Pashaura Singh Dhillon

It is Election Result Time again!
I wrote a blog on January 10, 2012 under the title ‘Election 2012: Land of Milk and Honey vs. Land of Drug Rivers’ in which I tried to draw a parallel between the elections scheduled to be held in America vs. Punjab. Prior to that I wrote another blog on Aug 15, 2011, titled ’Irony of Punjabis and our 2012 Election (Part 1 & 2). I also created a video of our Radio discussion covering Manpreet Badal’s visit to Californnia in which his  Peoples Party of Punjab (PPP) was seen as a breath of fresh air. At the end of this Radio show, summing up my own feelings, I also sang a poem ‘Asin Pahruu Bne Saan. . .  ‘ as part 2. And now this! When all is said and done about the elections and the chickens have come home to roost so to speak; All eyes and ears in Punjab are set on March 6.

Historically Punjab is known to have sprung surprises and make history at critical junctures. Will Punjab make it on March 6? Hearing a deafening silence not heard of before amongst politicians, media and Pundits of sorts, in all likelihood it appears that it will. If it did then the PP (People of Punjab), the PPP and the CEOP (Chief Electoral Officer Punjab) in that order ought to be appropriately recognized and congratulated!

First the PP ie the people of Punjab for actually making it. Then the PPP for being there. And finally for stemming the tide of drug/money river however briefly, the Chief Electoral Officer Punjab (CEOP) for bearing it out and being a witness. By some accounts during the election months, the so called ‘aam admi’ in Punjab appear to have enjoyed a better law and order and quality of life under the CEOP’s brief rule than the two chief ministers of both big parties combined.  Returning to the subject: How come the politicians known for being so very outspoken are scared to death to utter a word this time? Instead of their chest beating ritual and premature victory dance so disruptively familiar on these occasions in the past, this time they are waiting for March 6 worrying over the poll outcome almost with sealed lips and by tightly holding their breath . If nothing else, this 2012 election will go down in Punjab’s history as an election to be taken as a serious business it desrves to be. No more no less!

In order to make a history in my opinion however, it is not as important how much the PPP has to gain as it has nothing to lose; whether it is the seats that it wins or the vote share that it gets. To make history one would think, it is enough for the trio to shake up the musical chairs governing Punjab since 1952 with enough vote percentage to give it a jolt making both the big parties sit up. The idea being when you could not figure out the right answer sitting down, the conventional wisdom Punjabis always admire, would be to make you sit up in the classroom untill and unless you get it right. And wouldn’t that be a step towards making a history to get it right? Right! What do you think? As always I would greately apprecite your thoughts.

For linking it with my previous blogs on the same subject check it out at : http://www.pashaurasinghdhillon.com/punjabipoetry/update-election-2012-land-of-milk-and-honey-vs-land-of-drug-rivers/

Victor Hugo once wrote, “No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has
come.” In the 21st Century however, it appears there are more than one idea whose time may be already much overdue; Indo -Pak normalcy is one of them.

As the diplomats from both sides wearing smiles of hope shuffle to cross the barbed wires more frequently these days, I came across a six liner poem written in Gurmukhi script by a son of Punjabi Language, Subhash Kla-kaar. The poem is  posted on the face book by the courtesy of Harpreet Sffi. Since I myself would not have been able to write a better poem than this one on this Valentine’s Day, I could not think of a more appropriate gift for my people on both sides of the border  than to share this poem on my Blog.

while I cannot thank the poet Subhash enough for writing this piece from the bottom of his heart and Harpreet for posting it on his wall ; For the benefit of non-Gurmukhi readers however, I have converted this poem to Roman script also and have taken the liberty to add a two liner of my own. Judging from the positive Facebook response so far where many friends have already liked it, I hope my blog readers will like it too. As always I look forward to having your thoughts !

  ਫਿਰ   ਕਰਮਾਂ   ਨੂੰ  ਸਸੀਏ  ਬੈਠੀ   ਝੂਰੇਂਗੀ,
  ਲੁਟ ਗਿਆ ਜੇ ਸੁਤੇਆਂ ਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਭਮਬੋਰ ਜਿਹਾ !
                                                            Pashaura S Dhillon

Jhootth Smein da Sup di Tedhi Tor Jiha
Aapna Such Hei Pailaan Paunde More Jiha
Kaash! Ke Tu-N Vi Vekhe-N Sada Ludhiana
Kaask! Ke Mein Vi Vekha-N Shehr Lhor Jiha
Too-N Chahein Znjeer Bnaa Vi Skde Haa-n
Hale Sada Rishta Kuchhi Dore Jiha
-SubhashKlakaar
Phir Krma-n Nu Saseay Betthi Jhoorengi,
Lut gia jay suteaan Shehr Bhambore Jiha!
-Pashaura S Dhillon

It is Election Time again!

