By Balwant Sanghera
April-May are the months of Vaisakhi celebration around the globe. Here in the Metro Vancouver area, Vaisakhi as well as the birth of the Khalsa are some of the major highlights for the Indo-Canadian community. Like other years, Vaisakhi and birth of the Khalsa was again celebrated in Vancouver and Surrey with great enthusiasm this year. This celebration included two major Nagar Kirtans. The one in Vancouver on April 11 brought out close to 100,000 attendees and the following weekend on Saturday April 18, it was enjoyed by close to 300,000 people in Surrey. In a sense, the Vaisakhi and birth of the Khalsa have now become mainstream celebrations .A large number of members from other communities also participate in these festivities. These celebrations are a great reflection of our community’s growth and generosity.
In addition to these two major celebrations, Vaisakhi was also celebrated around the Metro Vancouver area by various Gurdwaras, organizations and schools. Take for example the Queeensborough Middle School (QMS) in New Westminster.
As a result of efforts by the Punjabi Language Education Association (PLEA) Punjabi classes have been under way at QMS for many years. Under the leadership of their Punjabi teacher, Mr. Deep Singh Sangra, the students of the Punjabi classes at QMS have been celebrating Vaisakhi for the past several years. This year again they did an excellent job in celebrating Vaisakhi in school on May 6. The whole school was buzzing with Vaisakhi related activities. It was great to see the students greet guests with Happy Vaisakhi at the main entrance to the school.
The Punjabi class students did a marvelous job in explaining the significance of Vaisakhi and birth of the Khalsa. They also put on impressive cultural performances before the students, teachers and invited guests. It is always an honour for this writer to be invited to this celebration. This year the occasion was graced by a number of prominent members of the community including Dr. Raghbir Singh Bains, Rajinder Singh Pandher, Harbhajan Singh Athwal (President of Khalsa Diwan Society, New West) and many parents. Parents and the local Sikh community provided mouthwatering Indo-Canadian refreshments to the students and teachers. They also donated more than $450 to help needy students at the school.
It is a commendable way of creating more pride amongst students about their cultural heritage in the Canadian context. Programs, activities and gestures like these go a long way in creating a positive image of our community and enhancing opportunities for cross-cultural understanding. The organizers, QMS and the New Westminster School District must be commended for promoting Punjabi and celebrations like this.
Balwant Sanghera is the President, Punjabi Language Education Association (PLEA Canada).
