Growing up in the UK with strict Sikh parents, I felt ashamed that I couldn’t dress like my friends or go out with them and it was expected that I would leave school and go straight into an arranged marriage, as soon as I was old enough.

I had very strong ideas about what I wanted from my life. I had a thirst for knowledge and education and being inspired by my grandfather’s fight for the rights of Sikhs in the 1960s and 70s, I wanted to do more, achieve more and make a difference. I wanted to learn more about other cultures and make my own, informed choices. I had to beg to go on to 6th form and university, where I went on to study Criminology, then to train at Hendon, where I become a police officer. Here, I had the freedom to grow as an individual and my confidence increased. I married a man who was white British and although it took a while, my family have accepted my husband and welcomed him into the family.  

As a police detective, spending time in the Child Protection, Robbery and the Violent Crime Unit, I saw the underside of society. It made me realise even more, that change comes from education. The people I was often dealing with hadn’t been educated to be tolerant, open-minded and accepting of differences when they were children.

After working in the police force for 10 years, I left and took on a role in Communications. Since becoming a mum, I’ve had that feeling even more of wanting to make a difference, to be a role model, to teach my children that anything is possible. I want them to feel proud of their dual heritage, to know that we are all different and that diversity is something to be treasured.

During Lockdown, I came up with the idea of trying food from different countries, as a family, to expand my children’s palate and their knowledge about the world. We started including music, food, dressing up and more and the idea for Travel Outside the Box was born.