While lines are being drawn here in America, the land of milk and honey, the battle has already begun back home in Punjab, where drugs flow in otherwise drying rivers. The drug problem that has been ravaging through Punjab is no longer something that can be swept under the carpet. It used to be a running joke in India that a housewife in Punnjab has to walk longer to buy the mirch-masala for her kitchen than for her son to get his alcohol or hard drugs delivered at home. What is interesting is while there are so many other ailments such as indebtedness, failed education system, law and order, mass unemployment amongst educated youth, human rights, corruption to name a few, which are dragging Punjab down, the same politicians who ignored the rising drug problem in Punjab for more than a decade, are now crying out loud to declare it as their top priority. It used to be that Punjabi politicians seeking funding from NRIs would talk about Punjab in romantic terms. Now, almost every politician tells us here that Punjab is in the Tube.

I don’t blindly endorse any particular party, but it invigorates me to see any chance of hope. Before Obama had even won the primaries back in 2007, I was so moved by the breath of fresh air he symbolized to the political landscape of American politics, that I wrote and sang a poem called “Obama de Naa’, which my son Navdeep S. Dhillon helped me to make it into a video slideshow and posted on you tube.

The only candidate from Punjab I had the oportunity to listen to live was Manpreet Badal.  Similar to my feelings on Obama before the primaries, I have great hope for Manpreet’s vision of Punjab and what he represents to the people of Punjab: HOPE!

First : Read my post, ‘Irony of Punjabis and our 2012 Election Part 1, and Part 2

And please also take a moment to listen to two poems: the first one I wrote back in 2008 before Obama had even won the Primaries, and the second one is taken from a radio show I co-host when I sang a poem as I see it, on what Manpreet Badal represents. As always, feel free to leave me a comment either on my YouTube Channel, down below, or on FaceBook, and I will be sure to respond!

Nine months ago, after many practice sessions, and gentle nudges by my son and daughter, I was finally happy with the first track of my a-capella (without musical accompaniment) interpretation of Waris Shah’s Heer: Ranjha Leaves Takht Hazara. It was the heart-wrenching scene wrought with emotion when Ranjha makes the incredibly difficult decision to leave everything he knows and loves behind: his family, his ancestral home, and in a sense, his entire world. Something I am sure many of us, especially those living outside of India, can relate to.

As many of you know, I have never studied singing or poetry in any professional capacity, either through a Guru or in a classroom. At a very early age, I discovered the power poetry had to describe emotions and to change minds, first through poetic verses written in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Book, and also through the progressive poetry of many stalwarts in PreetLarhi (I was introduced to the magazine by Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna).

The first time I read Waris Shah’s Heer on stage , I was studying Ag.(horticulture) at Khalsa College in Amritsar and was mesmerized by the depth of human emotion that was conveyed in the words of Waris Shah from a seemingly simple tragic love story.

In the decades that followed, many life changes took place. I became a landscape architect, a husband and I became a father. With my family, we travelled and lived in many countries half round the world through my job involving the United Nations projects, eventually ending up in Central California , U.S.A. where I returned to my “roots” in agriculture. Like Ranjha, I also had to make the difficult decision to leave not only my home, and everything that was familiar to me, but also my home country. Now I am in my 70s and am a double grandfather to two beautiful grand-daughters and a grand-son.

The reason that I, like many Punjabis the world over, have such a deep connection with Waris Shah’s Heer stems from the beauty of the poetry, the universal sense of longing and separation, but also because this is a part of Punjabi literature, which many have disparaged as having nothing of substance. On the other hand some learned people make the comparison with Shakespeare or references to Greek tragic love stories, such as Jeet Singh “Seetal” who compiled a wonderful scholarly book on “Heer Waris” published by Navyug Press and presented to Bhai Sahab Dr. Jodh Singh, the then VC. Punjabi University Patiala in 1963. He describes the legend of ‘Heer-Ranjha’ as follows:

“In the land of Five Rivers, Waris breathed a new life in to the most famous love story of Heer-Ranjha. In so doing, he created such a ‘Shahkaar’ which played the same significant role in the history of the Punjabi literature as was played by the mythical romance of ‘Hero-Leandran’ in the Greek literature.”

