A Post-Partition Diary
Most people who lived through Partition are understandably hesitant to talk about it. A decade long Ford Foundation study says that one fourth of those interviewed about Partition so far have never even recounted their stories to their children. So I was pleased to find this diary type piece about...
Making music
What moves you (both physically and emotionally)? Hip hop, the dhol, or Surinder Kaur? Artists, musicians and dancers often use their skill and art as a medium to promote their ideas.
The music of the Staple Singers soundtracked the civil rights movement: it was their songs that were sung on protest...
Did you turn your lights off?
Posted by Reema in General on 04 9th, 2008 | 21 Comments
Recently, the Ontario Khalsa Darbar and the Punjabi Daily newspaper in Mississauga participated in Earth Hour to highlight the issue of climate change.
The Punjabi Daily newspaper from Mississauga has been urging its readers and Sikh
organizations to participate in EARTH HOUR. The Ontario Khalsa Darbar...
Unaccustomed Earth
For anyone in the D.C. area interested in Jhumpa Lahiri’s writing- she is on a book tour and will be speaking at Sixth & I on Wednesday, April 23 at 7 pm.
Tickets are available at Politics & Prose for $6 or you can buy the book for $25 and get 2 free tickets with it. Contact P & P at...
Awarding Interfaith Dialogue
Posted by Reema in General on 03 27th, 2008 | 7 Comments
On March 24th, His holiness the 14th Dalia Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was named the first recipient of the Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize, awarded by Hofstra University.
The $50,000 prize, which recognizes efforts at interfaith dialogue, will be presented to His Holiness on November 18, 2008 in India by a delegation...
Towards an American Sikh collective
Posted by Reema in General on 03 19th, 2008 | 15 Comments
Bloggers have discussed past achievements in the Sikh community and ideas for future efforts in collective action. But we haven’t yet really talked about what this collectivism is, where the contrasting individualism stems from, and what both entail.
What’s the difference between an individualist...
A costly error by the Ministry of Women and Child Development
India’s Women and Child Development Minister, Renukha Chowdury recently unveiled an expensive initiative to combat sex selection in India.
India has launched a dramatic initiative to stop the widespread practice of poor families aborting female foetuses by offering cash incentives for them to give...
A jago for landless laborers and more on Int. Women’s Day
Punjabis (at least in East Punjab) love to protest. The cause is usually grim, the consequences leave one hoping for more, but the spirit and energy behind the gathering leave one (at least this one) with a sense of contentedness in belonging to such a proactive community. In honor of International...
Breakthrough for HIV+ women in Punjab: a self-help group
We’ve discussed AIDS in Punjab and its impact on women before. An impressive and inspiring update has since taken place.
…a small group of HIV positive widows from rural Punjab has taken to a path that may prove to be a major initiative in making people living with HIV/AIDS self-reliant…
12...
Self-Determination
Posted by Reema in Politics on 02 20th, 2008 | 10 Comments
The U.S., France, and Britain (among other nations) have formally recognized Kosovo after it declared its independence on Sunday. This tiny province was unable to reach a deal with Serbia after decades of conflict and the dissolution of former Yugoslavia.
The province declared independence from Serbia...
Pink Ludoos
Posted by Reema in General on 02 13th, 2008 | 18 Comments
Recently, in Cheema Kalan village near Ludhiana, some well known Punjabi singers entertained to bring awareness of social problems like sex-selective abortion. Singers in attendance included Sarabjit Cheema, Jaspal Jassi, Babbu Mann, Jasbir Jassi and Inderjit Nikku. Why were these singers willing to...
Raising awareness or a turban commodified?
A few days ago, Kenneth Cole unveiled one of his new ads on a wall of Rockefeller Center in New York City. The model is, surprisingly, a sardar.
Most Sikhs will be (and should be) proud to see a sardar breaking into an industry that traditionally has narrow ideas of beauty, desirability, or glamour…...
Farmer suicides continue…
A couple of years ago, in the farmer suicide capital of Punjab (Sangrur-Mansa belt), the first People’s Tribunal on farmers’ suicides took place, organized by the Human Rights Law Network and the Voluntary Health Association of Punjab. Word got out about the tribunal by word of mouth and women traveled...
Mamla Gadbad Hai
In an earlier post, a couple of commenters mentioned the shortfalls of much of today’s Punjabi music industry (lack of depth and creativity, among other things). I agree that much (though not all) of today’s Punjabi music leaves me wanting something more, but I thought we could switch to...
Plot to murder father of bride for not enough dowry- foiled!
Veerharinder Singh and Pawanjot Kaur were married on November 1, 2001. Apparently this ill-fated relationship started off on the wrong foot.
Veerharinder had said he was a graduate owning gas stations. He turned out to be class 12 pass and an employee in a factory. Pawanjot was B.Sc medical.
Veerharinder...
A model Asian neighbor
Posted by Reema in General on 12 27th, 2007 | 14 Comments
Does this sound familiar? It sounds like it could be many areas in India, including Punjab…
The preference for boys here is centuries old and was rooted in part in an agrarian society that relied on sons to do the hard work on family farms…[A son’s]… elevated status came with...
1 + _ = ?
Posted by Reema in General on 12 20th, 2007 | 15 Comments
I recently had a conversation with a friend whose relationship with his fiancée is in a bit of turmoil …
Let’s call him Jasdeep and his fiancée- Palwinder. They’ve been dating for a few years, told both parents who gave their consent/supported the relationship and a formal engagement date was...
