Every Bhanga Dancer's Mission

[Mukandpuria]

I was just wondering what other people thought every other bhangra dancer should thrive for besides becoming a good dancer.

As a bhangra dancer I always try to spread bhangra. for example starting a small bhangra team at your college. You don't have to go big but create something so others cultures can relate and get involved in the culture. By doing this more people will not be ashamed to do bhangra when they go to a club and bhangra music players. It also creates more of a want for bhangra. I go to Bentley College and started a small bhangra team their because I know there is a lot of Gujaratis, Sindhi, and even Chinese their that like bhangra and want to learn it. And when bhangra music hits, they all dancer and aren't shy.

Spread the culture. I am the coach of Boston Di Jawani and a lot of people on the juniors don't want to just come and do bhangra but learn more about the culture. I have also set some days aside to talk about some of the folk tales like Heer Ranja | Jagga Jatt | Mirza and so on... Also talk about Bhagat Singh and his influence and sacrifice for Punjab. I also spend time to translate lyrics and help them understand reason why Punjabi are viewed a certain way. Or answer any questions they have about wording, culture or so on. Spreading the culture from where bhangra comes from is also very important. It helps make people who are not Punjabi or who are "white washed" get back in touch with the culture. I feel to become a better bhangra dancer you need to know and understand where it comes from

couple of things I always try to correct or explain is when someone says "Punjabi's are only Sikhs" or crack a joke about "12 baj gay," or say anything arrogant. Because If i don't correct them, i am basically agreeing with them then and they think i agree with them.

I feels that besides becoming a good bhangra dancers, spreading the culture and correcting certain stereotypes is very important.

It will be nice to see that everyone runs to learn bhangra instead of salsa. Any thoughts?

 

[Guppi Top Da]

to win, meet new people and party for a weekend

 

[Sunny]

to win, meet new people and party for a weekend

ahhahahahah

 

[Guppi Top Da]

i was being dead serious LOLL ... i donno man for me, yea i know that its good im doing something for my culture ... but is it the reason i do it ? i dont think so. is it even a part of the reason i do it .... mmmmm i dunno.

when you win/place at a competition its a great feeling you feel like you have accomplished something. just like some poeple play sports and join tourney's to win - bhangra is the same in some sense (for some).

hell, my parents always tell people that i do bhangra, and they are happy im doing it... but realistically how many of your parents really know about the GONG SHOWS taking place at competitions. i do it to meet new people and to have a weekend where i can party. i love bhangra because the performance aspect of it is the best.

and also, getting together with my team a few times a week is fun on its own. share stories, laugh go out for dinner after practice... that's why i do it.

 

[Jeeti]

GTD...always tellin it like it is...Abhishek as much as I admire your seeming dedication to the culture...its generally not the case for most of us...yes we love dancing, yes we love spreading our culture...but thats not REALLLY why most people do it....are you telling me that if you go to a competition after months of preparation and losee...that you are sitting there thinking to yourself...its ok, im spreading my culture...after going to a couple competitions, I quickly realized that yes performing is wonderful, but it's about the time you have that weekend with the people you are with...

 

[Vick]

to win, meet new people and party for a weekend

That pretty much sums up like 95% of bhangra dancers... When it comes down to it, people do bhangra because its fun, not because it has a rich history attached to it... There are others out there that want to spread the culture, but lets be real, they're a very few bunch...

 

[Nikhil]

Guppi is straight up honest and that's the truth for almost everyone I know including myself. But also, the teams I've been a part of do contribute to Punjabi Culture by doing a lot of things that people don't realize are aspects of culture. For instance, singing boli's (which happens to be entertaining in itself), being backstage in the dressing rooms and just talking about where you got your vardiyaan from (and getting an idea of what everyone's going for), or even talking about those specific aspects of bhangra and their roots (I've heard it from RU to Davis).

Additionally, we are spreading culture but a newer one that's representative of North American lifestyle for our generation. It's not bad at all, its just different, and everyone shouldn't have to contemplate too much about it! Next time you go to a competition, just keep your eyes open and you'll see mad cultures coming together: Punjabi, N. American, Gujarati, European, Filipino...you name it.

 

[Ashqe]

I agree that a lot of people love doing Bhangra because it is fun but I also agree with Abhi in that there's another side to it. I would love to be able to go competitions when I'm in college and hang out with other people, but at the same time I don't want to make a fool of myself doing that. I actually like learning the background of Bhangra, at least when it comes to the different parts like Dhamaal, Mirza, Jugni, etc. I'm Gujurati and I want to be able to learn more about the different parts of Bhangra and Punjabi culture so that at least I have a bit of an understanding of punjabi culture so that I represent in a good way, and don't make a fool of myself, especially at competitions and other places.

The background isn't the reason why I started Bhangra, but I want to be able to know more about it so that I can at least represent punjabi culture in a positive manner.

 

[Meistro]

alright, let me play devils advocate here........I totally get what you guys are saying dont get me wrong........BUT.....so you're telling me that it can be ANY kind of dance form, but you guys would do it so you can party, meet people, and perform.........because you guys literally said thats why you do bhangra. What if it was a co-ed cheerleading competition? what if it was some sort of hindi fusion dance, or garba/raas? would you do those dance forms just to party and meet people? Come on, Yea its definately fun to meet people and party. For sure, no doubt about it. But what if bhangra didnt exist? Dont tell me you guys dont get crazy when you hear clean ass boliyan or songs and you wanna put them into your routine for a sick effect. Thats passion for the artform, for your culture. Much of the reason why we are here is FOR culture. partying and meeting people is only part of it. Its definately fun as hell. Honestly if there were no such thing as competitions in canada, or out of state, I would still do it for the love of it. Would you guys? I dunno maybe Im reading all this the wrong way, but it seems like you guys are bhangra as an EXCUSE to party, travel, meet new people.

