Press Release
Washington, July 23, 2010: For the first time in 44 years of Smithsonian’s annual Folklife Festival history Sikh community from greater Washington Metropolitan area participated in various activities over ten day period. The Folklife festival is conducted by the Smithsonian Institution every year and this year it was from June 24th until July 5th. Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, an active Sikh Gurdwara organization based in Rockville, Maryland, led the Sikh participation in the festival. The Sikhs had a large role to play in displaying their heritage, identity, tradition, and culture as part of the presentations on Asian Pacific Americans, one of three major themes chosen for this year in addition to Mexico and Smithsonian Workforce. Electrifying Gidha performance on the opening evening by Washington Sikh ladies who practiced for months under the leadership of Aman Kaur. Dr. Balvinder Kaur and Suchinder Kang opened their homes for weekly practice sessions.
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| Arlene Reiniger of Smithsonian dancing with Satpal Singh Kang and Suchinder Kaur Kang; Sehej Singh showing Bhangra acrobatics; hundreds of Americans dancing to the Punjabi beat; DC Bhangra Crew, DCM Punjabi Arts Academy and PunjabiNation Bhangra performing on the opening evening; Sarabjit Singh Sidhu and Arvinder Singh showing Punjabi Manja (bed) to Phil Nash of Smithsonian; Sikh Kirtani Jatha performing at the Smithsonian Festival; Gagan Kaur, Ravi Singh, Bhai Gurdarshan Singh and Bhai Sucha Singh; Sucha Singh tying a turban; More Americans with Sikh turban; Romi Kaur Sawhney teaching Gurmukhi; Preet Amrit Kaur, Anita Vinaik and Supreet Kaur putting henna on the hands of enthusiastic crowd; Meenu Nandra, Kanwal Singh and Rosy Singh during the cooking workshop; Manjeet Kaur Battu, Dr. Sarabjeet Kaur explaining Punjabi dresses and Meeta Broca on the right; Rashpal Singh Pandher and Amritpal Singh tying turbans; Anmol Singh with fellow American kids with turban and American toddler with Sikh Turban; Jessi Kaur, Mandeep Singh Bawa, Divjot Singh and Gagan Kaur Narang on the talk story panel; Harminder Mangat and Sikh girls talking about the Punjabi language; Hana Kaur Mangat, Japneet Kaur, Mehar Kaur, and Mankiran Kaur |
On June 24th the opening night concert featured the high energy song and dance in the form of Bhangra and Giddha. Over 60 participants, including youth and adults, girls and boys, men and women performed to the sound of Dhol (big drums) and famous Bollywood/traditional Punjabi music. The teams representing the Sikh community were from DCM Punjabi Arts Academy, DC Bhangra Crew, Rhythm of Punjab, and PunjabiNation Bhangra. An enthusiastic crowd joined on the dance floor to beat of Punjabi music. Tourists visiting Washington from all over America and people from various backgrounds became a one amalgamated dancing crowd and there was not a soul that did not move to the music.
July 1st was the big day, with the Sikh team getting the entire day to perform various activities. It started with an introduction on Fox TV channel 5 about Sikh participation at the Folklife festival and sharing the Gurmukhi calligraphy (Punjabi language) by Gagan Kaur with the TV host Holly Morris. Different Team leaders were selected by GGSF coordinators to showcase the Sikh community’s presence in America and various cultural and religious observances practiced by Sikhs.
Starting 11 am the National Mall came alive because of the family activities tent in the Asian Pacific Americans area. July 1st was one of the busiest days at the festival because of the Smithsonian staff picnic and very good weather just like a perfect Indian summer day. Americans of all colors thronged at the presentations by the Sikhs which included Gurbani Kirtan (religious hymn singing), turban tying, henna tattoos, trying on Punjabi clothes, and having visitors get their names written in Gurmukhi calligraphy (Punjabi language), teaching Gurmukhi language, and of course Punjabi cooking. At the Family activities tent several turbaned Sikh youth men and women tirelessly wrapped turbans and helped people try Punjabi clothing. According to Ravi Singh, co-ordinator of the Sikh participation, said, “The gregarious Sikhs, the bright colored clothing, the sweet melody of Kirtan, the extra long flowing turban materials on top of waiting lines of visitors to learn Gurmukhi calligraphy, Henna Tattoos, turban tying, and trying on clothes made The Sikhs the buzz word. It felt like everyone on the mall was a Sikh, young, old, male, female, white, black, and may be even the poles and trees came alive at the word of turban or Hanna tattoos. He added, “The attitudes were changed. Even though a non Sikh must still wonder about a turbaned Sikh, but is now willing to come to find out more.
