Kee Khobor Stories
Kee Khobor will feature blogs, poems, vlogs and podcasts. The reflections will be shared publicly throughout the year, with our official launch on 26th March 2021.
The various identities of the Bengali community in the UK will be explored and celebrated. We will facilitate an open exchange of ideas and give voice to views, some of which may otherwise not be heard.
The project will leave a legacy that provides stewardship for future generations to not only have pride in their identity but to own it and derive strength from it, and give younger people who may be struggling the confidence and opportunity to belong to something wider.
The reflections will provide an opportunity to look ahead to the future development of the community and not only stay relevant as a community within a changing society but be inspirational to the development of wider British society.
A Conversation
There is another factor which comforts me. A large part of British society has always had profound admiration and respect for the Jamdani sari, indeed for any sari. If I am invited to an English gathering, I often choose to wear a Jamdani. It opens conversations because English people get to know that, a long time ago, we were supplying and dressing English women with muslin which came from now Bangladesh.
Easy like Sunday morning
‘She humoured us. We would call her every time, as it was so rare to see a person wearing a sari on the television. Sometimes white people would stare at her in the town centre and I felt embarrassed that she dressed differently and stood out, but she didn’t care and eventually neither did I.’
How football influenced my British Identity
At this point in my early teens, I had a better understanding of the world. I knew not every young person was a friend, and I understood not every adult was a guardian. If you wanted to be taken seriously, you either had to throw your weight around, or you had to perform on the pitch.
A woman who is changing her world through law, art and her children
She was the first in her family to go to university and allowed by her dad to live away from home. This was a big ask of a man from his generation and background, but he believed wholeheartedly in her. She felt she was leading the way, not only for her younger siblings but for the Bangladeshi community that surrounded her. Like her father, she was willing to go against the expectations that the world had on them. Together they were brave and pushed boundaries.
Fusing fashion, sport and culture with the Bangladesh identity at heart
I know a lot of the young generation of British Bangladeshi may feel disconnected to have the same sense of pride or take inspiration from their cultural heritage. Whether we live in the UK or the States, or our families are from Sylhet or Dhaka, I believe we all have this symbiotic cultural connection and understanding. With all this in mind, I wanted to create a brand that would resonate with the Bangladeshi diaspora. It was a personal ambition to create something that was a celebration of Bangladesh but also evoke an emotional and sentimental feeling of pride for our heritage.
When I Speak Bengali
Mohsina Alam’s story.
I wish I could tell my 14 year old self that there are no standards you have to meet to belong to a culture… 50 years from now, I hope to see more successful Bengali women in the public eye.
50 Years From Now, What Do I See?
Photo: Simon Reza
50 years from now, what do I see? I have a vision, not a dream. Where Bengali girls can go to their Mothers and tell them anything. Absolutely anything. They will be able to tell them about their first crush, their first love.