American Born Confused Sikh

Gurpurab 2020. Alas!  Like all other holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and events that have occurred since March of this year, it has been quite a challenge to celebrate and enjoy them fully. And for a faith that is very much focused on community, it has been exceptionally challenging for us Sikhs.  When the whole world went into a strict lockdown back in March, I think one of the hardest pieces of it all was not being able to go to the Gurudwara. I felt isolated from my community and even worse, I felt isolated from my Guru!  I know. I know. You don't have to go to Gurudwara to do your paath or to connect to the Guru or Waheguru. You can do everything at home. But it's not the same!!!! I'm an extrovert. I like people. And even if I don't know anyone at a Gurudwara, just sitting amongst a sangat feels nice. Their energy and vibrations rub off onto me and vise versa. So as you can see, going into lockdown gave me major anxiety.  But then something kind of amazing ha...

Sometime in the 1700’s – Delhi, India   The Afghan Moghuls had invaded India and slaughtered thousands of men in battle, looted tons of treasure, and kidnapped and abducted a lot of Hindu women. (One source said it was 22,000. Another source said it was 2,200. But regardless, it was a lot of women!) The Moghuls were planning to take these women back to Afghanistan so that they could be sold into slavery and on the way, these women would be used by the Afghan soldiers to “satisfy their lust”.    When news of these horrific events reached the Sikhs, they came together and made plans to rescue these kidnapped women. Led by Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, the Sikhs made midnight raids and rescues and saved the women and children that were stolen by the Moghals. Unfortunately, many women and widows were not accepted back into their families. When their own families rejected them, they were welcomed and embraced by the Sikhs and they were able to marry the Sikh soldiers. ...

It pains me to write about this. It pains me to put the words "sexual abuse" and "Sikh" in the same sentence and the same title. But after watching two parents tell the story of how their daughter was sexually abused by a respected priest, I felt compelled to write this.  I like so many other American Sikhs grew up going to Sikh camps and Sikh retreats in my young adult life. I've been a camper and a counselor. I've been to retreats on the East coast and the West coast (and even Canada!) And I've always had amazing experiences from each of these retreats. I made connections with Sikhs around the country but most of all, at every retreat I always took away a little more knowledge and a little more renewed perspective, admiration, and love for my faith.  There was often a common thread at many of these retreats and camps that influenced my Sikh learning journey greatly: Bhai Gurdarshan Singh. In a sea of Punjabi-speaking priests, Bhai Gurdarshan Singh was ...

As we have all learned these past few weeks, we take a lot for granted. Traveling. Meeting friends. Going to events and parties. Going to people's houses. Going to the grocery store. Heck, just stepping outside your front door! But up until a few weeks ago, I took the most basic human function for granted: Breathing.  On the day that my doctor told me over the phone that I had Covid-19, I started getting this tight feeling in my chest and I started feeling very breathless. I was still in denial that I actually had it. The doctor hadn't seen me in person. I hadn't been tested. She said I have flu-like symptoms so I have it. But what if it was just a regular flu? Maybe it was just a chest infection? Why did it have to be Covid-19? At the end of the week, the shortness of breath and the tight and heavy feeling in my chest was starting to become constant. My chest felt heavy and tight with every single breath that I took. The longer it went on the more worried I got a...

I was so careful. I was washing my hands. I was using hand sanitizer. I was staying away from people and practicing social distancing. I was drinking a lot of water so that the virus could go into my stomach and the acid in my stomach could kill it. I was drinking tea with lemon and honey. I was even wearing gloves! They said that 70% to 80% of the population would get it. I was hoping that I would be in the 20% to 30%. And if I did happen to be in the 70% to 80% that it wouldn't be so soon. That it would happen after a few weeks or maybe even a few months. But a few days ago I started feeling a bit off. . . . My head was hurting and my entire body felt very run down. I figured it was stress and anxiety. Then my throat started hurting. It felt a bit scratchy and itchy and it hurt sometimes when I swallowed. And then it came. The dangerous and treacherous symptom that has everybody stop and stare the moment they hear it: The cough. The f&%$ing dry cough. It wasn't cont...

Coronavirus Disease Covid-19 6 Weeks Ago: Oh dear that virus that popped up in China looks horrible. I feel so bad for all of those who have gotten it and who have to be quarantined. We are so lucky that's all the way in China. And we are so lucky that we don't have that in the United States or the United Kingdom . . . . 4 Weeks Ago: People are stuck on a ship? And there are like 2 cases in every country? Oh my. Well, at least they are being isolated. It's just two or three cases. I guess no trips to China anytime soon . . . . 2 Weeks Ago: Whoa. How did 3 cases in Italy turn into over 10,000? No boss, I haven't visited Italy in the past 14 days. No, I just got something stuck in my throat. That wasn't a real cough. No, I do not have any plans to travel outside of the United Kingdom anytime soon . . . . 1 Week Ago:  Wait a minute. The U.S. banned travel from Europe AND the U.K.? Are you telling me I can't go visit my family or friends or my hometown? Oh, ...

Is America Really the Land of the Free? For an immigrant coming to the United States of America from an underdeveloped country, yes, it is indeed the land of the free! My parents were two of those many of thousands of people that migrated to America every year. They obtained financial opportunities and freedoms in America that were not available in their homeland of India at that time. They made many sacrifices and tough decisions so that themselves and their future children could live with more freedom. Because of them, I was born and raised in the beautiful country of America and I have had a life full of freedom that I may not have had if my parents did not move. But, did I really have that much freedom? After all, what is freedom? If you ask an American, we will probably read you the first ten amendments from the Constitution. Although, we would probably have to google most of them because the general public only remembers the first two (myself included!) By memory, we will tel...

What are you? Who are you? Where are you from?  These questions of identity are things that all people and especially children of immigrants are always having to answer and question and redefine over and over and over again. How do we fill out those forms? What boxes do we check off? How do we explain ourselves to our white counterparts? Do we go by our nationality? Our parent's nationality? Our grandparent's nationality? Do we go by our religion? Do we go by our race? Are they all the same? Are they all different? Are race and ethnicity and nationality intertwined with each other? Or is race, ethnicity, and nationality completely separate from each other?  So, I was born and raised in America. But my parents were born and raised in India. So am I an American or an Indian? The country of India would like to claim me as an NRI (non resident Indian.) But if I have to go by my parent's nationality, does that mean that my parents have to go by their parent's nationalit...