 

[Vick]

You know whats funny, I've been saying what Guppi just said for about 3-4 years now and people were like, "No we dance to spread our culture, we dont care if we lose or win, its all about having fun, I wanna spread my culture so white kid in America knows what bhangra is, blah blah blah", and everytime someone said that, I called out "BS", now everyone seems to be on the right bandwagon... good to see you guys finally come around and realize that its all about winning first, and the rest follows accordingly...

 

[Meistro]

good points nikhil.

 

[Mukandpuria]

lol no lie i think its a giving that everyone does it cuz it fun and good way to network, and i am pretty sure i don't waist 300 a competition and not care about winning


but i mean what do you guys think should be every dancers mission.....i mean out side of competing

do you guys do anything with the Guduwara, temple or anything in school?

 

[Jeeti]

The association with Gurudwara may be a little touchy...I don't think that the culture and the religion should mix, as they often conflict. I can't speak for everyone, but between everything else going on (namely school) and practices, it's hard to find time for anything else. Of course, if I had the time, it would be nice to give back to the community...maybe hold a few cultural events, however organizing an event requires a huge time investmentt...

 

[Kanvar]

it would be a lie for anyone to say that they didn't want in some way or another to win at a competition. alot of people do it cus it is fun and they shouldnt be punished (ie by the likes of the summy's in the world)

i mean you can still have fun and spread the culture. we perform alot for our school at culture events and what not and community mela's or punjab nights.

i think as long as a team doesn't get caught up in the competitive side of bhangra all is well.

 

[Nikhil]

I don't think that the culture and the religion should mix, as they often conflict.

Jeeti, I have a different view on this. Before we ever do anything, we say two prayers: 1 for Sikhism, and 1 for Hinduism. For MAD, Ben said a Christian prayer too. In the atmosphere of the competition, we use it as strength. In the same environment when you have a clear representation of a following of Punjabi culture, as well as the newer N.A. culture, there is still religion mixing, but for support.

Everyone always speaks against this, but I strongly believe that there ARE religious undertones in Bhangra. Just listen to our sher's and everyone elses. The last thing we yell out is "Bolay so nihaal, saat sri akaal."

Going along the point of this thread, I think the mission of a bhangra dancer is to believe in SOMETHING for strength. It's the mission of our youth to have faith in a force that has a lot of say in what we do. It's to promote the concept of something great, that ultimately, no matter how it is percieved, allows us to all be equal.

 

[Vick]

The problem with prayers are that most people only do them when they need something. And thats being fake. "Please god give us the strength to perform at our best tonight" in any language is only legit if you seriously pray everyday and your are religious in some way or another. Otherwise it's just empty words and some hoping that god will help you out... Before some teams perform, they come and touch the stage, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee... Thats just to earn brownie points with the judges....

 

[Nikhil]

Vick that's pretty strong and yet what you say is true. But getting into practicing religion and how frequently you do it is a whole other ballpark.

I didn't mean that our mission is to spread religion. That's mad jehova's witness. That's not what I said at all. I'm saying believe in something for motivation, and if you can be part of a team and come to these competitions to win trophies and money, than have a drive that's greater than all that stuff. While you can be rewarded for doing well at a competition, the means to preparing for it should have even more value, and part of the mission that we should commit to is along this concept.

Mission: building confidence and NOT foolish pride...

And touching the stage and the dhol is taken seriously by all the traditional teams or teams that claim to be traditional. You know what it means, but the people who really believe in doing it, do so because of spiritual conviction and respect for the dance. It's like a basketball player coming out and slapping the floor when he's setting up defensive formations.

 

[Mukandpuria]

touching the stage....respect is apart of Punjabi culture. I grew up on respect and respecting your elder....when i was 7 years old I use to do "pareh peh na" to everyone that was older and still do it now.....this is where I say understanding the culture is important if you understand the real meaning of respect and were brought up knowing the value and how to respecting you elder, touching the floor with respect has more meaning....I don't touch the floor for the hell of it..

 

[Jeeti]

Nikhil,

Your team's dedication to religion and your insistence on their being an association between religion and bhangra is admirable, however I don't think it is applicable across all situations. I would venture to guess that there many teams that associate the two, religion and culture, without really knowing what it means. Yes, if every dancer understands this undertone in bhangra with religion, thats great, but...I am going to have to agree with Vick, as he said...there has to be a consistent religious belief there in order for it to mean anything. I think what you are saying is a bit too ideal...I do think that building confidence and not foolish pride is a great mission and where it should stop...whether you choose to involve religion and culture is all based on how you establish that association and its purpose, but in most cases...everyone's commitment to their religion varies and a prayer before jumping on stage may mean one thing for you and something completely different for another dancer...you will never know what is going on in their head...

Also why does your "drive that's greater than trophies and money" have to be brought into with religion, why can't it simply be that my drive is to build confidence and eliminate foolish pride, simple as that, religion aside. Confidence building seems to me as something that overall just makes you "stronger"....a benefit no matter what you associate it with...

 

[mafzal]

My goal is for every bhangra member to make sure they bhangRa correctly... ahem *threat title* ahem....