Podcasts about Lohri

IANR 2502 011125 Line Up 4-6pm INTERVIEWS Here's the guest line-up for Sat, Jan 11, 2025 from 4 to 6pm CST on Indo American News Radio (www.IndoAmerican-news.com), a production of Indo American News. We are on 98.7 FM and you can also listen on the masalaradio app. By Monday, hear the recorded show on Podcast uploaded on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Radio Public and Breaker. We have 5 years of Podcasts and have had thousands of hits. TO SUPPORT THE SHOW, SELECT FOLLOW ON OUR FREE PODCAST CHANNEL AND YOU'LL BE NOTIFIED OF NEW UPDATES. 4:20 pm Shivam Dhol Tasha Pathak, a Dallas-based Indian traditional Drum & Snare ensemble will be part of the Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington DC on January 20, 2025. It is a proud moment for Indians in the US as for the first time in the history of the US Presidential Parade tradition, an Indian traditional group will perform. We turn to the two co-founders of the group – Harish Nehate and Nikhil Potbhare who will be calling in from Dallas – to tell us more about the group and how this came about. 4:50 pm Monday, January 13 marks the festival of Lohri, a popular winter Dogra and Punjabi folk festival celebrated primarily in Northern India with bonfires, dance and song. A day later is  the festival of Makar Sankranti an ancient Hindu festival that marks the transition of the Sun into the zodiac sign of Capricorn (known as Makara in Sanskrit). The same festival is celebrated all over India but it has different names. Lohri in North, Pongal in South, Makar Sankranti in Western parts, Gujarat calls it Uttarayan. Mohini Vashist with the Hindu Worship Society calls in to tell us briefly the significance of the festival and how they are celebrated. 5:20 pm If any of your online accounts have ever been hacked - especially your WhatsApp account - you remember the sinking feeling as you wonder why it happened to you and what could you do to avoid this? Well it happens very often and there are a few things that you can do to protect yourself. We turn today to and IT professional, Anita Amin, for some guidance on these matters. Also stay tuned in for news roundup, views, sports and movie reviews. TO BE FEATURED ON THE SHOW, OR TO ADVERTISE, PLEASE CONTACT US AT 713-789-NEWS or 6397 or at indoamericannews@yahoo.com Please pick up the print edition of Indo American News which is available all across town at grocery stores. Also visit our website indoamerican-news.com which gets 90,000+ hits to track all current stories. And remember to visit our digital archives from over 17 years.  Plus, our entire 44 years of hard copy archives are available in the Fondren Library at Rice University.

Live from Bahara Indian restaurant in Brick lane! Great to be together… Sach got so excited that his pani shot everywhere! And no that's not a euphemism! We're talking Lohri, massive Melas and annoying football fans! Plus PlayStations are about to get real smelly! And by the way… does anyone know if Australia is a continent as well as country? We're not sure!

Fluent Fiction - Hindi: Unlocking Humayun's Secrets: An Archaeologist's Quest Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/hi/episode/2025-01-07-08-38-19-hi Story Transcript:Hi: दिल्ली की सर्दियों में धुंधले कोहरे के बीच हुमायूँ के मकबरे का नज़ारा अद्भुत था।En: In the foggy haze of Delhi's winter, the view of Humayun's Tomb was magnificent.Hi: संगमरमर की पगडंडियों पर बर्फ की झलकी चमक रही थी, और मकबरे का भव्य गुंबद खामोशी से इतिहास के रहस्यों का गवाह बन रहा था।En: The snow shimmered on the marble pathways, and the grand dome of the tomb silently bore witness to the secrets of history.Hi: इसी शांत माहौल में अनाया, राघव, और मीरा एक विशेष खोज के लिए आए थे।En: In this serene atmosphere, Anaya, Raghav, and Meera had come for a special quest.Hi: अनाया एक समर्पित पुरातत्त्वविद् थी।En: Anaya was a dedicated archaeologist.Hi: उसके हाथों में हाल ही में खोजा गया एक प्राचीन कलाकृति थी, जिस पर रहस्यमयी शिलालेख अंकित थे।En: In her hands was a recently discovered ancient artifact inscribed with mysterious inscriptions.Hi: उसके मन में बस एक जिज्ञासा थी - इन शिलालेखों के भेद को खोलना।En: She was filled with only one curiosity - to unlock the mystery of these inscriptions.Hi: राघव, जो कि एक इतिहासकार था, इन किंवदंतियों पर अक्सर संदेह करता था, लेकिन इस कलाकृति ने उसका ध्यान खींच लिया था।En: Raghav, who was a historian, often doubted such legends, but this artifact had captured his attention.Hi: वहीं, मीरा, जो कि एक स्थानीय गाइड थी, दिल्ली की सांस्कृतिक विरासत से गहरा जुड़ाव रखती थी और इस जगह के पुराने किस्सों को जानती थी।En: Meanwhile, Meera, who was a local guide, had a deep connection with the cultural heritage of Delhi and knew the old stories of this place.Hi: लोहड़ी के त्यौहार की तैयारियों के बीच, यह तीनों मकबरे के भीतर मौजूद उन दीवारों पर काम कर रहे थे।En: Amidst the preparations for the Lohri festival, the three of them were working on the walls within the tomb.Hi: अनाया उन शिलालेखों को देख रही थी, जब राघव ने कहा, "क्या तुम इसका कुछ मतलब निकाल पाई?En: Anaya was examining the inscriptions when Raghav asked, "Have you been able to make any sense of it?"Hi: " अनाया ने सिर हिलाते हुए कहा, "यह एक पहेली की तरह लगता है।En: Anaya shook her head and said, "It feels like a puzzle.Hi: हमें इसे सुलझाना होगा।En: We need to solve it."Hi: "इसी बीच, उन्हें एक प्रतिद्वंद्वी समूह के इरादों का पता चला, जो इसी कलाकृति की खोज में थे।En: In the meantime, they learned of a rival group with intentions to find the same artifact.Hi: समय की दौड़ में, यह तीनों एक प्राचीन कक्ष को खोजने में लग गए, जो शायद इस रहस्य का हल दे सके।En: In a race against time, the three of them set out to discover an ancient chamber that might hold the key to this mystery.Hi: अंततः, मीरा की पुरानी कहानियों के आधार पर, उन्होंने एक गुप्त दरवाजे का पता लगाया।En: Finally, based on Meera's old stories, they discovered a secret door.Hi: वह दरवाजा एक छिपे हुए कक्ष की ओर ले गया।En: The door led to a hidden chamber.Hi: कक्ष के भीतर, उन्होंने एक रहस्यमय ऊर्जा का अनुभव किया।En: Inside the chamber, they experienced a mysterious energy.Hi: यह कलाकृति किसी विशेष शक्ति का प्रतिनिधित्व करती थी, जिसे समझना जरूरी था।En: This artifact represented some special power, which was necessary to comprehend.Hi: अनाया ने इस खोज में अपने दोनों साथियों पर विश्वास किया।En: Anaya had faith in her companions during this quest.Hi: उन्हीं की मदद से उन्होंने शिलालेखों के रहस्य को सुलझाया।En: With their help, they unraveled the secrets of the inscriptions.Hi: इस प्रक्रिया में अनाया ने यह सीखा कि अकेले ज्ञान की अपेक्षा सहयोग और भिन्न दृष्टिकोण अधिक महत्वपूर्ण होते हैं।En: In this process, Anaya learned that collaboration and diverse perspectives are more important than knowledge alone.Hi: सर्दियों की उस ठंडी रात में, उन्होंने सही निर्णय लिया।En: On that cold winter night, they made the right decision.Hi: उन्होंने अपने शोध को सार्वजनिक किया ताकि हुमायूँ के मकबरे की यह विरासत सुरक्षित रहे।En: They made their research public so that Humayun's Tomb's heritage could be preserved.Hi: उनकी इस पहल ने दिल्ली के सांस्कृतिक धरोहर को एक नया आयाम दिया।En: Their initiative gave a new dimension to Delhi's cultural heritage.Hi: इस शोध ने न केवल उस रहस्य को सुलझा दिया बल्कि अनाया को सहयोग के महत्व का भी एहसास दिलाया।En: This research not only solved the mystery but also made Anaya realize the importance of teamwork.Hi: और यूं, हुमायूँ का मकबरा एक और महान कहानी का गवाह बना।En: And so, Humayun's Tomb became a witness to another great story. Vocabulary Words:foggy: धुंधलेhaze: कोहरेmagnificent: अद्भुतshimmered: झलकीdome: गुंबदserene: शांतdedicated: समर्पितarchaeologist: पुरातत्त्वविद्artifact: कलाकृतिinscriptions: शिलालेखcuriosity: जिज्ञासाunlock: खोलनाmysterious: रहस्यमयीhistorian: इतिहासकारcultural heritage: सांस्कृतिक विरासतpreparations: तैयारियोंsense: मतलबpuzzle: पहेलीrival: प्रतिद्वंद्वीintentions: इरादोंchamber: कक्षcomprehend: समझनाcollaboration: सहयोगperspectives: दृष्टिकोणinitiative: पहलdimension: आयामpreserved: सुरक्षितwitness: गवाहfaith: विश्वासunraveled: सुलझाया

Send us a textMeet Marina Lohri, a true trailblazer in the world of congenital heart defects (CHDs). Born with tricuspid atresia, a ventricular septal defect, and an atrial septal defect, Marina's journey from a life-saving C-section to being among the first in Switzerland to undergo a modified-Fontan procedure at just 11 months old is nothing short of miraculous. In our conversation, Marina unfolds her inspiring story and shares her passion for working at atHeart Medical, where she is dedicated to promoting innovative solutions for those with similar heart conditions.Navigating the complexities of living with Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) and congenital heart defects is no small feat. Marina opens up about her personal experiences with rapid heart rates and the profound decision to undergo an ablation. As she contemplates the intricate considerations surrounding pregnancy with a congenital heart condition, we delve into the evolving medical advice she received and the diverse perspectives of healthcare professionals. Marina's story is a testament to the importance of specialized care and the expertise found at top hospitals in Switzerland.From finance to the medical field, Marina's career journey is a testament to aligning work with personal values and health needs. As she shares her transition to atHeart Medical, a startup focused on congenital heart defects, Marina highlights the rewards of working in a supportive environment that truly understands the challenges of living with CHD. Her advocacy extends beyond her professional life, as she continues to inspire others with similar heart conditions to pursue their passions and find purpose in their careers. Marina's resilience shines through as she navigates life's challenges with a positive attitude and a commitment to the CHD community.Helpful Links:atHeart Medical website: https://atheartmedical.comSupport Organizations:Mended Hearts: https://mendedhearts.org(In German)Herznetz: https://www.herznetz.ch/Fontanherzen: https://fontanherzen.ch/Swiss Heart: https://swissheart.ch/Thanks to our newest HUG Patron, Ayrton Beatty and long-standing Patrons: Laura Redfern, Pam Davis, Michael Liben, Nancy Jensen, Alicia Lynch, Deena Barber, Carlee McGuire, Carter & Faye Mayberry, and Frank Jaworski. We appreciate you!Support the showAnna's Buzzsprout Affiliate LinkBaby Blue Sound CollectiveSocial Media Pages:Apple PodcastsFacebookInstagramMeWeTwitterYouTubeWebsite

Happy Lohri and Pongal, everyone! No idea what those are? Never fear – this is your round-up of South Asia's winter sun harvest festivals. Plus, scientist find miracle volcanic clay caused ice ages and in strict Singapore cats finally get credibility and can be pets in public housing after all. All that and more this week on the best news pod for kids, Newsy Pooloozi!Also – did you hear our call-out last week? We're expanding our team and accepting applications for MORE kid correspondents from anywhere all over the world – as long as you speak clear (and enthusiastic!) English and are curious about the world! Send us a voice note stating your name, where you're from and where you live now (if they're different) along with the answers to these three questions: What do you like doing in your spare time, what is your favorite class in school and which Newsy Pooloozi story has stuck with you the longest? Send the voice note to contact@newsypooloozi.com  and we'll be in touch. We're also looking for any older kids or adults who'd like to join our content writing team and/or our social media team. Drop us a line if so! 

