Speed Meeting Sikhs

Co-blogged by Sundari and Ajaib Kaur 

How many young Sikh women do you know who are looking to meet their Sardar?  And how many young Sikh men do you know who are looking to meet their Sardarni?

Lots?  We hear you.  But how can we make these two groups meet?

We decided to write a post on this topic for many different reasons.  It’s clear that there is little space elsewhere to talk about how young Sikhs can meet each other, with the potential of pursuing something beyond a friendship.

Gasp! Are we actually admitting this? After a few dialogues with friends and families, we decided that we may as well start breaking the ice here on the West Coast.  Over the last few years, SikhNet has been hosting “Gursikh Speed Meetings”, in cities such as New York, Boston, and Toronto.   It is nice to see that the organizers has decided to bring this successful event to the West Coast, in our beloved City of Angels.  These events give young, single Sikhs between the ages of 25-40 a chance to meet fellow single-and-ready-to-mingle like minded Sikhs in a communal safe space.  This concept may feel familiar, because it is.  The ‘speed meeting’ is a popular spin-off of an American cultured speed-dating event; having an even number of men and women participants, and rotating through getting a brief chance to connect with everyone in the room.  It seems like a lot of work, but based on our feedback from some past participants, it is fairly enjoyable.  The best part: if you do not click with someone mutually, you do not need to face them again.  Contact information is only shared if both parties have expressed interest in each other.  Fool proof for both ladies and gents!

We are also doing this as a way to bridge the gap that often exists between parents and their children.  The goal is ultimately the same – but the process differs between the two generations and we want to validate the frustrations of both groups.  Parents want for their children, what their children want for themselves – to meet a partner who, through marriage, will strengthen their bond with Waheguru.  Are we saying this connection will happen through one speed encounter? We don’t know. However, we would love to see our fellow peers trying to break down barriers so that we may be mutually successful, across generational divides, in the search for our life partners.

The great thing about an organized hosted event like this is the fact that it takes the potential issues of ambiguity out of the picture.  Trying to recall how many conversations have taken place around the ‘maybe’ if things are leading towards a friendship or more, is just too many to count! Hopefully the fact that the premise is already set with the context of meeting a potential life partner will assist in some of our shyer members to not get wrapped up into the ambiguity of meeting some lovely individuals through this–as more than friends.

So, we hope you will engage in this dialogue – perhaps you are looking for someone, or maybe your brother is or perhaps your best friend is.  Either way, we figure this process might be easier than the traditional vacholan route, and we’re hoping minus the awkward!

Event Details:
Friday, November 25th–Los Angeles, CA
Registration/RSVP by November 12th

Whether you call it meeting, or dating or courting – it’s clear that our generation is redefining what it means to join the soul of another.  We think there is a need to have honest conversations and recognize that things have changed drastically since the days of our parents meeting on their wedding days!  Even our parents will acknowledge that things have changed – but they unfortunately don’t have the cultural expertise to perhaps know how their children should “find” someone.