Spoken truth to Power amplifies South Asian Spoken word artists across borders. Through original poetry, performance, and discussion with special guests, we explore cultural themes through a South Asian lens. At a time of increasing division and polarisation, we build creative bridges between the diaspora of South Asian artists, and challenge many of our differences through the power of art. Stay tuned for episodes that deal with identity, collective mental health, intergenerational trauma, hope and the diaspora. #spokentruthpod

CREDITS:

Creator: Daljeet Jutla

Host: @daljeetjutla @culturestudio1 www.culturestudio.co.uk

Art work: Amrit Singh, @MrASingh https://www.rebelcreatives.co/ 

Sound Design and Music by Elliot Bulley and Audio Post Production by Chaos Creative http://www.chaoscreative.co.uk/

Specialist Producer: Serena Barker Singh @serenabarksing

Find @spokentruthpod on twitter, instagram, facebook and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts at podfollow.com/spokentruthpod.  

This season was funded by Arts Council England.

CW/TW: This episode contains discussion of sexual assault and violence against women. This episode contains discussion of racial discrimination. 

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In the UK we were reminded to tap into the Wartime spirit and British resolve to help us cope with the disruption and loss that the pandemic brought. In her monologue – "War, Virus and Collective Mental Health" – Daljeet contemplates the metaphors of war and coronavirus that dominated headlines in British newspapers and highlights the complications for her as a British South Asian woman to follow the “keep calm and carry on” advice. Daljeet also explores the impact that the Partition of India (a significant historical event that followed World War II) had on women through her poem "Soil". 

Credits:

Creator: Daljeet Jutla @culturestudio1, www.culturestudio.co.uk Host: Daljeet Jutla (@daljeetjutla)
Artwork: Amrit Singh, @MrASingh https://www.rebelcreatives.co/

Sound Design and Music by Elliot Bulley, @Elliotbulley and Audio Post-Production by Chaos Creative http://www.chaoscreative.co.uk/ 

Follow @spokentruthpod for episodes that deal with identity, diaspora, collective mental health and hope; Facebook: @spokentruthpowerpodcast; subscribe at https://podfollow.com/spokentruthpod 

Resources: Samaritans, free and confidential helpline Phone on 116 123 24 hours a day www.samaritans.org. Hopscotch Women's Centre - support services for Asian and other BAME women www.hopscotchawc.org.uk Phone 0207 388 8198. The Black, African and Asian therapy network (BAATN) directory of therapists from ethnic minority backgrounds www.batn.org.uk  

This season was funded by Arts Council England

CW/TW: This episode contains discussion of intergenerational mental health, and trauma experienced by women.

What happens when you invite two South Asian artists who have never met before to write a poem, across borders, about the theme of intergenerational mental health? They both write about the way their grandmothers have shaped their identity. 

Shagufta Iqbal is an award-winning writer, workshop facilitator and TEDx speaker, and was longlisted for the Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship. Her poetry collection ‘Jam Is For Girls, Girls Get Jam’ (one of Burning Eye Books bestselling collections) has been recommended by Nikesh Shukla as ‘a social political masterclass’. Shagufta performs her original poem "Flooding". 

Megha Rao is a performance poet and surrealist artist from Kerala, India. Megha’s work has been featured on platforms such as Penguin Random House India, Firstpost, The Open Road Review, New Asian Writing, The Alipore Post, Spoken Fest, Why Indian Men Rape and Thought Catalog, and trended at #1 on Spotify podcasts in India. Megha performs her original poem "Homegrown Blade".

Performances by the poets are followed by a conversation hosted by Daljeet, about their grandmothers, land, borders and Identity.

