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SIKH HERITAGE EVENING
Crown Pointe Resort, Anaheim, California
November 17, 2006
IN TRIBUTE OF OUR HERITAGE

With some 700 guests from around the USA, Canada, England, India, and Australia, it was an exciting affirmation of the recognition of the arts as an important element of Sikh heritage and vision as we transplant our ideas, dreams, and investments in the global cultural and spiritual landscape. Seven distinguished Sikhs were recognized with Miri-Piri Heritage awards for their outstanding contributions to the arts, medicine, heritage, faith, and community service. Awardees included Dr. Amarjit S. Marwah, Bibi Inderjit Kaur Khalsa, Ph.D., Bhai Dya Singh, Dr. Gurpal Singh Bhuller, Dr. Harvinder S. Sahota, Harbinder Singh, Kanwal Prakash Singh, and Dr. Paul Michael Taylor.

Weekend festivities also included The Spinning Wheel Film Festival featuring films by directors and producers including Gurinder Chadha, Kavi Raz, Sofina Uberoi, Reema Anand, and others.

  • Chief Guest, Kanwal Prakash Singh- Click

We identify with, pay tribute to, preserve, recreate, and celebrate our heritage (what has been; what we inherited) in many diverse and unique ways:

Through the ARTS:
VISUAL, PERFORMING, LITERARY ARTS,
ARCHITECTURE, MUSIC, DANCE, THEATRE, FILM, LITERATURE

Through CULTURE:
TRADITIONS, FESTIVALS, CELEBRATIONS
FOODS, SPORTS, WORSHIP, LIVING, UNIQUE CUSTOMS
Shaped by history, geography, events, societal mores, cultural influences, experiences

Through LIVING, LEARNING, and EDUCATION:
Study of cultural, ethnic, generational, records, responses, and experiences;
Enterprise, pioneering and visionary spirit, passions, distinct markers

Through EXAMPLE and INSPIRATION:
The successful ideas, people, institutions, we look up to with admiration, pride;
Those we must convince to assist, promote, and thoughtfully invest
in creating a rightful place
for the unique and diverse spectrums of our heritage;
Outstanding artistic and cultural manifestations, spiritual treasures;
Special resources, assets, major and transforming attractions,
as an invaluable community, national, world heritage.

To realize and advance such a vision for our precious, cherished, heritage:
We need to challenge ourselves to the seriousness of this cause; clearly define the special place of our heritage in the larger tapestry of rich heritages that today grace the national cultural landscape. We must make personal commitments and room for heritage in our study and priorities before we would be able to attract the attention of others to this vital resource. There is an unmistakable relation between our own support, pride, and passion about an idea and our ability to inspire others. Setting the right example, making the right noise may attract the right attention; carefully presented ideas may bring unexpected interest; and coordinated networking may produce undreamed-of results in time.

 

Just imagine:
* The film “The Gold Bracelet” nominated/winning the Golden Globe or an Oscar
* Gurinder Chadha’s Films achieving new heights of global fame and acclaim
* Dya Singh Music Concert at the Governor’s Mansion or The White House
* KP Singh and the Singh Sisters art finding a place in national museums, collections
* A Sikh American philanthropist and cultural ambassador invited to serve on the Board
of National Endowment for the Arts
* Smithsonian Institution seriously considering the idea of a National Museum of Sikh
Heritage within the next two decades; may be before the Sikh American population
reaches one million.

Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, the eminent philosopher and former President of India, once wrote, “Ideas move the world; thought precedes action.” I came across recently a reminder: wonderful ideas are great, but “something needs to be done about them.”

That is where we all come in; those inside this glittering hall and those outside; all who have similar perspectives and commitment to heritage and culture. We must be dedicated pioneers; wear our brightest thinking turbans, our traditional daring spirit, and let our imagination and innovative pride tirelessly strive, compete, and create the impossible. Let us be the frontline of the global Holla Mohalla of ideas, achievements, and excel in unimagined endeavors, keeping our heart and spirit at the Lotus Feet of Sutguru, and win blessings, honor from our Guru, countries of origin, and nations that are our new “home.”

We must assure the place of our history, popular folklore, cherished spiritual and cultural connections, and creative heritage amidst the transcending frontiers and emerging global culture. United States, with the convergence of many ethnic, cultural, and faith communities symbolizes an ultimate experiment in international living; is engaged in discovering and shaping a common destiny for her 300 million citizens. From here, the message has been going forth to distant lands that diverse and distinct faiths, cultures, people, and experiences can, and must work together for the betterment of man. This represents a tribute to our shared humanity; we all have a special stake in this effort.

