South Asian Heritage Month: Sharing our stories, celebrating our roots

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

In celebration of South Asian Heritage Month, we’re sharing the voices from our people, reflecting on what this month means to them and why celebrating the month is important.

Gurcharan Kaur, Trainee Solicitor and EmbRACE Co-Lead

South Asian Heritage Month is a chance to pause, reflect and celebrate where we come from and how we got here. It’s about stories, our family histories, the cultures we grew up with, the languages, food, music, and moments that shaped who we are today.

This year’s theme, Roots to Routes, really hits home. It speaks about where our roots lie and the journeys, sometimes challenging, but often inspiring, that brought us to where we are now.

As someone who’s still early in their career, currently a trainee and also proud to be a co-lead of our EmbRACE network, this month means a lot to me. It’s a chance not only to reflect on my own heritage but to help spotlight others’ stories, foster meaningful conversations as we did in our storytelling session and create a space where everyone feels seen, valued and included.

In this blog, we’ve asked a few of our colleagues to share what South Asian Heritage Month means to them. Through them, we hope to celebrate our shared heritage, encourage curiosity, and continue building a workplace where all individual stories matter.

Amar Adatia, Partner

“I’m actually a sunflower because bees love me” – that’s what my five-year-old daughter announced with joyful confidence as we played in the garden during the recent heatwave. It was a simple yet profound moment—her young, innocent mind making sense of identity in the most whimsical and beautiful way. And it made me pause. Life moves fast. Client deadlines, family needs, the constant juggling act—it all blurs the story behind how I got here. South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM) is my moment to press pause. It’s more than a celebration—it’s a reset. A reminder of my roots; mum from India, dad from Africa, arriving in the UK with minimal assets and illiterate but boy did they have an incredible worth ethic and level of resilience. Their courage laid the groundwork for everything I have now: a career, a voice and a garden which grows sunflowers and attracts bees. For me, SAHM is a chance to honour the journey and to make sure my kids understand theirs because South Asian stories are British stories too.

Zoya Khan, Senior Associate

I believe that it is so important to celebrate South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM) for inclusion and diversity. We have people from all backgrounds working together and months like this one, and also Black History Month for example, give us a great opportunity to come together and share our lived experiences as well as give us a better understanding of different cultures. It helps create a community feel in the workplace by recognising the diversity of all of us that make up the firm.

For me personally, SAHM offers me the chance to reflect on how far my family have come. My grandparents came to London in the 1950s, my mum was then born here and so I am a third generation immigrant. It has come full circle somewhat as I also now have a daughter of my own. Once she is a bit older I will definitely use SAHM as an opportunity to discuss with her about our family’s history so that we can celebrate our culture. I am really looking forward to teaching my daughter about the food, language and clothes and everything else that makes up our rich culture; all of which has been such a wonderful part of my own Pakistani identity growing up here.

Sneha Patel, Senior Associate

South Asian Heritage Month is important to me because it provides a platform for me to share stories about my heritage and culture, where that doesn’t normally naturally fall into conversation. This year’s theme, ‘Roots to Routes’ is particularly poignant for me because it recognises the journeys of my parents and my grandparents.

My paternal grandfather got fed up of farming in Gujarat, India, ran away and hopped on a boat to East Africa (landing in Kenya and eventually moving to Uganda), sending for my grandmother once he was settled. They owned a shop for a number of years before returning to India shortly before the mass expulsion of South Asians from Uganda.  My father was born in Uganda, was sent home to India at the age of 4 for school and to be raised by my great-grandmother (a matriarch defined, I’m told), moved around India for years for work, and eventually moved to the UK in his late 20s.

My maternal grandparents were invited by family to work in Fiji. My mother was born there, returned to India at the age of 9 and moved to the UK after marrying my father when she was 21.

I celebrate South Asian Heritage Month because of these routes – these incredibly brave decisions that my grandparents, and later my parents, made to leave everything they knew in search of opportunities for their children.

Ellisha Flora, HR & ER Advisor

As a Punjabi woman living in Birmingham, a city rich with South Asian culture and history, South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM) holds a deep personal and communal significance for me. It is more than just a celebration; it is a moment to reflect on the journey of our families, the resilience of our communities, and the vibrant traditions that continue to shape who we are today.

Growing up in the UK, I have often navigated the space between two cultures, balancing my Sikh Punjabi identity with British life, and at times struggling to fully realise my identity. SAHM gives people like me the chance to proudly embrace both. For me, the month is about honouring the generations that came before me, my grandparents who migrated to the UK with hope and hardship in equal measure, and my parents who worked tirelessly, often in the face of adversity and barriers to build a life rooted in both tradition and possibility.  The month will highlight how far we have come while still acknowledging the work left to do in building inclusive spaces where every voice is heard and every story is valued.

In a city like Birmingham, where South Asian communities have contributed so much from the Gurdwaras to the bustling curry houses of the Balti Triangle, this month is also about visibility, recognition and inclusion. It is a time to celebrate the richness of our languages, food, music and faith. It is also a reminder that our heritage is not just a part of the UK’s past, but an essential part of its present and future.

This year’s theme “Roots to Routes” resonates deeply with me. It invites reflection not just on where we come from, but on the journeys both literal and personal that have shaped who we are today.

My roots are grounded in Punjabi Sikh culture: in values passed down by my parents and grandparents, in the language spoken at home, in the food that we eat, the music we listen to and in the traditions that have shaped my identity. But my “routes” are just as important. They include the path I’ve taken growing up in the UK, navigating dual identities, and being thankful for and honouring the journey and struggles my grandparents faced when they left their home in the Punjab to build a new life in Birmingham.

Celebrating SAHM under this theme is a powerful reminder that our stories are not static. They evolve with every generation, every migration, every challenge, and triumph. It’s about honouring the resilience of those who came before us, while also recognising how we continue to shape our own narratives through our careers, our communities, and our everyday lives.

SAHM is a meaningful time for me to reflect on and celebrate the heritage, resilience and contributions of South Asian communities – past and present. In the workplace, it is an opportunity to share and spotlight the rich traditions, values and lived experiences that shape my identity and that of many others. I will use this month to engage colleagues in meaningful dialogue, celebrate the diversity within our teams, and create space for learning by encouraging curiosity, whether through sharing cultural insights, supporting South Asian voices or participating in events that honour our histories. It is about fostering a more inclusive environment where all identities are recognised, respected and celebrated.

Continuing the conversation

It’s clear that South Asian Heritage Month means different things to different people, whether it’s about celebrating, reflecting on the past or sharing stories.  It’s a month to explore identities, heritage and belonging, whether you are part of the South Asian community or an ally.

Across South Asian Heritage Month, we have put on an array of events to embrace the theme for this year which is “Roots to Routes”. Our EmbRACE network organised a virtual storytelling session, where we heard from speakers that shared their personal stories and how their heritage has shaped their career journeys and sense of identity today. They also held a book club event, where members voted to read Anita and Me by Meera Syal, a book which explores cultural identity, social integration, and adolescence through the story of Meena in 1970’s Britain. For the finale of South Asian Heritage Month, we are hosting a celebratory event where we’ll be offering Mendhi (Henna) to our people from local artists as well as showcasing a Show and Tell exhibition which will feature items from our people that celebrate South Asian heritage.

We hope that everyone finds opportunities in their workplaces and communities to get involved in South Asian Heritage Month this year.