing his ex girlfriend, his journey into therapy, moving to Belgium, the common struggles the LGBT community may have and the workshops he currently runs in Belgium and England. The element of "shame" we have in the South Asian Community can be detrimental to our mental health, especially those...

On this episode, I have my guest Saquib Ahmad who is a Psychotherapist based in Brussels and London. He runs many therapy workshops for the LGBT community and plays an active role in raising awareness about homosexuality and bisexuality. Saquib talks about his struggles emigrating to the UK from Pakistan, coming out as bisexual and how this has impacted his religious journey. Now, just as a discla...

Hello! You have landed yourself on the very episode that kickstarted this whole podcast off! In this episode, me and my friend Neel (who is now a qualified doctor whoop whoop) dissect areas of our life that may have contributed or triggered our 'identity crisis'. The purpose of this conversation is to raise awareness about the struggles some British Asians may go through and to make a point that "...

In this episode, I am in conversation with my friend Ayesha Firoze who is a brilliant school teacher and an extra ordinary dancer. Together we discuss the stigma behind dance within the South Asian Muslim community and where it may have rooted from. We explore the art and works of Tawaifs during the Mughal era which eventually became a dying profession during the British Empire ruling.  DISCL...

It's time to really take those demons out of the closet and take a good, hard look at ourselves and the community we live in. Mental health is very under discussed and often brushed underneath the carpet to avoid 'sharam' i.e. embarrassing situations. We live in a society where it's become more important to 'maintain the family honour' or avoid being the 'local gossip topic' than it is to support...

In this episode, I am joined by my talented friend Ahmed Zaman who walks us through his journey into acting. We discuss the challenges and opportunities he has experienced during his acting career and what he hopes to achieve in the next coming years.  DISCLAIMER: All of the content discussed in this episode is based on personal thought and opinions. We do not wish to offend anyone but simply offe...

Dedicated to my dear late Khala who passed away one week ago from COVID-19. In this episode, me, Nimah and Rez share our experiences of Ramadan before and after lockdown. We talk about the challenges we have faced during the fasting period in lockdown and how we have chosen to cope with them.  If you have been affected by any of the topics discussed in this episode, please reach out on @bambswiths...

In this episode, Sunita shares her unique, inspiring story about her journey to marrying Denzil and giving birth to her baby girl Aarya. Sunita addresses the social stigmas she had to break through to fight for her relationship and offers an insight into the transition of emotions felt by herself and her family. DISCLAIMER: All the content in this podcast is based on personal thought and opinions....

This episode is dedicated to providing an overview of what happened during the Partition of India in 1947. Many of us are not aware of where we originate from and I believe that it is imperative to acquire this knowledge. I hope this episode helps to soothe the identity crisis that we all experience and pulls out some of the demons in your closet.  DISCLAIMER: All of the content in this episode is...

This episode is all about ‘Growing Up in A Muslim Household’ from a girls perspective. We’ll be addressing all sorts of experiences we’ve encountered surrounding our clothing, going to mosque as a child and common struggles we face in our everyday lives. DISCLAIMER: All the content in this podcast is based on personal thought and opinions. We do not wish to offend anyone but instead offer an insig...

In this episode, me and my friend Rez talk about something us millennials have ‘invented’ as a mapping tool to finding ‘the one’. We call this 'The Halal and Haram Ratio'. We’re going to talk about how Uni may act as a breaking point in a young Muslims life and shapes who they may become and how this may impact their life choices in areas such as marriage, faith and general lifestyle. DISCLAIMER:...

Every new project has a story behind it and I thought you'd like to know the story behind this one. This episode is a recitation of the article that I wrote when I was 17 years old. Obviously, things have changed since then so excuse the outdated comments or exaggerations, but I figured it was a nice way of starting off the episodes. I hope the next upcoming episodes resonate with all of you as I...