He added, “It really took for Sikhs to extend that friendly hand. That is exactly what happened at the National Mall in the past 2 weeks when over 150 Sikhs from the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation left no leaf unturned on that road to friendship towards their fellow Americans.”
The Sikh Kirtani Jatha of GGSF, led by Bhai Gurdarshan Singh ji, sang hymns based on Basant Raag and semi-classical styles . Tabla maestro Sucha Singh played tabla and group was accompanied by Ravi Singh on Sitar and Navjeet Kaur on violin, The group consisted of over 50 adults, youth and children as young as five years old. Ravi Singh and Gagan Kaur talked about the Sikh faith, the significance of turban and then narrated the importance of Kirtan. They also took turns explaining the meaning of the Sikh hymns. According to Gagan Kaur, “The audience thoroughly enjoyed the kirtan in their own personal way. Some people kept nodding their heads, others closed their eyes and yet many others were rejoicing by waving their arms in the air. Everyone joined in the Waheguru chant when Bhai Gurdarshan Singh explained its meaning. The words of Gurbani accompanied by the sound of Sitaar, violin, harmonium and table, created a serene atmosphere in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the world’s capital. It was a wonderful experience to share our Guru’s baani with the rest of the world.”Dr. Mangat added, “Kirtan was melodious and resounded in the museums like it was going to be preserved in the walls. Music took over and even the loud noise of the visitors seemed very silent and serene. The tent was full of audience quietly listening and absorbing the music and the chant of Sikh hymn Rasna Japti Tuhi Tuhi (My tongue chants your name, again and again), even though they may not have understood the language or meaning. The sounds of Tabla, Harmonium, Violin and Sitar brought such harmony at the National Mall that it felt like the world was coming together.”
According to Dr. Harminder Kaur Mangat, co-coordinator of the Sikh participation, said, “The Smithsonian staff and the organizers of the festival came many times to tell us how busy we were and how we had engaged all the visitors to the National mall in our Sikh activities. We had established a Sikh Mella in the heart of the capital. The feeling was so mutual and so good that neither we nor our visitors felt any kind of strangeness or strain because of the work or waiting.”
Arlene Reiniger, Program Coordinator, APA Program, 2010 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, while commenting on the Sikh participation, said, “The evening concert on June 24 was so upbeat and exuberant, I thought that it gave a great sense of anticipation for everything to come, and was a terrific way to end the first day of the Festival.
The performances on July 1 on the Asian Fusions stage successfully showed that your group is not just about Bhangra and Giddha, but that devotional hymn singing and music also play a large role in the community and the culture. The explanations that came with all the performances on this stage were very helpful and contextualized the music, song, and dance for the audiences.”
She further added, “Every time I looked over, there were long lines of people waiting to have a turban wrapped on their heads, or henna applied to their hands. The cooking demonstrations at the Tea House and the Talkstory contributions were also fascinating and engaging, as evidenced by the audiences who stayed through entire presentations.”
Phil Nash, PTN Curator of the APA Program, 2010 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, said, “The Sikh American community had a major influence on the 2010 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The opening night bhangra and giddha concert set the stage for a high-energy, uplifting festival that was rooted in tradition but blessed with youthful vigor and optimism. Punjabi cooking traditions, crafts, and other activities were well-received as well. On a personal level, one of my favorite activities of the entire festival was the turban wrapping. The head covering that had been demonized after 9-11 suddenly became a much-desired object of male adornment, and it was fun to see red-haired, blue-eyed teens strutting around the mall, showing off to their friends about their cool new look. I hope that this lesson stays with them as we continue to navigate the seas of cultural difference in the years ahead.”
Romi Kaur Shawney, who organized the Punjabi Calligraphy shared her enthusiasm in response to long lines of Americans waiting to get their name written in Punjabi in book marks, said, “It was quite exciting and uplifting to see so much interest and audience participation in Punjabi writing. Our booth was well-attended and the crowds kept coming. It was wonderful to be able to reach out to so many of our fellow Americans to share details about our heritage, religion, and language.
Preet Amrit Kaur, team leader of Henna Calligraphy, was busy for over 8 hours non-stop with her team due to long lines of Americans of all ages wanting to have henna decorated on their hands. She said, “I think these types of programs are what are needed in the world, especially in a country like America, where people of many backgrounds come together and meet each other in every day lives. Not only does it give an overview of of the our country but it also helps to dispel any misgivings about various communities. It was the most wonderful experience of my life.”
