Young, Gifted & Brummie

RUPINDER KAUR

WE CAUGHT UP WITH THE BIRMINGHAM-BORN POET, PERFORMER AND CURATOR WHO EXPLORES AND CHAMPIONS SOUTH ASIAN CULTURE IN BRUM AND BEYOND

Rupinder Kaur’s celebrated debut poetry collection Rooh, which means soul in Panjabi, was released when she was only 22 years old. Published by Verve Poetry Press, it’s a collection that pulls down borders combining English and Panjabi cultures using words from Panjabi, Hindi, Urdu and English. Rupinder began her route into poetry through spoken word in Brum and

doesn’t shy away from often-avoided dinner party chat tackling religion, politics, gender inequality and regularly questioning orthodox views head-on. Mentored by poet Rachel Long and awarded a grant by the Arts Council, Rupinder is now working on her second collection which promises to be just as striking as Rooh.

Although Rupinder says some of her old work makes

her cringe, those days of discovering her style and evolving through events and spoken word must have been exciting too. Rupinder reckons Birmingham’s spoken word scene is as good as any and thinks moving to London to find your voice and pursue a creative career isn’t necessary anymore. She is a perfect example. Rupinder has founded Azaad arts which explores traditional and contemporary arts in South Asia and in Birmingham.

FREE EXPRESSION

Azaad means free and reflects Rupinder’s belief that artists should be able to express themselves without censorship. Rupinder is working on a project titled Sada Chidiyan da Chamba, which means Our Temporary Nest of Birds, exploring Panjabi wedding folk songs through the female narrative and earlier this year was named one of the BBC’s new creatives – the broadcaster’s talent development scheme offering commissioning opportunities to emerging creatives.

In terms of South Asian culture, it’s a great time to be in Birmingham. The city’s Transforming Narratives project seems a natural fit for Rupinder’s exploration of the region’s culture. The three-year project, managed by Culture Central and supported by Arts Council England and the British Council, aims to establish Birmingham as a global centre for contemporary Pakistani and Bangladeshi arts. The project spans visual arts, music, dance, theatre and combined arts and uses digital technology to link artists and creative organisations.

Rupinder’s involvement in the project is through Gully Zine which she created with friends and fellow creatives Nafeesa Hamid and Kamil Mahmood. Gully creates multidisciplinary zines giving a voice to South Asian artists linking up creatives in Bangladesh and Pakistan and ‘offering diaspora communities in Birmingham a vivid reality instead of an imagined homeland’.

Rupinder had planned to travel to Pakistan to take up an artist’s residency to explore the culture from a female perspective but unfortunately coronavirus scuppered that and she’s not sure when it will happen now. There’s a script recording scheduled this month as part of the BBC new creative scheme and the second collection of poetry to finish among other projects, so Rupinder’s pretty busy!

JUGNI FROM ROOH BY RUPINDER KAUR

o mereya jugni, jugni o mereya jugni, jugni

jugni travels from Delhi to Amritsar across to England

jungi; the essence of life, the spirit of life comes inside my rooh

jugni comes and dances in my dreams jugni makes me fly

jugni takes me across borders taking me to Lahore

jugni removes the radcliffe line and I see my five rivers flowing together

jugni sees me read and write poetry jugni tells me to light the candle

jugni watches me apply kohl jugni watches me paint my lips

jugni looks at me and smiles jugni tells me to fall in love with myself

jugni is no kafir or fakir jugni is azaad, jugni is azaad

and jugni makes me free jugni sets my rooh free

the jugni becomes me… and the jugni becomes me…

o mereya jugni, jugni… o mereya jugni, jugni…

Find out more about Transforming Narratives www.transformingnarratives.com

ARTS SCHOOL SUCCESS More than 80 Dudley primary and secondary pupils took part in a summer performing arts school hosted by Resonance, the state-ofthe-art music institute in Brierley Hill. The aim was to make up for some of the schooling pupils missed during lockdown by offering extra support before returning to their classrooms.

JOBS FOR THE GIRLS

Aston University is working with schools to inspire girls to consider careers in cybersecurity. Vladlena Benson, Aston Business School’s professor of cybersecurity management teamed up with the university’s student recruitment team to develop digital educational resources for Cyber Girls First. The digital pack is being distributed to 20 schools in Birmingham potentially reaching 700 pupils. The initiative was the idea of Pat Ryan, who worked as a code-breaker at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. SCHOOL REPORT

POSITIVE CHANGE

A Cadbury Sixth Form College student has been given the prestigious Diana Award for going above and beyond to create and sustain positive change. Zaynab Sohawon, 19, has experienced mental health services first-hand and became committed to changing how provision is designed and delivered. She is involved in a number of projects for mental health services and charities, including steering committees, research advisory panels and councils. Zaynab also gives lectures at the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Mental Health and Birmingham City University.

OUTSTANDING OUTCOMES Despite the national lockdown, school closures and anxiety about exam results, St George’s in Edgbaston has continued to thrive through the crisis and pupils have enjoyed an outstanding set of results. Chair of trustees, Sir Robert Dowling, pictured, said: “The results are not just good, they are outstanding. Many students are to take up places at universities across the country where they will follow degree courses right across the spectrum of the arts and sciences while some students have decided to pursue courses at local universities.”

SPOKEN WORD

BRIDGING THE GAP

Moreton Hall is launching an innovative new programme of study from September entitled, Bridging the Gap which aims to support local teenagers moving into Year 11. Principal George Budd explained: “In light of the challenging educational circumstances so many young people find themselves in as the result of Covid, offering places to support pupils with their final year GCSE studies and on to A-Level was a natural thing to do. We are making fee assistance and scholarships available to support entry for these pupils.” Students at BMet are being encouraged to stay positive and focused on their future goals by a local spoken word artist. Raza Hussain, known as Wuzzamill, has produced an inspiring video driven by his desire to see young people succeed in life. Filmed during lockdown and released to coincide with the start of BMet’s summer enrolment period, the video is set to encourage a new wave of FE learners.

TOP AWARD

A 10-year-old cub scout from Bromsgrove Prep School has received her Chief Scout’s Silver Award – the highest award a cub scout can earn. Isobel’s mum, Rebecca Boardman, said: “When Isobel first joined her cub pack, she was the only girl, along with 29 boys. Since then, the number of girls has slowly increased. She is now a Sixer and is hoping to move to scouts in September, faceto-face in an ideal world, but virtually if not, and attended her first virtual Zoom camp, along with her brother and sister.”