Daksha Patel talking with Jyoti Patel
Recording for Asian Connections project. Total length 49 minutes, 48 secondsTrack 1, length 9 minutes, 44 seconds Born in 1957 in Livingstone, Zambia she lived with her parents, 3 sisters, 2 brothers and extended family which included grandparents, an uncle and cousins. Came to UK in 1979. Got married in London then husband got job in Scotland. They moved to Dalgety Bay. Very lonely at first. No cooker in house when she moved in. Parents sent some utensils and groceries from Zambia by cargo. Missed her family. Her father visited. Saw no other Indians except now and again. They were the only Indians in the area and though initially lonely her immediate neighbours were very friendly(4mins 25 cd1)Made simple temple in the house. Jyoti has three sisters and two brothers. In Zambia lived with extended family. In 1969 she went to India with her grandparents for three years (6.27). Description of celebrating Divali in Zambia. (8.00) In Scotland never thought about looking for Asian community. Took long time to find Hindu temple in Edinburgh. Description of Divali celebrations at temple. Track 2, length 15 minutes, 54 seconds Description of her childhood in Zambia. Grandfather was a farmer. Her father moved his family to Lusaka. Her father worked in a clothes shop which he later bought (1 min 5) Happy childhood. No toys. Played games with stones, shells, bat and ball skipping rope (2.26). Picnics with friends and family. Everyone was vegetarian. Or taken to ice-cream place as a treat. Would do housework to earn pocket money to go to watch Indian movies in the community hall. (5.26) Discussion about school (7.17). They were taught only in English at school, where swimming was compulsory, though they attended a Gujarati school in the afternoon (7 mins 50 cd2). School from 7.30 – 12.30 or 1 p.m. then Gujurati School. Rest of her family in America now. Her father and two cousins died in a car accident in 1986. Her parents would visit India for couple of months, then a few months in Zambia, then visit Jyoti then visit family in America then back to India. Mum moved to America after her father’s death. Jyoti has a daughter aged 27 and a son aged 26 born in the old maternity hospital in Dunfermline. Attended Donibristle Primary School then Inverkeithing High School. Her daughter went to university in London and is working as a doctor in Surrey. Her son finished school and went to university in America. He is a biochemist in California. Comment on importance of good education. Jyoti encouraged children to join activities and sports teams so they would never feel left out. Discussion about celebrating Christmas and Divali.Track 3, length 24 minutes, 10 secondsDiscussion about holidays. Not part of her culture. While children school age holidays were spent visiting family in India or Zambia. When kids older took them to Disneyworld, New York, Toronto, Greece. Went sightseeing in India, Caribbean Cruise, Peru. For her 25th Wedding Anniversary trip to Hong Kong, China and Japan. (4.45) Discussion about adapting to food in different countries. Parents’ generation needing to eat three Indian meals a day. (7.00) Discussion about Indian food and where to find ingredients. (14.45) Used to send children to Zambia and America to spend time with family. They learnt to speak Gujarati (17.00) More isolated in Scotland but fewer obligations to go to social occasions then down South. (19.45) Children felt different at first when they moved to London and America. The other Asians had known each other from school. Discussion about advantages of growing up in Scotland with friends from diverse backgrounds.
