Re: Traditional vs Modern Bhangra Round 548 (in Toronto)

[Temurzai]

Go watch Bhangra World Cup and listen to Dr. Inderjeet Singh Preach about what REAL BHANGRA is...its him preaching not me. Anyways, no one said that bhangra doesnt have elements from other regions, no one bashed you so before you get all happy and cock cuz you can post a 3 paragraph reply listen to this simple statement. Bhangra has evolved, but since it has become a STAGE DANCE in the 1950's it has had little to no changes. Bhangra has become a fusion of many folk dances of the Punjab and to take those dances and then further add stupid moves, and formations and forget the actual steps involved, shit I don't think non traditional teams could even comprehend dancing to Dankaraa. Im glad you wikipedia'd Bhangra bro, but the bottom line is that Traditional Bhangra heads refer to the 1950's and the actual STAGE BHANGRA. with your arguement and rewind to the beginnig of time and bhangra itself...then everything that humans came up with has some stupid link. Stage Bhangra has a distinct style and as hard as those of you who cannot comprehend traditional bhangra and instead of understanding its roots, decide to get mad because your style is "Distinct" and you actually win, please remember that you will never, and cannot change asli folk. I had a team tell me (I wont state names, but then again I dont give a shit) that live is boring, easy, and anyone can pull it off- I'm sorry I can't pull off the 3 man stunt, but real bhangra isn't "EASY".

I don't hate on anyone, neither am I angry- I hate ignorance and the destruction of the culture- a culture many have taken for granted since obviously everyone feels they can twist it to their liking.

Rab Rakha

jasjit -

1. ur livid. stop pretending ur not. calm down.
2. wiki bro? my sources are more credible than that, kthnx.

andddd...

3. You still just dont get it do you? wat does it have to take, if not how i put it, and how Barua put, and how Shanjeet acknowledged, for you to understand the point that I made? Im not going against your traditional bhangra lol CALM DOWN. All i said was that it has changed, and it continues to change. Do you even know wat your saying? do u even know why you are arguing?

you just mentioned that your so called proper folk as we know it today is 1950s-ish stage bhangra. thats it? i coulda told you that much myself, but hey lets focus on wat YOU just said ay? u just said it urself, 'hasnt changed that much'. wat does 'that much' mean to you? hey im just taking wat you said...wat does 'that much' mean to you? to me, it sure as balls doesnt mean 'nothing' and sure as hell doesnt mean 'completely' but rather somewhere in the middle. CHANGE HAPPENED. u agree to that much right? Obviously yes, you just said so yourself...now moving on, take that stage bhangra with change, to america, add more change. change is change, theres no folkness or modernness to change. why didnt u even give me 2 words of a response for my bit on jhummer? you and I both know you dont have a response because that would most probably totally go against everything you were probably taught about bhangra from the way you sound right now. but forget that rightnow! focus on my main point again since everything i said is going in one ear and out the other.

ALL i said, is that modern bhangra is a new evolved form of the SAME continuously changed dance that has been around for centuries. back to that jhummer bit....its something that was NOT FOLK. NOT PUNJABI. NOT PUNJABI. NOT PUNJABI. NOT PUNJABI. and is now, FOLK and PUNJABI.

North american modern bhangra?! Same thing is happening! WAT DONT U UNDERSTAND!??!?!! thats alllll im saying!!! on some real shit, i feel like YOU feel like your culture is being attacked, along with ur identity, pride, etc...and your lashing out without realizing wtf your even arguing about lol i didnt write my first post on this thread expecting to have to explain my english to someone. please. PLEASE. understand, this is NOT about me liking or not liking traditional bhangra lol

can someone else please explain my point lol this is clearly just not registering in jasjit's head.

*** oh so i was gona post just wat i had above but i saw jasjit posted again with a short one, ill add this, one final time, ignore it again if you want...

sticking to folk doesn't make me narrow minded, why should I sit here as people continue to bash traditional bhangra. The modern gimmicy arm flailing monkey dance people like calling modern bhangra is a fluke, its a joke and its hurting Punjabi Bhangra.

Lets review,

1. Bhangra has evolved. You and I both acknowledge that.
2. Stage bhangra which itself is only 60years old, has also evolved. We both agree.
3. Non-Punjabi elements have been incorporated into this Punjabi folk dance. I know this, others are reading this thread and IMing me wondering why dont you get the point. Do you agree yet?

i mentioned the jhummer as ONE example, and u are avoiding addressing it. please respond to that example rightnow, dont pull some 5th grader bullshit like u did earlier when u got around it by flippin out bout how im goin too far back in time. cuz im not. ur just tryin to hard to avoid the question. why am i pushing for u to answer? u just said 'Punjabi Bhangra' and i have already told you, alot of aspects of your CURRENT FOLK PUNJABI BHANGRA STAGE DANCE are NOT PUNJABI, like wat? like JHUMMER.

are you going to properly respond? or continue to do dhamaal around my points and questions...

smile! its persian newyear
salam beresoon
T

 

[Varun]

interesting posts from everyone. I have on thing to say, though: do not pin all your hopes for preserving Punjabi culture onto bhangra. Bhangra cannot be hoped to be the messiah for all the problems we see with expatriate, immigrant Punjabi families: losing culture, forgetting language, forgetting religion, tradition, empathy for the motherland, etc.