Bhajan

Bhajan

IANR 2401 011324 Line Up  4-6pm INTERVIEWS Here's the guest line-up for Sat, Jan 13, 2024 from 4 to 6pm CST on Indo American News Radio (www.IndoAmerican-news.com), a production of Indo American News. We are on 98.7 FM and you can also listen on the masalaradio app (www.masalaradio.com) By Monday, hear the recorded show on Podcast uploaded on Spotify, Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/indo-american-news-radio-houston-tx/id1512586620 ) Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Radio Public and Breaker. We have 5 years of Podcasts and have had over 9,000 hits.   TO SUPPORT THE SHOW, SELECT FOLLOW ON OUR FREE PODCAST CHANNEL. AND YOU'LL BE NOTIFIED WHEN OF NEW UPDATES. 4:20 pm In a huge, sprawling city like Houston, with millions of cars and drivers, getting into an accident seems like a routine incident for the unfortunate few. What is worse is having an altercation with someone over an issue regarding a car, like with a tow truck driver, a pedestrian or a break in. Harris County Asst DA Lauren Bard in charge of Vehicular Crimes Division calls in today to explain what kind of crimes are prosecutable and how to defend yourself. 5:00 pm For over 40 years, the India Culture Center has toiled to keep Indian heritage forefront in the community's mind, especially through celebration of two national flagship events. One of these, Indian Republic Day, is around the corner and the ICC will mark it with a festival on Sunday, Jan 28. To tell us more about it are ICC directors and event chairs President Parul Fernandes and Director Uma Mantravadi.   5:20 pm This past summer, Taral Patel threw his hat into the race for Ft Bend Commissioners Court Pct 3 and should he win he will become the youngest elected Commissioner, possibly in the state! Born and brought up in Sugar Land, he joins us today to tell us how the run is going as the March 5 Primary election rolls closer. 5:40 pm Today is Lohri, a popular winter Dogra and Punjabi folk festival celebrated primarily in Northern India with bonfires, dance and song. Pandit Bhawani Shankar Shastri with the Hindu Worship Society calls in to tell us briefly the significance of the festival. Also stay tuned in for news roundup, views, sports and movie reviews TO BE FEATURED ON THE SHOW, OR TO ADVERTISE, PLEASE CONTACT US AT 713-789-6397 or at indoamericannews@yahoo.com Please pick up the print edition of Indo American News which is available all across town at grocery stores. Also visit our website indoamerican-news.com which gets 70,000+ hits to track all current stories.   And remember to visit our digital archives from over 16 years.    Plus, our entire 43 years of hard copy archives are available in the Fondren Library at Rice University. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/indo-american-news-radio/support

The Lohri episode features a conversation around stories and lived experiences from the Punjab area of India. One of our guests is Charu Uppal ji, media scholar and storyteller. You can find her articles at charuuppal.substack.com The word Lohri comes from Loh which means ‘flame'. As the name suggests, the Lohri tradition involves a bonfire symbolising energy, hope and renewal.Listen to the beautiful story of Dulla Bhattiwaala and the origin of Lohri. The story lives on in the form of a ballad singing tradition called Vaar. Listen to the original Punjabi song of Dulla Bhattiwala here. Here are the lyrics and the English translation of the song.You can find more songs related to Lohri here.Many beautiful traditions are slowly going out of fashion as we adopt a uniform Halloween-type culture these days. Watch the folk tradition of going from house to house singing songs and collecting treats. Our festival podcasts bring out the cultural unity of Bharat (India). Lohri as celebrated in Punjab has an amazing similarity with Bhogi celebrated in the Southern Telugu states, which we covered last year during Makara Sankranti.Listen to our Bhogi/Sankranti podcast from last year here. Please listen to the podcasts, watch the video links and involve your children in the celebrations so that we can keep our diverse festivals and traditions alive!Note: If you find our work valuable, please consider making a contribution. It will help us cover the costs of reaching many more Hindu parents. If you live in India, please write to contact@hinduparenting.org to get the QR code. All others outside India can use the substack platform (through Stripe).General Information:For questions that you'd like us to address, please use the form below:Hindu Parenting QuestionsFor comments and podcast suggestions, please use the comments tab or write to us at contact@hinduparenting.orgPlease note that questions will not be answered on email.Do subscribe to our Substack and follow our social media handles:Twitter: hinduparentingInstagram: hinduparentingTelegram: t.me/hinduparentingThreads: hinduparentingFacebook: facebook.com/hinduparentingFacebook group: facebook.com/groups/hinduparentingKoo: hinduparentingThe opinions expressed by guests on The Hindu Parenting Podcast are their personal opinions and Hindu Parenting does not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, completeness, suitability or validity of anything shared on our platform by them. Copyright belongs to Hindu Parenting. Get full access to Hindu Parenting at hinduparenting.substack.com/subscribe

This is a podcast I put together in 2020 when living in Victoria. It’s NOT Christmas music (although it starts with one of my favourite Christmas songs). It celebrates a few winter holidays: Kwanzaa, Diwali, Channukah, Winter Solstice, New Years, Lohri, Mardi-Gras, and Posada. Lots of very interesting music—different from what you’d normally hear in…Continue reading archives: Episode 128, Jazz For the Winter Holidays.

Bhajan

This week Indy & Karan discuss: 00:00 - Intro 02:36 - Karan's Got Good News For The Podcast 07:40 - What's Happening Dr: Lohri, Explained. 14:00 - Did Indy Eat The Gobi? 22:09 - Why Indy Had To Carry Something For “Protection” 33:39 - Confessions Of A Married Man: Clarifying The Accusations Made By The Wives Last Week 39:41 - Assuming Someone Is Fluent In Punjabi First, English Second 45:17 - Decluttering Your Email Box Is REALLY Satisfying 50:51 - What Does Indy ACTUALLY Bring To His Marriage….? 52:06 - Is Sadhguru A Bit…. Extravagant? 53:53 - Dr Chronicles: Introducing Dr Hubermaan & Dopamine Land 55:20 - A Quick Review Of Dopamine Land 58:17 - How Dopamine Spikes Occur 1:01:40 - Ways To Dopamine Detox 1:08:24 - Is Long-Form Content Now Boring? Follow Us On: Instagram - http://bit.ly/indy-and-dr-insta Facebook - http://bit.ly/indy-and-dr-facebook Spotify - http://bit.ly/indy-and-dr Also available at all podcasting outlets.

