Whenever I think about my identity I get quite confused. My parents are of Indian origin, but I was born and brought up in England, and my passport is British. I have only been to India once, but when people ask where I'm from, I feel like I'm not being 100% honest. Like many other British Asians, I feel like I have a dual identity. In England I'm Indian, but in India I'm English.

My family home looks Indian, has statues and shrines of Hindu gods and smells of curry. But when I come back to university it's a whole different story. I'll enter the beer-can laden house, with posters of scantily-clad women and the smell of cigarettes filling the air. Even though there's probably some Asian homes like this, I would much rather smell curry.

Sometimes I think that my religion is the only thing that keeps me connected to my Indian roots, making me aware of my identity. Going to community events such as the annual Diwali gathering could may well be the only cultural encounter I experience outside my nuclear home. Fake smiles and nervous laughter are consistent throughout the evening, as relatives I never knew existed introduce themselves and tell me how much I've grown. I also flash the odd dirty look to my cousin who's wearing the same outfit as me, and while I've accessorised mine with a gold clutch bag, she has chosen to accessorise hers, with her one eye-brow.

Weekly trips to our temple in Southall were means through which I was brought up to embrace my culture. I loved ringing the bell and joining in with prayers. Even though I didn't know the words, I developed a flair for humming along. My favourite part was going shopping in Southall Broadway after the temple. Hundreds of people would be milling around, weaving in and out of the shops, amongst the BMW's and buses. Saris in every colour hung off of stalls, with the smell of Jalebis and the sounds of Bollywood music around every corner.

Sometimes I think popular culture may be the only way expressing my identity. Images from Bollywood, Lollywood and Zee TV are some of the only links that some 'Br-Asians' have to their roots. My parent's didn't thrust their Bollywood obsession onto me, and I'm not actually sure why they didn't. Hindi films may have been my only portal to witness unrequited love and hold onto another dimension of my culture. I remember the first Hindi film my mother took us to watch in the cinema; Rangeela - A tale of an orphan who is in love with a fabulous dancer, who is destined for greatness. I think that it is my embedded cynicism that made me think the film was unrealistic. If I was on a strict Bollywood diet, I could have been a hopeless romantic.

Some of my Asian friends at school weren't even allowed to watch English soaps, with their parents deeming them 'too explicit', and undermining traditional values. White, working class families were the centralised characters, which didn't have any connection with these Indian, African or Pakistani descendants. One can picture their relief when Sanjay and Gita strolled into Albert Square on their first episode of East-enders. At school, I remember, whenever an Indian boy and an Indian girl were seen together, they were termed Sanjay and Gita initiating a roar of laughter. I was Gita on more than one occasion.

'Goodness Gracious Me' made me realise that this was a better outlet for me to embrace my culture. Sure, it was Anglo-Asian experiences combined with sophisticated humour, but this was something I could connect to….and watch with my parents. Poking fun at British and Asian stereotypes on the BBC made me feel like I was no longer just a viewer, but I was part of the show. My English friends at school could now realise that I had a whole different culture. I didn't celebrate Christmas and I didn't have fish and chips on a Friday, but I celebrated Diwali and ate lots of curry. I sometimes wonder if this humour transcends to the subcontinent. These programmes are written with a British audience in mind, and could be seen as offensive and more commonly, stereotypical.

Images of dysfunctional Asian families on the soaps that my parents watch create an image of a different India. This stark contrast to the beautiful world of Bollywood is more Dallas and Dynasty, than real-life. A western soap-opera style is adopted, with a healthy dose of over-acting for good measure. The thing I take note of the most, past the family civil wars, murders and dirty secrets, are the young characters identity crises. Much like the 'Br-Asian' youth today, it is difficult to find a happy medium with the eastern and western lifestyle.

Conflicts of cultures and Identities are portrayed through popular culture, but I don't see why this is sometimes seen as a bad thing. Learning about your own culture and trying to create or adapt your identity is all about life experience. Stereotypes just add to the understanding of your culture, or make you realise the flaws.

Second generation Asians such as the mutli-talented musician, Nitin Sawhney and pioneering Radio1 DJ's Bobby and Nihal have created a new school of British Asians, who are much cooler than the likes of Sanjay and Gita. Asians like these, in my opinion, are helping the next generation discover their identity. They have integrated into British society without losing their roots and not totally westernising, not that there's anything wrong with that - you can have the best of both worlds.

Some communities still fear that children, born and bought up in Britain, are losing their cultural roots and bringing home habits which are conflicting with their own traditional values.

To be honest, I'm not bothered if I don't show the whole world I'm Indian. Some girls come to University in cultural traditional clothing and I can see the snide looks they dish out to girls wearing mini skirts. Girls in India are wearing Western clothes daily, but this doesn't mean they are losing their culture. Just because I don't dress in traditional clothes every day doesn't make me less cultural. It makes special occasions even more special when I get to open my wardrobe and pick out a traditional outfit. My clothes don't display my culture, my actions and my beliefs do.

Trying to find out what my identity actually is, has become quite difficult. The term 'Br-Asian', a fusion of British and Asian surfaced just in time for me to adopt it. It caters for my British and Asian cultures, which I value equally. I see culture as being a 'pick and mix': one can pick and choose the flavours that suit that individual, to have the best of both worlds. Eastern values can be mixed in with Western values to create a unique identity for each individual.