Paras
Pooja’s oral history
Transcript
Interviewer: Today is the 19th, Thursday, 2022, and this is an interview for the Rosetta Arts Center with the Platinum Jubilee Portraits. So, what is your name?
Pooja: Pooja Vashist.
Interviewer: How old are you?
Pooja: I am 33.
Interviewer: How long have you been a resident of Newham?
Pooja: I have been here since 2019.
Interviewer: Where do you come from?
Pooja: I was born in India.
Interviewer: And how was it when you first moved here?
Pooja: It was a new place, and entirely new environment. Much less people, when compared to my birthplace. A lot colder, because we never have these kinds of winds where I’m from. It was eye-opening in many ways. We have so much time here. Back home, we are always busy, always running around, doing things. But here we have time. I get time to spend with my child in the playgrounds, in the libraries, children’s centers. We don’t get that much time there, so it was very refreshing in that way.
Interviewer: How is it now, for you? How does it compare to before?
Pooja: Of course, with the pandemic, things were slightly different. We spent a lot of time indoors. But once it got too claustrophobic, we would head down to the playground and take a walk with our child. We were living next to the Thames Barrier Park then, so we had a really nice open space where, if you go early in the morning it was still light, and we could spend the entire day there if we fancied. It was good. And even now, with my child in school, I can just walk out and get some work done, and head down to the library where I love reading books, or volunteer with some of the children’s centers.
Interviewer: Is there anything else you want to say about that? Any stories of this time, since you came here?
Pooja: It has been… coming from my home, where you only see one sort of people day-in and day-out, every day, and when you come here, whenever you step out of the house you never know who you’re going to run into. There’s a burst of culture. It’s so diverse here. You just go to the playground or to the library, or to the supermarket – even the trains, buses, you have a mix of cultures. It’s like a melting pot out here. You know that you’re all equal. And you’re much more eager to know about them, to showcase about your own self, and even though people seem too busy in their lives, if somebody does get talking, you know that this is going to be a conversation that you would enjoy. It’s wonderful when we all meet up as a community. In the pandemic, last year, when we were in lockdown, Rosetta also had this series of things planned for the entire day, where we had calligraphy, and painting, that involved both me and my daughter. So, things like this keep us engaged, and we look forward to things when we don’t know what else to do. I cannot pinpoint any one story, but almost every time that I have stepped out of the house, it has been a good experience. People have always been welcoming, with an open smile.
Interviewer: What would you like to see for the future of Newham?
Pooja: Where I live, in Beckton, I would really like some more development, especially for the children – development of open spaces, green spaces mainly, with better-equipped playgrounds. Of course, since there are so many occasions the community can get together, since it’s a diverse culture, it can have so many cultures coming together and showcasing what they are about. For instance, I’m from Bharat, India, and we have some seasonal festivals which can be celebrated as a community. Diwali and Holi are festivals that come during the autumn and the spring respectively, so I would love to see people celebrating that, as far as you have Eid or Christmas, that would be really nice. They also get to know the India culture, and when it’s done, the other countries, like the Eastern Europeans, they can tell us about what their native culture is. Not just the Christmas thing – I’m sure there will be many things that we can know. So, something that engages the community more.
Interviewer: Have you got any special memories of Newham?
Pooja: I had my second child in Newham General Hospital. Getting pregnant here was a bit scary in the beginning because I’m away from home, there’s no family here other than my husband and my child. But then, I started going to the hospital, and when I went into labor, the midwives – I started finding my mother in each and every one of them. They were… I did not miss my family once I was with them. So, I think that is an experience I can never forget. I’m glad that I had my child here. Also, taking my child to school for the first time. She started nursery, and that was really nice. It was a new experience for me, having my daughter out of my sight for the first time, for three years. And I was always like, will she be alright? And then, when I go to pick her up, she’s all smiles. So, I knew that she’s in good hands. Visiting the temple in East Ham, I find more people from my community, and they’re still upholding the cultures that we were brought up in in a place so far from home, and yet you feel like you are not missing out.
Interviewer: It sounds as though you had some really positive experiences.
Pooja: I wouldn’t complain.
Interviewer: Is there anything else that you want to talk about? Do you wanna pause a bit.