Credits:
Creator: Daljeet Jutla @culturestudio1, www.culturestudio.co.uk
Host: Daljeet Jutla (@daljeetjutla)
Guests: Shagufta Iqbal (@Shaguftakiqbalpoet) and Megha Rao (@megharao) 
Artwork: Amrit Singh, @MrASingh https://www.rebelcreatives.co/
Sound Design and Music by Elliot Bulley @Elliotbulley, and Audio Post-Production by Chaos Creative http://www.chaoscreative.co.uk/
Specialist Producer: Serena Barker Singh @serenabarksing

Follow @spokentruthpod for episodes that deal with identity, diaspora, collective mental health and hope; Facebook: @spokentruthpowerpodcast; subscribe at https://podfollow.com/spokentruthpod 

Resources: Samaritans, free and confidential helpline Phone on 116 123 24 hours a day www.samaritans.org. Hopscotch Women's Centre - support services for Asian and other BAME women www.hopscotchawc.org.uk Phone 0207 388 8198. The Black, African and Asian therapy network (BAATN) directory of therapists from ethnic minority backgrounds www.batn.org.uk

This season was funded by Arts Council England

CW/TW: This episode contains discussion of racial discrimination and traumatic historical events.

Why was the psychological impact of significant events in British history like the Partition of India overlooked? The Partition of British India into India and Pakistan in 1947 caused the largest forced migration in human history, displacing 15 million people and leading to the death of at least one million people. However, unlike the Holocaust in Germany, the impact of intergenerational impact of events like the Partition have not been explored enough. Daljeet talks to Professor of History at Royal Holloway University – Professor Sarah Ansari about colonial narratives, fragmentation of identities, and the impact of Partition on women.

Credits:

Creator: Daljeet Jutla @culturestudio1, www.culturestudio.co.uk

Host: Daljeet Jutla (@daljeetjutla)

Guest: Professor Sarah Ansari (@PartitionGroup, @RHULHistory,  https://partitioneducationgroup.wordpress.com/about-us/ & https://partitionwomensvoices.com/)

Artwork: Amrit Singh, @MrASingh https://www.rebelcreatives.co/

Sound Design and Music by Elliot Bulley and Audio Post Production by Chaos Creative

Specialist Producer: Serena Barker Singh @serenabarksing

Consulting editor: Chhavi Sachdev @sonologue https://www.sonologue.com

Twitter, Instagram: @spokentruthpod; Facebook: @spokentruthpowerpodcast and subscribe at https://podfollow.com/spokentruthpod

Resources: Samaritans, free and confidential helpline Phone on 116 123 24 hours a day www.samaritans.org. Hopscotch Women's Centre - support services for Asian and other BAME women www.hopscotchawc.org.uk Phone 0207 388 8198. The Black, African and Asian therapy network (BAATN) directory of therapists from ethnic minority backgrounds www.batn.org.uk

This season was funded by Arts Council England

CW/TW: This episode contains discussion of multiple forms of trauma, including Intergenerational trauma and mental health.
What is intergenerational trauma? How does trauma genetically transfer from one generation to another? Host Daljeet talks to Dr Rima Lamba, Clinical director at Blue River Psychology and specialist in South Asian women’s mental health, about intergenerational mental health. We also discuss how the pandemic has exacerbated mental health inequalities amongst ethnic minorities in the UK.

Credits:
Creator: Daljeet Jutla @culturestudio1, www.culturestudio.co.uk
Host: Daljeet Jutla (@daljeetjutla)
Guest: DR RIMA LAMBA (I: blueriverpsychology, W: https://www.blueriverpsychology.com/)
Artwork: Amrit Singh, @MrASingh https://www.rebelcreatives.co/
Sound Design and Music by Elliot Bulley and Audio Post Production by Chaos Creative http://www.chaoscreative.co.uk/
Specialist Producer: Serena Barker Singh @serenabarksing https://www.theguardian.com/profile/serena-barker-singh
Twitter, Instagram: @spokentruthpod; Facebook: @spokentruthpowerpodcast and subscribe at https://podfollow.com/spokentruthpod

Resources: Samaritans, free and confidential helpline Phone on 116 123 24 hours a day www.samaritans.org. Hopscotch Women's Centre - support services for Asian and other BAME women www.hopscotchawc.org.uk Phone 0207 388 8198. The Black, African and Asian therapy network (BAATN) directory of therapists from ethnic minority backgrounds www.batn.org.uk

This season was funded by Arts Council England

CW/TW: This episode contains discussion of bereavement and grief.

