lvmela 06 06 13 web version

Las Vegas Indian Cultural Festival was made possible through

Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh Ji

Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh began as only a dream in the early 1990s. Prior to completing our current structure, the Las Vegas Sangat, although small, always felt the need to have regular sangat. With only 50 families, we would have kirtan and sangat every Sunday at people's houses. The families would take turns preparing langar and hosting the kirtan program. However, the dream to build a fully functional gurdwara never went away.

In 1995, the Las Vegas Sangat purchased two and half acres of land. This lot would eventually become the present site for our Gurdwara. The push to build the actual structure did not come until 1998 when the Las Vegas Sangat decided to select a Board. With the leadership of these few members, the Las Vegas Sangat came together and began collecting donations in earnest to complete the structure. The Board members made numerous trips to gurdwaras all over California. At every gurdwara, we were met with smiling faces and generosity. Soon, building began on Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh.

On August 12, 2000, Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh hosted its first program, the Dodra Jap Tap Samagam. Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh held its official opening in September 2000.

Since then, the Las Vegas Sangat has realized several accomplishments. We have regularly-scheduled Punjabi and kirtan classes. Also for the past three years, we have hosted Vaisakhi melas. With the help of the entire community, our melas have been so successful that we have collected enough money to pay off the mortgage completely.

The Las Vegas Sangat wishes to extend its heartfelt gratitude to all those who have helped make our dream a reality.

Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh Ji6341 W. Loan Mountain RoadLas Vegas NV 89130

Milestone Inc. /Rajwinder DhaliwalDr. Upinder SinghParkash/Avtar SodiBhajan S. SidhuSuper Mart Inc.Swatch Family

Dr. Partap SinghUnited Medical Supplies / Anil MathurDr. Amarjit PannuGMD Food LLC / Gulzar Kular

Karamjit Singh LubanaTony SoroyaRam Kishan Traders

GGS Inc./Kamal SidhuHarbhej SandhuDarshan S. SekhonGurvinder SandhuRupi Cheema

Amar ChadaGGS Inc/Hardeep MangatKaran/Aman Singh

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hosted byAsha SharmaSue ManterisSimrit Kaur

6 | LAS VEGAS MELA 2013

This project is funded, in part, by a grant from the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

LAS VEGAS MELA 2013 | 7

ENTERTAINMENT

9 stunning acts from music to dance to martial arts.

GattkaFancy DressRising StarsPubasha’s Boys Dance GroupLas Vegas BhangraGiddhaRagappallaEnkarmaJassi Sidhu


ENTERTAINMENT

Gattka

Gatka is a form of martial arts that focuses on physical, mental, and spiritual training. The word Gatka literally translates from the Punjabi to “one whose freedom belongs to graceThis divine martial art was taught to Sikh warriors. The art was passed down through the generations.

There are three basic principles of Gatka. These are ease of learning, diversity of weapons, and the ability to fight multiple opponents. A primary teaching of the martial art is the movement of the entire body in unison as one complete weapon, and response without any hesitation. All attack and defense methods are determined by the current position of the feet, hands, and weapons.

The use of weapons that involve both the right and left hand is favored. This practice is believed to encourage the body to work together, and to display no weak points. Masters of the art are often ambidextrous, meaning they can use both their right and left hands with equal skill.


Gatka supports a large variety of weapons, including swords called tulwars, bamboo rods called lathi, and whips, chains, and throwing weapons called chakram. Because the movement patterns, weapon choices, and individual style all play a role in the practice, many people that have received the same training have developed personalized fighting styles. The sword and shield, and lathi, are the two most common weapon choices. In battle, Gatka warriors were known for their unparalleled fighting skills and great courage. Gatka is, and has always been, taught as a spiritual exercise in Sikhism.

A team of 32 participants (including boys and girls of all ages) performed ecstatic exercise of Gatka under the supervision of Bhai Jatinderbir Singh (representing California Gatka Dal –Riverside).


FANCYDRESS


RISINGSTARS


ENTERTAINMENT

Purbasha’s Boys Dance Group

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ENTERTAINMENT

Las Vegas Bhangra

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ENTERTAINMENT

Giddha

At Las Vegas Mela 2013, local girls of Las Vegas adoring brightly colored costumes and elaborate jewelry creatively displayed fun filled festive dance with grace, elegance and elasticity. They sang and dance to express their feelings and dreams through folklores and couplets depicting day to day Punjabi life. The freestyle dance was spontaneous and creative displaying the excitement and exuberant mood of the moment. Ms. Simrit Kaur choreographed the high-spirited dance movements that managed to keep the audience engaged and entertained throughout the performance.Giddha team worked relentless hours for many days and weeks to come together as a team. Their hard work, dedication, and relentless practice shaped the magnificent performance that was evident on the stage.

Many thanks to all the participants!


ENTERTAINMENT

Stanford Raagapella

Raagapella is Stanford University’s all-male South Asian music group that encompasses a variety of music- from poppy to choral, from Bollywood pop to traditional cultural music, and original fusion pieces. Raagapella has sung it all!

This wonderful team came and performed here at the Mela, and caught everyone by surprise. Raagapella›s vision is to spread the South Asian culture to a wider audience demonstrating the combination of Eastern and Western musical tradi-tion. They do it so gracefully and phenomenally well. Raagapella›s music consists mainly of Bollywood and western pop. Raagapella has also sung in Punjabi, Singhalese, Tamil, Persian, Telugu, Sanskrit, Arabic, and French.

