As they were drapers specialising in door to door selling, they saw this as an opportunity to be able to sell their goods to farmers, the communities nearby and holiday camp sites across Wales including Pwllheli, Bristol, Swansea and the docks in Cardiff.  Interestingly, at one point, Carmarthen had the largest Sikh community in Wales too.

By the mid-1950s, my grandfather and father moved to Llanelli, about eight miles from Carmarthen. The other members of the community started to move to Cardiff and Bristol.

I was born in Swansea Morriston hospital in 1962. At that time, my parents lived in Burry Port and my paternal grandparents lived nearby in Llanelli. My family made Llanelli their home and they were well respected by the community. One, because they were the only Sikh family in the town, and two, because they spoke Welsh.

Learning Welsh to work and shop

My great uncle and great aunty learnt Welsh to converse with their neighbours and to sell our goods in the markets. We needed to speak Welsh to work and to be a part of the life around us. My family could speak basic Welsh.

As for me, my memories of growing up in Burry Port and Llanelli are ones of being encouraged to learn and speak Welsh. This was especially useful when I was sent on errands to the local shops for sugar, milk, bread, and loose tea! I remember saying “Bore da” (“Good morning”) or “Prynhawn da” (“Good afternoon”) followed by “Gallai gal bara, llath a siwgur plîs?” (“Can I have bread, milk and sugar please?”) followed by a firm “diolch” or “thank you”.

I have fond memories of playing with Welsh speaking friends and neighbours and I knew, even then, that to be respected and be a part of the community, I needed to first respect the language around me, Welsh.

Losing my Welsh with a move to the big city

In the late 1960s, when my father sadly past away, my family permanently moved to Cardiff. I was around nine at the time, and Cardiff was very different to Llanelli. I lost my Welshness and my Welsh Language as a consequence which I deeply regret and I have never forgotten this. 
So, I now encourage my own grandchildren to take the opportunity to learn Welsh and become bilingual. The Welsh Language is a gift which I hope they will embrace.

I now realise that speaking Welsh as a child in Llanelli connected me to the local community and gave me a sense of belonging in Wales. After all, when you travel anywhere in the world, you expect to hear the language and learn about the native culture of those lands.

Ready to start learning again in my sixties

Since joining Wales TUC  I have suddenly found myself thinking about my Welsh origins in Llanelli. And I have decided that I am ready to reconnect with the Welsh Language.