How can we find hope in these challenging times, and what can we do to begin the process of healing? In this episode, two women from Delhi, Deepa Kumar (Social media marketing manager) and Moby Sara Zachariah (Heritage walk leader) leave moving voice notes reflecting about the world around them during the pandemic. British MP, Tan Dhesi also shares a special message about the different strands of mental health that he has been campaigning for. Dr Roshni Beeharry is a former rehab medical consultant, a poet, writer, medical educator, and a creative writing for well-being facilitator. Roshni talks about the importance of creative writing to cope with negative feelings and shares tips to help you get started.

Credits:

Creator: Daljeet Jutla @culturestudio1, www.culturestudio.co.uk

Host: Daljeet Jutla (@daljeetjutla)

Guest:  Dr. Roshni Beharry (@roshni_beeharry,  https://www.linkedin.com/company/storied-selves/, https://www.storiedselves.com/)

Artwork: Amrit Singh, @MrASingh https://www.rebelcreatives.co/

Sound Design and Music by Elliot Bulley and Audio Post Production by Chaos Creative http://www.chaoscreative.co.uk/

Specialist Producer: Serena Barker Singh @serenabarksing https://www.theguardian.com/profile/serena-barker-singh

Twitter, Instagram: @spokentruthpod; Facebook: @spokentruthpowerpodcast and subscribe at https://podfollow.com/spokentruthpod

Resources: Samaritans, free and confidential helpline Phone on 116 123 24 hours a day www.samaritans.org. Hopscotch Women's Centre - support services for Asian and other BAME women www.hopscotchawc.org.uk Phone 0207 388 8198. The Black, African and Asian therapy network (BAATN) directory of therapists from ethnic minority backgrounds www.batn.org.uk

This season was funded by Arts Council England

Listen to a poetry workshop delivered by Adrian Earles, also known as Think, Write, Fly. Adrian takes you through short snappy exercises to get the writing muscles warmed up and stimulate poem making. Combining our sensory capabilities with the ‘interrupting’ nature of poem making. All with the aim of to deconstruct the elements of your perception, focus in on them to create vibrant lines and images. Adrian uses the language and ideas of beat making and musical production (another Art built on crystalisation and refined focus) to build tools that will free you as a writer to take on ANYTHING! This workshop was hosted by Culture Studio and Aik Saath in February 2021 and delivered online to a cohort of young people in Slough. We have made Adrian’s delivery available for you to enjoy!

Credits:

Creator: Daljeet Jutla @culturestudio1, www.culturestudio.co.uk

Host: Daljeet Jutla (@daljeetjutla)

Guest: Adrian Earles a.k.a. Think Write Fly (@Think_write_fly, https://www.thinkwritefly.com/ )

Artwork by Amrit Singh, @MrASingh (https://www.rebelcreatives.co/)
Produced by Katie Bevan (www.katiebevan.org)
Sound Design and Music by Elliot Bulley and Audio Post Production by Chaos Creative http://www.chaoscreative.co.uk/

Find us on Twitter, Instagram: @spokentruthpod; Facebook: @spokentruthpowerpodcast and subscribe at https://podfollow.com/spokentruthpod

Resources: Samaritans, free and confidential helpline Phone on 116 123 24 hours a day www.samaritans.org. Hopscotch Women's Centre - support services for Asian and other BAME women www.hopscotchawc.org.uk Phone 0207 388 8198. The Black, African and Asian therapy network (BAATN) directory of therapists from ethnic minority backgrounds www.batn.org.uk

This season was funded by Arts Council England