Vir Parminder has a fascinating story and be sure to visit her website as she recommends some interesting books and films….read on!

The conventional route for someone like me was an arranged marriage, which I had by the age of about 19. It was not expected that you would enter into a profession, and certainly not in the arts or media as I did in the late 70s.

I wanted to challenge my parents and grandparents. I wanted to develop professional skills in order to work and be independent.

I didn’t encounter the kind of real resistance a lot of Asian women do. When I talk to them I see a look of pride and envy in their eyes. They’d have liked to have been a painter or an actor or a writer, but they were forced to be a dentist or a lawyer – to do a “proper job”.

The period from 1982 to 1986, working with GLC, was the defining moment of my life.

Having a budget enabled me to directly support established and emerging black and Asian artists, filmmakers and organisations. It also allowed me to develop policy for the integration of this talent into the mainstream and to celebrate black and Asian creativity through festivals.

My love of cinema goes back to my childhood in India, where I grew up watching Bollywood films and listening to music. The first film I ever saw when I came to England was The Sound of Music, and I was moved by the familiarity of the song and dance in the movie. I remember thinking that living in England was not going to be so bad!

One aspect of Indian culture I really value is its attitude towards older women. There is this belief that women have a very central and honourable role in the household. Women grow old gracefully; they grow to be seen as a source of wisdom and learning.

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