Raagapella was founded in 2002, making it the youngest of Stanford›s nine a cappella groups. The group quickly grew from its founding four members to a steady size of about thirteen.

Founding members were Mehul Trivedi, Bobby Ghosh, Sudeep Roy, and Jay Pandit. Current officers are Amrit Saxena and Bryan Li (Presidents) and Vivek Choksi (Music Director).

For the 2012-2013 school year, members are as following:

Tenor I Tenor II Baritone BassVivek Choksi Isaac Caswell Amrit Saxena Raman NelakantiMiguel Francisco Lowry Yankwich Akshay Subramaniam Bryan LiDaniel Maren Aditya Kanukurthy Akaash Nanda Ian Holmes Andrew Guo Kunal Sangani David Jiang


ENTERTAINMENT

EnKarma

EnKarma- the only Punjabi Band in North America produces music that people love dancing to. EnKrama [a group of close friends] with Nick Chowlia on keys, Pip Dhaliwal on drums, Ravi Binning on dhol, Jatinder Dhesi (JP) on Dholak, Ricky Thinda on bass guitar and lead singer, Inder Kooner creates new sounds and rip-roaring musical sensations. They write, record, and play everything as a collective, collaborating with only the select few who share their vision. Together, they have created a sound that strikes the perfect balance between traditional bhangra and contemporary fusion. Drawing on their UK influences for live band arrangements and infused with their more contemporary influences in Vancouver, En Karma has created a unique Bhangra sound that is all their own. The essence of EnKarma lies not only in the music it makes, but also the experience it creates. The experience is so extraordinary that one cannot deny the electrifying rush that floods the bones. Vegas Loves Them!


ENTERTAINMENT

Jassi Sidhu

Jassi Sidhu, the Ambassador of UK Bhangra Music delivered a memorable evening what Las Vegas Bhangra lovers came to expect from a headliner at the Vaisakhi events. Jassi Sidhu took the stage and delivered the entertainment that Vegas is not used to in the past. He relived his songs from his albums released from 2003 till 2011. Jassi’s songs were the timeless sound of loud and pure vibrant dhol and continuously maintained energy among the attendees. There was lot of hip-hop mixes. He sang hits songs such as ‘Jawani’ and ‘Jaan’, and nothing controversial; 100 percent pure Bhangra.

Sidhu born and raised in Birmingham, West Midlands, England is synonymous with the sound of UK Bhangra. From being the lead singer of the biggest Asian boy band of all time (b21), through to his transformation into an internationally acclaimed solo artist, Jas-si’s voice and style has firmly cemented him as one of the biggest Bhangra artists worldwide. Over the last 15 years Punjabi music fans across the world have taken his individual sound to heart and grown to instantly recognize his music.


Bombay PalaceGandhiIndia MasalaIndia Oven

FOODVENDORSIndia PalaceKabob KornerMint India BistroOrigin India


FAUJA SINGH

FAUJA SINGHage: 102 world record: MARATHON RUNNING

The world’s oldest marathon runner, Mr. Fauja Singh [nicknamed the Turbaned Torpedo] came to Las Vegas to grace the Vaisakhi Mela 2013.

Following is a glimpse of the passion and the ordeal that led to the recognition of British centenarian marathon runner of Punjabi Sikh descentMr. Singh was not a professional runner when he was young but a farmer in Punjab, India.

Fauja Singh was born in Beas Pind, Jalandhar, Punjab, India on 1 April 1911, the youngest of four children. Fauja Singh did not develop the ability to walk until he was five years old. His legs were thin and weak, and he could hardly walk long distances. Because of this, he was often teased, and had to carry the nickname “danda” for the next ten years. He moved to Britain in the 1960s.He started running to try to overcome his feelings of grief of losing his wife and his fifth son. He started running when he was 89, and he kept running because he felt ‘connected to God.’ In 2000, he ran his first London marathon and went on to compete in a further eight marathons. Singh shot to fame when, at the age of 93, he completed the grueling 26.2 mile distance in 6 hours and 54

minutes. This knocked 58 minutes off the previous world best for anyone in the 90-plus age bracketSingh holds UK records for the 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, mile and 3000 m for his age group, records all set within a single 94 minute period.[

Singh is 172 cm (5 ft 8 in) tall and weighs 52 kg (115 lb). He attributes his physical fitness and longevity to abstaining from smoking and alcohol and to following a simple vegetarian diet. He has been quoted as saying “I am very careful about different foods. My diet is simple phulka, dal, green vegetables, yogurt and milk. I do not touch parathas, pakoras, rice or any other fried food. I take lots of water and tea with ginger. ... I go to bed early taking the name of my Rabba as I don’t want all those negative thoughts crossing my mind.” In October 2011, Singh, a vegetarian, became the oldest man to be featured in a PETA campaign. In July 2012, Fauja Singh carried the Olympic torchHis biography, titled “Turbaned Tornado”, was formally released in the Attlee Room of Britain’s House of Lords on 7 July 2011 Speaking about the marathon, he said: “The first 20 miles are not difficult. As for last six miles, I run while talking to God.”


PHOTOBOOTH

Thank you for attending the 10th Annual Indian Cultural Festival.

Happy Vaisakhi 2013!


See all the photos online! www.LasVegasMela.com


lvmela 06 06 13 web version

Documents

las vegas sangat

regular sangat

loan mountain roadlas

functional gurdwara

form of martial arts

kirtan program

nevada arts council

board members