Jakara Fresno Gives Back

Early this morning, Jakara volunteers in Fresno gathered to join efforts to raise money for Children’s Hospital Central California.  For the past 23 years, Children’s Hospital has benefited from the thousands of volunteers that hit the streets every March to sell the special “Kids Day” edition of the Fresno Bee for $1.  This year’s goal was to raise $400,000.

Children’s Hospital treats more inpatient cases than any pediatric hospital north of San Diego, making them the second largest children’s hospital in the state.  The hospital serves nine counties.  Many of us have known someone who has been a patient at Children’s Hospital and highly value the presence of such an organization in the Central Valley.

Jakara Fresno hopes to continue giving back to the community by participating in activities and events that help the Sikh community in many ways.

We want to thank all the volunteers who took the time to spend a few hours (before going to school and before going to work!) to raise money for Children’s Hospital.  It was a cold morning, but giving back through seva never felt so good!

Monthly Movement Updates

Each 3rd Thursday of the Month, the Jakara Movement will hold an open session to the public to inform about current programs, future programs, and take questions and comments from the general public.

The schedule for the conference call will be as follows:

March 18, 2010
April 15, 2010
May 20, 2010
June 17, 2010

All conference calls will last no longer than 30 minutes and will begin promptly at 9:15pm PST (unless notified prior).  Each call will be hosted by a Jakara Movement volunteer.  All members of the public are welcome to attend.  The conference call phone number and access code will be published on the Jakara Movement blog (j.Khabar) 2 days prior to the call.

Hope you can join us.

Together, we are the movement.  Gur Fateh!

Sikholars Papers are Now Available!

The young researchers that presented at last week’s Sikholars conference have made their papers available. Until March 15, 2010 they will be available at this link.

If you read the papers, we would love to hear your comments.

Sikholars Conference a HUGE SUCCESS!

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

This past weekend was the first annual Sikholars: Sikh Graduate Student Conference. From Toronto and Vancouver, from New York and Boston, some leading young researchers converged upon Stanford University.

Beginning with the topic of the scholar in Sikhi, Harinder Singh creatively discussed the views of scholarship emanating from Gurbani and examples of community intellectuals from Bhai Gurdas to the recently departed Harinder Singh Mehboob.

The opening panel “Beneath the Surface” featured papers from Harvard’s Erik Resly, York University’s Kamal Arora, and University of British Columbia’s Iqbal Kaur. Discussions ranged from the usages of the janamsakhi literature in understanding the Sikh experience, understandings of trauma by the wives of shaheeds in Punjab and widows of the Delhi Pogroms, and issues of perceptions of adolescent suicide by Punjabi Sikh families in British Columbia.

The 2nd panel, titled “Locality: Old and New” saw topics on biodiversity, the role of izzat, and voices from North Delta. Bandana Kaur, Yale University, detailed the changes of Punjab’s ecology during the pre-Green Revolution period; Mette Bach, University of British Columbia, shared excerpts and accounts from her upcoming book about the changing people, lifestyles, and interactions in Punjabi-populated North Delta; Preet Kaur, York University, discussed the understandings of Canadian law by Punjabi Sikh immigrants.

The afternoon session, “Beyond Borders,” saw discussions beyond any national territory. Ajeet Singh of Columbia University provided a critique of the historiography of Punjab/Sikh studies, from the 1960s to the post-structuralist approaches popular among some today. Arvinder Kang of the University of Mississippi discussed his role and the ongoing debates in the promotion of Gurmukhi and Punjabi on the internet today. Mandeep Kaur, University of Texas Austin, gave a literature review of medical research related to the Sikhs. Finally, Harjant Gill, American University (Washington D.C.) concluded the panel with a discussion of Punjabi masculinities as reified and displayed in Punjabi films.

Over 80 community members from throughout California attended the event. Far exceeding the organizer’s expectations, it was standing-room only in this first event of its type – a Sikh graduate conference. Attendees and participants both left excited and exuberant. The event was made possible by the Sikh Spirit Foundation and the Jakara Movement. The Jakara Movement hopes to continue with such programming annually, while increasing its size and scope.

Sikholars Schedule

The Sikholars: Sikh Graduate Student Conference is OPEN to the general public. All members of the public are cordially welcome and invited to attend the conference.

The conference will be held at the Cypress Lounge in the Tressider Union on the Stanford University Campus. Directions can be found here.

