Online Programme
At Sangam Festival we are committed to providing online content and events for general interest and for those who are unable to access venue-based and outdoor events. To find out more about our online events, visit our What’s On page calendar.
Sangam Festival 2023 – online
This year’s online events and projects:
Polari: South Asian Special, 7pm-8pm, Thursday 27 July. Join us for discussion and readings from talented LGBTQ+ writers Nikita Gill and Mukahang Limbu in an online event hosted by Polari’s Paul Burston. Book your FREE place here.
My Roots – A BSL poem by Sahera Khan, 12 noon, Friday 28 July. Performed in British Sign Language by Deaf poet Sahera Khan, My Roots is an original short poem-essay commissioned by the Festival, released as a YouTube Premiere and available to view here.
Online Poetry Workshop – with Sharena Lee Satti, 7pm-9pm, Wednesday 9 August. Take part in our free online poetry workshop from the comfort of your own home. Cathartic Creativity with Sharena Lee Satti is suitable for all levels, from beginners up. Book your FREE place here.
Storytelling with Salma Zaman, see What’s On Calendar for release dates and links. Children’s author and Bollywood dance teacher Salma Zaman reads three stories for children.
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival – Sounds of Punjab. Five videos exploring instruments of South Asian origin. Released daily w/c 14 August, they are available to view on the hmcf// YouTube channel
Past years
Sangam Festival 2022 online programme
A Quest for Roti, our documentary to tie in with the 75th anniversary of Partition, telling stories of families arriving in Kirklees from South Asia.
Memory Dish – a BSL poem by Sahera Khan Following on from the BSL poem Why Together?, created for Sangam Festival in 2021, poet Sahera Khan wrote a brand new poem, Memory Dish for the 2022 Festival. A moving tribute to her mother’s cooking and recipes passed down through the generations, the poem is filmed with BSL, subtitles and audio options.
Salt Eaters, a short film by Mez Galeria about a multi-sensory virtual-reality project.
TOWNSOUNDS – a podcast about the rich and diverse South Asian musical heritage of the region, to tie in with the Kirklees Year of Music 2023.
Intergenerational Project short films commissioned from the Partition Education Group Partnership.
The Eight Countries of South Asia
Focus on: Afghanistan
A landlocked country that shares a border with Pakistan. Capital: Kabul. Approximate population: 33,413,000.
Dr Waheed Arian grew up in Afghanistan and is now an A&E doctor in the UK and the founder of pioneering charity Arian Teleheal. His autobiography, In the Wars: A story of conflict, survival and saving lives tells how he left his war-torn homeland and now advises global organisations and governments.
Focus on: Bangladesh
Bangladesh is located to the east of India on the Bay of Bengal. Capital: Dhaka. Approximate population: 168,000,000.
Dina Begum is a British Bangladeshi cookbook author and writer. Her Brick Lane Cookbook was published in 2018.
Focus on: Bhutan
Bhutan is a Buddhist kingdom located on the eastern side of the Himalayas, with India on its southern border. Capital: Thimphu (or Thimbu). Approximate population: 788,000
The Bhutan Society of the United Kingdom comprises around 500 members who celebrate the links between the UK and Bhutan. The Society holds talks and events, and publishes a newsletter for those wishing to learn more about the Kingdom of Bhutan.
Find out more about the Bhutan Society of the United Kingdom here…
Focus on: India
The most populous democracy in the world, India borders the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Capital: New Delhi. Approximate population: 1.4 billion
Anita Rani’s successful broadcast career includes presenting BBC1 Countryfile and R4 Woman’s Hour. Her memoir The Right Sort of Girl was a Sunday Times bestseller. Anita is one of the founding patrons of South Asian Heritage Month.
Focus on: the Maldives
A nation of 1,200 coral islands, the Maldives is situated in the Indian Ocean, off the southern tip of India. Capital: Male (or Malé). Approximate population: 559,000.
Professor Hassan Ugail was born in the Maldives and is now Professor of Visual Computing at the University of Bradford. His work on computer-based human face analysis has been used in the search for missing persons and to help identify the Novichok nerve agent suspects in Salisbury in 2018.
Focus on: Nepal
A landlocked country on the southern slopes of the Himalayas, Nepal borders India and Tibet. Capital: Kathmandu. Approximate population: 30,236,000
Santosh Shah is a celebrated chef and winner of MasterChef: The Professionals Rematch in 2021. His cookbook Ayla: A Feast of Nepali Dishes from Terai, Hills and the Himalayas was published in February 2022.
Focus on: Pakistan
Sharing a border with Afghanistan, India, Iran and China, Pakistan also has a coastline along the Arabian sea and Gulf of Oman. Capital: Islamabad. Approximate population: 235,409,000.
Sairish Hussain was brought up in Bradford and is of Pakistani heritage. Her first novel The Family Tree was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award.
Focus on: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of India. Capital: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (administrative capital); Colombo (economic capital). Approximate population: 21, 594,000.
Romesh Ranganathan is a British comedian, presenter and actor of Sri Lankan heritage. He performed his first stand up aged nine and his TV shows include The Ranganation and Avoidance.
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