Bharatiya Ashram and the Dudhope Multicultural Centre
The Bharatiya Ashram is a registered charity which now runs the Dudhope Multicultural Centre in Dundee. It was originally formed in 1995 as a place where people over the age of 50 from the city’s Indian community could find shelter (Ashram) and seek advice on various topics including health, finance, nutrition and travel. The Ashram was set up by a small group of founding members led by chair Dr Karam Saggar and secretary Mr Jyoti Hazra. Others included Mr Dogra, Mr Gopalakrishnan, Mr Jaiswal, Mr Manipuria and Mr Thankappan. As current Project Officer Mrs Pratima Mukhopadhyay explains, “They wanted a secular, non-religious group where people could meet and give a place for those who felt isolated to meet socially. They would read papers from their home countries, play games from their home countries and chat with each other when they felt lonely.”
The group’s inaugural meeting was held at the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Nelson Street in October 1995 and in May the following year, Councillor Charles Farquhar officially opened the first venue of the Ashram at 2 Russell Place in the Hilltown, leased from the City Council. They later moved to Ancrum House, Morven Terrace in 1999, to 20 Lawton Road in 2000 and finally to Dudhope Arts Centre, St Mary’s Place in 2008, where they have been based ever since.
Dudhope Arts Centre
The Dudhope Arts Centre was first opened in 1974 and was taken over by the newly formed Tayside Regional Council in 1975, who aimed to develop it as a community arts centre that would serve the city and wider region. The building chosen for the new centre was the former Dudhope School in St Mary’s Place, which had more recently been used as an annexe to Logie Junior Secondary School. The Arts Centre became an important venue for arts activities and lifelong learning, and many in Dundee fondly recollect it as a place they went to for art classes, drama, dance and exhibitions. Early on, the centre’s multicultural remit was demonstrated by an exhibition staged in 1976 titled ‘East Comes West’. A touring display organised by the Friends’ Community Relations Committee, it was hosted in Dundee by the Tayside Community Relations Council and according to the Dundee Courier: “It illustrates a wide range of objects and art forms relating to the religion, family life and crafts of the peoples of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and is aimed at bringing a better understanding of their background and customs.”
When the modern facilities at Dundee Contemporary Arts were commissioned, the Dudhope Arts Centre (by then renamed Dundee Arts Centre and under the control of the new Dundee City Council) lost its funding and was threatened with closure. In 1997, the running of the Centre was given over to Dundee College of Further Education, who changed the name back to Dudhope Arts Centre and attempted to continue running its various classes. They also carried on using the venue for various community art and music events, including those of the Bharatiya Ashram. It thus became the ideal choice to provide a long-term home for the organisation, which by that time was serving over 5,000 people from various ethnicities with its various activities.
In 2005, the Bharatiya Ashram (which had become a registered charity the year before) signed a 25-year lease for the venue. The building was in urgent need of renovation, and in 2007, Dundee City Council and the Scottish Executive approved a £1.5 million project that would make the Dudhope Arts Centre a unique example of sustainable energy in Dundee, including the use glass heat panels on the roof, turbines and solar panels to generate electricity and a process to recirculate any excess heat generated in order to conserve energy.
On 17 October 2008, the Bharatiya Ashram at the Dudhope Arts Centre was officially opened, and a month later an open day was held featuring a variety of dance and music performances and workshops, featuring Odissi and Bollywood dancers, Dundee folk music, traditional dance by the local Uzbek community and contemporary dancers from The Space at Dundee College. In 2009, the centre was officially renamed the Dudhope Multicultural Centre under the management of Bharatiya Ashram, in acknowledgement of its multicultural role.
Lunch Club
As the Bharatiya Ashram was initially aimed at older adults, Age Concern Scotland was an early active supporter. In 1998, they gave a donation of £950 which was used to start a lunch club for 15 people for 20 weeks, with additional funding obtained from the National Lottery. Following the success of this trial, Dundee City Council began funding the lunch club, which they continued to do until recently. Alternative sources of funding are now being used in order to continue this activity. A healthy vegetarian lunch is provided regularly – currently an Indian meal on Saturdays and a Chinese lunch on Tuesdays.
