Traditional Punjabi music, resonant with the sounds of Northern India, filled Bruin Plaza during the Sikh Student Association’s sixth annual Sikh Awareness Day on Tuesday.
The fifth largest religion in the world, Sikhism emerged in Northern India more than 500 years ago. Most Sikhs are from Punjab, a region in northern India.
“It is a religion of peace,” said Nitasha Kour, the religious director for the group.
Members of the Sikh Student Association gathered in Bruin Plaza from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to run free henna tattoo and food booths to educate students about the Sikh culture. From 12 to 1 p.m, the Sikh Student Association invited Bruin Bhagra, a Punjabi music and dance group at UCLA, and various other student performers to showcase their talents.
“Cultural events are the most effective mediums for breaking down misunderstandings,” said Manjot Singh, the president of the Sikh Student Association and the next Undergraduate Students Association Council General Representative 1.
The traditional Sikh cuisine offered free to students at the event was prepared at a Sikh temple about 15 minutes away from campus, Kour said.
Langar, a word from the Punjabi language, is the practice of giving out free food and is a part of the religious teachings of Sikhism, Kour said. She added that the founding gurus of Sikhism institutionalized this practice 500 years ago.
The purpose of langar is to promote equality among people regardless of caste or any other divisive social classifications, Kour said.
At the event, Aman Batra, a fourth-year English student, read a spoken word piece in response to an Instagram picture of a Sikh man wearing a turban posted by Joe Budden, a hip-hop artist. Before the picture was taken down, its accompanying caption read “Not on my watch Homeboy.”
Singh said the Sikh tradition of wearing turbans is meant to protect the sanctity of the hair and preserve its natural state of beauty. Some members of the association taught other students how to tie turbans at the event.
“The average UCLA student doesn’t know why I wear a turban,” Singh said. “It’s my symbol of religious reverence, my defiance against what western society deems beautiful.”
Batra said that her piece, entitled “Open Letter to Joe Budden,” is an attempt to break down the stereotypes that surround the Sikh community. She said there have been numerous hate crimes committed against the Sikh community in the years following 9/11.
“I take it upon myself to raise awareness and promote acceptance of our community,” Batra said.
Compiled by Samuel Temblador, Bruin contributor.