MERI VANI Special

In this episode, we discuss the festival of Sankranti which is celebrated by Hindus in various parts of Bharat with slightly different names and rituals. We present here, a conversation with a Hindu parent regarding the observance and celebration of this festival in the Telugu states of Andhra and Telengana. It is a conversation where the parent reminisces on the celebration of this festival in times gone by and how the celebrations have evolved over the decades. This should help Hindu parents and in this case, Hindu Telugu parents revive some of the modes of celebration of this important festival.General InformationSubscribers are requested to look for The Hindu Parenting notification emails for new podcasts/posts in their email promotions/spam tab and personally move these into the main inbox. Thereafter all posts will be delivered to their main inbox. Thank you!For questions that you'd like us to address, please use the form below:Hindu Parenting QuestionsFor comments and suggestions, please use the comments tab or write to us at contact@hinduparenting.orgPlease note that questions will not be answered on email.Do subscribe to our substack and follow us on our social media handlesTwitter: hinduparentingInstagram: hinduparentingFacebook: hinduparentingTranscript[0:03] Rekha: Namaste. Welcome to the Hindu parenting podcast. With Makara Sankranti around the corner, today's episode features a discussion on the festival. Makara Sankranti is celebrated, when the sun Surya enters the makara rashi known as the astrological sun sign of Capricorn in the English calendar. As with all Hindu festivals, Makara Sankranti, is celebrated all across India, parts of Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and Nepal, but with specific regional variations in name and customs. The festival is called Pongal, Bihu, Lohri, Uttarayan, or simply Makar Sankranti, depending on where you live. To help us understand how Makar Sankranti is celebrated in the Telugu states of Andhra and Telangana, we have with us a special guest, a parent. namaskar Shashank garu, welcome to the podcast. [1:00] Shashank: Namaste. Thank you very much. [1:02] Rekha: So, let's start with your earliest memories of the festival. Where did you grow up? And what can you remember? What are your earliest recollections of Makara Sankranti.[1:14] Shashank: So I grew up in Hyderabad. And I was fortunate though to have part of my family from the coastal region of Andhra. So, you know, my mom's side is from the coastal 100 region. And Telugu people will understand why I'm making this distinction because within the Telugu states, there is quite a bit of variation. So I grew up in Hyderabad and you know, everybody, I think from Hyderabad, if you ask them what your memories were about Sankranti I think they would immediately mention kite flying. Right. And that was…My memories of Sankranti really are vivid around flying of kites. You know, my dad's side, they are third generation Hyderabadis. So in their family, kite flying, this is something that, you know, every generation participates in, and they get very passionate about it. We have lots of memories. [2:14] Rekha: Yeah, it is a simple introduction to a child, I think because kite flying is so inherently, you know, such an active thing to do, that it instantly hooks children onto the festival. So it's probably a good way to get a child interested in this festival, right? [2:35] Shashank: Absolutely, absolutely. So if you had asked me, you know, what is your favorite festival, it would be a very tough call between Diwali and Sankranti. That is how big Sankranti was for us. And exactly for the reason that you've mentioned! Because kids, you know, for us, it's it's very exciting. We have our winter holidays. And then soon after, you know, you have your Sankranti and the whole family comes together and does it so you're right. Yeah, for a kid I think even though you don't think of it, as really a religious thing that you're doing…you know, being in the outdoors and flying kites with your family and the whole neighborhood around you…and you're competing with the neighbors…It's a very exciting time of the year. [3:26] Rekha: That's That's wonderful. What was your typical Sankranti day like you woke up in the morning? Did you have a religious ritual that you had to follow? Because I think some of the rituals differ from place to place and even within the Telugu states, Coastal Andhra is different from Telangana. And each place has its own variations. Was there something that you had to do before you went kite flying, maybe like an oil bath. Very often. These are the things that are celebrated. Every festival in South India has an oil bath associated with it. So was that something?[4:06] Shashank: It was on the day of actually…I think you're.. thanks for reminding me of these things. So it was. But actually on the day before, on Bhogi, right. Sankranthi is not obviously just a one day affair, there is Bhogi and then there is Kanuma after. On Bhogi, the kids would all come together after you take a bath and do your puja and sit on a few chairs, in one corner of the room. And then what at least happened in my family is, you know, we called it Bhogi Pallu. So you would get berries of a certain kind and all the kids are basically showered with berries. Right? And I spoke to my mother recently and I asked her why do you think we do this? And she said that it's winter is a harsh period of time and because you know, you don't have central heating, you don't have things like that, and nighttime temperatures can fall and for various reasons, you know, maybe the viruses are also more potent during that time. So they, she said that it, maybe it's a celebration of you know, maybe warmer weather coming. And you start by celebrating all the kids who have who are healthy and who are there with you. So, but yeah, my really only religious thing that I really vividly remember is the Bhogi pallu part.[5:32] Rekha: This Bhogi pallu part also has an arti associated with that, if I remember right. My grandmother used to shower the children, the smallest children are often, you know, very excited by this…berries falling all over them. So they do that. And then there was an arti for the children. And that got them sufficiently excited to, you know, start the day off in this way. And then look forward to the rest of the festival. So typically, it's a three day festival, the first day being Bhogi, the second day, of course, the Sankranti, and the third day Kanuma. But let's just elaborate a little bit more on the kite flying, which I think happened on the second day, is that right? [6:22] Shashank: That's right. So it has happens on the second day, on the day of Sankranti. It would start really with sunrise, right? Like during sunrise, when you have twilight period, right? At that time, we would start flying what we called as light patang, right, so you will basically have a small candle that is attached to the string and you let the kite go further into the skies, and these lights, you know, basically light up the sky. So we started with that. And then by the time it's mid morning, I think it starts heating up. And the peak time is, I guess, you know, when the winds start picking up. And you know, and everybody's on the rooftops by mid afternoon, I would say. And late into the evening, you would keep flying kites. And it's obviously not just flying of kites, but you're competing with the others, right? So you're trying to cut the other guys right and at least the neighborhood that I was in, it was an older part of the city where you have multiple different communities living there side by side from, obviously, within the Hindu fold, you had like people from different cultures and different languages there. But we also had lots of, you know, people from other religions, right, we had a significant Muslim population living in the neighborhood, and we would all participate in this. And it was, in a way brought us all together. Right? So it was very, you know, I really have fond memories of that. And oftentimes, the funny thing is we, you know, people who could afford to buy better stuff would think that, look, I have better stuff here and I'm going to be dominating the skies. But then oftentimes you would see, kids from the nearby slum, flying kites from in between the buildings, and they would much better than us. So it was, was a way to be humbled by these people. Yeah. Yeah. Right. [8:31] Rekha: This is such a lesson for the kids. Because skill, they learn so many things, one of them being skill at doing a certain thing, you know, you get better and better at an activity, say, like, kite flying, and you see that your fancy equipment is not necessarily going to make you better. [8:47] Shashank: Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. And you know, your doing things by the book doesn't necessarily get you the results too, right. [8:54] Rekha: Yes, the interesting thing is the community participation, which is what is lacking these days. So it is not just a celebration, should not be restricted to family but if you can build a sense of community wherever you live, that creates a lasting memory for the child because of the social activity that it involves. So that's the takeaway from here I think for the parents.[9:23] Shashank: 100%! Because I think too often our tradition is reduced to a few things and sometimes from a very critical perspective people look at it. But just looking at Sankranti alone you can easily see that our tradition, our culture touches on literally every aspect of life. I mean, we've talked about kite flying but then there is all other traditions are also happening. While the kids are upstairs with maybe their dads and cousins, flying kites, usually the ladies in the house and your daughters, they are doing the rangolis, muggu, as we call it in Telugu. They are doing various other things that would keep them engaged. And, I'm sure they have fond memories of doing that stuff, too. And then, like you said, with the arti, it reminds me, people would sing their favorite songs. And on my mother's side, actually, it's almost like a talent show. After the lunch, we all sit together and, you know, someone who wants to read a poem will read a poem, another person might sing a song, another person might do a little dance, a kid might do that. So, you're right. I think it touches on many, many aspects. And that is, I think that that is to our advantage. We are fortunate to have the kind of culture where it's not very strictly religious, and it's not like one dimensional at all. [10:50] Rekha: Yes, it's beautiful integration of arts, of the tradition of drawing rangolis which happens on the day of Bhogi. So there's something in a Hindu festival for every taste, this is what I firmly believe. And whether it is food, now coming to food… Every festival has with it certain traditional foods. And with Sankranti, it does seem like jaggery and til or sesame seeds, nuvvulu, as we call in Telugu, are used. New rice, it's a time of the winter harvest. And we use til, jaggery and new rice to make many of the dishes. In neighboring Tamil Nadu it is also called pongal. So it's the new rice and foods,….sweets that are prepared with these warming foods Til also warms the body during during the cold season. So for whatever little bit of winter we have in India, this is a time that you know the body could use some warming up. And kite flying also ties into that so beautifully because you're forced to be outdoors, enjoying the morning sunshine, and let's not forget that this festival is alll about Surya Deva. So I think it comes together so beautifully. And did you get a chance to speak to your mother about the significance of this festival? I also know that there is a Haridasa tradition in Andhra where singers go from house to house or at least they used to, go from house to house singing songs about the epics I think. Is there anything more regarding this that you wish to share with us?[12:50] Shashank: My mother mentioned, I spoke with her just last night. And she mentioned that was big part of it, the haridasu or the haridasulu we would say. They would come every day during the month apparently, and on the last day, which I believe is Kanuma, they would show up to collect whatever, you know, people are willing to give them most likely would be, you know, if you're a farmer who's growing a certain kind of a crop, you would share some of that with him. If you're growing rice, then you would give a little bit of rice to them. So it was you know, it was a big part of the culture and then you also had what we call as Gangireddu. Right? So a bull would be decorated in a really beautiful way. And they they would teach a few tricks to the bull and they would take the bull from house to house. Yeddu in Telugu is bull of course. So there was that. And then she mentioned many other such things, which to me, the common theme there was… every class of people, every part of the society, in one way or another was celebrating through what is theirs. Right. So that is the good part of it too. Right? Everybody was not doing the same thing necessarily. Right? If you're a guy who is, good at, like singing and you know, Haridasu, right. So you would do that. And if you're, someone who's good with the cattle and whatnot, you would do that. But, the common theme is that this festival was so all encompassing that it touched on every profession, every class of people, and… she actually had a lot to say, and I'll just stop here because we want to keep it brief. [14:51] Rekha: Absolutely. So just to recap, there's the tradition of decorating a bull and taking it around. So just think about the child who loves animals. There's something for that child as well. There's something for the child who loves art, as usual with all our festivals. And another important part that you mentioned that I'd like to touch on, is the tradition of giving. You give whatever is in your capacity, to people who don't have as much or who don't get things all through the year as we do these days. So giving is a large part of our tradition that we have, unfortunately, forgotten. It's not just about celebration as a family or celebration with friends. But giving or daanam is tied into all the traditions. And that's something which will benefit us enormously. If we revive that and just think of somebody within our community who is much less fortunate. So that's, that's the thinking, a takeaway from this that needs to be encouraged in our children? So there's something for everybody. And I understand that you're right now not living in India [Shashank lives in Canada]. So as an NRI, as a person who doesn't live in India, do you find it hard to keep to the tradition of celebrating festivals, specifically with respect to Sankranti? Because I know you have such beautiful memories of the festival that I'm sure you'd like to pass on something to your children. So how do you handle that? And the weather also being very different from India, during this time of year, at least? How do you manage that?[16:48] Shashank: I think it definitely is more challenging when you're living abroad in a climate that is not conducive to kite flying this time of the year. And I think what I find, though, is if parents can be a little creative, they can still find that hook that will hook the child to your culture and your tradition. Like we touched on before, there is arts, there is music, there is food. And if you want to talk about the harvest, and the harvest seasons, there is the earth science aspects to it. So I find it a little difficult for sure. But then, if you can be a little creative, I think it's not difficult to get the child attached to the culture. What we do in our houses, is we try to do the Bhogi pallu part, we get the Telugu families together, and we do Bhogi pallu. And then, at least in our families, we also do the bommala koluvu, which is basically a display of all the toys in your house, and you have a certain theme and you try to use the toys and buy toys to show that theme in your house. We do that. And kids, I think, you know, even though they might have different interests, I think all kids; one thing they have in common is they love stories. And I do spend time telling them stories about you know, whether it's kite flying, whether it's the other stuff that we used to do as children. And I think, through those stories, they'll understand more through stories than through like a direct, like a lecture sort of thing, right? If you sit them down and say, Hey, this is what the tradition is, you need to follow, I don't think that is as effective as taking them with you along your journey of like reminiscing about about your childhood. And I find that to be much more effective. And last year, actually, during Sankranti, my son came running to me one day and he said, Hey, my teacher asked me to do a little art project and I said, okay, then what do you want to do? And he said, Hey, you were telling me a couple of days ago about kite flying, can you help me picture that scene? And I'll do a little sketch on that. And I helped him with that. And he did a little sketch of people standing on rooftops and flying kites, and he sent that to his teacher. And his teacher not only liked it, but she said, Look, I want to learn more about your festival. So, and he came back and we did a little bit of research. And he he went back and apparently she shared details of the festival with the whole classroom. So I think the point I'm trying to make is, it's an extra effort, but a bit of creativity is all it takes to get your child involved regardless of you know, what they like. [19:46] Rekha: This is a good point, even for people living in India, because very often when the child goes to school, they are expected…not so much expected, I think it's more self inflicted in Hindu families, that you don't take religion into school. And so we avoid all mention of our celebrations in the secular schooling that we have in India. But, you know, with so much encouragement abroad, I find that children abroad often don't hesitate because all the children bring in their traditions very proudly. And this is something that Indian parents also need to remember. And probably have the children share more freely outside the house, the little particulars. The little customs and rituals that we do at home, can be shared outside. That is a process of confidence building for the child. And people are much more open than you think. So, once you know about your identity, it's so much easier to talk about it and we should never shy away from it. [21:09] Shashank: Right. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. That has been my experience, actually. Yes. [21:13] Rekha: Let's talk a little bit about the science for the child who is of a scientific bent. Let's talk a little bit about the science of this festival. It's also called Uttarayan in many places. Uttarayan is typically a time when the sun starts it's northward journey into the northern hemisphere. And apparently, many 1000s of years before, Uttarayan used to coincide with Sankranti and they no longer do because of the axial precession of the earth. It's something that children may want to investigate on their own. Uttarayan meaning - uttar is north and ayana. The Hindu year is divided into two ayanas; Uttarayana and Dakshinayana. So there is such a beautiful scientific term built into the names we give our festivals. Anything that you wish to share about this? [22:19] Shashank: Yeah, I think the science part is definitely helpful. Because you know, it's a stereotype but I think it's not a baseless stereotype that Indian kids are generally attracted to STEM, right. So they're, whether because of parents or whether because of the environment they grew up in, they inevitably end up, majority of them in the sciences, right. So, I think the scientific angle to this whole festival of Sankranti, I think is something that any kid will find very fascinating. Not only the astronomical aspect that you just mentioned, but also the the weather patterns and the harvest festival, that it is actually; the fact that India has two harvests, and how both harvests are critical to nourish and keep healthy a sixth of humanity in that piece of land. I think it's a fascinating story. And I think, again, going back to what I said a few minutes ago, if you're a little bit creative, and passionate, I think, I think you can talk about weather science, you can talk about agriculture, you can talk about astronomy, like you said, and, the Indian kids being, inclined to the sciences, I think it would be a great conversation to have.[23:38] Rekha: Speaking of food, is there any specific food item that you used to prepare at home and which you're also carrying on now the tradition of food specific to this festival?[23:57] Shashank: So the second part of the question, what we are still doing on the aspect of food, unfortunately, I don't have much to say. But on the first aspect of what we did as children, I think two things that come up in my mind 1) is because my family, I grew up in Hyderabad, but this is really a very rural festival, right? Because we're talking about the harvest, we're talking about cattle and all that stuff that we mentioned earlier. It's a very rural festival and if you look today at Hyderabad during these days, it would look deserted during these three days, because everybody would go back to their little village or town that they came from. Because of that, because you know, the action really happens in the villages. But what happened in my family though, is during these days, we would be in Hyderabad but somebody or the other from the villages would send us some special items from there, whether it is you know, Putharekhulu [sweet] or whether it is some kind of a laddu, to it would come from there and we would all share you know, and the elders in the family would share stories about who sent this stuff and what they did as children. So that I remember vividly. And the other thing I remember is they would make some special food, especially on Kanuma. They would make stuff with urad dal, we call in Telugu, minaga pappu. So they would make stuff with that, and apparently it is supposed to be, you know, again, maybe goes back to what you said earlier, where maybe it gives you, you know, a little bit of warmth in the body, perhaps. But I heard that, you know, the day after Sankranti, which is Kanuma is when different families have different traditions around food.[25:44] Rekha: Yes, speaking of warmth, there is also the tradition of a bonfire in different parts of India. I think even Bhogi is associated with a bonfire. Probably, it ties back into a feeling of warmth that you need, in this mildly cold season in India. [26:07] ShashankThat's right. Warmth and also what I remember is, my mum actually mentioned it too, last night when I spoke with her is, it was not a fire that people made in their own little frontyard, but it would be like a community fire that they would make. Many times like on your street, you would get all the families would huddle around the fire early in the morning on the day of Bhogi, and the fire would be obviously would have wood, mainly burning to make the fire. But then you also have apparently items that are not useful anymore. Say there is a chair or a bed that is broken from last year, you would use all of that to burn it. And to me, it sounded like it is a way to cast off your past and you know, you're starting fresh, right. It's like, because every festival, you would clean things up. And in the house, around the house. And particularly for this festival, it sounds like that is an opportunity people take to get rid of all the stuff that they have, that is not working anymore. And then because you also have the harvest, you know, people are flush with money, so they would go buy new stuff. Sounds like that has been the tradition.[27:19] Rekha: That's nice. So we do see again, how everything comes together. You know, whether it's nature, geography. It's so closely tied into the Indian seasons, that nature is an important part of every Hindu festival. And then there is this process of reinventing yourself which is a constant theme that appears in all our festivals, the cleansing internally, which is your movement towards a higher plane… we call it spiritual consciousness today. But then there is this process of reinvention as you just mentioned. So at different levels, our festivals can be interpreted and for the child, it is more fun with kite flying, with food, with decorating animals, or, you know, making rangolis in the front yard, or the Bhogi pallu, the berries showered on you. So it does sound like festivals have a hook that we can use to attract children. And as you progress, there are different layers that unfold, you know, as you age. So again, coming back to the all encompassing nature of Hindu festival. So everything, there's something for everybody, of every temperament.So the last thing I do want to address is…Do you see any change now among the relatives that you have in India? Any feedback from them? Because there's a lot of change that's happening and the whole Hindu community is struggling to keep up with change. So any ideas on the change you have observed? Any ideas on keeping up? What can we do to make sure that our tradition continues and that we don't lose everything with the changing times.[29:32] Shashank: Unfortunately, I think I have a bit of a disappointing news from my own experience here. I feel like with families now spread across the country in India and sometimes even across the world in many cases, especially for Telugu families, I think it has become a little difficult for kids to be, for them to have the same kind of experience that you know, even my generation had. From what I'm hearing, I think my parents tell me that the situation there is nothing like what it used to be even 20-30 years ago.Part of the problem I think is families not being close by. Part of the problem I think is the devices, smartphones and whatever and the media that people are hooked to. And part of the problem I think is also how we are thinking about these festivals. I think at least in some families, we think of these as just another opportunity to get together and that's it… especially in urban India. I think what I am saying probably applies more to urban places and I have a feeling that in non-urban places, in villages and towns, maybe its not this bad. And when it comes to over here, in North America, my experience is that its been a huge change. When I go to a prominent temple in Canada, even on a major day when there is a big celebration and a big puja, you see lot of participation only from people who are new immigrants. Or if its from families that have been here for a long time, then its only the parents who are there. But rarely do you see their kids participating in these celebrations and that has been consistent. Whether I go on the Ram Navami celebrations and they do kalyanam there and I go on that day, its either just newly immigrated families or even families that are first generation immigrants, but then, second generation is nowhere to be seen. I definitely think that it is a problem. We should not end this conversation on a sad note, but unfortunately that seems to be the case, I think we seem to be failing on that front. Therefore, podcasts like this I believe are extremely important for us to think about what small ways we can connect the kids back to our traditions and culture. Even if you are not religious, this is not about just the religion, right? This is about your culture, this is about your language, your food, your arts, your music. So, at the end of the day, its also about India. And you cannot separate the two. You cannot separate all the things that I mentioned, you cannot separate them from India. So, I think when you lose the second generation, you are losing connection not just with the religion even though you might be thinking it's just a religious connection that is being broken. I think the connection to everything that I mentioned; arts, music, the geography of India. Everything.[32:32] Rekha: So beautifully said. It's not just one aspect that we lose, and the losing starts with language. If you can hold on to your language for as long as possible, there is a fair chance that many other things will survive. To end on a positive note, there are so many ways in which kids can get attracted to our festivals. Just giving the example of art (rangolis), a child who's interested in art, just get them interested in rangoli. For a child who's interested in animals, talk about the kanuma festival, talk about livestock, cattle, get them to be hands-on in some way, maybe using kite-flying. A hands-on approach really works with kids. For those in STEM, we can, as we discussed before, talk about the axial precession, talk about the difference between Makara Sankranti and Uttarayan and how they are slightly astronomically different and then get them involved in helping. For a socially conscious child, helping poorer members of the community through daanam and make them understand that  as Hindus, this is one aspect that we do, but doesn't get much publicity. Temples do a great deal of annadanam, of giving food to the needy. So there is something for everybody and you can get your child interested in many many many different ways. So, that, I'd like to think, is the takeaway from this session.Thank you so much, Shashank garu, for your valuable time, and we hope to see you on future podcasts. Thank you again, and as always, please write to us with your questions, comments, suggestions.  The next time, we will have another special guest on our podcast. We will talk about the Hindu calendar because it's the start of 2023. We'd like to talk about the Hindu calendar and how it's different from the Gregorian calendar that we follow today. So that's for the next podcast and thank you so much for listening. Namaste. Get full access to Hindu Parenting at hinduparenting.substack.com/subscribe

