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Malaysian Sikh band performs at the Nagar Kirtan in San Jose, CA (source: twitter user @i5jabi)

Picture of the Day: Malaysian Sikh band at San Jose, CA Nagar Kirtan

April 15, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A Nagar Kirtan was held at the Sikh Gurdwara – San Jose in California yesterday in celebration of Vaisakhi, and included a band of Malaysian Sikhs. This band is reported to also be performing at the Gurdwara in Stockton, California tonight, and in Sacramento, California on Tuesday night. Additional pictures of the Nagar Kirtan in San Jose can be seen at the Sikh Gurdwara – San Jose Facebook page.

Categories: Events, Picture of the Day • Tags: California, Nagar Kirtan, San Jose, Sri Dasmesh Malaysian Sikh Band, Vaisakhi

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Picture of the Day: CA Assemblywoman Yamada announces workplace religious freedom bill

April 12, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

California Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada held a press conference yesterday at the Gurdwara in West Sacramento, California, alongside representatives of the Sikh Coalition, the Council of American-Islamic Relations – Sacramento Valley, and the local Sikh community to speak about the Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2012 (also known as AB1964) – the legislation she introduced to the California State Legislature to bolster the protection of workplace religious freedom in California.

Categories: Civil Rights, Picture of the Day • Tags: AB1964, CAIR, California, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Mariko Yamada, Rosa Parks, Sikh Coalition, Workplace Religious Freedom Act, WRFA

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Two Vaisakhi celebrations this Sunday in California

April 12, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

This Sunday, the California cities of Selma and Stockton will each be holding a Nagar Kirtan in celebration of Vaisakhi, one of the most significant anniversaries on the Sikh calendar. The celebration in Selma is the 18th annual of its kind and will draw from Fresno and surrounding counties: The parade is scheduled to start about 10.30 a.m. from the Sikh Center on Highland Avenue. The parade will go north on Highland, east on Rose Avenue, north on Thompson Avenue, […]

Categories: Events • Tags: California, Nagar Kirtan, Selma, Stockton, Vaisakhi

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KVIE airing “Sikhs in America” tonight at 7 PM

April 11, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The documentary “Sikhs in America” will be airing tonight at 7 PM on central California’s PBS affiliate KVIE program ViewFinder: The Sikh community is an important part of northern California’s cultural tapestry, yet the Sikh religion and cultural traditions are not widely understood. This documentary captures Sikh social and family life, spiritual life, and economic and work life. Witness a beautiful Sunday service at a gurdwara, a Sikh wedding, the tying of a Sikh turban, and a look at the […]

Categories: Events, Sikhism, TV/Movies • Tags: California, KVIE, PBS, Sikhs in America, Vaisakhi, ViewFinder

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Ricky Gill and Nikky Haley (photo: Ricky Gill press release November 9, 2011)

Ricky Gill, from the Nikki Haley school of politics

April 9, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Ricky Gill – as mentioned on this blog recently – is a Republican candidate seeking to represent California’s 9th District, who seems to be taking a page out of Nikki Haley’s school of campaiging (via @sepiamutiny): [Ricky] Gill is the son of two doctors of Punjabi descent, Param and Jasbir Gill, and grew up immersed in Sikh traditions. On the campaign trail, he does not dwell on his heritage, preferring instead to call himself “a nontraditional candidate” and emphasizing his […]

Categories: Politics • Tags: California, Nikki Haley, Ricky Gill

Picture of the Day: Los Angeles, CA celebrates Vaisakhi

April 9, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Sikhs in Los Angeles, California celebrated Vaisakhi today with their annual Nagar Kirtan through downtown Los Angeles, led by the Panj Pyare (Five Beloved Ones), representing the first five Sikhs who were initiated into the Khalsa order by Guru Gobind Singh at this time in 1699. The institution of the Panj Pyare – a council of five ordained Khalsa Sikhs – permeates Sikh practices and significant events.

Categories: Events, Picture of the Day • Tags: California, Five Beloved Ones, Guru Gobind Singh, Khalsa, Los Angeles, Nagar Kirtan, Panj Pyare, Vaisakhi

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The Weekly Beard! for April 9, 2012

April 9, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Maharaja exhibition at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California, closed yesterday, but I had the privilege to visit the museum before it did. It was an intriguing and three-dimensional look at the life and styles of India’s maharajas, including those of the Sikh states of Kapurthala, Patiala and Lahore (the latter of which was that of renown Sikh monarch Maharaja Ranjit Singh). The exhibition was very well done and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The image above came […]

Categories: The Weekly Beard • Tags: Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, California, Kapurthala, Lahore, Maharaja, Patiala, San Francisco

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Picture of the Day: Jasmeet Saroya wins Sutter County, CA spelling bee

April 5, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Jasmeet Saroya, a sixth-grader at Andros Karperos School in Yuba City, California, won the Sutter County Spelling Bee two weeks ago. Jasmeet described his hard work and dedication to his approach : Jasmeet Saroya, who, along with second-place finisher Rio Miller of Lincrest Elementary School, will compete in the state elementary school spelling championship next month in Stockton, said for three hours a day, his dad would read a word and he’d try to spell it… With every word, Jasmeet […]

Categories: Picture of the Day, Profiles • Tags: Andros Karperos School, California, California State Spelling Bee, Jasmeet Saroya, spelling bee, Sutter County, Yuba City

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Picture of the Day: New Punjabi American museum exhibit opens in Yuba City, California

April 2, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Showcasing the story of the Punjabi American and South Asian migration to the United States is a valuable and needed resource for current and future generations. I congratulate all the individuals and families along with the Punjabi American Heritage Society of Yuba City for their dedication and hard work for the successful completion of this project. — California Governor Jerry Brown (as quoted in the Punjabi American Heritage Society press release) on the opening of the Becoming American exhibit at […]

Categories: Art, Picture of the Day • Tags: Becoming American, California, Community Memorial Museum of Sutter County, Fresno, Jerry Brown, Maharaja, Punjabi American Heritage Society, San Francisco, Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab, Yuba City

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Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: California

Picture of the Day: Malaysian Sikh band at San Jose, CA Nagar Kirtan

Picture of the Day: CA Assemblywoman Yamada announces workplace religious freedom bill

Two Vaisakhi celebrations this Sunday in California

KVIE airing “Sikhs in America” tonight at 7 PM

Ricky Gill, from the Nikki Haley school of politics

Picture of the Day: Los Angeles, CA celebrates Vaisakhi

The Weekly Beard! for April 9, 2012

Picture of the Day: Jasmeet Saroya wins Sutter County, CA spelling bee

Picture of the Day: New Punjabi American museum exhibit opens in Yuba City, California