The MPA Celebrates South Asian Heritage Month – ‘Free to Be Me’

Date 23rd July

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Spotlight: Amilah Choudhury shares what it means to her to be ‘Free to Be Me’

Check below for famous composers and musicians from South Asia.

South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM) first took place in 2020 and runs from the 18th of July to the 17th of August each year.

Whilst doing that, it also seeks to understand the links between the UK and South Asia. South Asian culture has made a significant impact in various aspects such as clothing, food and music.

The month begins on 18^th July which has significance as The Indian Independence Act 1947 gained royal assent from the King George VI and ends on 17^th August, which is the date the Radcliffe Line was published. This set out the borders between India, West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The dates also coincide with Sawan/Saravan, which is the main monsoon month in South Asia and is a time when the rainforest go through a period of renewal. It also includes several independence days connected to South Asian countries.

The countries that make up south Asia include, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, The Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Each of these countries has been impacted by Britain whether through war, colonisation and the British Empire.

This year’s theme is “Free to be me”. Everyone has a story, an identity or valuable lesson that has shaped who they are. The ‘free to be me’ theme celebrates the diverse ways honouring South Asian roots and individuality. The theme explores a variety of areas including, identity, community, positive impact and family.

Learn more about South Asian History, check out inventors, scientists, musicians, scholars and British South Asian Women founders and CEO’s.

British South Asian Singers and musicians

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:British_Asian_musicians

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2TYtDCqKdDWHsTys048gcCl/the-history-of-the-british-asian-sound-music

https://www.saa-uk.org/artists/

https://hmc.chartmetric.com/global-rise-south-asian-music-evolution-opportunities/

Famous South Asian composers, singers and lyricists

Did you know that one of India’s top female composers was Jaddanbai Hussain. She composed Hindi film music and classical music in the 1930s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_composers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._D._Burman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._D._Burman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usha_Khanna

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemant_Kumar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaddanbai

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saraswati_Devi_(music_director)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Rafi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kishore_Kumar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukesh_(singer)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manna_Dey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lata_Mangeshkar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asha_Bhosle

How to get involved

There are a variety of different ways to get involved during this year’s South Asian Heritage month.

Share your stories, this can be via a blog post, a poem, creating art or music
Attending events, throughout the month there are lots of different events, from online webinars and talks to in person comedy gigs and dance and live music.
Connecting with others through discussions or forums and sharing with other community members.
Volunteering at events or even organising events for South Asian Heritage month.

Celebrating this year’s South Asian Heritage month and showing the world what has shaped and made you your unique self. It’s a time to showcase and highlight the richness of culture, stories, history and diversity within the South Asian community.