Published on: 5 August 2024
As part of South Asian Heritage Month (18 July to 17 August), Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is celebrating its diverse workforce by sharing colleagues’ stories and shining a spotlight on their lives.
This year’s theme is ‘free to be me’. Dr Arun Chidambaram, Medical Director at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, is of South Asian heritage and talks about his British Indian Tamil heritage.
"I was born in Madurai, in South India. Madurai is a temple town in the district of Tamil Nadu. It is a place with a strong feeling of community, which perhaps feels more like a village than a big town or city. I come from a large extended family and grew up with many cousins in Madurai and the neighbouring area. It is a place that people rarely leave, and for a long time I never contemplated leaving my home in Madurai.
"Madurai is an important place for education and education has always been a strong part of my family. My parents were both teachers and the importance of education was instilled in me from a young age. My Amma (my mother) taught chemistry and my Appa (my father) was a vocational teacher. I remember people coming to our house after examinations asking my parents for careers advice and support about what qualifications were needed for particular careers; advice they always freely gave, reflecting their strong commitment to supporting others to grow and develop.
"I was very proud to train as a Doctor at the university in Madurai. Where I qualified had a very good reputation and it was important to my family that I entered a good profession. I had inherited my Amma’s love of science and when I was growing up I always thought I would either be a Doctor or an Engineer. It was a chance decision that confirmed I was to become a Doctor. I actually received a place to train as an Engineer first, but when my offer came through to study medicine the course took place close to my home. Home was important to me and I therefore commenced my medical training.
"There is a saying in Tamil which I have taken with me as I have lived and worked in different places. It translates to ‘every town that we go is our home town and very person we interact with is our kin’. I stayed in Madurai until I was aged 28, when I had to take the difficult decision to move to Chennai to complete my higher training as a Psychiatrist. This was a huge culture shock for me and it really pushed me out of my comfort zone. Chennai was a big city which didn’t have the small community feel that I was used to in Madurai. But it became my new home and I enjoyed city life.
"While I was in Chennai I became friendly with some other trainees who were planning to relocate to the UK. This wasn’t something I had considered before but the thought of moving to England to gain further specialisation in psychiatry, increasingly appealed. After three years in Chennai I got on a plane, sat alongside my four "friends, and we all arrived in London together. We took and passed our exams and applied for rotations. It is a decision I have never regretted.
"I married before I left India and once I had started my first rotation in Liverpool my wife, also a Doctor, came to join me in the UK. Strong women have always played an important part in my life, starting with my Amma. Looking back it was unusual for my mother, who grew up in a relatively affluent family in the 1960s, to be highly educated and in work. I’m sure it can’t have been easy to achieve what she did. I took it for granted at the time, but I really admire the values she and my family instilled in me as a child.
"My sister trained in engineering. She is a strong advocate for children and adults with neurodiversity in Chennai. She is a carer for my nephew, who loves classical music and is neurodiverse. He enjoys weaving and baking in the activity centre set up by my sister for him and his peer group. The model for this activity centre is to promote emotional well-being of neuro-diverse individuals through financial autonomy.
"My wife is a strong, intelligent and highly qualified woman. She works as a Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist in the NHS. She is a strong feminist, and together we have another strong woman in our lives in our young daughter.
"I felt at home in Liverpool. It felt quite similar to Madurai in many ways, with a river being a central feature and a friendly, community feel. My son was born in Liverpool and had developed a strong Scouse accent before we moved away when he was a child.
"Madurai is very closely associated with the Tamil language and language is a really important part of my heritage. I have come to accept that my children don’t speak my mother tongue, Tamil, but it remains an important part of my identity.
"In my spare time I present a radio feature on British Indian Tamil radio, on which I only speak pure Tamil. I enjoy re-connecting with South Asian culture, discussing topics and activities that are important to the Tamil community. It might surprise you that I review Tamil films and even interview Tamil speaking celebrities on the show. I really enjoy this – it is very different to my day job and I get a great sense of satisfaction from the feedback I receive.
"Sadly my Amma passed away in 2020, during the COVID pandemic from terminal cancer. I was lucky that I got to visit her in Madurai one last time when travel restrictions were temporarily lifted. I isolated for one week before being able to see her, after travelling from the UK to India. On Mother’s Day, after I lost my Amma, I played her favourite songs on the radio in tribute to her. My Appa and one of the carers who supported my Amma when she was unwell listened to the show and we made that connection, despite the distance between us.
"I am a proud British Indian Tamil and my South Asian heritage has shaped who I am today. I am fiercely loyal, I believe in the strength of brotherhood and the role we all have to play in supporting others to grow and develop. These were qualities that were important to my parents, to my community and they continue to be important to me. I think these values are my family’s legacy, and qualities I pass on to my children."
Arun with his extended family, in India.
