The Story Isn’t Over: History from the Margins

In episode seven of the ਸੋਚ Podcast I get to talk with  Simran K. Arts and Satnam Singh about traditional arts, sikhi and representation. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ ★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★ As usual, we start with getting to know Simran a  little bit better, for instance, the importance of her grandfather’s  photography whilst she was a child and the V&A Museum whilst she was  studying for her A-levels. We discover that it was restoration that was  Simran’s original interest before finding her passion in traditional  arts. Amongst a whole lot more, we find out who Simran’s  inspiration is, her training in Persian miniature painting and the  connection between traditional arts and the Divine and then we dive deep  into the philosophical question of what is the most valuable  characteristic you need to have as a traditional artist? Before  moving onto the topic of traditional art and Sikhi, I provide three  examples of traditional art: the showcase of Liberian music and dance at  the 1901, 1926 and 1984 Worlds Fair, the construction of a cultural  centre on Malaita, a Solomon island, that resulted in the revitalisation  of the indigenous East Kwaio community and resurrection of dead art  forms and, lastly, the colonisation of Hawaiian Hula, which has had such  a lasting impact that many of us today are only familiar with the  stereotypical, colonial trope of Hula dancing. We go about trying  to define traditional art and Sikh art, discussing examples of  traditional Sikh art such as sakhis and raag kirtan. An example I find  particularly interesting is the gach and tukri embellishments of the  inner walls of Sri Harmandir Sahib. Gach is a base formed by mixing  crushed gypsum and water, and heating the mix to the right temperature  until it reaches the consistency of a paste. The paste is then applied  to the surface to be treated, and fine steel implements are used to etch  floral and other designs in the paste before it sets. The next stage  involves infilling these with sheets of gold leaf (varqs). In tukri  work, pieces of coloured and mirrored glass, sometimes specifically made  for the purpose, are cut and inlaid into gach to form patterns and  textures with their myriad reflections and colour effects. We then  dive deeper into traditional arts and Sikhi with questions such as, why  are traditional art forms of indigenous communities outlawed or banned?  Does the artist have a responsibility to be historically accurate? Does  the artist have to be considerate of their audience? Does the artist  always have to respect traditions? Where do you see Sikh art going? Does  representation within art matter? We conclude with a community question  - why does traditional art pre-occupy itself with natural materials?

I've gone back and vastly improved the audio quality for this. Hope you enjoy! In episode 6 of the ਸੋਚ podcast I get to put forward your questions and the most common critiques of Sri Dasam Granth to Dr. Kamalroop Singh who has completed a PhD at the University of Birmingham, School of Philosophy, Theology and Religions. His thesis was titled, “Dasam Granth Re-examined.” In addition, he has published two books on Sri Dasam Granth Sahib, “Sri Dasam Granth: Q&A” as well as “The Granth of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Essays, Lectures and Translations. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ ★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★ We spend the first ten minutes, as always, getting to know our guest a little bit better, starting with his upbringing, the influence of his Bibi Ji, his own personal identity crisis and academic pursuits leading to and through his PhD in Sri Dasam Granth Sahib.  From this point on we deal with the following questions:  00:00 - Family history, upbringing and Sri Dasam Granth 10:50 - What is Sri Dasam Granth? 12:56 - Was Sri Dasam Granth written by Guru Gobind Singh Ji or could it  include the work of court poets or others? Who do the pen names Ram  & Shyam refer to? In the process of answering this Dr. Kamalroop  Singh outlines a raft of early Dasam Granth manuscripts starting in 1688  and uses further historical evidence to remove any possibility of court  poet material being used. 18:50 - Why do some of the earliest manuscripts have compositions  ordered in a different order or exclude certain compositions completely? 26:20 - We dive deeper into the history of the Bhai Mani Singh recension of Adi Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji & Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji. 30:50 - Parralel parkash of Adi Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji & Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji. 40:06 - What is Charitropakhyan?   44:38 - Is Charitropakhyan misogynistic? 47:00 - Does Sri Dasam Granth lack originality due to its inclusion of  puranic texts? How is Sri Dasam Granth part of the social revolution of  the Khalsa? 51:10 - What does Maharaj mean when he states he comes from the khastriya lineage? Is this a declaration of caste? 53:17 - What was the influence of Colonialism and the Singh Sabha upon Sri Dasam Granth Sahib? 1:01:19 - How does the concept of the female divine energy fit into wider Sikh thought? 1:03:00 - Is there a Sikh theology? 1:12:40 - How do you explain the story of Guru Gobind Singh ji and Naina Devi Yagna found in Bansavalinama by Kesar Singh Chibber? 1:17:16 - What is the relationship between reformists such as the Bandai Khalsa and Teja Singh Bhasauria with Sri Dasam Granth? 1:22:00 - Bandai Khalsa & contemporary records 1:28:00 - Will Sri Dasam Granth Sahib ever be parkash at Akal Takht? 1:32:30 - How does Jhatka & Dheg fit into Sikhi?

