Bringing Vaisakhi to Sydney

from 2012-05 Sydney (2)

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BY KOMAL UTSAV JAGAD

It’s that time of the year again in India – the grass is green and the sun is out shimmering over beautiful crops. It’s the time when our traditional folk celebrate renewal and rebirth, marking the beginning of a new season and a new year. Yes, it’s time for Vaisakhi!

Thousands of ravers braved Sydney’s chilly weather to come out and attend the Panjabi Sangeet Centre’s Vaisakhi Mela 2012, held at Blacktown Showground. It was indeed a bhai ‘n’ sakhi (Baisakhi) bash as 10,000 people came together, both Indian and Australian, to portray the spirit of blissful merriment in evident Punjabi panache, for everyone there simply felt dil bole hadippa!

The spirit of Vaisakhi is being recreated in Sydney miles away from its original roots by the Panjabi Sangeet Centre (PSC) since nine years now, not only to celebrate the harvest festival, but to mark the New Year and most importantly, celebrate the birth of the Khalsa.

The event kicked off at 10am, with a very warm Chak De Phatte welcome by the organising committee, which included Devinder Singh Dharia, Founder and Director; Harkirat Sandhar, President; and Kalpesh, General Secretary. About 25 volunteers assisted for months to put up this grandiose program.

An invocation to the Almighty was performed by Dr Rashpal Singh and Japreet Grover, with the prayer marking the commencement of the event. This was followed a series of performances by over 150 performers and participants throughout the day.

The highlights were performances by Reema Randhawa representing the Paneri group, who presented a beautiful traditional dance and Ruh Punjab Di’s bhangra performance.

Vaisakhi would be incomplete without a dash of Bollywoood – Poornima Sharma’s team and Mahima Tuli’s solo on the latest Bollywood hits urged the crowd to tap its feet, whistle with gusto or clap in appreciation. A traditional dance was also presented by Harwinder’s team from PSC.

It was an important day for Avatar Singh, who released his latest novel, Dil-e-Mohhabt Jin amidst all the glitz and jazz. The book portrays the story of Punjabi village life and culture.

Famous Pakistani artist Shoukat Manjoor Ali deserves a special mention, as a special invitee to the Vaisakhi Mela. As token of love, attachment and peace between the two countries, he presented a beautiful cultural song.

For those who could not be lured by the entertainment, a series of food stalls were set up to entice their tastebuds, and buskers coaxed laidback tunes from dhols in the background. A whole range of Indian speciality food like chole bhature, desi chai, dosas, dahi bhalla, samosas were available, reminding us that we are lucky to live in the best city on earth to savour an amazing selection of Indian cuisines for every taste.

The strange exaltation of spirit was indeed displayed in games of Tug-O-War and the chatti race. Women portrayed great valour and dexterity when participated in the chatti race, which is typically a race where earthen pots are balanced on the head while running. This generated the greatest excitement in revellers and produced phenomenal execution by the participants.

The guests of honour were Geoff Lee, Member of Parliament; Alan Pendleton, Mayor of Blacktown Council; Allan Green, Councillor; Benjamin Susai, JP; and Robert Fitzgerald, Chief Inspector of Blacktown Police Station.

“I was thrilled to be able to bring my family to take part in this wonderful celebration which is a different and wonderful experience, taking me back to India,” said Mr D’Souza, visitor to the Mela.

The celebration brought people together from across Australia with everyone chanting Balle Balle with a hearty feeling of joy and happiness. So Chak de phatte to the Panjabi Sangeet Centre who are already planning the Vaisakhi Mela for 2013.