Indo American News

Tag: Vaisakhi Mela

  • SNC’s Vaisakhi Mela is a Taste of Punjab in the Plains of Texas

    SNC’s Vaisakhi Mela is a Taste of Punjab in the Plains of Texas

    By Jawahar Malhotra

    HOUSTON: When you entered the gates to the 20-acre Sikh National Center site on the West Sam Houston Beltway you couldn’t help but get a throwback to the streets of Karol Bagh in New Delhi. Cars parked on both side of the driveways forced one-way traffic; so if you came in one direction the other car would have to backup to let you pass.

    The state of the parking made it apparent that by mid-afternoon after services at the local gurdwaras, the Vaisakhi Khed Mela was a success. The mild pleasant weather helped people enjoy the mela even more/

    The huge khed mela that has been held each of the past six years in the central open area in conjunction with Vaisakhi which falls in the same time slot. Back in 2013, it started as an event for young kids to play games, but now the organizers, led by coordinator Hitpaul Singh Sandhar, have turned it into a community-wide celebration. As a reflection of that, almost 40 percent of the mela goers were non-Sikhs, only stressing how popular it has become.

    “We realize that this is the only such large festival on this side of town,” said Sandhar this past Sunday, April 28. With an even larger budget this year donated just for the mela, Sandhar and his team have seen how the event can grow.
    This year, the mela was certainly more fun due to tented pavilions all around the maidan (central lawn) to view the sports and allow people to linger in the open under shade and the basketball pavilion was used by young kids to shoot hoops and competitive matches.

    All the food booths were moved to the emergency road on the western edge and everything was free including hot jalebis made on the spot, channa bature, kadhi chawal, nimboo-pani, gol-gappe under tents in the lineup. Pizza, popular with all the kids, was ferried from the main oven in the temporary gurdwara to another stall. Some business services booths lines up against another corner.

    In the adjacent unfinished dirt lot, a small choo-choo train made lazy eights in the sun with its three bogeys of passengers. In the last space left with some pine trees, a children’s play area was crowded with young kids at the inflatable moonwalks and castles, a petting zoo and a cotton-candy booth.

    An estimated 3,000 people came to the mela under bright, blue skies and crisp weather to the completely free event. There was a steady stream of teams – some from as far away as Dallas and Mexico – of young men competing for the top prizes in the volleyball tournament. And there were more fun games for the younger children, like the tug-of-war; 50 meter race, 3-legged race, sack race, spoon race, shot putt, musical chairs and basketball. With mic in hand, Narinder Nagra took his job as the sports announcer with great fun, prompting teams into action.

  • Vaisakhi, Even 3 Weeks Later, is Still a Gorgeous Spring Mela

    Vaisakhi, Even 3 Weeks Later, is Still a Gorgeous Spring Mela

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    Members of the Sikh National Center Building and Organizing Committees at the Vaisakhi Mela this past Saturday.
    Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

     

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    By Jawahar Malhotra

    HOUSTON: It didn’t seem to matter that the actual day of Vaisakhi had passed by over three weeks ago, it was what the masses believed in and the spirit with which they celebrated when they gathered together last Saturday, May 7 at the Sikh National Center’s 20-acre site north of Beltway 8 between Gessner and Fairbanks-North Houston.

    For Sikhs, Vaisakhi has special significance as the day in 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh laid down the foundation of the Panth Khalsa and the five K’s which are sacred tenets of the faith. But in the Punjab, it is also a harvest festival coinciding with the Spring equinox and is celebrated with much gusto, especially in villages across the Punjab and North India, with melas, dances and lots of food.

    It was no different for the estimated 2,000 people who came to the SNC site this Saturday under bright, blue skies and crisp weather to the completely free event to meet and greet each other, pray at the small Gurdwara and enjoy food and games. This year, in place of the grassy and muddy field of last year, a new, large concrete parking lot has been built that can accommodate a multitude of cars.

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    And between the lot and the covered basketball court, the wide expanse was the site of all the games scheduled for this year that were washed out last year due to the rains. There was a steady stream of teams – some from as far away as Dallas – of young men competing for the top prizes of $1,100 each in the volleyball and kabaddi tournaments. And there were more fun games for the younger children, like the tug-of-war; 50 meter race, 3-legged race, sack race, spoon race, shot putt, musical chairs and basketball.