In order not to confuse the reader in what is a legend, a myth or a fable , suffice it to say here that in the society in which it is told, a myth is usually regarded as a true account of the remote past. Consequently the love story of Heer and Ranjha is believed to be a true story of two lovers who once roamed the land of Jhang Sial and Takhat Hazara now in Pakistan, but will always remain in Punjab and in the minds and hearts of Punjabis the world over.

There have been many scholarly books and articles that have been published since then, some separating the myth from the reality, but most follow a similar train of thought and feel the need to compare this love story to a more familiar counterpart. My view is that Heer-Ranjha is in a category of its own. And the reason I say this is not out of an emotional response because of my Punjabi roots, but because there really is no good comparative love story. In the world’s most famous tragic love stories: Romeo and Juliet, Marc Antony and Cleopatra, Hero and Leandran, and even love stories from India and Pakistan like Salim and Anarkali, or Laila Majnoon, they all end in the same way. The doomed lovers commit suicide when they realize they can never be together. In Heer-Ranjha, it is much more painful because the lovers still have this realization, but they must continue to live out their lives without their true loves by their side. I can’t think of anything more enduring and tragic than that.

My reason for even wanting to give my own interpretation of the beautiful verses from Waris Shah is to add to the understanding of how profound it is, and for Punjabis to be proud of their literary heritage. Several years ago, I was in Chandigarh for my first Rubaroo (a book launch) for my first collection of poetry. It was attended by many students of Punjabi literature from Punjab University and since there are many expanded versions of it freely available, I was surprised that many of them had not read Waris Shah’s real (Aslee) Heer. Many of them hadn’t even read any version of it!

After being happy with that first track which I finalized nine months ago, with the help of my son, I uploaded it to bandcamp and then to FaceBook where I received some very encouraging responses from people from all over the world.  Many of you (especially my family, who are my biggest supporters) wanted me to start working on the second track. My daughter even drew the cover design back in June for a Father’s Day Present to encourage me.

I am pleased to tell you that I have finally finished the second track of Heer (also acapella) after a significant amount of recording sessions. I would like to thank all of you for all your encouragement and support. Please listen to the latest track at the top of this blog post, “Heer: Yaran Nu” and let me know what you think through comments or email.

Although I did not practice much since my college days, a series of audio recordings in my voice, singing selected passages from Waris’s Heer, will continue to improve and follow in my next blogs and You Tube. Punjabi lovers stay tuned!

Many of you have been asking me for an audio download of the poem I sang at the Kavi Darbar of the 542nd Guru Nanak Prakaash Utsav in Caruthers, California celebrating November being officially designated as Sikh-American Awareness Month. If you haven’t read my blog on that yet, you can do so here: Caruthers Makes History. If you’d like some basic information and terms in Punjabi Poetry, please also check out Punjabi Poetry At A Glance.

Without further adieu, here is my poem, which you can now listen to and download for free:

Caruthers, California Makes History

I first started working for the Fresno County Department of Agriculture in 1994 and still remember my supervisor, Paul Cook, telling me about Caruthers after he had described the satellite towns around Fresno which would fall under my jurisdiction. He looked at me jokingly and said, “Now don’t ask me where the hell is Caruthers. You have to go there to see it!”

When people talk about the Central Valley of California, they immediately think of Bakersfield, Tulare, Selma, Fresno, Madera or Modesto etc.. Not many people are aware of this sleepy, tiny town tucked away 30 miles southwest of Fresno en-route Hwy 41 South. Caruther  lies right in the middle of miles and miles of almond groves and vineyards, many farmed by Sikh American farmers, producing some of the best almonds and raisins in the world. Caruthers is also a base for the well-known Gill Insurance Company of Gill brothers and of course is the home for the Sikh American farmer who is considered to be the  largest Raisin Grower of the world, Charanjit Singh Batth, affectionately  nick named the “Raisin King.”

But Caruthers made a history of a different kind on November 19, 2011 when Randy Mehrten of  Fresno County Education Department presented the Sikh Council of Central California (SCCC) at the 542nd Guru Nanak Prakaash Utsav, its proclamation designating November 2011 as California Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month.  And the Assembly member Thirty First District Henry Perea persuasively spoke of working with other legislators in the Assembly to make it permanent.

