North East

Proud of the fruits of their own labour, people in the North East have always judged by deeds and not by words. A century ago Tyneside was prepared to give a warm welcome to hard-working refugees, and by 1911, a third of the population had been born overseas. By the 1930's, Asian sailors were coming ashore in South Shields to stay; later as Newcastle became a centre of employment many settled in Newcastle's West End. Ghettos of bedsits and shared houses formed in Elswick and Rye Hill. Arriving as new immigrants after a three week voyage from a chaotic and newly-Partitioned India, they found Geordies tolerant and sympathetic. Tyne and Wear's oldest living Indian, Jaggannath came to Newcastle in 1949. He often recounts his bewilderment at hearing the Geordie accent for the first time. He went on to build the most popular Asian grocery concern in the county. Attending initially Slatyford and Rutherford schools, second-generation Asians soon adopted Geordie dialects, lifestyles and expectations. In this positive climate It seemed natural that the Gateshead Civic Centre, Teeside University, Tyneside Cinema and City Hall should offer South Asian programming, and people soon banded together to make this a reality. The Bhangra scene in the North East is marked by cooperation and inclusiveness across all Asian musical forms, and by a willingness get on with things. In 1979 the Asian Doctors’ Association set up the Asian Circle to bring South Asian classical artists to the region. Ten years later Bahal Singh and Ashok Kumar formed the Gateshead Visible Ethnic Support Group. Together with Manjeet Dhindsa they organised events across the cultural and religious spectrum: Diwali, Vaisakhi and Eid - where DJ Charan and his Bhangra Action Road Show opened for Alaap, Jazzy B, Stereo Nation, and Apache Indian. Before this DJ Charan had been a mainstay of the Bhangra scene for over ten years, playing at community events, parties and weddings. Other key DJ / Promoters included Sandeep Kapoor (DevestAsian) and Jamiel Bux. Bux, active since first DJing as a thirteen year old at his local YMCA was instrumental in bringing the Mela to the region. Ravinder Singh is a DJ and singer / songwriter who set up Real Deal in 1998, with Hifaz Lala. Their first gig was the Mela Aftermath Party 1999; they were also the first UK promoters to book Dr. Zeus. Since the late 1990s the North East has gone through a tremendous cultural regeneration, witnessing the creation of new venues such as the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and the Sage Gateshead. In response, local promoters, DJs and musicians are seeing more opportunities for Bhangra, and nationally and internationally known Bhangra artists are more likely to be booked. Organisations such as Newcastle Asian Arts and Music (N.A.AM), and GemArts (Gateshead ethnic minority Arts) continue to bring the sound of the dhol to the North East. Comments (2) bubbly said:   keep up the good work September 26, 2007 misbah said:   hi just want to know do you have any pace in the midlands January 05, 2008 Write comment Name Comment Add Comment

 

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