Vaisakhi in NSW Parliament

Turbans galore as Sikh community members felicitated

“Oh my god!” Stephen Bali exclaimed as he looked at his reflection. It was not a face he recognised, mainly because his head was wrapped in an orange turban. n n n ns m himself into Stephen ‘Singh’ Bali for s n s s

Parliament marked this most significant of Punjabi dates. Other attendees at the event joined Bali in sporting Sikhism’s most identifiable symbol.

“No, it’s not heavy,” Bali said about his turban, and added laughingly, “Not as heavy as the mayoral chains anyway! But I’ve got to get used to the tightness. You do this yourself at home? On your own?”

Tejinder Singh from Sydney’s Sikh community tied the turban for Bali. As a devout Sikh, he was sharing a treasured part of his cultural heritage. For Bali himself, many of whose constituents are Sikh by background, it was a way not only of showing that new Australians are welcome and valued, but also an attempt to learn about another way of life. It turned out to be a welcome exercise in cultural sensitivity. And a great way to mark Vaisakhi in the mainstream. The date has cultural as well as religious significance for Sikhs: it marks the spring harvest festival in a traditionally agrarian society as well as the foundation day of the Sikh religious faith.

Besides the turban, the parliamentarians became acquainted with other aspects of Sikhism too: in the hour-long event, they heard hymns or shabad from the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib (as presented by n s u u saw some cultural presentations, and took away a box of Punjabi sweets.

As well on the occasion, organisers Punjabi Council of Australia also announced the Pride of Punjabi Awards. Honoured this year were Janmeja Johal of India for contribution to the Punjabi n u n n Adelaide for pioneering the Australian m s n s n for his contribution to Punjabi journalism and community services; sports commentator Darshan Bari of India, and the organising committee of the recently concluded 31st Australian Sikh Games in Sydney.

The Young Achiever Award was given to Shubh Bhangoo, who served in Afghanistan recently as a member of the Australian Armed Forces. Awards of Excellence were given to the not-for-profit Turbans 4 Australia, for helping to spread awareness nationwide about the turban n n n n s u n tying sewa. m n s n observing the Punjabi festival for 13 years now. It began with John Aquilina, former n. n u n m n ffi n n m was fascinated by the Golden Temple in m s n n n un Council and Blacktown Councillor, told Indian Link. “He showed me photos of the Temple and of the samman (honour) given to him there. By coincidence, this was around Vaisakhi time, and it occurred to me that we should have our Parliament observe the day.”

“John agreed immediately and made arrangements to host. After he left Parliament, John Robertson, Leader of the s n n m n kept the tradition going. Today we are pleased to have Stephen Bali continue this for us.”

The state Parliament sets aside time to celebrate days of religious and cultural significance for many of the communities m . n s u u u sm ms n s n Luke Foley attended this year, alongside s u nn n u m m n s n s s representative from the Consulate General of India (Sydney).

“It is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the strengths of our mmun n n s . “This year alone, we had members from the spiritual, sporting, literary, cultural and business worlds; it filled me with pride.”

As for Bali, he has indicated that he will be wearing the turban again. And in the very near future too, at the nagar kirtan n n n s CBD, scheduled for 28 April.

Rajni Anand Luthra