Remember, bhangra and music in general is just one small part of our rich, vast, and sometimes contradictory culture.

 

[Kush]

Hahahhaha I'll respond when I'm at home it's sad enough that Im on my phone to check this crap answer go my statements and you'll get a responsse soon don't worry

Honestly, this is the worst part of the traditional versus modern arguement... people who refuse to SEE other people's perspectives. It totally undermines a legitimate argument when someone is blind to other views... i'm sorry but this is getting absurd

 

[Kush]

sticking to folk doesn't make me narrow minded, why should I sit here as people continue to bash traditional bhangra . The modern gimmicy arm flailing monkey dance people like calling modern bhangra is a fluke, its a joke and its hurting Punjabi Bhangra.

read everything after the highlight and tell me who's bashing who....

Btw i have respect for both styles... not a supporter or hater of either. Rather, i like love teams that can balance both.

 

[avirk]

There is no point in arguing over modern or traditional. The reasoning behind this is that bhangra does not have a set style or rules to go by. The way bhangra was done 40 years ago is much different than today. And 40 years ago was traditional bhangra. The way bhangra was done to music 5 years ago is much different than today.
By arguing you don't win or gain anything. Instead you cause a rift between yourself and others. Bhangra is a way to bring people together, to enjoy, and have fun and by arguing you do the opposite.
Like it was stated before "to each is own"...for traditionalists stick with live, for modernists stick with music. Each type has its positives and negatives. We all love bhangra hence why we do it, just be greatful and enjoy it. Bhangra cannot be categorized as either one or the other. Just do what tickles your fancy and what you enjoy.

 

[JotBrar]

its always nice to see teams have a mix of both worlds in there routine.

 

[Saab]

A painting, a depiction of art, is worth a thousand words. The words you say will almost always differ from what I say, or what person x says etc. Its the same with most art-forms, as they are meant to evoke emotional connections to them that we appreciate in real life. We all appreciate different things, where some of us love energetic and lively modern bhangra, some of us enjoy graceful, pure traditional bhangra(and whatever you would like to describe it). There might be a right way to do bhangra, a wrong way, or a gray area for bhangra. Personally I dont care about either, and what really gets me is what I feel when I watch the dance. I never was properly taught bhangra, or passed it down to me(I ask around to find out for names of moves, styles, and etc). If you feel strongly one way or another, thats fine, and your entitled to your opinion. If you think of one side or another being stupid, please be considerate in that this is a forum for something, that although its great, and something that I personally(and you guys too) love, its not something I would take personal umbrage and ruin the brotherhood this forum is supposed to protect. All I have in response in temzurr is that your right, you are never going to stop the sands of time that has wrought so much change in these last couple of years. Dont get mad, just enjoy the hard work and the love of the dance.

The only example I would say is that I had a discussion of the indian national anthem, and that apparently its not all thats cracked up to be in terms of meaning(barua can clarify). That doesnt matter to me, because its what it means to me, and not anyone else. If the way they do bhangra is something that they enjoy, we shouldnt take that away. The arts have always been something to everyone, and we will always participate in it in our own way. Just like Picasso is different than Rodin, we will have our empires and vcus. You dont enjoy it, you dont. Being a true professional means at least you respect them, even if you think them your enemy(or opposite). This was something that happened, and the only thing you can do is what you think is right and try to understand what others think. Itll make you understand yourself better, others better, and will help you realize your goal and direction of your reaction to it.

Traditional vs Modern shouldnt be an argument, since there is no argument(no one can seem to agree on anything concrete). Just agree to disagree, and lets use this forum for other things productive.

 

[Temurzai]

for the record i love traditional lol im not a fan of 1999 bhangra. i wasnt attacking traditional or downsizing ustads. i was just making the point that bhangra as we know it has been changing in the overall picture. with all my examples and everything i wrote in this thread, thats ALL i was trying to say.

now back to the tourney.

regards,
Temzur

 

[onkiisingh]

why cant u leave bhangra as bhangra lmao but toronto team murder bruahzz
everyone has there own style

 

[DeepPresents]

too much going on in this thread and people getting too touchy feely...

just change bhangra competitions to baangra competitions and let teams do whatever they want. then no one can say its not bhangra anymore

 

[Laddi]

It seems that there will never be solution or a compromise to this arguement! Change is inevitable over time, whether some like it or not...and it takes place in both of the bhangra styles. Just let it be, and let people enjoy BHANGRA, whether it be traditional or modern or BOTH :-*