Education
From the start, the Bharatiya Ashram was interested in developing a role in education. In 1998, they secured a grant of £143,548 to provide additional learning support and educational opportunities for young people from ethnic communities and from low-income families. Initially classes in Punjabi and Hindi were provided but the scheme was soon expanded to include mainstream school subjects. Tuition took place either at the Ashram or at the tutor’s home. Although places were limited, the Homework Assist scheme was able to offer free tuition to young people from all ethnic backgrounds. The scheme proved popular with a wide range of young people - almost half of the students were not from ethnic minorities.
This early success led to further funding from the National Lottery’s Awards for All Scheme and by 2000, Bharatiya Ashram was offering free Standard Grade and Higher tuition in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and English as well as Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Gaelic and Chinese language classes. It had also by now started its popular Indian dance and music classes, as well as yoga classes. The Scottish Executive awarded ‘approved association’ status to Bharatiya Ashram for its community education work, and by 2002 it was providing education for 143 students ranging in age from 14 to 65. The Ashram also helped to organise regular careers fairs aimed at young people from ethnic minorities, the first of which was held in the Wellgate Centre in 1999.
Cultural Events and other activities
In its early years, the Bharatiya Ashram regularly celebrated Indian Independence and Republic days, but they also began to expand their activities to organise other events. In 2004, for example, 200 people attended a festival of Asian music including Chinese and Indian music and Bollywood and Bhangra dance. That same year members worked closely with Dundee Heritage Trust for an exhibition at Verdant Works exploring the links between India and Dundee. In 2009 a combined Burns Night and Indian Independence Day event brought together Indian dance and food with Scottish jigging and poetry.
Bharatiya Ashram has also helped raise funds for various good causes, including Ninewells Hospital, flood relief in Western India and other charities. The association and its members have always striven for racial equality and in 2002 its founding member Mr Jyoti Hazra was awarded an MBE for services to community relations in Scotland. The year before this, members of the Bharatiya Ashram were invited to visit the European Parliament in Strasbourg and Brussels, becoming the first Scottish ethnic minority group to do so.
The COVID Era
During the first few years of the COVID 19 pandemic, the Bharatiya Ashram took up the challenge of providing support to the community who were isolated and unable to attend in person. It launched the Community Companion Project which published a monthly newsletter to reduce loneliness and boredom among older people. It also created videos on creativity, cooking, chess, exercise, dance and yoga, published a Burns quiz, children’s book reviews and a community companion blog. The regular lunch club had to be cancelled during this time but thanks to funding and donations from the Scottish Government, Al-Maktoum College of Higher Education and Faith in the Community Dundee, they were able to provide lunch delivery to more than two dozen people three days a week, in addition to delivering groceries to the most vulnerable.
Current Activities
The Dudhope Multicultural Centre continues to advance education and provide facilities for recreation in the interests of social welfare. It acts as a community centre and promotes art and charitable activities. While there are still many challenges bringing people from multiple cultures together (eg different languages and food habits, and cultures that segregate men and women), the centre has succeeded in bringing together people not only of Indian ethnicity, but also Pakistani, Bangladeshi, African, Chinese, Sri Lankan, Filipino, Nepali, European and the local Scottish community.
Current activities include a Chi Kung class, a walking group, table tennis, and dance classes including Indian Classical and Bollywood Dance, Salsa, Tango and Flamenco. There are also classes in Kumon maths, Nepali and Bengali language, art classes for children and health lectures and seminars for older people.
Members of the dance classes have performed in many settings including Dundee Food Festival, the Dundee Christmas lights switching on celebrations, and Edinburgh and Glasgow Dussehra celebrations. Most recently, the Centre took part in the City Council’s Dundee Get Together parade. The Centre also hosts shows from local and international performers on a regular basis. It also has its own community garden, originally created in partnership with the Dundee Urban Orchard project, which is maintained with the support of volunteers.
Funding is challenging and the Centre relies on the support of the community and donations from supporters. Dundee City Council continues to fund the salaries of some staff, while other sources of funding include the Gannochy Trust, STV and the Big Lottery Fund. Around 300 people use the Centre every week, so let’s hope that it continues to survive and thrive for many years to come.
Written by Deepa Sumukadas, with information from Pratima Mukhopadhyay
Other sources:
Dundee Courier 4/5/1976, 14/19/1996, 27/5/1996, 3/10/1996, 24/8/1998, 10/7/2001, 31/5/2002, 28/7/2005, 16/2/2007, 18/10/2008, 15/1/2010
Comments