The Indian community celebrates Lohri with a whole lot of grandeur and pomp. SBS Punjabi spoke to its listeners and readers across the country to get a sneak peek into their celebrations. - ਦੁਨੀਆ ਭਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਸਦੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀਆਂ ਲਈ ਲੋਹੜੀ ਦਾ ਤਿਓਹਾਰ ਕਾਫੀ ਅਹਿਮੀਅਤ ਰੱਖਦਾ ਹੈ। ਇਹ ਭਾਰਤ ਵਿੱਚ ਪੋਹ ਦੇ ਮਹੀਨੇ ਦੀ ਠੰਡ ਦਾ ਆਖਰੀ ਦਿਨ ਅਤੇ ਮਾਘ ਮਹੀਨੇ ਦੀ ਸ਼ੁਰੂਆਤ ਨਾਲ ਬਦਲਦੇ ਮੌਸਮ ਦਾ ਪ੍ਰਤੀਕ ਵੀ ਹੈ। ਆਸਟ੍ਰੇਲੀਆ ਵਿੱਚ ਗਰਮੀ ਦੇ ਮੌਸਮ ਵਿੱਚ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਲੋਹੜੀ ਨੂੰ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਮਨਾ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ ਇਸ ਬਾਬਤ ਪੇਸ਼ ਹੈ ਇਹ ਖ਼ਾਸ ਰਿਪੋਰਟ…

Cricket talk and..

