Punjab’s history and rich culture presented in talk, film, music and dance

Bidisha Roy

NEW YORK CITY, NY(TIP): The Consulate General of India New York and The English language weekly newspaper The Indian Panorama teamed up to organize Vaisakhi celebrations at the consulate on May 11.

The month of Vaisakh in India which corresponds roughly to mid-April to mid-May is full of celebrations in India. it is a harvest period in India which is celebrated widely with a lot of enthusiasm. In some parts of India, it is celebrated as the beginning of a new year.

For the people of Punjab, and the Sikhs in particular, Vaisakhi holds a very significant and historic importance. Besides being Punjab’s foremost social festival to celebrate good crop, Vaisakhi came to acquire an importance as a historic day when in 1699 the tenth Master of the Sikhs, Shri Guru Gobind Singh created the order of the Khalsa. His followers, 25 million upwards today, are known as Sikhs and are easily distinguishable because of their appearance, the most distinguishable being the turban (the headgear). Sikhism is the youngest and the fifth largest religion in the world.

Vaisakhi celebration at the Consulate was unique in more than one way. First, the gathering included not only the Sikhs and Punjabis but people hailing from many parts of India and adhering to different religions. Then there was a mix of non-Indians. Also present at the celebrations which lasted almost 2 hours were a few diplomats. A famous Indian classical dance guru Padma Shri Pratap Pawar from London who was in town also graced the occasion on an invitation routed through Malini Shah. Members of management from a number of gurdwaras which included gurdwara Nanak Naam Jahaj in Jersey City, gurdwara Nanak Darbar in Hicksville, and gurdwara Baba Makhan Shah Lobana in Richmond Hill participated.

Ambassador Sandeep Chakraborty, the Consul General of India in New York who began with the Sikh greeting of Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh, described Guru Gobind Singh as a great person who changed the course of history. He praised the Sikhs for their valor and their charitable disposition. Expressing his happiness with the presence of the Sikh community to celebrate Vaisakhi, he said the Consulate’s door were open to all to come and celebrate their festivals. He congratulated Sikhs on their birthday.

Ambassador Chakraborty was welcomed with a bouquet presented by Prof. Saluja’s daughter Jaskiran Saluja Beri and her son Kabir Raj Beri.

Earlier, welcoming the gathering, Prof. Indrajit S Saluja, publisher and editor of The Indian Panorama described Vaisakhi as the most important festival of Punjab which is also the birthday of the Khalsa, the modern-day Sikhs. He called upon the gathering to celebrate the birthday of the Khalsa in a befitting manner.

The guest speaker, Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh, head of the Department of Religious Studies at Colby College, Waterville, a great scholar who has authored dozens of books and contributed hundreds of papers/ articles on religion and Sikhism, mesmerized the gathering with her profound knowledge of the subject and her forceful delivery. She spoke about the values held dear in Sikhism and mentioned that the Sikh Gurus were precursors of modern pluralism.

Dr. Taruna Chakraborty, the First Lady of Indian Consulate greeted Dr. Nikky with a bouquet.

Prachi Makkar, a brilliant scholar and well known for her melodious shabad kirtan and Mata ki Bheta and her equally gifted brother Surya Makkar recited Mool Mantra and sang the shabad “Deh Shiva bar mohe ihe” which had the gathering spellbound.

Children from Gurdwara Baba Makhan Shah Lobana gave an electrifying display of the Sikh traditional martial art called Gatka. This warfare involves use of various weapons, including sticks and swords. Going by the comments of the audience, Gatka performance impressed people the most. Mr. Daler Singh who is the senior most member of the Gatka Club also displayed his skill as did the coach

Another attraction was a documentary on Vaisakhi produced and directed by Prof. Indrajit S Saluja. The 17-minute documentary traced briefly the 5000-year-old history and civilization of Punjab. It described creation of Khalsa and the celebration of Vaisakhi and finally listed the great Punjabis and their contribution in various fields. The documentary received much appreciation.

On this occasion, Balwant Hothi who made a major contribution to making of the documentary was recognized.

How can a Punjabi celebration be complete without Giddha or Bhangra? So, to cap it all, there was a thrilling Bhangra performance by the famous Bhangra group Soormay.

Manoj Vyas exhibited his paintings on the occasion.

Sikhs of the Tri-State are contributed hugely to the successful celebrations of Vaisakhi. Royal Indian Banquet and Restaurant (Mr. Himat S Sarpanch, Mr. Raghbir Singh Subhanpur, Mr. Balbir Singh Pahalwan, Mr. Pritam Singh Gilzian); Singh & Singh Distributors (Mr. Jatinder Singh Bakshi), and Richie Rich Palace (Mr. Jarnail Singh Gilzian) sponsored food and drinks. Pleased with the effort of Prof. Indrajit S Saluja in organizing Vaisakhi celebrations at the Consulate, Mr. Hardeep Singh Goldie, President of Akali Dal, New Jersey donated a sum of $1000.00.

Mr. Himat Singh Sarpanch was recognized for his cooperation in organizing the Vaisakhi festival.

While Mr. Himat Singh Sarpanch, a former President of Gurdwara Baba Makhan Shah and his colleagues, Master Mohinder Singh ( founder President), Mr. Raghbir Singh Subhanpur (former President) , Mr. Raghbir Singh Babby, President, Mr. Gurmej Singh (former President) Mr. Dilbagh Singh (former Vice President), with Sikh leaders from New York and New Jersey joining them, presented Shawls to the guest speaker Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh, Ambassador Sandeep Chakraborty and Mrs. Taruna Chakraborty, Malini Shah, Community liaison to New York City Council Member Paul Vallone presented on behalf of the Council Member, citations from New York City Council to Dr. Nikky and Ambassador Chakraborty. Malini also presented citations to the classical dance guru from London Padma Shri Pratap Pawar, and Prof. Indrajit S Saluja.

In his thank you remarks, Prof. Indrajit S Saluja expressed his gratitude to all present. The Fourth Estate -Media which was present in great strength, earned special appreciation and gratitude of the organizers. Those present included Bidisha Roy from The Indian Panorama, Parveen Chopra from the South Asian Times; Sonia Lalwani, Harvinder Singh and Peter from Parikh Worldwide; freelancer Anjali Sharma, Brahm Kanchibhotla; Renee Mehrra and Ashok Vyas from ITV; Jaya Sharma, Davender Singh and Balwant Hothi from PTC TV; Atma Singh from Car Studio; Jus Punjabi TV, TV Asia, and Global Punjab.