Monika: Hi, I’m Monika, I’m here at the Bristol M Shed Museum. What impressed me first of all was the bus, my uncle, his name is [Sakpal Rajput?], so he worked on the buses for about forty odd years, he only recently retired, I think he still goes and hangs out with the other guys. The Jubilee display, particularly because it was a Jubilee party from 1977, that’s the year I was born. My parents came over here in 1972 with my two brothers, but I was born here in Bristol. So I call myself a Bristol born Indian, or a Bristol Indian bird [laughs]. There’s so many times in my life that I bump into people, and they figure out oh you’re Monika from Monika’s, oh my god is that your mum and dad. In 1988 my parents bought this shop in Cotham, they called it Monika’s because my name was the most international name. My parents owned it for twenty-five years, they’ve only just retired. They worked really, really, really, really hard. And, you know, we’ve seen children come into the world who’ve grown up, gone to university, come back, you know, got married and just starting their family in that time. So it all kind of worked out beautifully because otherwise I would have ended up at Lockleaze which is where my brothers had gone to. This is Sandra, this is Amy and myself, and we met on the very first day of school, in 1988 in Cotham Grammar School. Sandra’s Chilean, Amy’s English, her parents are Scousers, we’ve got to know all the Chilean community growing up here through Sandra. They’ve learnt all about Diwali, the clothes, food, I mean I’m being able to teach them how to make curries, or their kids will call me auntie in Spanish, so tia, you know, they are my nieces and nephews, and, you know, I suppose they’re like my spiritual family.

[Music playing]

Monika: I actually teach bhangra dance, it was more as a fitness class, but I also did it as a more so really to just uplift the spirit, as you know being Indian we got to god knows how many weddings and parties, and I was always the very first person on the dance floor. I would just shut off from the world, and this essence and energy just would come out of me and I’d just feel free.

[Music playing]

MC at event: Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Monika, that was amazing, she –