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. This Thursday APEX Express proudly presents “South Asians and The Labor Justice Movement.” This episode highlights Sandhya Jha, a pastor, founder and former Executive Director of the Oakland Peace Center, and racial, housing, and labor justice activist. In the first half of the episode, we discuss Sandhya's life, their path into organizing, and what they're up to now. The second half is dedicated to their recent project with the South Asian American Digital Archive's Archival Creators Fellowship Program. This episode was interviewed, produced, and edited by Swati Rayasam Follow @Sandhya Jha on Facebook and check out Sandhya's website https://sandhyajha.com/    APEX Express is a weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Listen to the episode live on KPFA 94.1 in San Francisco, 89.3 in Berkeley, and online at KPFA.org.  References throughout the Show and Links: Without Fear Consulting Interfaith Alliance Oakland Peace Center Book – Blueprint for a Revolution Book – The Selected Writings of Eqbal Ahmad Podcast – Bending Toward Justice: Avatar the Last Airbender for the Global Majority The Alliance of South Asians Taking Action – ASATA Bay Area Solidarity Summer South Asian American Digital Archive Archival Creators Fellowship Program Sandhya Jha's project, you can listen to all of the oral histories here. Solidarity Forever Online Exhibit Arab Resource and Organizing Center Block the Boat No Tech for Apartheid  University of California Labor Center Equality Labs California Trade Justice Coalition NAFCON – National Alliance for Filipino Concerns Filipino Community Center Madhvi Trivedi Patak Transcript: South Asians and Labor Justice  [00:00:00]  [00:00:00] Swati Rayasam: Good evening everyone and Happy Thursday, my name is Swati Rayasam. While I'm usually in the background of APEX Express editing, this week I'm honored to bring you a piece from a dear friend of mine Sandhya Jha. We explore Sandhya's background as a mixed race kid, a housing, labor, and racial justice organizer, and a faith leader.  [00:00:50] Swati Rayasam: And then we dive into an amazing project, Sandhya did for the South Asian American Digital Archive's Archival Creators Fellowship program. Stay locked in.[00:01:00]  [00:01:00] Swati Rayasam: I'm really excited actually today to talk to Sandhya Jha, who is a really close friend of mine. Hi Sandhya. Hi there. Sandhya is, a Pastor is a consultant and has been working on this really amazing project with the South Asian American Digital Archive that will get into later in the episode. But yeah, Sandhya I'm just really excited to learn more about you and to hear more of your story and, let's just dive in. [00:01:26] Swati Rayasam: Absolutely.  [00:01:27] Swati Rayasam: We should first talk a little bit about how we know each other, you have this long organizing background. I've been in the Bay Area for the past seven years and I would be totally lying if I said I have not historically been, or I'm not even currently an active fangirl of yours. You are literally a pastor. You are a movement worker, how did you get involved in organizing? [00:01:53] Sandhya Jha: Yeah. So I am the product of my parents who were generous, compassionate [00:02:00] people who thought about the world beyond themselves, but were never involved in organizing or activism or anything like that. I think for anybody who comes from immigrant backgrounds, it's hard to tell our stories without naming who we come from. Right. And so my father was Sunil Kumar Jha from the village of Tildanga in West Bengal. My mother, who is still alive is Jeanette Campbell Jha. She is from Glasgow. So I come from a mixed religion and mixed race home. My parents chose not to name me Sandhya Campbell Jha not to give me that kind of grounding, but I was called Sandhya Rani Jha, which is a lot to live up to, well, yes, Rani does mean Queen. But it was actually handed down to me, part of the reason they wanted that middle name was it was my aunt's name, Durga Rani Upadhyay and she was the one who really [00:03:00] brokered my mother's acceptance into the Indian family and I think that there was something about being accepted on the Indian side of the family and not for many, many years on the Scottish side. That caused my parents and particularly my mother to double down on making sure I knew who I came from and who I came from was my people in the village of Tildanga. [00:03:23] Sandhya Jha: I grew up in Akron, Ohio, so we immigrated to this country when I was a toddler, in the late 1970s, which was a complicated time for Asian immigrants to be in the Midwest because it was a time that the rust belt was rusting and there was a growing sense that we were the reason. But also I grew up alongside folks who were trying to figure out how to put food on the table. So I think that landscape shaped me in a lot of ways. And I also come from people who grew up in poor working communities. And[00:04:00] when I went off to college, there was an organizing campaign. The board of directors of the university had created a for-profit corporation with the exact same board.  [00:04:15] Swati Rayasam: Oh wow.  [00:04:16] Sandhya Jha: So that the universities could subcontract all of their catering, all of their custodial work to this… basically Shell corporation.  [00:04:28] Swati Rayasam: Are we telling on the university?  [00:04:29] Sandhya Jha: Mm, Yeah. Why not? It was Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and I think that's relevant because the tension between Black communities next to Johns Hopkins Medical School and the school itself were very real because this was part of a very long history of exploiting community members. So the workers were organizing, and you know, I had read about activism, I cared about it. I paid as much attention as I could for a high school student. But when I got to college, this organizing [00:05:00] campaign was going, and the workers were really clear, Hey, college kids who are excited about this, we do have a role for you. It's to fill the crowd. It's to cheer us on. It's to when we ask you communicate to the university that our well-being matters to you because they will listen to you in different ways. But the campaign centered the workers and was really clear with us about what our role was because we were the folks with all the privilege by getting to be there, right? We had tons of privilege and it was a really good lesson for me. I am so grateful. The first organizing campaign I was a part of was a labor campaign that understood what it meant to center the people who were the most impacted by injustice and I think that shaped the rest of my career.  [00:05:46] Swati Rayasam: And that's so special too because I think for many people who come into organizing, and I will definitely cop to this myself, like coming up and organizing through high school and college level organizing. When you are a student, nobody ever [00:06:00] tells you that actually you are the least useful kind of organizer that exists. Right. You are in this incredibly enclaved community. Your oppressor, the university, all they have to do is wait for you to graduate institutional memory will not keep you. Yeah. Right. And I think that it is, it's this perfect storm of, you have actually sometimes cool ideas, sometimes very rudimentary ideas, but you also have this turnover issue and you have this sense of self import, which often comes with your teens, early twenties. Yep. As you're just figuring all of that out. So Yeah, self differentiation, right? It's a narcissistic phase in our development. .  [00:06:46] Swati Rayasam: It absolutely is and I think that's so important, and I can't imagine how my life would be shaped if I didn't have to spend a lot of time unlearning the self import and narcissism that I had gained through student [00:07:00] organizing. [00:07:00] Sandhya Jha: Yeah. No, I am really, really grateful for it.  [00:07:02] Sandhya Jha: My first job outta college was working for a member of Congress, which sounds super fancy and pretentious, but, a member of congress from Akron, Ohio. So put that all in perspective. His name, believe it or not, was Tom Sawyer. Oh, wow. What I loved about Tom was back in those days, he believed very strongly that 80% of legislation was nonpartisan and that was the part that he spent most of his time on. He would weigh in with his party, when they were dealing with that 20% pretty consistently. But he was more interested in the stuff that everybody could agree on and I remember for about 15 years after I worked for him, I looked back and found myself thinking that was so naive. How did he not understand where we were about to head with the divisions between the political parties? But at this point in my life, I realize the people I respect most in organizing work keep pointing out that the binary of [00:08:00] left and right actually doesn't serve us very well. One of my biggest heroes in the movement right now is the Reverend Dr. William Barber,  [00:08:07] Swati Rayasam: Hometown hero of mine. Yes.  [00:08:09] Sandhya Jha: Poor People's campaign from North Carolina. And he always talks about how it's not about right and left. It's about right and wrong. And it turns out that when we engage in organizing with the awareness that there are huge swaths of things that most of us are well served by, we can do better organizing. And that was actually how Tom was legislating. And at a certain point I realized that my deep passion was around racial justice, but the distinct experience I had in a multi religious household was an awareness of how religion was being used as a weapon. I had an obsession. Every paper in college I wrote was about the Christian coalition, this right wing, organizing body in the nineties. So a friend of mine [00:09:00] said, You know, there's an interfaith organization working against the Christian Coalition. And it was called the Interfaith Alliance. Her mom had been a superintendent in Washington state in eastern Washington and was a pretty conservative person by my standards. [00:09:18] Sandhya Jha: But, Dr. Chow believed in multiculturalism and believed in teaching evolution. And the Christian coalition had organized to push her out of her position as superintendent and the Interfaith Alliance of Washington State had supported her in that time. [00:09:38] Sandhya Jha: And so Liz said, you know, they've got a national chapter, a national office. And that's where I ended up, cutting my adult organizing teeth which was great because talk about learning lessons for our current moment where religion is being weaponized in ways that are anti-trans, that are anti-queer, that are anti-women, that [00:10:00] are anti reproductive rights, that are anti-immigrant and refugee. I am really grateful to have experienced the power of multi-faith organizing, around a lot of those same issues. So that was what I did in the early two thousands and then I went to seminary and public policy school, and then I ended up out here pastoring a congregation of 10 people in a building of 40,000 square feet. [00:10:29] Sandhya Jha: And long story short, that's how the Oakland Peace Center was born, was out of this dream of cultivating deeper collaboration among nonprofits who were dedicated to a shared cause. The Oakland Peace Center, which is a collective of 40 different nonprofits committed to dismantling the root causes of violence in our community. I was the founder of that organization and it was when I was pastoring First Christian Church of Oakland that I asked the handful of folks who were members of that church, what they wanted to [00:11:00] contribute to the community, and they said they wanted to contribute peace in the midst of violence. And for a dozen folks to have given birth to a space that in non pandemic years, saw over a hundred thousand people do things like the Lawyers for Black Lives Conference and to do Kingian non-violence training and to be a part of food and clothing distribution, to participate in all the very diverse ways that we can create peace is pretty impressive.  [00:11:30] Sandhya Jha: And a couple of years ago, I left the Oakland Peace Center because a colleague of mine said, Anybody can run a non-profit. We need you to do what you're actually good at, and what she meant by that was we need more people of color doing diversity, equity, and inclusion work that is actually grounded in power analysis. That isn't just how do we be nicer to each other in the workplace, but how do we recognize the ways that systems of white supremacy [00:12:00] unconsciously often shape the culture of our workplaces? And what do we do to dismantle that white supremacy culture so that we can be building nonprofits and institutions of higher education and faith organizations, and even corporations that are dedicated to our full liberation, our liberation, the lands liberation. [00:12:23] Swati Rayasam: I mean coming, especially from the place that you come in grassroots organizing and in faith based organizing, what is it actually to transition into this kind of consulting space around racial justice and really interface with a lot of people that I feel like as organizers, we don't really talk to? [00:12:42] Sandhya Jha: One of my favorite things about this shift in my work is I love getting to work with folks who don't think of themselves as organizers, who, it turns out are organizers, Right. I think we sometimes create a cult of here's what an organizer looks like, you [00:13:00] have to be a Martin Luther King or a Cesar Chavez and what I love is getting to work with moms and with teenagers and with folks who think of themselves as caring, compassionate, individuals, and when I go into an organization and work with their handful of folks who care about this issue, the DEI team, I get to teach them how to strategically organize. I get to teach them how do you create culture shift over time? I get to teach them how do you figure out who your allies are? How do you figure out how to move people who are neutral? It turns out that there are a lot more organizers out there than we realize if we don't create one definition of what an organizer needs to look like.  [00:13:45] Swati Rayasam: I have been reading this political scholar Eqbal Ahmed, who really talks about the way the burden is on those of us who are deeply committed to movement work, narrow definition people, the burden is really on us to try and [00:14:00] create a liberatory future that feels both achievable. Mm-hmm. and safe for everybody. Because when people engage in mass struggle and in revolution, there are people who are a hundred percent willing to put their lives on the line. People who are willing to die for the cause. And we absolutely need those people. And there are many people along the spectrum who, if you can create a future that feels like it's within their grasp, they will come with you.  [00:14:30] Sandhya Jha: Yep. I teach a lot of organizing classes and have gotten a chance to teach alongside my beloved colleague BK Woodson at Allen Temple Baptist Church, they have a leadership institute there. And one of the books we use is Blueprint for a Revolution by Srđa Popović. And I feel like I learned a lot as we read that book together and thought about how to apply it to the work we're doing in Oakland. They talked about how by engaging in nonviolent direct action, [00:15:00] they created space for elders to be a part of their work and youth to be a part of their work and families to be a part of their work. By making the movement playful. They gave people hope and gave people courage because dictators are terrified of being mocked.  [00:15:17] Swati Rayasam: Yeah, exactly. And I think by being really restrictive or narrow about who we view as actually valuable organizers. And I think labor movements teach us this a lot, right? We really cut ourselves off at the knees on our ability to build a network or to be in touch with the general population, many of whom are more connected than we ever give them credit for.  [00:15:41] Sandhya Jha: Yeah. Yep. it's part of why I love labor organizing. I talk with a lot of people who are disenchanted with organizing who ask me how I can have stayed involved for the past 25 years. And why I've been able to stay in it is cuz I'm organizing alongside workers and they have [00:16:00] full lives. And the work that they're doing in the movement is so that they can live their full lives. And there's something about having that perspective and recognizing the why all the time instead of getting lost in the weeds of the what. Is so important in this work. I think that has been a big theme of my organizing life is how do we build to the greatest common denominator? As my friend BK often says how do we build towards those shared values that often get erased when we are engaged in the right versus left debate. [00:16:39] Swati Rayasam: Yeah. I think that it is so important and I also think that it's really hard in this moment of what feels like constant trauma and re trauma. [00:16:51] Swati Rayasam: And to some extent especially when we're talking about the left right dichotomy there are real concerns [00:17:00] about safety. Yep. And there are real concerns about security and who you are in community with and who you can find even the smallest level of acceptance from to ensure that you won't have violence visited upon you. And I think that these conversations of united front organizing, Right. trying to bridge across difference mm-hmm. for a shared goal, for a shared liberatory future Yep. Are really important. And they feel kind of impossible to achieve right now.  [00:17:31] Sandhya Jha: It's interesting cuz I think that in many ways that is true. There are a lot of conversations that I think people with privilege expect, people who are marginalized to engage in. And those expectations are unfair, what I found very frustrating was the number of people with a lot of privilege who would be like, Ugh, I just can't talk to those people. And I'm like, Then who's going to? Exactly. and so I do think that some of this is about being willing to have [00:18:00] hard conversations in the places where we have privilege and recognizing who's at actual risk and showing up in ways that are protective of who is at risk. But that doesn't mean walking away from people who aren't where we are. Right. Because the fact of the matter is everybody's on a journey. And I have watched at the same time some of the disposability culture in movements write off people without giving them any way to address harm, repair harm, and find a pathway back into community. [00:18:41] Swati Rayasam: Yeah. And I think that's why, at least I am feeling really hopeful about, what I've seen over the past couple of years, this really important track into transformative justice and restorative justice, to acknowledge that there is harm that has happened, there are harms that happen every day between people. [00:19:00] And also we are all on our own journey to unlearn the things that we have been taught either directly or indirectly by our upbringing, by our environment and that you cannot easily dispose of people and that people are able to come back into community. Now that comes with a very important caveat that like they recognize the harm. Mm-hmm. that. They have done or how they've been party to it, that they acknowledge that there is healing work that needs to be done both with the person that they harmed and also probably in internally.  [00:19:35] Sandhya Jha: Well, and the community, folks who don't do RJ on a regular basis tend to skip the community aspect. Yeah. That there is actually repair that needs to be done with community and there's work community needs to do to figure out how to re-embrace reabsorb people who have done harm in ways that still protect the person who's been harmed. [00:19:55] Swati Rayasam: Exactly. In ways that do not erase the harm that has happened, but [00:20:00] acknowledge, contextualize it and say, Okay, we are patching this and we are working to move forward in step with each other. Absolutely.  [00:20:09] Sandhya Jha: Can I just say that one of the other things that I think you and I have in common is a real passion for bringing joy back into the work of Justice I quote Fabiana Rodriguez a lot on this particular thing, because I was at an event she was doing eons ago, and she looked out at us and most of us were activists and she said, Listen, y ‘all you keep inviting people to a struggle. I'm on your side and I don't wanna join a struggle. I want to join a party. And that was like a call to arms for me when I heard her say that. I was like, Oh my gosh, you're right. We are so much more fun. Like, I've hung out with people who are anti-trans and anti queer and anti-immigrant and anti refugee. They are not fun people. No, no. We have all of the best parties. So I don't know why we don't [00:21:00] capitalize on that more. So I think the role of joy and justice is so important. And this is why I was so excited to have you on the podcast that I launched recently. [00:21:11] Sandhya Jha: Right. Bending Towards Justice Avatar the last Airbender for the Global Majority.  [00:21:15] Swati Rayasam: So literally like bringing it together. Two of my favorite things right, is like TV shows, wholesome TV shows like Avatar, The Last Airbender that I deeply love and organizing. Yes. All the work that I love. And I think it's true You know, what is actually really the important work is to work to build toward a future that is desirable Yep. That people want to be a part of. Yeah. That people can see happen. Yeah. And I think that is a lot of the difficulty that I have seen in some organizing circles. We are so well versed in what we are against and all of the things that are bad that so many people have a really hard time seeing or visioning or communicating [00:22:00] what it is that we are fighting for. Yeah. Right. And it's not enough to say, I'm fighting for a world where we can all be safe. Right. Yeah. I'm not, I'm fighting for a world where we can all take long naps in the middle of the day if we'd like to do that. Right. Yeah. But like really building and visioning that future of like, in this world in which we are all safe, there will be harm that happens. How do we deal with that? Yeah. What do we do with that? How do we make sure that it is able to keep everybody safe and also able to account for the times in which it is not able to keep everybody safe. [00:22:38] Sandhya Jha: Visionary does not have to mean naive. And we need it to be visionary. And sometimes I forget to do the visionary stuff. I've got a colleague, Dave Bell, he's a farmer who is also an anti-racism trainer and we do a lot of work together. He's a white guy who lives in White Swan, Washington, on the reservation and I remember being at a training with him and I [00:23:00] was all fired up and I was so excited about the conversations we were having and the people were really ready to do the hard work and roll up their sleeves. And Dave says to them, I would like to not have to do this work. And I'm like, What is he talking about? This is amazing. We're doing such good work. And he says, I would like for us not to have to talk about racism all the time. I would rather be farming. I would rather be, taking care of the cows in my field. [00:23:26] Sandhya Jha: I would rather be talking about my pottery work that I'm doing badly but learning how to do, I would rather be doing anything than have this conversation. But I don't get to be on the farm with the wheat, with the cows, with my bad pottery until we figured out how to do this anti-racism work. And it was a really humbling moment for me because I also get into that like I'm an organizer, that's my identity space. And it was this reminder of Dave's doing this. So he gets to live in a world where he gets to hang out in the fields and he [00:24:00] gets to, love on the cows. There's something about being reminded that we're doing this so that eventually we don't have to do it. That I think is actually visionary in its own way and it's important.  [00:24:12] Swati Rayasam: Moving into a little bit more of the grit of like why I asked you to be on the show today. I met you originally when I moved to the Bay Area when you were the executive director of the Oakland Peace Center because At that time I was doing organizing work with the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action, which is a 20 year old bay area based organization, that was really founded around the Laki Reddy Bali Reddy sex trafficking. Yep. Caste and labor exploitation case that happened in Berkeley in 1999. And I was just so thrilled to be around and have in community so many rad desis. And you also did work with ASATA, right. Historically and are actively doing work with us.  [00:24:56] Sandhya Jha: Absolutely. One of the places I think I invested the most [00:25:00] energy in where we got to spend a lot of quality time in the kitchen was one of the projects, Bay Area Solidarity Summer, an organizing institute, camp, however you wanna refer to it. [00:25:10] Swati Rayasam: Political education, Summer camp.  [00:25:12] Swati Rayasam: Yeah, exactly. For young South Asian Americans who are committed to activism. What I think was the most beautiful part of that program when I was involved in it, and it's still the case today, is for young South Asians who think that they're the only ones who care about justice issues, who haven't met other people, who are South Asian, and identify as justice seekers first to meet each other and realize that there are people just like them. Then to look around and realize that those of us who are usually 10, 15, 20 years older than them are also committed to the work and have been doing it for decades. And then for them to get exposed to the long history of radical visionary organizing and activism of South [00:26:00] Asians here in the US and also in the homelands of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and diasporic countries all over the world. [00:26:13] Sandhya Jha: There's something about realizing, Oh, you have contemporaries, oh, you have elders, oh, you have ancestors. Mm-hmm. Especially in the face of the model minority lie that so many of us have had imposed on us, this lie that all we are all we're supposed to be is cogs in this larger capitalist machine that are non disruptive, which is why we're allowed to survive. And if we are non disruptive enough, we might even be able to be comfortable. And to discover that there's more to our story than that is so exciting and I love, love, love being a part of that.  [00:26:52] Swati Rayasam: Yeah. I think that is like fundamentally one of the most important kind of activities that [00:27:00] happens in the ASATA universe, I was a kid who also grew up thinking that there were no other South Asians like me, or there were no other folks who were interested in justice. I spent a lot of time doing, reproductive and queer justice in the south; I always think about what would it have meant if I came in, BASS for 18 to 24 year olds. Yep. what would it have meant if I had come in at a fresh 18 and been able to basically be apprised of the fact that I have this history Yeah. That it's not just me. And that actually, immigration and white supremacy and neo-colonial culture has created this project of assimilation that all of our parents have been in on, in a way to survive Yeah. And to be safe. And I tell my, I tell my mom that a lot because she's always a little surprised about the organizing work that I do. And I was just like, Your job was to survive. My job is to liberate. Yeah. [00:28:00] You know? Yeah. And I could not do that if you were not so focused on creating that environment for me. [00:28:07] Swati Rayasam: I love that.  [00:28:07] Swati Rayasam: we'll drop in the show notes, but, BASS – Bay Area Solidarity Summer is solidaritysummer.org. So we'll put that in the show notes as well as ASATA, the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action is ASATA.org. And yeah, I think that is a really good segue into how we got involved in this amazing project.  [00:28:31] Swati Rayasam: You're tuned in to APEX express at 94.1 KPFA and 89.3, KPFB in Berkeley. And online@kpfa.org.  [00:28:43] Swati Rayasam: I think it was Fall 2021 that you and I were talking. Yep. And you were telling me that you were involved in this amazing archival fellowship project. Is run by the South Asian American Digital Archive and [00:29:00] that you were going to do your project about labor. Mm-hmm. and South Asians. Yep. And my immediate, incredibly naive response was, how many South Asians are there in labor?  [00:29:12] Sandhya Jha: Exactly. And it's not naive. It's interesting cuz I think that this project actually emerged out of my favorite part of BASS, which was when the young adults would ask what their opportunities were in the world of justice. And I would say, you know, there's a place for us in labor justice. It had never crossed most of their minds. Right. We don't think of ourselves as having a role especially in formalized unions. And so SAADA, the South Asian American Digital Archives has an archival fellows project. And the whole purpose of it is to diversify their archives and collect the stories that are usually overlooked in the telling of South Asian American stories. [00:29:56] Sandhya Jha: And they have done a great job over the years of collecting the [00:30:00] stories of informal organizing, like the Punjabi Taxi Drivers campaign, the Bangladeshi Nail Workers Campaign. Those were informal labor organizing campaigns. That have been really well archived and they're amazing stories. I wanted to make sure that the next generation of South Asian activists knew about the South Asians who were actually part of the formal organized labor movement. [00:30:30] Sandhya Jha: And so I spent this past year interviewing, maybe a half a dozen or so South Asian American workers. Generally, not always, but mostly what would be classified as low wage workers who found a pathway into formal organizing bodies, unite here or the building trades or any number of the formal unions that keep [00:31:00] the labor movement alive across the country today. And I'm really proud of the fact that we do have South Asian workers who have moved up the ranks to be official organizers or to be at negotiating tables. And so that's part of the story I thought it was worth us telling. [00:31:19] Swati Rayasam: And I am, I'm so excited that we get to dive deeper into this project and I really love your framing too, around the three large bins that you have, solidarity, spirit and struggle. [00:31:34] Swati Rayasam: Right? Yeah. Yeah.  [00:31:35] Sandhya Jha: I started out with certain assumptions about what I was going to learn, partly because I've been doing labor solidarity work for 25 years at this point. I really thought I knew what I was gonna hear. And what I discovered was there were these consistent themes across, the interviews. that there were these notions of, Oh, what's meaningful to me is [00:32:00] getting to organize across cultures, getting to organize with people who, on the surface and even deep down are very different than me, but we share this vision of what our lives can be. And so that solidarity message I found really powerful. Also, and admittedly because I come out of a spiritual background, was probably looking for it. I was really struck by how many of the interviews ended up talking about the role of spirituality and shaping people's values. And in a couple of instances, organizers said, what my religion taught me was that religion needs to be challenged. And building up that muscle was what helped me challenge systems of injustice in other places. But others said that their journey with their faith tradition was what guided them into the work of labor organizing. [00:32:52] Sandhya Jha: And then that third bucket of struggle, I think is the lived experience of how [00:33:00] hard it is to take on oppressive systems of capitalism, how hard it is to take on decks that are stacked against us and what it means to have somewhere to turn in the midst of those struggles. I will say there were also a couple of lessons I was surprised by because my South Asian identity is so central to my organizing work, I was expecting to collect stories of people who were proud South Asians, who were also proud to be involved in the labor movement. And I assumed that they would see connections between those things because I certainly do. But what I discovered is for the most part, they were like, Yeah, I'm South Asian. I'm not saying that doesn't matter, but it's not super relevant to my organizing work. My organizing work is about [00:34:00] our cross-cultural solidarity. And that was something I hadn't been expecting that emerged as I did those interviews. Interesting. And I'm really grateful that the South Asian American Digital Archives likes telling all of the stories because I think I promised them that what they were going to get was, we're proud to be South Asian organizers. And what I got was, yeah, we're South Asian, we're proud to be organizers. And the that SAADA is like, yeah, that's part of our story too.  [00:34:28] Swati Rayasam: Yeah. And I think that's, that I think is incredibly important. We have this really, amazing series of audio clips from your SAADA interviews that really represent a lot of the themes that you were highlighting about solidarity, spirit, and struggle. And I'm just really excited to play them as we talk through these larger themes in your larger project and the experience of South Asian labor organizers. [00:34:55] Swati Rayasam: This clip is from somebody that you and I both know, which [00:35:00] is Prem Pariyar. I was so thrilled that Prem was a part of your project. I think Prem is an incredible organizer, so yeah tell our listeners a little bit about Prem. Prem  [00:35:09] Sandhya Jha: It was pretty exciting to get to work with him you know, he moved here from Nepal and in Nepal he had been a Dalit activist and he came to the United States and had this notion that in the United States there is no caste and he was disabused of that notion very quickly as a restaurant worker dealing with anti Nepali bias in Indian restaurants, dealing with caste bias in Nepali restaurants, well dealing with Caste bias in all the restaurants.  [00:35:35] Swati Rayasam: Hey, everyone, Narrator Swati here, I just wanted to put in an explanatory comma, a la W Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu to talk about some terms you just heard. Sandhya referenced that Prem was a Dalit activist and also talked about Caste bias. For those of you who don't know, Caste is a violent system of oppression and exclusion, which governs social status in many south Asian countries, although it is [00:36:00] most commonly associated with India. It works on an axis of purity and pollution, and it's hereditary. At the top of the caste system are Brahmins, by the way Sandhya and I are both Brahmin, and not even at the bottom, but completely outside of the system are Dalits who were previously referred to by the slur untouchable and Adivasis who are indigenous to South Asia.  [00:36:25] Swati Rayasam: Despite being “illegal” Caste bias, Caste Oppression, Caste apartheid, are still prevalent, both in South Asia and as Sandhya references, in the United States. It manifests in many ways that people experience racial injustice, via socioeconomic inequality, systemic and interpersonal violence, occupation, and through the determination of marriage and other relationships. You can learn more at EqualityLabs.org and APEX currently has a show in the works that delves into this more deeply. Now. Back to Sandhya  [00:36:58] Sandhya Jha: What is [00:37:00] delightful to me is Prem went on to get an MSW and is building out amazing mental health resources for Dalit communities for the Nepali community. Seeking to build out a program where there are more and more people in Nepal who are trained with MSW skills.  [00:37:21] Sandhya Jha: I met with one of his professors from CSU East Bay where he got his degree and she said, You know, that the entire Cal State system is adding caste to its anti-discrimination policies thanks to the work he started at CSU East Bay. And it was really beautiful to hear that because the focus of my conversations with him were more around how his experiences in the restaurants led him into the solidarity work with nail salon workers. [00:37:53] Swati Rayasam: To just, kick back to the caste abolition work that Prem has been doing, that caste abolition work [00:38:00] at CSU East Bay has been such critical work in these ongoing conversations around caste that have been in the South Asian community primarily, but have been percolating elsewhere. [00:38:13] Swati Rayasam: You know, the state of California filed a lawsuit against Cisco systems Yep. For caste discrimination in their workplace and there have been all these conversations around caste and tech work and interplay that with the no tech for apartheid work. Right. That has been happening in Palestinian liberation circles. Yeah. And really building that solidarity movement. So I think that Prem is an absolute powerhouse Yeah. In that regard. But yeah, let's listen to this clip.  [00:38:42] Prem: During that time, I got connected with other community organizer, like workers group. I got connected and so I was connected with nail salon workers, who were exploited at their workplace and with them, [00:39:00] I got to go to the capital in Sacramento. And so I thought I need to advocate for the restaurant workers. that was my first experience, like working with other workers and with the assembly members and like other other policy makers I shared what is happening what kinds of discrimination happening at the workplace. So I advocated for the restaurant workers at that time. I shared my stories and I supported the rights of nail salon workers. I was there to support them and they supported me as well, and it was wonderful. And finally that advocacy worked. And the bill was drafted and it was passed finally. And so it was huge achievement at that time.  [00:39:49] Swati Rayasam: I love that. I think that is such a perfect story of when you win, we all win.  [00:39:56] Sandhya Jha: And what I also love about it is he goes on [00:40:00] to talk about how he has remained in relationship with those nail salon workers. That they show up for each other, that they take each other food, that they show up to each other's baby showers and birthday parties, and there's this sense of community that emerges out of this shared struggle. And so that's a cross-cultural campaign. They were mostly Vietnamese. There were some Bangladeshi nail salon workers, but it was mostly people from a different culture than his. [00:40:27] Sandhya Jha: But somebody at the Asian Health Services program that he was at, saw his gifts, saw his passion, and he really responded to that in exactly, the most powerful way. I can imagine. [00:40:38] Swati Rayasam: And I think one of the nice things as well about that is that person at Asian Health Services connected Prem in and the Nail Salon Worker group, California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, Prem came from Nepal, I'm not sure, but the extent to which his organizing background and how comfortable he was in the US organizing space around labor [00:41:00] issues was probably significantly less that worker group took it upon themselves when they saw Prem come in to say, Oh, you are advocating on behalf of restaurant workers. Great. Why don't you join us? Let's help support and so the nail salon workers saw Prem, saw solidarity with Prem and said, It is our responsibility mm-hmm to bring you into this space to connect you in and to move in, struggle together. Yeah. Toward our shared goals of safety, of health, of rights. Yep.  [00:41:35] Sandhya Jha: Exactly.  [00:41:36] Swati Rayasam: So, we have this clip from Daljit, tell me a little bit about Daljit. Daljit [00:41:42] Sandhya Jha: Yeah. Daljit was an attorney who now reads tarot for people because she needed a break from the toxicity of that career and how it was taking her away from her family. Daljit is a deeply spiritual person and, [00:42:00] as I mentioned before, this theme of spirit showed up in some really beautiful ways in some of the interviews. I loved the way she understood her Sikh tradition as foundationally being connected with the land and foundationally connected with the people who work the land. [00:42:15] Daljit: Agriculture is our culture and the religion that I was born into, Siki, the founder of that faith was a farmer. And so a lot of the scripture, the analogies, the metaphors, the poetry, the music, the songs, the boon, the traditional folk songs, that can be taunting and teasing banter, all that stuff the land is the framework for that. And my most favorite line from the Guru Granth Sahib, our holy book, is, [speaks Punjabi] and that basically means that, the waters our guru, the airs our father, but our mother is Earth. And that's the greatest of all , and that's adherence to ecosystem. That's the [00:43:00] indigenous Cosmo vision that should be paramount. And that's what I try to teach my children. And so I think that's what I was taught as a kid without necessarily being able to pinpoint it, but it was just infused throughout our songs, our music, our food, the Harvest, there's two times a year that our celebrations, whether it Baisakhi or Lohri. It's so connected to the harvest and what is coming out of the soil or not. And you're connected to the cycles of nature. [00:43:28] Swati Rayasam: The connection between nature land, spirituality the way that it shows up in so many faith backgrounds and so many faith organizers, I think is really, really beautiful.  [00:43:41] Sandhya Jha: And I love that Daljit Kaursoni who was raised in this tradition, has found her way to Buddhism and is raising her kids with those connections, but without ever losing this grounding in the liberation of the land, the liberation of the [00:44:00] people. [00:44:00] Sandhya Jha: And for that to be a key element of her spirituality, even as her spirituality evolves, I think it's pretty powerful.  Tafadar [00:44:08] Sandhya Jha: One of the other people I got to interview ,Tafadar, he's a Bangladeshi American in the building trades and is a deeply committed Marxist. For me, this was a particularly exciting interview because I'm Bengali, so from West Bengal, before partition, Bangladesh and what's now West Bengal, were one state. And so it was fun to get to talk with him and to say, Hey, this is our legacy as Bengalis is radical worker organizing. [00:44:40] Sandhya Jha: And I remember saying to him, Some people in the building trades are not super excited to be working with brown people. And some people in the building trades are a little biased against women. And as a very, very progressive South Asian? How do you navigate that [00:45:00] space? [00:45:00] Sandhya Jha: And he said, Here's the thing is, yeah, I organize alongside some moderate to conservative white folks from New Jersey and he said, but in the building trades, if that moderate to conservative white guy from New Jersey decides he doesn't like my feminist politics, or he doesn't like my brown skin, if he decides that's a reason not to train me, he might die. And it was really interesting because even though I've been doing labor justice work for a long time, it was one of those moments I was like, Oh, right. Your work is very dangerous and you all have to rely on each other whether you like each other or not. That is the magic of organizing that no one ever talks about. This is why we can do cross class, cross-cultural work because literally you have to trust each other with your lives. Right. That was a really clarifying moment for me. And it was one of those interesting moments where I was like, [00:46:00] Solidarity is not a romantic thing. Uh, it is very much a matter of life and death. [00:46:05] Sandhya Jha: And I think that is really important and that exact thing that you brought up, you don't even have to necessarily trust somebody. Right. But you do need them. Yep. Right. And like that really clear understanding that like your fates are intertwined and it is truly in everybody's best interest. If you are trained well, irrespective of whether or not at lunch, I'm interested in sitting anywhere near you. I think that's really great. [00:46:32] Sandhya Jha: One of the things that was really exciting about talking with Tafadar was the reminder that labor organizing and formal union organizing at its best can be in solidarity with other movements really worker justice and housing justice and racial justice are inseparable, on some level. And so, one of the most inspiring stories I got to hear across all of these interviews [00:47:00] was a campaign that brought together folks across the anti- gentrification, the immigrant rights, and the labor justice movement. [00:47:14] Tafadar: It's ironic, building affordable housing with deadly exploitation. And, um, to do this, the de blassio administration, they embark on massive major rezonings of poor areas to relax the local zoning laws to be able to bring in these developments. And a couple of years ago, my, my union in local 79's. Took a very sharp turn towards a community organizing approach because labor can't win on our own, and that's the perspective that all of labor should adopt. In order to fight against the sweatshops in our industry. We united with a lot of community organizations in the South Bronx. [00:47:53] Tafadar: We formed the South Bronx, Safe Southern Boulevard Coalition. And along with these groups, we [00:48:00] protested and did a whole lot of activism, lobbying, community organizing to stop the rezoning of Southern Boulevard, which is a massive stretch in the South Bronx, while the De Blassio administration had succeeded in another part of the Bronx where there's like massive displacement still underway right now. And we were determined to stop it there. And it was a beautiful thing that we can unite because on our end as labor, we had to prevent all these trash companies from coming in and exploiting workers. And we were working with these tenants who are afraid of being displaced. And people generally, we do need revitalization of our neighborhoods. We do need investment. We do need things to be changed and made better. For us. If it's not for us, if it's done without us, then eventually we're not even gonna be here anymore. So we had that alliance going on and not only did we manage to stop that rezoning, we also educated the local city councilman on why his position was wrong and supporting the rezoning. And he eventually completely flipped this [00:49:00] position. And now chairs the land use committee of the city council from the perspective that we educated him on, which it's just been a very interesting dynamic. But, there's a lot of rezoning battles all over the city that's like the main front of anti gentrification struggles. And I've been watching those kinds of campaigns go on since I began organizing about 15, 16. I've seen very different approaches to them, but I've never seen any model really work until that one kicked in where Labor and the community came together. So that was one of my favorite campaigns because of that lesson that we were able to concretely put into practice and set as an example for not only for community movements all over New York City, but also for Labor. [00:49:43] Sandhya Jha: I think this hit me in particular because I've done so much work around antis displacement in Oakland, and my experience has been. [00:49:53] Sandhya Jha: That while for most of us on the ground, the connection between housing justice and labor justice is really clear. When you [00:50:00] start getting into the technical policy issues and the funding issues, the folks who are running labor and housing justice or affordable housing, struggle to find ways to collaborate. And it's been one of my consistent heartbreaks for at least a decade at this point because I work at the intersection of those things and sometimes I despair of us being able to find ways to move forward together. And so to hear a story like this one and to be reminded at core, those justice issues can and must be we already knew, must be, but actually can function together to build a better community. That was actually really life giving for me to hear.  [00:50:45] Swati Rayasam: Yeah. I a hundred percent agree. And I think the point that Tafadar as well brings in the clip of just saying we knew that we could do this, but we knew we couldn't do this without community organizing. Right? Yeah. That labor couldn't do this alone. Yeah. [00:51:00] And I think that is a lot of what, when we talk about solidarity politics, it's not just a backdoor way of inclusion for inclusion's sake, we have to all do this. Actually, it is integral that all of us are involved in any of these campaigns because it impacts all of us. And because we are not going to win with only a single constituency and in the very same way that, Tafadar was identifying that labor couldn't do that alone. in community organizing spaces that you and I have been in mm-hmm. , like we are constantly talking about how we cannot do any of this without labor. Yep. And I think a beautiful example of that is the Block the Boat campaign yeah that the Arab Resource Organizing Center, started back in 2014 and then again during 2021 to block the Zim ship from the port of Oakland. And like this community organization [00:52:00] AROC could not do that without working with the longshoreman to collaborate with the port workers. And I think that when we see the marriage of community organizing and labor organizing, that is when we get the power of grassroots organizing. [00:52:16] Sandhya Jha: Something I wanna mention about the SAADA Fellowship that I was really grateful for: two things. First off, they did a really good job of making sure we got trained in grassroots oral history. So they took really seriously what it meant for this to be justice work. And they made sure we had exposure to methodology that was gonna lift up and honor and foster the voices of people whose stories don't get heard often enough. And that was a really big deal to me. The other thing is they made sure that we had an advisory board, people who are in this [00:53:00] work who could help us, figure out who to talk with, who could help us build out an event strategy. And you helped me build out my advisory committee. Anibel Ferris-Comelo who is with the University of California Labor Center,  [00:53:14] Swati Rayasam: Prem Pariyar, a Nepali Dalit restaurant worker, organizer pushing for Caste as a protected category with Equality Labs, a Dalit feminist organization, and a social worker supporting the mental health needs of his and many other South Asian communities in Alameda county.  [00:53:31] Swati Rayasam: Will Jamil Wiltchko with the California Trade Justice Coalition, Terry Valen who I did a lot of organizing with at the beginning of the pandemic, around the struggles that seafarers were facing with the onset of COVID-19. And he's the organizational director of the Filipino Community Center in San Francisco. The president of NAFCON which is the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns and just an all in all amazing organizer [00:53:57] Sandhya Jha: the last thing I wanna mention [00:54:00] is SAADA also helped me set up a digital exhibit with Art by Madhvi Trivedi Patak and I wanted to give them a shoutout because they're an incredible artist, but also they grew up in a working class family and didn't get exposed to what it looks like to do labor justice. And so as they developed the artwork to go with the digital exhibit, they got to experience the possibilities of labor solidarity that they hadn't gotten to experience as a child. And so I really loved that Madhvi was a part of this project as well [00:54:38] Swati Rayasam: All of the clips that you shared really identifying, again, these like huge fundamental pillars of solidarity and spirit and struggle. these clips were amazing. They are so rich and so layered with all of these people's varying and different experiences. Really showing in [00:55:00] all of these different walks of life at all of these ages with all of these experiences, that all of these people have this unified and shared identity in struggle, in spirit, and in solidarity for liberation. [00:55:14] Sandhya Jha: And one of the things that I think is worth celebrating is whether they see it as part of their South Asian identity or not. People who do identify as South Asian now have this resource that says there's a home for you in the labor movement. Yes, there are. There is a value to your voice. There is a value to your wisdom, there's a value to your experience in the labor movement. [00:55:36] Swati Rayasam: I think it's a beautiful project. Sandhya, I think it has been an amazing amount of work I've watched you do over the past year. These stories are so wonderful. I really encourage people to check it out. Where can they find your project? [00:55:49] Sandhya Jha: The website's www.saada.org/acfp [00:56:00] /exhibit/solidarity-forever. We'll put that in the notes. We'll definitely put that in the show notes. [00:56:05] Swati Rayasam: I just wanna make sure that we replug your podcast Bending Toward Justice Avatar, The Last Air Bender for the Global Majority and you can find that at tinyurl.com slash ATLA podcast, Capital P (tinyurl.com/ATLAPodcast). And then the last thing that I also wanna make sure that we plug is Without Fear Consulting. [00:56:27] Sandhya Jha: I love working with folks who know that their organization could be a little more liberative, and are, just not quite sure where to start. I love working with a team of folks who want to be about the work of incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion into the DNA of their organization and I love setting them up so that they can keep doing that long after I'm working with them. So please do find me withoutfearconsulting.com. If you're interested in that.  [00:56:58] Swati Rayasam: Amazing. Sandhya [00:57:00] Jha, Pastor, Racial Justice consultant, podcast host, archivist, singer songwriter, amazing cook. You can do it all. I think you deserve a nap. it has been amazing talking to you. I am so glad to be able to hear about your project and also to hear a lot more about your life.  [00:57:23] Sandhya Jha: Yay. Thank you so much. [00:57:25]  Miko Lee: Please check out our website, kpfa.org backslash program, backslash apex express to find out more about the show tonight and to find out how you can take direct action. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world. Your voices are important. Apex express is produced by Miko Lee Jalena Keane-Lee and Paige Chung and special editing by Swati Rayasam. Thank you so much to the KPFA staff for their support have a great night.  The post APEX Express 1.5.23 South Asians and The Labor Justice Movement appeared first on KPFA.

