why would they bother to wear khandas?

I don't think there's anything wrong with them wearing khandas. If, as a group, it unites them and is something else they love, then they should be free to show it off. It's just like bhangra teams affiliated with their universities. My school's mascot was the spartans and that adorned our apparel (and our name). There is no correlation between the khanda and bhangra, just like there's no correlation between my school's mascot and bhangra. If, as a bhangra team, they feel the need to express their pride in their religion, let them do it.

Quote from: kinnell on March 13, 2010, 11:49:51 PM

Quote from: Piarpreet Kaur on March 13, 2010, 03:35:09 PM

why would they bother to wear khandas?

I don't think there's anything wrong with them wearing khandas. If, as a group, it unites them and is something else they love, then they should be free to show it off. It's just like bhangra teams affiliated with their universities. My school's mascot was the spartans and that adorned our apparel (and our name). There is no correlation between the khanda and bhangra, just like there's no correlation between my school's mascot and bhangra. If, as a bhangra team, they feel the need to express their pride in their religion, let them do it.

well, i believe that the real "pride" for that particular religion is preserving kesh... a khanda means nothing to me if you dont follow Guru, and i dont like it when bhangra is linked to Sikhi, specially in these conditions. Thats the reason i dislike it. I am not saying the people who cut their hair are bad people or they dont believe in God, but was very clear when Guru Gobind Singh said it. A khanda is not a substitute, specially when you dont even know that is represents.

I am not a fundamentalist, but if u wanna  be a buddist monk, u better not have a heavy metal look to your hair and beard, they cut it to represent something...just like being a khalsa. Its not just identity, the hair has a lot of meaning behind it. And people ignoring its importance makes me sad. Same with 25 year old dudes wearing a cap or a patka...oh lawd! it doesnt just look bad...its pretty embarrassing.

if you are a sikh, wear your hair, if you are a man, wear your pugh.

This is my opinion.

I understand your point of view, but here's my point of view:


1. People practice their religions in their own way. Many people question their faith everyday (like myself) to find meaning. Who are we to say that someone else is incorrectly following their own religion. The most I think we can say is "I disagree with your perspective from my interpretation of our religion." Yes, there are defining qualities to each religion that every follower should try to follow before the religion they follow is not identifiable with the original - but in the end, I feel the desire to be spiritually content should overshadow any desire to be associated with a group of people (ie: a religion).


2. To you, the khanda means nothing if you don't keep kesh. However, there are many sikhs are cut their hair but are still very spiritual and devout. The khanda to them is a symbol of their faith and some may choose to show it to the world. Who are you to tell them that they are not deserving of wearing the symbol of their faith?


3. I agree that bhangra and sikhi has no connection. I think the association of the khanda to bhangra is the same association between a university mascot to bhangra. It may be hard for some to think of it that way since many bhangra songs talk about the khanda and sikhi, but to me, there is no place for religion in bhangra. If a team came out with Hindu Oms on their vests or even a Christian cross, I do not think any harm is done. It is a way for the team to showcase what could be a unifying element in their team.


I understand where you are coming from, but I respectfully believe that your perspective is a tad bit narrow minded. No harm done, but I look forward to discuss this further.

2. To you, the khanda means nothing if you don't keep kesh. However, there are many sikhs are cut their hair but are still very spiritual and devout. The khanda to them is a symbol of their faith and some may choose to show it to the world. Who are you to tell them that they are not deserving of wearing the symbol of their faith?


I understand where you are coming from, but I respectfully believe that your perspective is a tad bit narrow minded. No harm done, but I look forward to discuss this further.

totally agree

kinnell i know where u coming from...and i appreciate that u at least hear my point.

I am a little bit of a fundamentalist when it comes to kesh. a khanda can NEVER substitude the pride of kesh because it was never mentioned as Kakar (panj kakaar) by Guru. But again, i respect your view.

I still believe that Sikhi is being underestimated because people forget about the importance of kesh not just as identity. There is a huge meaning behind it. All SGGS is written around Hukam...

We just went through this this year.This is what we did:
-We decided to use our 1st semester just doing gigs and a local show we have here in FL. So that we could grow as a team and gain some stage experience. And as for Punjabi's you don't need to have a team full of Punjabi's to do bhangra, our team has only a few.
-We made a clean tryout video to send to comps.
-We spent the 2nd semester competing.


Here are some tips

•   Identify what kind of team you're going to be. Modern/folk, guys/girls/co-ed  etc..
•   Know what comps you are applying to. Some comps are meant for modern teams and some for folk.
•   Be realistic. Don't apply to all huge comps, do some smaller comps to get your name out and have a better chance of getting in and fitting in.
•   Nice outfits. This may sound irrelevant, but it actually does help your name get out there if you look nice.
•   Bring something new to the table. The last thing the bhangra world needs is another copying team, be original when introducing your team to the scene, as far as choreo, music, vardiyaan, etc..

These are only a few tips that come to mind... Feel free to contact me if you want some more advice.

F*Beep*K vardiyaan! Dance bhangra naked...that'll make u famous...a lot faster.

oh...

observe successful teams, take the good and try to achieve the same feel with your respective element. most importantly work hard and be patient. so far this has been our (FCB) strategy