The Asian Welsh S01 complete (1280x720p HD, 50fps, soft Eng subs)
Series exploring how immigration from the Indian subcontinent has transformed Welsh health, culture and the economy, and how Wales has changed those who have arrived over the past eight decades and made this place their home.
E01
This social history series follows wedding guru, entrepreneur and second-generation Indian immigrant Onkar Singh Purewal as he meets Asians from all over Wales. He is exploring how immigration from the Indian subcontinent has transformed Welsh health, culture and the economy, and how Wales has changed those who have arrived over the past eight decades and made this place their home.
In this episode, Onkar reveals how the first wave of Indian immigration into Wales was driven by the founding of the NHS in 1948. A severe shortage of medical labour meant that Britain looked to her former colonies. Within months, thousands of Indian medics arrived in Wales, particularly filling positions in the less desirable poorer towns and valleys.
We hear from Dr Ganesh Subrahmanyam, now 92, who was one of the very first doctors to arrive in Wales in 1956 from Mysore in southern India. He shares his experiences of being one of the first people of colour many locals had seen in his hometown of Merthyr and the work he did within the community – including his experiences during the Aberfan disaster.
Today, there is a new generation of home-grown Indian medics still working in Wales. In 2003, an incredible 73 per cent of GPs in the Rhondda Valleys were Asian. Onkar meets Dr Rini Chatterjee in Merthyr Tydfil and finds out why so many people of Asian heritage pursue a career in medicine. He also discovers the similarities between Welsh and Indian communities, and Dr Rini’s love for the local people. Onkar joins Dr Kausik Mukherjee for a shift at a hospital where he works as one of the nation’s leading radiologists and finds out the immense role played by Indian medics during the pandemic, and why Dr Kausik now calls Cardiff his home. Onkar travels to a yoga retreat in Carmarthenshire to find some inner peace and check how flexible he is! In the process, he hears the story of Jnandev and Deepika (formerly Sally), who fell in love whilst training to be yoga teachers and set up their ashram in the heart of the Welsh countryside. There, they help stressed-out people from all over the country to relax, get fit and cope with daily life. Finally, in Anglesey we meet Haroon Danis, a third-generation Bangladeshi Welshman with a thriving skincare business. He reveals how being the only Asian in the village was the making of him and helped him excel in later life. Onkar gets treated to his first ever facial in one of Haroon’s clinics as he explores how this reinvention of healthcare for a modern generation has impacted people in Wales.
E02
Onkar visits one of the first ever tandoori restaurants in Wales. The Akash opened up in the 1960s, a time when spice, heat and exotic recipes had never been tasted in Wales, and going out for a meal was something you only did if you had cash to splash. Indian restaurants opened up the dining out experience to the working classes and transformed taste buds in the process. The Akash is still run by the same Bangladeshi family today, and Onkar meets sisters Dee and Najema, who run the restaurant. As Onkar tucks into a curry that has been on the menu since day one, the sisters reveal the hurdles their father overcame to win over the locals and build up the business. They recall the racism that came with late-night opening and how that impacted their lives growing up but, on a more positive note, how locals became like family with new generations still coming through the doors. In nearby Pontyclun, Onkar follows his nose to a food factory producing gourmet Indian snacks that fuse the very best of Welsh and Indian flavours. At Samosaco, Onkar finds out how the Sandhu family built up a business that started from a stall at a car boot sale into one of the leading suppliers in the country. He samples the leek and potato samosa and a scotch egg bhaji, and finds out why Wales has made the Sandhus' business such a success. Hand in hand with good food goes good music. Onkar hits the decks with top bhangra DJ Raj Singh, whose grandfather brought bhangra to these shores. As he has a crash course on the dhol – the bhangra drum – Onkar finds out how this style of music has gone mainstream. During the pandemic, Raj entertained the locals with his bhangra beats and has been immortalised in paint by a local graffiti artist. Finally, Onkar gets physical as he explores the impact of immigration on Welsh sport. He heads to Swansea to meet a rising star in powerlifting – 20-year-old Muslim Tahira Ali. She puts Onkar through his paces in the gym as he finds out how living in Wales has given Tahira the confidence and support to make it to the top.
E03
Onkar reveals why family combined with a serious work ethic has meant immigrants from the Indian subcontinent have excelled in business and transformed the Welsh economy in the process. He starts with the story of his own father. Sukdev arrived in Britain in 1976 with one suitcase and £75 in his pocket. From there, he built up a business empire of a corner shop, a chip shop and a hotel. Onkar also unearths why a fifth of corner shops in Wales are run by Indian immigrants. In the valleys and tight-knit communities outside big cities, Asian immigration helped smooth race relations, but in urban areas it was a different story. Tea shop owner Kasim Ali grew up in Cardiff in the 1970s, and his parents ran a corner shop. He reveals the racist abuse they suffered and how that affected him growing up. But he also shares how times have changed and talks about the community bonds he has forged in opening up a chain of successful cafes across Cardiff. Onkar takes a crash course in tea making and tea etiquette as he finds out the secrets behind Kasim’s success. In Colwyn Bay, Onkar rolls up his sleeves to take part in a Bollywood dance session run by entrepreneur Ghazala Jabeen. Pakistani-born, she moved to Colwyn Bay 25 years ago and is now one of a growing number of female Asian entrepreneurs able to spot an opportunity and grow a brand new business. Her Bollywood fitness classes have taken off across north Wales and bagged her a string of awards. She shares how being in Wales made it happen and why she thinks her business has been such a success. Onkar heads for Cardiff market to try out his sales patter with the Singh family, who have run a mobile phone stall for 30 years. Finally Onkar meets Rakesh Aggarwal who runs Wales’s biggest beauty retailer – a business that started in his parents' garage and is now global. We hear how it employs a huge Welsh workforce and how the business could only have happened in Wales.
First broadcast: December 2021
Duration: 30 minutes per episode
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