‘Hymns in Blood' is an English translation of a Punjabi novel ‘Khoon de Sohile' by legendary Punjabi author Nanak Singh, first published in February 1948, and now translated for the first time into English by his grand son Navdeep Suri, a former diplomat who has served in India's diplomatic missions in Washington DC and London. He was also India's ambassador to Egypt and the UAE. Navdeep Suri in conversation with broadcaster Achala Sharma says dealing with the trauma of partition of India in 1947, the novel provides a message of healing that is as relevant today in the context of Hindu-Muslim communalism as it was 75 years ago and provides a timely reminder of the grief and trauma that a religious divide brings in its wake.The novel tells the story based in 1947, Chakri, an idyllic village on the banks of the Soan near Rawalpindi, surrounded by stalks of golden wheat and festive songs. Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs eagerly await the end of winter and get together to prepare for Lohri.Amidst this joyous bustle, Baba Bhana, the erudite village elder, worries about the future of his foster daughter, Naseem. Life comes to a halt when news of a possible partition of India reaches the village. Amid a frenzy of communal violence, Baba Bhana and his family must reluctantly leave their beloved village. They embark on a long and dangerous journey, slowly coming to terms with the fact that their lives may be changing forever.The novel ‘Hymns In Blood' written by Nanak Singh of ‘Pavitra Papi' and ‘Khooni Vaisakhi' fame, translated from the Punjabi by Navdeep Suri has been published by Harper Collins India in 2022.

