One of the great things about ladies sangeets that occur prior to weddings is the “boliyan.” This is when the women of the family and friends gather together to make up and sing songs that are fun and also express aspects of the husband-wife, or mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships. There’s role-play, costumes, and dancing. I think one of the unfortunate parts of being in Canada is that we don’t really learn boliyan. I remember at my cousin’s wedding years ago she had to hire someone to sing boliyan because very few of the ladies knew any. This tradition remains alive and well in India, but I think is something we are losing here as second-generation Canadians. I think a lot of this also has to do with the fact that we don’t really get together as Punjabi women to sing songs, or dance, etc. Even at weddings, we don't seem to actively participate, or get involved in the boliyan and act out roles. Maybe we are too concerned about looking silly, but that is the whole point!
When my sister was little we used to watch a show called “Saggi” which had a tape of hours and hours of boliyan. We had them memorized as our favorite was one in which the woman was complaining that her husband went out to the movies without telling her and she wouldn’t let him back in. I think there is great value to bonding over boliyan, or our cultural traditions and passing them on from generation to generation. Here's a video of some boliyan that was part of the Saggi tape:
Sikh Warrior Maharaja Ranjit Singh voted World's greatest leader in a BBC History magazine poll ahead of Winston Churchill and Abrahim Lincoln
ReplyDeleteSikh warrior Maharaja Ranjit Singh beats Winston Churchill as the greatest leader of all time
Results of the the BBC World Histories Magazine greatest leaders poll:
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, ruler of the Sikh empire 1801–39
Amílcar Cabral, 20th-century African independence fighter
Winston Churchill, British prime minister 1940–45 and 1951–55
Abraham Lincoln, US president 1861–65
Elizabeth I, Queen of England 1558–1603
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sikh-warrior-maharaja-ranjit-singh-voted-the-greatest-leader-of-all-time-2v8b9f86c
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/greatest-leaders-bbc-poll-095652054.html
What Would Happen If Everyone Truly Believed Everything Is One? -Scientific American - blog
ReplyDeleteNew research suggests a belief in oneness has broad implications for psychological functioning and compassion for those are outside of our immediate circle
The belief that everything in the universe is part of the same fundamental whole exists throughout many cultures and philosophical, religious, spiritual, and scientific traditions, as captured by the phrase 'all that is.' The Nobel winner Erwin Schrodinger once observed that quantum physics is compatible with the notion that there is indeed a basic oneness of the universe. Therefore, despite it seeming as though the world is full of many divisions, many people throughout the course of human history and even today truly believe that individual things are part of some fundamental entity.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/what-would-happen-if-everyone-truly-believed-everything-is-one/
In Older times, Sikhs were Self Sufficient. Guru ji told all - men and women to carry weapons for Self Safety. How many of us can defend ourselves if we have to. A large part of Americans aren't giving up their guns for that same reason. When talk comes like this coronavirus pandemic - Now food and ammo is flying off the shelves. In the old days, there was Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts who taught people life skills- then they too became complacent and riddled with abuse stories
ReplyDeleteHow to Prepare Now for the Complete End of the World - New York Times.
Lynx Vilden teaches people how to live in the Stone Age.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/style/rewilding-stone-age-bushcraft.html?action=click&module=storyCard&pageType=theWeekenderLink
That article about living in the wild - the comments are Very good too - No grocery story, no heat or cooling, no electricity. And how long does it take to make the fire? How many animals to be hunted by 7 billion people?
ReplyDeleteThis system we built - it depends on ALL of us
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/style/rewilding-stone-age-bushcraft.html?action=click&module=storyCard&pageType=theWeekenderLink#commentsContainer
If you want to eat in a post-apocalyptic future, you better know something about plant-based agriculture.
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