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Greetings to one and all on the Guru Nanak Prakash Utsav in the month of November! The Sikh Council of Central California is celebrating Guru Nanak Prakash Utsav 18-20 November, 2011 in Caruthers, California.  Considering a befitting tribute on this occasion, the Sikh Council of Central California is organizing an informal conversational style seminars on Saturday, November 19 that is dedicated to spreading Sikh Awareness in schools,  whereby local school superintendents, administrators and  teachers  will meet the parents of school going children to discuss ways and means to work together for the good of all. So parents of currently school going children please note and must attend for the sake of their children.

Celebrating the birth of founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, in the month of November is one of the most auspicious months, not only in the history of the Sikhs, but also for humanity as a whole. Guru Nanak Dev Ji laid the foundation for the core beliefs of the Sikh religion through questioning many rituals and traditions that were accepted as fact during this time period. It gave the world a new way of thinking through the Sikh religion, which in such a young age has now become the fifth largest religion worldwide. Illama Iqbal (Sir Iqbal),  the most learned philosopher and cherished poet of all times wrote a couplet about Baba Nanak, (one can do a PhD thesis on it), ” Phir utthi Aakhir Sda Tauheed Ki Punjab Se,  Hind Ko ik Mrde Kamil Ne Jgaiya Khaab Se ! Wounded by the Great Poet’s poetry, I as a humble poet added my two liner, ” Oh Khaab Phir Supne bne, Such Vi, Sakaar Vee, Os Jago ne Bchaiee Hind see Azaab Se !  Bernard Shaw, one of the most renowned philosophers, playwrights, and satirists of the 20th century, once wrote that if this world was destroyed because of a nuclear war and few people survived, the only religion capable of guiding them to rebuild would be the Sikh religion. When asked why the Sikh religion couldn’t save the world from being destroyed in the first place? He replied that it could, but the Sikhs did not let its message to spread out.

All over the world wherever the Sikhs now reside, November has traditionally been the month to rejoice. Since the 9/11 attacks however, the followers of the Sikh religion, especially living in the “West” have had conflicting emotions. The terrorist attacks continue to affect us, not just as Americans, but as Sikhs with a visual presence because of our religiously mandated beard and turban. Images of a bearded and turbaned Osama bin Laden, immediately following the hijacked planes crashing into the Twin Towers being continually broadcast on television stations created the impression that Sikhs were the face of evil, resulting in numerous hate-crimes predominantly against Sikhs.

The Sikh religion has never been about spreading our message or of converting people. There is no such thing as a Sikh missionary or Sikh missions. It is perhaps for this reason that although Sikhs have served in both World War I and II, fought for England, France, and the United States, been living in the United States since the 19th century, and are involved in virtually every aspect of society the world over: politics, music entertainment, police and military, education, government, small business, agriculture, people still don’t know who the Sikhs are.

In a misguided act of “patriotism,” on September 15, 2001, Frank Roque wanted to “kill a Muslim” and ended up shooting and killing gas station owner, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a proud Sikh American, father, husband, brother, and small business owner in Mesa, Arizona in the first “backlash fatality.” And all because he “looked like a Muslim to him.” The irony that none of the 19 hijackers who committed this terrorist act that no sane member of any religion has ever endorsed, has largely gone unnoted as discrimination against Sikhs continues, despite many strides in the right direction being made.

Balbir Singh Sodhi cold blooded murder has been euphemistically described as a “backlash fatality,” and the mistaken identity of the Sikh identity resulting in other “backlash” hate crimes, is also described in various euphemistic language. None of it has been covered in any depth by any national media outlet.

Ten years later, in April of 2011, in an unfathomable turn of events, Arizona Governer, Jan Brewer, was seriously deciding on signing a bill to remove Balbir Singh Sodhi’s name from the state’s 9/11 memorial and sell his memorial plaque as scrap metal! Thankfully, because of Sikh organizations like SALDEF and the word getting out through social media sites like FaceBook and Twitter, Brewer vetoed the bill, but the fact it was being considered is cause for alarm itself (read about it here).

Most recently this year (2011), two elderly Sikh gentlemen were shot and killed while going for a walk near their homes in Elk Grove, Sacramento, California. Nothing had been taken and they were targeted solely because of their Sikh identity.

