Recent content by dodobird

Without trying to start another dodobird v. the world debate, I just had a couple of questions/observations I'm hoping you guys can help me out with. My reading of the forums, sparked by this thread with the discussion on Bhangra Empire and its appeal to audiences, has shown that there is almost...

Two really good posts Ashveer and Mojo. Extremely informative and somewhat thought provoking. I'm going to sleep on this but it might be a good point to ease off on the discussion; I'm never one to debate just for argument's sake.

I don't see how bhangra folk dance predominantly originating from what is now Pakistan detracts from anything. As far as Sialkot, Shekhupur and Gujranwala are concerned, they are cities in Pakistan-Punjab all of which was once Punjab. It's not surprising that a lot of Indian Punjabis I know get...

How astute of you to describe your two posts in this thread. Nice little self-fulfilling prophecy you've set up. Actually, I would say you deprived them, to a degree, of a display of Punjabi culture. They may be the greatest bhangra dancer in the world, the aesthetic quality of the dance may...

Yeah don't worry I can group you with the 95% of persons commenting here who've thought the thread to be a "only Punjabis should do bhangra" assertion. You and they have missed the point entirely. Disappointing, I thought more people would understand the subtleties than the few who have. I guess...

No, everybody is not arguing about something different. This has been about Punjabi culture, those three categories you have separated out are irrevocably linked to this. For the record, I conceded the Sikh/Non-Sikh point to deal with this on a broader basis. Please read my prior post, your...

Soniadewett - please read my last post, I think you've missed it or read it in another language. Nikhil - I appreciate the comments and you raise an interesting point. I think there is a little more to my views being conservative though; we need to consider conservatism in a different light...

Dodobird vs the world, let's do this. A lot of hypersensitive folk have extended my original views to an illogical end. I never said that non-Indians should never partake in bhangra nor did I say that only six foot plus Jatt Sikh men should frame the dance. Read my original post again; I am...

Briefly, because culture is inherently exclusive. Sikhism may foreground egalitarianism but this is irrelevant because my views are founded on broader culture rather than tenets of Sikhism. It is a culture _because_ it is exclusive to some community; it has identifiable features resonating with...

I will not dispute that social change is inevitable and desirable. Your examples of gender bias in medicine and race bias in politics I agree with wholeheartedly - but they have nothing to do with culture. They are anachronistic socio-political stigmas. Culture is different. Culture resonates...

I don't think the word substitution is really pertinent; bhangra and marriage are wholly dissimilar. If bhangra is an art form that relates to a culture, then said culture should profess it. I agree with you in that an appreciation of art is universal and not tied to ethnicity. There is a...

I'd have to respectfully disagree with you. Your view may be more forceful in light of modern permutations of "bhangra", but as far as the good old (in my opinion, true) bhangra goes, it is very much a question of ethnicity, look and culture. Don't get me wrong on this, I think it's great to...