Continuing the Vaisakhi Spirit
San Francisco Greater Bay Area Sikh Community
nwnk siqguir ByitAY pUrI hovY jugiq ]
hsMidAw KylμidAw pYnμidAw KwvMidAw ivcy hovY mukiq ]2] #552
O Nanak, meeting the True Guru, one comes to know the Perfect Way.
While laughing, playing, dressing & eating, he is liberated. ]2 ]
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We are grateful that our community responded in a warm and enthusiastic manner to the Vaisakhi Raat (VR) celebration on May 2, 2009. It was all there – entire families dressed in their best, kids with their widest smiles, and our youth running around with exuberance. Thank you very much for your support and active participation.
What a wonderful gift from our Guru that we could all come together to enjoy such beautiful moments together. A few elderly members in the audience held my hand in silence as I walked by. That brief moment captured the entire evening for me and I believe, for all of us. In that silent encounter, I felt the generational connection we strive to make each year. Isn’t’ it great to see our children mature into wonderful and responsible adults in front of our eyes? |
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Sana Aur Bakshi & Amanraj Singh
Each dance group gave a colorful, dazzling performance with relentless excitement and energy, and what encouraging performances by the leadership corps of our young adults Aman, Barkha, Daljit, Jujhaar, Keshav, Sana and Tasmin. We are proud of them for being exemplary role models for all VR performers who are following in their footsteps.
Each year we try to bring incremental improvement to the program. Our goal is to seek a balance in three distinct aspects of VR: the stage performance, the traditional dinner with separate provision for kids, and the dance/social hour. Amidst continuous efforts for improvement, it is essential that we do not sacrifice the family-oriented ambiance of the event in pursuit of commercial sponsorships.
Barkha Kaur & Jujhaar Singh
As a micro-minority group, cultural and religious preservation is a long and arduous journey. Let us not forget even for a moment the pressures our children face because of their unique identity beginning as young as preschool or kindergarten and continuing through the high school and even college years. This VR celebration is just a brief pause, albeit an important one, to offer them a participatory evening of song and dance to exhibit collective pride in who they are and where they come from. As the American lore goes “If you are not who you are, you are nobody.” The words of the famous US poet E.E Cummings express our sentiments beautifully: “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.” Many of our veterans from past years of VR have come back and told us that VR events played a significant role in their development of self esteem at critical points in their lives. It is our hope that this continues to be the experience of current and future VR participants.
Any successful nonprofit organization depends on the hard work of dedicated volunteers and VR is no exception. The entire evening would not have been possible without many people working behind the scenes. Every year, our group of volunteers begins working arduously in early January and months later, our labor of love seems to come together seamlessly on VR evening. From the formation of dance groups and coordination of weekly practice sessions, to the song selection, dance choreography, costume creation and final performance on stage, there are thousands of intricate tasks that require a strong commitment by all volunteers and many hours of sacrifice. This journey cultivates, among other things, team spirit, self discipline, new friendships and a real appreciation of Sikh identity and Punjabi culture. Our sincerest thanks extend to all the volunteers who make this happen. It is a tribute to their nishkam seva that they have asked to remain anonymous.
Next year will be the 20th year celebration of Vaisakhi Raat. Let us stay united in this effort as we have a long way to go.
By Jaggi Sabherwal |
The San Francisco Greater Bay Area Sikh Sangat celebrated its 19th annual cultural bonanza recently. The scene at the venue was one of joy and excitement. For some children it was the excitement of been on stage for the first time, wearing a pugri and colorful traditional attire. But for all it was the joyful culmination of the months of practice, during which they not only learnt to dance to the "Bhangra rhythm" but also forged new friendships and learnt team spirit. For the 150 participants and their 15 teams which performed, the moment was finally there, when they celebrated their cultural heritage, folklore, music, attire and dance. This Sikh community is surely in Chardi Kala
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