BrianMurphy (112K)

Tue, May 26th, 2015: YUBA CITY: Thousands of Sikhs honoured braveheart Brian Murphy who took 15 bullets in his body to stop a white supremacist on shooting spree at the Oak Creek Sikh Temple in August 2012, at the 21st annual International Punjabi American Festival (mela) here on Sunday.

Amid a huge applause from the crowd, Murphy explained how much he appreciated the spirit of “Seva” in the Sikh religion – service without the expectation of any reward.

Lt. Brian Murphy, who was the chief guest at the event, came with his family.

Since the shooting, Murphy has been recognized twice by President Barack Obama: first, at the 2013 State of the Union and later, with the award of “Top Cop in July 2013.” Murphy retired from the Oak Creek Police Department in June 2013.

MurphySpeaks (282K)

A documentary about the tragedy, “Waking in Oak Creek”, was shown at the festival. The documentary promotes cross cultural friendship while leaving behind messages of healing and interfaith dialogue. The screening was well attended by the local police department. Following the showing, Lt. Brian Murphy was honored for his sacrifice.

The Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds, the venue of this Punjabi mela, was turned into a mini-Punjab as crowds listened to a top-notch Punjabi singer and savored delicious Punjabi delicacies on a bright, sunny day. The audience included not only people from California, but also from rest of the United States. The audience mostly comprised of women and children, making it a true family event.

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There were fifty plus booths and exhibits at the fairgrounds, which added to the different flavors, and the colors to the event.

Organized by the Punjabi American Heritage Society, the festival was established to celebrate Punjabi culture, food and talent and to share it with the whole community. The purpose is to promote cross cultural friendship among all Americans, and spread the awareness on Punjabi culture and traditions.

Hundreds of students performed on the stage along with internationally acclaimed Punjabi artists. This year Miss Pooja, Amy Virk, Gitta Bains from India performed at the event. Indian Idol finalist Davenrdra Pal Singh (lovingly called Chotte Sardar by legendary Asha Bhosle) made special guest appearance at the event.

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The Punjabi American festival started around 11:30 AM and ended after the sunset. Basking in its full glory, the beautiful day of May 24th at the fairgrounds went through a beautiful journey of the celebration of diversity, and the appreciation of Punjabi culture, to showing gratitude to the heroes who protect the interests of all in the United States.

In addition to the splendid stage performance by the main artists, top North American teams performed Bhangra (dynamic, ancient folk dance) and Giddha (dance performed by women, creatively displaying feminine grace and elegance). The festival gave young Punjabi-American children a platform to express themselves in these traditional dance forms of Punjab.

Among the participants in the festival were prominent local politician. PAHS honored Assemblyman James Gallagher for co-authoring an assembly resolution to declare that the atrocities of the Indian government in November 1984 were a “genocide” since it “resulted in the intentional destruction of many Sikh families, communities, homes, and businesses”. This resolution is the first time that any nation or state government has officially declared that the government of India was responsible for the slaughter of its own citizens across the country.

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Following Society’s annual tradition of rewarding local students for academic excellence, eight high school students from the community were awarded cash scholarships.

One key attraction of the event was the performance of Devendra Pal Singh of Indian Idol fame, who mesmerized the audience with his soul wrenching melodies.

The president of PAHS, Mr. Tejinder Maan, and the founding member of the Society, Dr. Jasbir Kang, expressed sincere appreciation and gratitude to everyone who participated in the festival and made it a huge success.

PAHS was presented a Certificate of Recognition for bringing awareness among fellow Americans about the Punjabi Culture.

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