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Engineer judged by Indian colleague for sindoor, mangalsutra gets ‘quiet respect from British colleagues’
A petroleum engineer, Aakanksha Sadekar Chauhan, explains to HT.com how her British and Indian-origin colleagues reacted to her traditional attire.
In a viral social media post that has sparked a conversation on cultural identity, Aakanksha Sadekar Chauhan, a drilling engineer based in Aberdeen, shared her experience of wearing traditional sindoor and mangalsutra to her office. Speaking to HT.com, Aakanksha explained that while her British colleagues met her "new bride" look with quiet respect and curiosity, she was surprised to receive a judgmental message from a fellow British-Indian. A petroleum engineer by profession, Aakanksha noted that her traditional identity and her high-tech career in the male-dominated oil and gas industry coexist without conflict.
What happened?
Chauhan shared that when she walked into her office in “full sindoor and mangalsutra”, all she received from her British colleagues was respect. However, it’s a message from a fellow British-Indian co-worker that came with judgment.
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Chauhan recalled that the co-worker texted her, “Omg you have big b**ls. Full desi new bride look for work!?”
Reflecting on the moment, she wrote, “Funny, isn’t it. The people who don’t share my culture respected it the most. The ones who do tried to make me feel small for it.” Recounting how it felt, she told HT.com, “It's a little uncalled for the judgment that it came with.”
She expressed, “We love policing our own women. Too traditional. Too modern. Too loud. Too visible. Pick a struggle. I didn’t wear sindoor to make anyone comfortable. I wore it because it’s mine. And if that unsettles you, GOOD!”
Why wear sindoor and mangalsutra to the office?
Talking about the co-worker’s remark on her attire, she told HT.com, “I love showing my cultural identity. It’s not because I’m trying to make a statement — it’s simply because I believe in it and I love carrying myself like that. My sindoor and mangalsutra are part of who I am. Why would I hide that at work?”
She added, “I’m a Hindu woman. I’m British. These things aren’t in conflict. They coexist. When I wear my sindoor and mangalsutra to the office, I’m not doing it for anyone else — I’m doing it for me, because it feels right.”
Where was she born?
Though Chauhan was born in Mumbai, she relocated to Aberdeen, Scotland, when she was just 9. She told HT.com, “I moved to the UK when I was nine years old, back in the 1990s. Aberdeen became my home. I’ve grown up here, built my career here, and this is where I belong. I’m British.”
She continued, “Aberdeen, Scotland. It’s been my home for nearly two decades now. This is where I live, where I work, where my life is.”
What does she do?
Chauhan said, “I’m a drilling engineer at CNR, a Canadian oil and gas company. I work on decommissioning projects — quite niche work in the industry.”
She added, “I’m a petroleum engineer, specifically a drilling engineer. I’m one of three drilling engineers in a team of more than a hundred people at CNR, which gives you a sense of how male-dominated the space is. My focus is decommissioning, the full lifecycle of wells, from drilling through to closing the whole circle. It’s technical, complex work, and I love it.”
In addition to her work, she is also building her own projects. “On the side, I’m building ventures that are much needed, but my primary profession is petroleum engineering. That’s where my expertise and my passion intersect.”
“I’m British. I’m Hindu. I’m a drilling engineer in a male-dominated industry, and I love what I do. I’m also building things on the side because they’re much needed. But at the core, I’m someone who’s found her home in Aberdeen, built a career here, and gets to show up as exactly who I am. No compartmentalising, no apologising for being both British and Hindu and deeply connected to my culture. That’s the life I’ve built,” Aakanksha Sadekar Chauhan expressed.