On June 26th and July 1st the Punjabi cooking aroma took over the National Mall, with Kawal Singh, Meenu Nandra and Rosy Singh Chowdhury demonstrating the culinary art of Punjabi home style cooking. They shared with the audience their recipes of Chicken curry, Rice, Raita, Mango Lassi, Fruit Chat, and Chat Pappari. Everyone in the audience wanted to just taste a spoonful of the those delicious preparations except due to host restrictions the food could not be shared with the audience, although the Smithsonian staff left nothing on the plates once they went back into the kitchen. Yum Yum is all they could say, savoring every bite.
Kawal singh, Team leader ,Food and Recipe said, “Cooking at Smithsonian Folk Festival was a wonderful experience for us. She added, “This event gave us the opportunity to showcase how healthy and easy it is to cook some North Indian dishes. The audience was captivated and interactive through out each of our 4 cooking sessions. They were very pleased to see the dishes being cooked from scratch in front of them and to understand the meaning of every ingredient and spice used in these recipes.”Dr Sarabjit Kaur, who lead the Punjabi clothing activity was pleasantly surprised at the massive public participation. She said, “The public participation was a blast, more than we expected. What a pleasant surprise! I loved the part, when people looked at the dresses and asked me, “where is my store, they want to buy it?” I was amazed how many kids tried the Indian dresses, I had several kids who dressed in an Indian suit, jewelry and bindi; then came to me and asked if they can have a picture with me. It was a wonderful and memorable experience for me. I am looking forward to do this again!
According to Rashpal Singh Pandher, team leader on turban tying, had tough time controlling the crowd wanting to try turban. Over 800 Americans of all ages and color got the experience of wearing the most important symbol of Sikhism. Mr. Pandher said, “Our youth was so ecstatic to be part of this event and proud to be involved in each and every activity. They took pride in answering questions from the visitors, enjoyed tying turbans, writing names in Punjabi, drawing various designs in henna tattoos.
Amrinder Singh ,17 a young turbaned Sikh , said, “I had a great experience tying turbans at the Smithsonian. I tied turban on people of all ages and gender. Many people asked me questions like what does the turban represent, if there is a specific style, if the color means anything and if women could tie turbans.”On July 4th Sikhs also were part of the talk story panel titled, “Immigration stories- How we got here." ccording to Gagan Kaur, Sikh panelist and a teacher of the Gurmat School at Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, “It was amazing to hear immigration stories of people from different cultures. They all talked about their struggles to settle in United States and dealing with the constant prejudices that exist against any foreigners."
Interestingly, there was a majority of Sikhs on the Talk Story stage in a country where we are most definitely a minority. Four out of the six presenters were Sikhs. In addition to Gagan Kaur. Jessi Kaur, Mandeep Singh Bawa and Divjot Singh Bawa also shared their own stories. They narrated their struggles to maintain their identity in United States, the different national Sikh organizations, and programs in place to help the Sikh youth.
Gagan Kaur added. “ I talked about the role of a strong Sikh community in raising our children to be proud ambassadors of their faith. We have been able to accomplish this by developing a sense of family within the Sikh community and being there for each other through thick and thin. The children grow up knowing that they can go to any member of this big family for advice and support. There are youth camps, retreats, workshops, interfaith activities, picnics, Gurmat School at GGSF and many other activities that provide an atmosphere to foster a sense of pride in our identity while creating a fun family atmosphere.”
Besides GGSF, Kaur Foundation also represented Sikhs by featuring a Gidha performance and arranging panelist for talk story panel.
In addition to manifold activities, Sikhs were represented on panels APA Healthways at the talk story by Dr Harpal Singh Mangat and ““Peace and Healing: Integrating Asian and European Medical Traditions by Dr Harminder Kaur.
Arvinder Singh, Treasurer of GGSF and who helped in the organization of the events, said, “
The Smithsonian estimates that on an average about 100 thousand people pass through the Folklife festival every day. We don’t know how many thousands we touched but everyone was special to us for the time they gave us to share with them our Sikh heritage, tradition, and culture.”
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| Dr. Rajwant Singh and Ravi Singh were emcee on the opening night |
Sarabjit Singh Sidhu Chairman of GGSF thanked all the Sikh participants for helping in this initiative. He said, “It was important for us to be here and this helps our future generations since this entire participation has been filmed and will be archived for years to come. We are thankful to all the organizers for their hard work. I strongly believe that we left a wonderful and a memorable impression about the Sikhs on our audience. Also the entire Sikh showcase at the festival was very well organized, coordinated and executed by Dr. Harminder Kaur and Ravi Singh.
Check out these videos for more on Sikh Participation at this event: