‘Hear My Voice’- Stories From The South Asian Diaspora: Partap Singh

Partap Singh © Farzana Hakim

On 2nd October 1967, Partap Singh first arrived in the UK with his family. Together with his four brothers and his mother, Partap Singh said goodbye to the only life he knew in Punjab in India. They were emigrating to be with their father who had already settled in East Ham two years back. His sisters who they had initially left behind in India with relatives in 1967, took the same journey in 1969 and the whole family were reunited.

Here is a photo of Partap Singh with his parents and siblings. This photograph was taken in India in 1967 just days before they were due to travel to the UK.

Partap with parents and siblings in India © Partap Singh

It was an absolute pleasure speaking to Partap Singh during the oral history interview. He preferred to speak to me in Hindi and Punjabi and I was happy to accommodate his wish. Where necessary in this report, I will be translating the interview to English.

Partap Singh and Farzana Hakim © Farzana Hakim

Partap Singh, like many young men from the South Asian diaspora of his time, had high ambitions as he arrived in the UK. The thought of moving abroad was exciting and full of adventure. However, once Partap Singh arrived at his first address in Sibley Grove, in East Ham, the cold winters and the language barriers were hard to adjust to. Being a child of eleven at the time, he was enrolled at Cromwell Primary school and found schooling particularly hard in the early years. Learning English was difficult, he said but he was quick to make friends with other emigrated children and with their help, navigated through the school years.

In the following clip from the interview, Partap Singh told me how Newham’s Schools provided bilingual teachers who could speak South Asian languages like Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi to help them learn English.

About keeping connected to his cultural heritage, Partap Singh recalled fond trips to the cinemas on Commercial Road and Brick Lane in neighbouring borough Tower Hamlets as he enjoyed the bus and train journeys and also because he didn’t know about the more local ones in Newham until later. Then he would go to the Odeon and Granada cinemas on Sundays to watch the screening of Indian Movies which was always followed by a quick Indian snack after.

Watching Indian movies was a very important feature of his life. He was passionate about them and would watch them at any given opportunity when he was a child. I could see that this passion has stayed with him because at his home he still has a VCR player connected to his television set in his living room and he has a whole collection of original Bollywood movies of all times. He told me he watches about three every day! 

His favourite movie when he was young was ‘Hathi Mera Saathi’ which was released in 1971, because it starred his most loved hero, Rajesh Khanna. This was a movie featuring an elephant and the title translates to ‘The Elephant, My Companion’. The movie was a huge hit world-wide and Partap Singh still watches it on occasion even today.

In 1978, Partap Singh Married Sokha Devi and his wedding was held in Southall. It was a big party and all his family and friends were invited. They had the reception at Pakeezah restaurant in Southall and the religious ceremony at a Gurdwara. The wedding was fun and all his family and friends rejoiced with music and dance from the Sub Continent.

Here is a photograph from the wedding.

Partap Singh’s wedding in Southall © Partap Singh

Now a married man, Partap Singh’s responsibilities grew as his family grew yet he still made time to include leisure and entertainment from a country and lifestyle he’d left behind many years back. He is grateful he found a home in Newham and everything from his cultural heritage was available and easily accessible.

When I asked if he would ever consider moving from Newham, he said, 

“No, I could never leave Newham. I’ve lived here for many years and all my friends are here. I have good relations with my neighbours and would never leave”.

Partap Singh today spends much time with his 3 grandchildren and his 5 grown up adult children. He has maintained close relations with his siblings and their families and tries to stay fit and healthy by taking regular walks in Plashet Park.