Towards this end, let us place seva ( well-being of others) ahead of our private spiritual ideas, institutions, and associations, remembering and meditating upon the Sikh sacred commandment that: “God is Love. To love God is to love all His Creation. Every act of service is an offering to God.” Let us place our cultural legacy, endangered or neglected priceless heritage, ahead of the ordinary, expedient, and limited-value investments.

Our heritage deserves careful nurturing and understanding; it is a living and evolving entity. We must identify the significant, unique, and charming facets of our heritage before we can seriously talk about preserving, restoring, and transplanting our rich legacy in our new environment. We need to research the relevant landmarks, artifacts, and associations with the principal architects of our faith, culture, and creativity and protect them from reckless and expedient “renovations” at the hands of zealous guardians of priceless treasures and allow them to be lost forever. Then we must apply the latest technology and preservation techniques available to retrieve as much detail and information as possible. This must be a non-negotiable urgency. The Sikh Heritage Complex at Anandpur Sahib, The Sikh Exhibit at the Smithsonian, and Rubin Art Museum are outstanding efforts at “showcasing” Sikh heritage. The leaders responsible for these unique and lasting gifts to the world must be commended for their vision.

We are the fortunate connecting bridge to our fathers, our past, guardians of our heritage. We must prevent its destruction by neglect, shortsightedness or by design. Great ideas demand sacrifices, need a sense of urgency to safeguard the fragile and vanishing symbols and traditions, and thoughtful investments in time and energy to secure their rightful place in the future fabric of our national and global cultures.

Much is possible! Just look around the Jewish Holocaust Museum and the Museum of Native American Indian in the nation’s capitol. Then imagine a Museum of Sikh Heritage for the Western Hemisphere in Los Angeles. It is a big dream. The Native American Indian weaves awesome “dream-catchers.” It is an artistic creation, a symbol, a living reminder. We can all be dream-catchers, dream-shapers. We will need the will and prayers, vision and friends in and outside our communities as guides and mentors.

Why should we care? We should care because we are people with a glorious history and guardians of ancient knowledge. We come from a soil that has been an important frontier and gateway to Indian civilization, witness to “winds of culture,” each leaving its own deep imprint on the arts, culture, and our spirit. We are hardworking, patriotic, and daring pioneers and bring a proud record of unmatched achievements. We love life, color, and fun. We have a faith that offers a universal message of equality, justice, human dignity, and goodwill towards all. We have an important story to tell; create an honored place to “showcase” our heritage.

We should care because our heritage is a mirror to our humanity, journey, connections with cultures and civilizations past, present, and future. Our heritage is a window to our soul; our life-breath without which we cannot survive. Our heritage is a rich source of
inspirations that have the power to transform; instill in us pride; offer us unique sounds, images, cultural and spiritual echoes; introduce us to embellishments, icons, myriad interpretations and manifestations that thread us into the universal language of mankind.

Every image, sacred and inspiring thought, and design detail in the 2007 Sikhpoint.com Interfaith Calendar reminds us of our important challenge and responsibility. My art is simple, direct, and with a message that the magnificent architectural landmarks are a vital component of our heritage. Architecture is much more than the size, shape, design style, materials and treatment. Architecture is a celebration of life, spirit, arts, inspirations, and imagination. Architecture is the enclosure and laboratory where great ideas and giants of human civilization have engaged in endeavors to serve, enlighten, and uplift man towards the ultimate breathtaking temporal experiences, where arts and sciences combine to create wonders, solve mysteries, and imagine the unfathomable. Our historic and sacred sites offer reflections and lesson that are an important source of knowledge and wisdom; their careful preservation, restoration, and integration into our aesthetic, cultural, and societal fabric must be an important and sustained passion and commitment.

Man is looking towards the heavens as his next frontier of conquest. Here on earth, let us build bridges that help to unify, interface, and honor our many faiths, cultures, and ethnic origins and walk towards each other in friendship. Then build new gathering places:

Where we experience our cherished freedoms, heritage, and humanity
As fellow Americans, as citizens of one world;
Where language, culture, origin, gender, and faith-identity
Serve not as an obstacle or unwelcome challenge, but a cause for celebration.
Where the rights and dignity of each human being is a sacred trust,
True spirit of Faith and Hope is Service;
Our heritage, a legacy that provides an anchor for Peace;
Each of us engaged in making such promising reality, a universal mandate.

Kanwal Prakash “KP” Singh
Indianapolis, Indiana USA
www.KPSinghDesigns.com