News

As South Asian Heritage Month ends, our Income Manager, Brij Singh, reflects on how experiencing sudden loss shaped his values, character, and morals.

 Read his story below.

“I was born and brought up in an affluent Sikh family. Losing my father when I was just ten years of age had a vital influence on my personal life and my values, views, worries, hopes, and every part of my life. 

My mother was widowed at the age of 42 with five young children but being a lady with massive willpower and a pillar of strength for the family, she stood by us to ensure that all five of us receive a cultured upbringing and the right kind of education, to help us settle down well in life.

Things started moving quite smoothly and everything started to look rosy, by the grace of the almighty. All my sisters were highly qualified and married while my brother decided to join the Indian Army and I was selected as a Bank Officer, until one fine morning we received the news, that my brother had died in a Jeep accident. Life started to crawl once again, and the family was shattered. By then, being settled in a good job and happily married to a beautiful wife, I thought it was the right time for me to provide moral and mental support to my mother, which my wife and I did until she passed away a few years later.

I moved to London about twenty years ago and started my career in the housing sector. My two lovely daughters have obtained their higher education in London and are now married and settled in high-profile jobs.

I am proud of being identified with my culture, which gives me a feeling of belongingness and security. My heritage, culture, upbringing, values, and traditions have shaped my identity and personality and made me the man I am today.”