In this episode of The Sooch podcast I get to talk to Hark1karan, we get to know more about him and his latest photo book - Pind: Portrait of a Village in Rural Punjab. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ ★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★ We first start off by getting to know the meaning behind his name, the influence of photography and art in his household whilst growing up and the impact of the environment and energy of growing up in working class neighbourhood of south London. We go on to discuss photography, the photographer and the responsibility of constructing a narrative of the subject matter. We move on to discuss the Pind and it’s connection with Punjabi culture and Sikhi. We discuss why Hark1karan decided to publish a book in the age of Instagram, Pinterest and Flickr and why he’s decided not to post the images on social media. We also learn about the process taken to get the book from concept to a published book and the responsibility of showcasing the community from the inside and not erasing the story. We move on to find out about the importance of language in constructing this photo book and get to know more about the process involved. Can you believe that these photos were taken on an old-school roll film camera? The rest of the discussion moves on to representation and how quite often if people don't see it, for them it's not a reality. We move on to how Hark1karan was able to take some of the more honest photos, the idea that we're not the same person but we're different people in different scenarios. We move on to discuss the current and on going Kissan-Majdoor protests in India & its connection to the Pind, the responsibility of artists and how women have been excluded from certain narratives regarding the protests. We round the podcast off with Hark1karan’s own personal journey in putting his book together and the importance of collaboration and fostering a constructive environment within our community to help change outdated narratives and tell our own story.

I get the pleasure to talk to Aman Bali from Kashmir, who is currently providing excellent on the ground coverage of the ongoing Kisaan-Majdoor protests in India, and Jodh Singh from America, who helps provide historical context and analysis. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ ★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★ We start off with what has caused these protests, we move on to how this spurned a people’s protest, seemingly bereft of any political impetus. To be cliché – a movement, for the people, by the people.  - We demarcate how these protests are not abrupt. In fact the protesting started back in June and the protests we now see in Delhi are simply the next step in the Kissan-Majdoor protest - that of increasing their own negotiation powers by bringing the protest to the capital. We take a look at the bills in some depth and, amongst a number of things, we demarcate how the socio-economic fabric of Punjab would be drastically altered. We start with the three main laws of contention - Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce, Promotion and Facilitation Act, Farmers Empowerment and Protection Agreement Act and the Essentials Commodity Amendment. We also discuss the two further ordinances – the air quality ordinance and the electricity amendment. We talk about sharecroppers, landgrabbing, middlemen, Mandis, Mandi Tax, MSP and alot more than I can fit in one post. Overall the one of the biggest themes that lept out is the appalling lack of legal redress any of these farmers would have if these bills were to be passed. In addition, it seems these laws are part of a bigger issue – India’s urgent want to industrialise almost overnight. A task which, as Aman Bali rightfully points out, needs to be done incrementally.  We look at the locus of the protests coming from Punjab and Haryana, the role of Sikhi and how the diaspora can help. We also dissect the idea that 250 million people have been protesting in Delhi.  