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Punjab Assembly Elections are here one more time at Punjab’s doorsteps. In the spirit of “freedom,” there will be candidates and party propagandists from the parties in power and aspiring for power, selling their new slogans and others repackaging or coining new phrases to sell the old ones, all in the hopes of getting our votes and becoming elected in the 2012 Elections. The voter, on the other hand, is also getting smarter and shrewder if not totally fatigued and frustrated over this seasonal drama recurring every 5 years since 1952. The voter is expected to look and listen more carefully this year before casting his or her vote. As far as the NRIs in the Diaspora are concerned, since they have no vote or have no bowl of rice directly at stake one way or the other, it is big community news and the subject of gossip and discussion anywhere Punjabis congregate: at Gurdwaras, Mandirs, and Masjids all over the world, including California, where I and many other Punjabis, live.

Eying the voter at home in Punjab, there will be horse trading, arm twisting and dangling of all kinds of carrots to lure the voters in and keep the candidates to toe the line. Paid news, muscle power, threats, blackmailing, bribery, alcohol, and drugs are almost seen as acceptable and “natural” means to seduce the bride to come to the altar for all states in India. Falling for an extra fancy for it, and taking it to new heights or depths (depending on your perspective), this practice has been especially facilitated in the land of five rivers by our successive governments over the years so much so that this has slowly but surely crept into our most sacred of elections for our religious institutions such as the SGPC. People in general and that includes our political parties, have little faith in the local police. Running an honest and ethical election has become quite the challenge for the Election Commission who is contemplating import policing to conduct their business this time; this is what democracy looks like today!

View Irony of Punjabis and Our 2012 Election (Part 2)

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The Ghadar Party

History repeats itself we often hear. What was witnessed here in North America during Manpreet Singh Badal’s recent visit was unusual to put it mildly. 100 years ago in 1913, Indians working in America and Canada primarily from Punjab formed a movement which began with a group of immigrants known as the Hindustani Workers of the Pacific Coast. Under the presidentship of Sohan Singh Bhakna and guidance from Lala Hardyal, it established its headquarters in San Francisco, California. This Hindustani or Indian Association later came to be better known as the Ghadar Party. The aim of the Ghadar Party was to force the British to “Quit” India after their hold on the country for 100 years, and regain the self-respect of every Indian – Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, and Atheist alike.

Not many people may be aware of the fact that having come away from India and watching Americans enjoying  as a free nation, the Ghadrites were the first group of Indians who had dreamt the dream of freeing India some 15 years before the Indian Congress passed its resolution in 1928 to the same effect. Their dream was to set up a national democratic government on the sub-continent similar to the federal system of the United States of America.

Coming from enslaved India a century ago in 1913 and being so few in numbers as workers in America, they kept their meetings secret yet they all gathered together in these same cities in California to rally support amongst their countrymen. How the Ghadrites did what they did and became such catalysts in the wider struggle to free India is a history now!  And because of their sacrifices we are not only free in India, we are also free in  America as NRIs and proud Sikh Americans, playing full part in making this country the best place to live.

View Irony of Punjabis and Our 2012 Election (Part 2)

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This year for Father’s Day, I received a very nice joint gift. My daughter, Navreet Kaur Dhillon, is a physician in the Bay Area, and also a very talented artist. My son, Navdeep Singh Dhillon, is a Creative Writing/English Literature lecturer in New York City.

Both my son and daughter collaborated via phone and internet from East and West Coast to create a CD cover for “Heer,” an album I didn’t even know I was making! I had recorded one track giving my own interpretation to Waris Shah’s epic poem, and uploaded it to FaceBook after several people requested me. It was (and still is) available for free download in a blog post I wrote, “Heer Forever Stands Tall (ਗੁੱਝੀ ਰਹੇ ਨਾ ਹੀਰ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਵਿਚੋਂ )” in addition to Audio Downloads (above in the navigation bar). Many have since asked me to sing some more tracks, which I had said I would do in my own time. Now, it looks like I better get moving!

Below is my daughter’s original drawing:

Original Artwork for CD Cover of "Heer" by Navreet Kaur Dhillon

And below is my son’s contribution. Have a listen to this CD, which currently only has one track, but there will more soon! Let me know what you think!

While you wait for “Heer” to be completed, check out my e-books, available in Punjabi (both Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi scripts) and English. You can also download/listen to completed digital albums/CDs at www.pashaurasinghdhillon.com/audiodownloads