Pooja: I think he just wants to…
Interviewer: So, what does Newham mean to you?
Pooja: Home. Newham has been home since the first time I came here. I cannot imagine Newham being one of the least successful boroughs, because for me it is good. I cannot imagine how it can be better than this. But then, I could also say that I haven’t been around other boroughs. But I think I wouldn’t leave Newham to go anywhere else, because I have everything that I need here. I haven’t had any bad experience that I can talk about, it has always been positive.
Interviewer: And how are you celebrating the Platinum Jubilee?
Pooja: It also coincides with being in the half-term for my daughter. There’s a barge that’s going to be moored in the Royal Albert Wharf Dock. It’s going to talk about mental health, and also have painting workshops by the RAW Studio, so I am going to take my daughter there. Both she and I have a love for art, and since she’s just four, I want her to get some exposure, so she understands that art is much more than what she is doing right now. She can get to know that this is something very interesting. And also, I’m also interested in the 5th of June celebrations. I’ve heard there’s quite an array of English ballet dancers at the Royal Victoria Square, and there’s a flotilla planned out on the river. I’m looking forward to that. I would like to travel on the Elizabeth Lane, which is getting opened soon. So, I’m looking forward to that, and reaching Canary Wharf in just three minutes. I cannot imagine how that is possible, but I am excited about that. My husband wanted to go and look at the queen, station ourselves outside the palace, but I think with the baby it’s not one of the smartest ideas, so I think we’ll just look at it on the TV.
Interviewer: What else can you tell me about Newham and what it means to you? Is there something else you wanna talk about?
Pooja: I love Newham, I just wished that we had more options for vegetarians, eating out. With my family we are vegetarians by choice, because I believe it’s now our turn to get a little conscious about the carbon footprints that we’re making, so we all turned vegetarian a year back, and it’s so difficult to find food that we can eat and be happy about. It always boils down to falafel and hummus. Had there been more places that give out some more variety of food for this kind of diet, it would be lovely. Vegans seem to have far more choices than just plain vegetarians.
Interviewer: So, what about… Have you celebrated any previous jubilee or royal events, like a wedding?
Pooja: No, I haven’t, because I arrived here in 2019, so… Even the littlest prince was born by then, so…
Interviewer: Do you have any memories of the queen or the royal family?
Pooja: The wedding of Prince William was on TV worldwide, so we did see it then. And also Prince Harry’s.
Interviewer: What does it mean to you, to be celebrating the first Platinum Jubilee?
Pooja: Unbelievable. Because when I was back home, it was always like, it happened in another part of the world. I would never imagine that I would be part of it. So, when I’m here, the queen is real. I thought she was something I just read about. And I’m going to be a part of an event like this where she has been the only monarch to rule for so many decades. So, it’s unreal, what I’m feeling. I really cannot imagine that I am part of it, and I’m actually going to be part of something historical. So, as I said, it’s unreal. And I’m very much looking forward to it.
Interviewer: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about this? Is there anything you remember, or maybe something I didn’t ask that you wanted to talk about?
Pooja: I think it would be more about places where we can involve communities, as I’ve heard Rosetta and the things in the library. So, some more involvement of children in pursuit of art. Just last weekend, I took my daughter to a sketch and stroll workshop that we had, by one of our local artists. We were walking along the riverside and sketching parts of the royal docks area from memory. So, this was a good experience for my daughter, because until now she only knows that she has to draw something on paper and that’s it, but there’s more to art than what we know, so for a four-year-old, this was a very enjoyable experience, and also something to look forward to. If we had any more things like that coming up for children on a regular basis, that’s something that I would appreciate. I think we are getting too materialistic with childhood, showing them more about… even if we had to take Lego as an example, it will only be building a brand. But, art is something that every child has within him or her, and to hone that, I think, is the responsibility of everyone. You can also imbibe the culture through art. So that’s very important. And with culture, again, a little more of the community coming together is something that I would really look forward to. This Platinum Jubilee, I think I’m looking forward to seeing so many people. That’s part of the reason why I am going to go to Royal Victoria on the 5th of June. I just wanna see people coming together for a celebration. And there are many occasions to celebrate, so why don’t we use the potential for that?
