CONNECTING LOCALLY IN THE UK CITY OF CULTURE

by Jaitika Dhir (India)

Making a local connection United Kingdom

“Coventry was ruined to ashes after the Nazi bombing in World War 2. The world famous Coventry Cathedral was nowhere to be seen. After so many years of hard work, perseverance and the help of authorities, seeing the city win UK’s City of Culture, is surreal.” These are the words of Mr. Mohammed Bashir, Coordinator of Coventry City Council. How did I run into him? That is an interesting story. For those readers who don’t know, Coventry is a city located in central England and is the second largest city in the West Midlands, after Birmingham. It is a city enriched with art, history and culture. I moved to Coventry in the year 2017, with a gleam of hope in my eyes to become a global journalist and writer. Little did I know that I would be drowning in the cultural pool and the beauty of its history. Trying to figure out my next course of action after enrolling on my course at Coventry University, I was peacefully sipping my cappuccino at Esquires Coffee, which is located on the outer edge of Coventry Transport Museum. A handful of second year graduates were hopping from table to table, handing out something and making a conversation with big smiles on their faces.. The flyer said, ‘ONECOV2017: Bidding for UK City of Culture 2021’. Having looked at it carefully, it shouted about bringing diverse backgrounds together and eradicating racism. Being a budding journalist, I knew I had to go to this event. I walked through the slanting sidewalks, crossed the Coventry Canal, visited the Herbert Art Gallery and with 15 minutes left for the event to begin, I got awestruck by the serendipity and beauty of the Coventry Cathedral on my way. The cathedral was humongous and was bearing beautifully crafted high-rise walls in brownish-red colour. I climbed the stairs of the cathedral, hoping to find my way to the museum and there seemed no way out. Having inquired, it turned out that Esquires Coffee was a part of Transport Museum and I only needed to take a different door. Coventry Transport Museum displayed the collection of publicly owned huge vehicles, including vehicles owned by the queen of England. Running a quick glance through the shining bodies of those vehicles, I rushed my way to second floor to make it in time for the event. My first impression of the event will stay with me for the rest of my life. The only thought that gobbled my mind was, “It is the warmth and respect for each other that people from different nationalities are sitting together talking about being unified and fighting against racial discrimination.” I went around the room speaking to various influential personalities from Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and English communities. A gentleman kindly asked me if I had something to eat while I was busy penning down things for my journal. I was humbled by his gesture and I asked him to introduce himself. And that is how I ran into Mr. Bashir. It seemed like a fated event. Mr Bashir was looking for a media representative to put the word out for ONECOV and I was looking for someone to indulge me in the cultural outbreak that Coventry is known for. My conversation with Mr bashir ran for two hours on the same day and later that day I received an email from his assistant, confirming my second interview with him. It was impeccable to witness someone like him, holding a prestigious position in the council and being grounded enough to speak to a fresher, who came to the city for the first time. From that moment onwards, my association with Mr Bashir ran strong for those 1.5 years I resided in the UK. This association was built on the common grounds of love for diversity and communal harmony. It was a life changing event for me when a local connection holding a council position, walked me through my dream of exploring communities in a foreign nation.