    On the far side of the basketball court, a row of spectators watched as the young men and teenagers rushed from one goal post to the other; while others cooked hot jalebis and pakoras for a unending line of people, a booth sold women’s salwar-kameezes and the devoted went inside to receive blessings and to partake of the langar that went on for three hours.

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    A tug-of-war brought in many young participants

    Off to the other side, a carnival atmosphere took care of the whims of the younger tykes with inflatable moon walks and slides, pony rides, and kiddie trains. And a safe distance beyond the volleyball court, two stalls served cotton candy at one end and gol gappe at the other.

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    Spectators got into the thrilling volleyball and kabaadi tournaments.

    All this within sight of the permanent Gurdwara that is being built and is getting completed slowly every day, just a stone’s throw away from the southbound feeder road The exterior of the building is completely built up, but much still remains to be done like the cast stone, marble tile inlays and window glazing which are expected to be finished by mid-summer. The interiors haven’t even been started, but you can already get a feel for the flow of the space with the two curving staircases rising from the ground floor and a row of tall glass windows giving a view of the freeway which will form the backdrop for the altar.

    A slice of Punjab, if you could imagine it, in a corner of the Bayou City.

  • The Skies Clear Up Just Enough for SNC’s Vaisakhi Mela

    The Skies Clear Up Just Enough for SNC’s Vaisakhi Mela

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    By Jawahar Malhotra

    HOUSTON: All week long it had poured; two days earlier some parts of the city were flooded by an intense downpour with 80 mph winds that resembled a tropical storm more than the line of squalls that passed across the area. Organizers of the Sikh National Center’s Vaisakhi Mela were anxiously worried about the upcoming event and even pulled ads thinking it would have to be cancelled. It even rained in parts of the city the night before.

    But the organizing committee took a chance, as if they had a premonition of good weather in the offing and decided to go forward. They were rewarded with a window of great sunny weather that blessed the Vaisakhi celebrations all day long on Sunday, April 19 till right after they ended around 7pm, when the skies once again roared into thunderous action.

    Needless to say, the grounds of the huge SNC’s tract of land off Beltway 8 between Gessner and Fairbanks-North Houston were soaked and the much planned sports competitions like the tug-of-war, volleyball and races that took place last year just didn’t materialize this year, much to the disappointment of many of the nearly 2,500 people who came to take part in the annual mela. But the little kids did get to enjoy the air mattress playground and slides and a few pony rides.

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    This year, the organizers planned for a concert by touring Indian Punjabi religious singer Surinder Shinda and his team, who entertained the crowd that was assembled under the large open-sided basketball pavilion on makeshift chairs and benches. He sang for nearly 3 hours, while many of the younger set played basketball to one side. Religious bhajans in the morning were led by the SNC Jatha of Bhai Nitendar Singh and a Guest Jatha of Bhai Gurden Singh. The sound system was by Desi Entertainment DJs: DJ Geo – DJ Saini.

    Across from the pavilion was a new item added this year: a covered area where food and a couple of service booths had been set up, although all the food was free to the public. The langar was held in the ante-rooms to the Darbar Sahib, which is still nestled in a temporary building, and the Langar Seva was hosted by Bawa Jewellers and Monty Bawa Remax. Special guest of the mela was Indian Consul (Passport & OCI) N. P. S. Saini.

    The 20-acre SNC site has been the focus of most of the Sikh community’s efforts for the past 15 years as a master-planned center that would house a Gurudwara as well as a boarding school, auditorium, museum, library, pavilion and residence for priests. Posters informed the public that $6 million has so far been raised through donations and spent and another $5 million is needed to complete the work.

    The main Gurudwara building has slowly taken shape and is now it is almost shelled in, with its imposing presence visible from the feeder road. According to Harjit Galhotra, Secretary of the SNC, the outside stucco and stone work will be completed through a $1 million loan from Comerica Bank. The inside fit-out and finishes will only be undertaken once more money is raised.

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    The event committee – composed of Hitpal Singh, Harjit Singh Galhotra, Manohar Singh Mann, Gursharan Singh, Gurbir Singh Boparai, Satbir Singh Rana, Bhupinder Singh, Aman Singh Sidhu, Daljit Singh, Gurminder Singh Padda, Gurcharan Sooch and Sarabjit Singh Mann – was ecstatic about the turnout and donations  The Chairman of the SNC is Dr. Hardam Singh Azad.