Har boli sikho, sikhni vi chahidi, par pucci vekh ke kachi nahin dhahidi-Gurdas Maan

Such a great artist..reflects and focuses on all that is good about Punjabi culture- secularism; loyalty; importance of hard-work; humility; respect for parents, teachers , culture, women; love in all its forms and of course the awesome music! 

Here he is singing Challa and Heer during a live performance that I was lucky enough to get to attend. The first video is a little shaky in the beginning but stabilizes after that.

Challa:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rcG8UC1DDA

Heer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4OM0JB3MNw

Enjoy!

Dinanagar

Dawn of a sad and tragic day in Dinanagar/Punjab..hope that the hard wrought peace is not lost..

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-33671593

Bhangra, Bhangra, Bhangra!!!!

Good to see our "jaddi" culture thriving so well and its mingling with our adopted culture...

The Rock Garden, Chandigarh

Desi Nuskhaey (Home-remedies)

Nava saal , gurpurab ,Lohri, basant panchami,  Valentine's Day, Holi, Vaisakhi have all come and gone and it is now that I get time for this blog!It's not that I haven't thought about writing something on here now and then but life keeps me engaged in other ways. Ever since the start of 2014, one thing that has been a constant on my end has been sickness.. not the really serious kind (Thank God!) but just coughs and colds. Turns out that I have allergies which have now developed into some sort of bacterial infection that needs antibiotics.Hopefully that will be the end of it. But over the course of these sniffles, I have been offered  many desi nusakhey to cure myself, as I am sure everyone from that part of the world has been whenever they so much as sneeze or cough. So this blog is going to be a chronicle of the desi ilaajs that have ALWAYS worked their magic in someone else:):

1. Gararey (gargles): namak vaaley yaan phatkari vaaley

2. Heat some honey, add some ajwain and kali mirch and take 1 spoon before sleeping

3. Little bit of boiling milk, add a spoon of ghee, drink before sleeping

4. Little bit of boiling milk, adda pinch of turmeric , drink before sleeping

5. Adrak (ginger ) tea

6. Eat "sabat kali mirch" (peppercorn) whenever cough strikes

7. Dashaunda (I don't know how to describe it, but you can get it at any Indian store)

There you have it one remedy for each day of the week. Follow this for 2 weeks and you will be back to normal (of course by then the infection could go away itself also). The good thing about all of these is that all the ingredients mentioned above are natural and won't really do any harm( when consumed in small proportions). So next time you hear anyone sneeze, just rattle off this list and score some "sianap" points!

Bhag Milkha Bhag

Last weekend I got the opportunity to watch The Flying Sikh's s biography, Bhag Milkha Bhag (literal translation-Run Milkha Run). Even though I was hearing good things about the movie from people around me and most of the media, I wasn't too enthusiastic about watching it, basically because I don't like biographies. But to my surprise it turned out to be a pretty good movie!! The visual effects and the attention to detail in scene set-up, characterizations, make-up, clothes, etc was so amazing that it felt as if I had traveled back in time to another era. Farhan is a natural, his portrayal of Milkha Singh is very believable, even though how realistic it is is something that can only judged by the real Milkha Singh:). The supporting cast, especially Divya Dutta, also do justice to their roles. Divya's acting skills have reached new heights and the way she executes her roles is absolutely convincing and delightful.
The way the story is narrated is very dynamic with 2 parallel storylines- one is about Milkha Singh, the athlete and the other about Milkha Singh, the person. Initially, circumstances beyond his control push him into running and for a while it seems like he is an accidental athlete- naturally gifted but not ready or not wanting to go beyond that. But once he embraces his potential, that's when the two personas come together and Milkha Singh achieves glory.
I think the song sequences could have been avoided-that would have made the movie a bit shorter and I don't think they added much value to the overall storyline. But I have to admit that the song, Slow Motion Angreza, is quite catchy, here is a link to a You Tube video of the same..enjoy!!

Phulkari..

..means the craft of embroidering flowers on a cloth.Traditionally these would be made on khaddar but other fabrics can also be used. In my grand-ma's time phulkaris were made at home mainly as gifts to be given to girls at the time of their wedding and even today almost every Punjabi girl/woman will have at least one phulkari. It a beautiful reminiscent  of the by-gone days and thankfully one that is still gaining in popularity.