In this episode I get to talk with the man behind Sikh Archive. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ ★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★ We  start off the conversation talking about family, in particular his baby  daughter, Brexit, Punjab and tomatoes. We then dive into wider  migration patterns and how they affected his family. The difficulties in  tracing Punjabi family lineage, social and historical capital and the  legacy of colonial legislation. We then move onto more interesting  topics (one sent in by a number of followers) namely what does Sikh Archive say to those who accuse him of being too left-leaning? This  touches upon a number of things such as Kamala Harris, Marcus Rashford and identity politics. This then flows into a discussion regarding  what is justice? How do we engage with injustice, whether that be  historical injustice or societal injustice. We discuss Sikhs in the  military, integration and alignment to whiteness, the martial race  narrative and the Sikh nation. We round the episode off asking how  and why Sikh Archive was started, book recommendations, the Sikh ethos  of uprooting tyrannical systems and the changing landscape of Sikhi  & Gurdwaras.

Shabd has been someone who I’ve been following for a  while and inspired me to start my own podcast, so it was great to get to  know a bit more about him and I cannot thank him enough for taking the  time out to talk. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ ★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★ In this episode, we get to know a bit more about  Shabd and his upbringing near Washington DC in Northern Virginia,  amongst the 3HO community, his parents, who are both converts to Sikhi  through 3HO, his background including his mixture of Jewish, Basque and  Parisian ancestry, his attendance at Miri-Piri academy in Punjab, his  further education, a period of change in his life more recently and his  involvement in politics and how it took him further then he could have  imagined. Did you know his mum travelled overland through Afghanistan to reach India in the 1970s? We  continue and talk about how Shabd spends some of his spare time  focusing on his own podcast – The One: Intersection of Sikhi/Sikh  Affairs and Left/Progressive politics. How  Sikhi is more than a religion, a book called the “Jakarta Method” which  helps to map the American backing of the Indonesian death squads of the  1960s (resulting in the death of over a million people) and how this  was part of the CIA’s broader project of extinguishing the left wherever  it was. Those who doubt socialism and use a lack of historical examples  sometimes miss that since inception socialism has been aggressively  attacked and undermined by the USA and Western powers & specifically  undermined. Can Sikhs be part of a modern day military? How WWI  and WII are not unrelated or disconnected from colonialism and the  purpose of modern militaries. The tokenisation of Sikhs, the concept of  langar and the human right of food security, the relationship of  colonialism, capitalism and white supremacy. Malcolm X, truly  questioning the system, the Khalsa mindset, the acceptance of death,  learning and teaching and how Shabd tries to use this to keep grounded  when involved in politics. We then dive into Shabd’s upbringing as  a Sikh, experience of the 3HO community and the cult, criminal  activities and systems of abuse controlled by Yogi Bhajan. Shabd  outlines his own personal journey and the importance of Kashi House’s  accessible production of pre-colonial Sikh history that was particularly  helpful. Amongst other things, we round off the episode focusing on the  3HO community today, the entities and community of 3HO and why it is  important to identify and change the systems around us. We spoke  about so much more than that. More importantly, I learnt so much and  thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend time talking to Shabd Singh. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

In our very first episode of The ਸੋਚ Podcast, I get to talk with Satnam Singh from Denmark. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ ★ Buy this podcast a coffee ★ We  get to know a little bit about him and his upbringing in Denmark. We  discuss the importance of teachers, the books he is currently reading,  as well as a discussion about the need for impartiality when  researching. We continue and dive into the Anandpur Darbar and the  Early Misl Period. Just a few of the questions we discuss: What is the  Anandpur Darbar? Why the number 52? The Kavis Mansion in Anandpur and  the cultural, political and wider impacts of the Anandpur Darbar. The  discussion regarding the early Misl Period touches upon a number of  things, including a comparison with the Ottoman Empire of the time, how a  lot of the systems required for the success of Maharaja Ranjit Singh ji  were already setup during the misl period. We discuss art, literature  and culture under the early misl period and modern day auction houses.