The schedule for SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20th, 2010 is as follows:

9:00-10:00am – Welcome and Introductions
10:00-12:00pm – Beneath the Surface (Erik Resly, Iqbal Kaur Gill, Kamal Kaur Arora) Resp: Puneet Kaur
12:00-12:45pm – Lunch
12:45-2:45pm – Locality: Past and Present (Mette Bach, Bandana Kaur, Preet Kaur) Resp: Naindeep Singh
2:45-3:00pm – Break
3:00-5:30pm – Beyond Borders (Ajeet Matharu, Harjant Gill, Arvinder Kang, Mandeep Kaur) Resp: Rahuldeep Singh
5:30-5:55pm Open Discussion
5:55-6pm – Closing Comments
6pm – Stanford SSA Event

Open Letter to the Sikh Community

The Facebook/Chase Bank competition is over.  While we did not finish in the top 6, we have plenty to be excited about.  We are humbled by the rallying of the community and energized about the next chapter.

Letter

Sikholars: Sikh Graduate Student Conference Participants Announced

The following papers have been selected and will be presented at the first annual conference. The conference is being hosted by the Jakara Movement and the Sikh Spirit Foundation.

• Ajeet Singh Matharu, Columbia University, History, N/A
• Arvinder Singh Kang and Amanpreet Singh Brar, University of Mississippi, Computer Science, Extending Gurmukhi Script into Twenty-first Century & Beyond
• Bandana Kaur, Yale University, Environmental Management, Reclaiming Natural Histories: Biodiversity and Landscape in Pre-Green Revolution Punjab
• Erik Resly, Harvard Divinity School, Divinity, (Re)figuring the Sikh: Theodicy, Discipleship and Narrative in Ethical Perspective
• Harjant Gill, American University, Anthroplogy, From Putt Jattan De to Munde UK De: The Transformation of Masculinities in Punjabi Cinema
• Iqbal Kaur Gill, University of British Columbia, Counseling Psychology, First Generation Canadian Punjabi Sikh Parents Beliefs about Adolescent Suicide and Suicide Related Behaviours
• Kamal Arora, York University, Social Anthropology, The Politics of Pain: Gender, Mourning and the Punjab Crisis
• Mandeep Kaur, University of Texas (Austin), Nursing, The Sikh Patient: A Review of the Nursing Literature
• Mette Bach, University of British Columbia, Creative Writing, The Changing Faces of Suburbia
• Preet Kaur Virdi, York University, Socio-Legal Studies, Silence: Resistance or Acquiescence? Sikh women’s perspectives on Canadian law

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Celebrating the Shaheedi of the Sahibzadays: Sikh, Seva, and Cinema

While many rushed under the covers and in front of the television during this past winter break, sevadaars from Jakara Fresno organized a unique event.  From December 23-26, 2009 at various locations in the Central Valley, Sikh animated films were screened and seva performed afterwards.

On December 23, sevadaars assembled at Anandgarh Sahib (Kerman) to watch Sundari and then followed the movie with making Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches.  The activity was repeated the next day on December 24th at Nanaksar Gurdwara (Cherry St.) with the showing of the Rise of the Khalsa, followed by making of sandwiches.   On December 25th, children from Selma Gurdwara viewed Sahibzadays and then made sandwiches.  In all, children from throughout Central California made over 650 sandwiches.

These sandwiches were then distributed outside the Poverello House in downtown Fresno to the hundreds of homeless that are residing there.  Older Jakara T-shirts were also distributed and given out on December 26th in honor of the Shaheedi of the 2 chotay Sahibzadays.

We hope that such a tradition can be established throughout California and beyond.  Together, we are the movement.

Below you will find some pictures from the celebration.

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LIVEBLOGGING – SSC Retreat – Tuesday Night Kirtan

Kirtan followed evening Nitnem.

LIVEBLOGGING – SSC Retreat – Tuesday Night/Wednesday Morning

Tuesday evening included workshops on event planning and suggestions as well as suggestions for a common agenda and a special session on fundraising on campus.  Every campus has tremendous amount of funding that could be used to invest within our campus communities and events beyond.

With the finale of Tuesday sessions, the cohort traveled to Teddy Bear Restaurant for an evening meal.

Tuesday evening ended with games, smores, and a late evening.

Today on Wednesday morning Nitnem and Kirtan are about to commence with a concluding session on “Gurbani on Campus: Towards Greater Inclusivity through Simran, Seva, and Sangat“.

The following video may give you a headache, but include some scenes from Tuesday evening.