Fiji Indian news and music

May this Lohri Fire brings light to the world.

Hindi Rhyme

Lohris is the first festival to be celebrated in a calendar year in India. Here are some folk songs and stories related to Lohri in Punjabi.

Lohri is a very famous Indian Festival, which is a traditional winter festival, celebrated in North India, especially in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Delhi. The origin of the festival can be traced back to the legend of Dulla Bhatti, a famous  hero of Punjab, who led a rebellion against Mughal emperor Akbar. Lohri also marks the end of the winter solstice, when the days start to become longer than the nights. It is also a time when harvest of the rabi crops is celebrated. One the day of Lohri, little children run between houses singing "Sundar Mundariye"  the tale of Dulla Bhatti, and ask for money which elders gladly pay as token of respect towards this legendary Hero In the night, Lohri, is celebrated by lighting a bonfire, which is considered to be a symbol of fertility. People wear radiant clothes, socialize, sing and dance around the fire on various folksongs. The highlight of Lohri is the products made from the January harvest, especially sugarcane. Things like Jaggery, gajjak, rewaries, chikki and popcorns.    Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lohri, Sangrandh, & the 40 Mukthe | Bhai Sukhwinder Singh Ji UK (Sukhi Baba) Register at linktr.ee/Sikh

Lohri Student name : Vihaan Class :1E Its on 13th January

Sunder Mundriye Ho!! The twin festivals of Lohri and Makar Sakranti and my memories of celebrating them. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

मकर संक्रांति की कहानियाँ व कुछ महत्वपूर्ण बातें - Pongal Bihu Lohri Makar Sankranti Special --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/kavita-sings-india-u092du/message

Nimrat kaur says, “You see people of all age groups and genders, just out there in the cold. These are visuals that are very sad to witness.”Kaur says having compassion for our farmers is extremely important. “I happen to have farmers in my family but none of us need to be connected to understand how important they are. It is like not having a doctor in the family does not mean we don't know how important they are,” says the actor. Listen to all that's been trending in the world of #Entertainment & #Lifestyle with Mallika Bhagat.

It's the festival of Lohri, Makar Sankranti and Pongal. Let's enjoy the festival with delicious Sarson Ka Saag.Try this simple recipe by Promila Gupta,

बस एक दिन और... One day to go... Lohri celebrations ,enjoy your life#beautiful life#enjoy

अग्नि के रूप में सूर्य को पूजने और आभार देने का त्यौहार है लोहड़ी और कैसे उत्तरायण यानी मकर संक्रांति लाती है खुशियां हम सब के जीवन में। इस बार Back to The Roots में, लोहड़ी की एक लोक कथा। Lohri marks the day to pay our respect to the Sun in the form of Fire and how Makar Sankranti brings about a welcome change in our lives. This time on Back to The Roots the folk tale of Lohri.

FYI के इस लोहड़ी स्पेशल एपिसोड में साहिबा खान के साथ सुनिए की कैसे पूरा भारत मनाएगा 13 जनवरी को लोहड़ी का त्यौहार।  सुनिए कैसे पड़ा लोहड़ी का नाम, क्या है इसके पीछे की कहानियां और कैसे और कहा कहा मनाई जाती है lohri।

Astrology and Vaastu consultant For Consultations 9958418018; nakshatrajyot@gmail.com Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/c/Nakshatrajyot Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Nakshatra-Jyot-106351534476833/ Insta - https://www.instagram.com/nakshatrajyot1/ Anchor - https://anchor.fm/s/2e725758/podcast/rss Breaker Audio - https://www.breaker.audio/nakshatrajyot Radio Public - https://radiopublic.com/nakshatrajyot-6vqDeX Pocket Cast - https://pca.st/owg3ok4y Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4n2qBTb8XA9JGWXdr3h3XW?si=AlDsiPJlTY-8s9QvcfftCQ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/nakshatrajyot/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nakshatrajyot/support

Sukhpreet

Song sung during Lohri Festival in Punjab, North India

After the eighth round of parleys on January 8 between the Government of India and farmer unions failed to resolve the ongoing impasse, the next round has been scheduled for January 15. Learn about this and more that’s making the news in Punjab this week.

The Connectere Podcast is an initiative to bring forth innovative ideas and opinions of the youth forward via the digital medium. Tune in to this episode of the podcast where Ashika talks about the legend behind North India's infamous harvest festival- Lohri!

This is a podcast of music for the winter holidays: Christmas, New Year’s, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Hanukkah (or Chanukkah), Las Posadas, Mardi Gras, Lohri, Diwalis, Epiphany, etc. Most of it is jazz or pretty close to jazz. If you’re looking for familiar Christmas music by which to decorate your tree, this probably isn’t the podcast…Continue reading Episode 128: Holiday Jazz Part 1

Fiji Indian news and music

The Saturday Night Side Eye is a fun, refreshing and comedic outlook on everyday life in the form of a weekly podcast. It's real and relatable! Tweet along and get involved with the episode #SNSE HOT TOPICS - Round Up – Another week of great news to chat about... but the boys are fresh out of Lohri celebrations and are feeling very delicate nursing hangovers! We discuss the conclusion to Megxit, Rihanna holding auditions, Beyoncé releasing Ivy Park and Mike wants Ballys opinions about his man-scaping

Contestants of Indian Idol bring in the festival of Lohri with Varun Badola, Shweta Tiwari and Anjali Tatrari of Mere Dad Ki Dulhan.

Talking about a Lohri event.

Talking about a Lohri event that celebrates both boys and girls.

About lohri announcement.......

Lovdev had to deal with a situation that he has never ever faced also new bit to the pod it's the "no stupid questions" section along with as always the weird news story.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/lovdevbarpaga)

The festival of Makar Sankranti was celebrated recently on January 15th. This festival marks the first day of sun's transit into the Makar Rashi (Capricorn). It is believed that from this day onwards, the cycle of longer days begins. It is one of the few festivals that is observed according to solar calendar. Makar Sankranti is known as as Maghi or Lohri in North India, Makara Sankranti in Hamarashtra, Pedda Pandaga in Andhra Pradesh; and is also celebrated in West Bengal, Karnataka and Telangana. This festival is known as Sukarat in central India, Magh Bihu in Assamese, and Thai Pongal by Tamil Nadu. To mark this occasion, Sriram had recorded this episode – chants of Lord Surya (Sun) from the 37th mantra from 10th mandal of Rigveda. You can learn more about Makar Sankranti and the 10th mandal of Rigveda on Wikipedia.  You can listen to Chants of India by Sriram on Apple Podcasts (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/chants-of-india-by-sriram/id1451162627?mt=2&uo=4&ls=1) , Google Podcasts (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWRpb2Jvb20uY29tL2NoYW5uZWxzLzQ5ODY2NzcucnNz) , Jio Saavn, Spotify, (https://open.spotify.com/show/4GsYsC95h1wdNCsWHFUxeT) Castbox (https://castbox.fm/channel/Chants-of-India-by-Sriram-id2004897) , Stitcher (http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/gaatha-podcasts/chants-of-india-by-sriram) , Radio Public (https://radiopublic.com/chants-of-india-by-sriram-GZbRRv) , and other fine sites and apps where you listen to your favourite shows. Music: Sitar by Leonardoarena. To learn more, visit https://indianchants.xyz 

Tommy and Sach are treated to Kej and his sausage surprise! Plus it's Lohri and Makar Sankrant so the boys battle it out to see who can keep it up the longest... the kite that is! Grow up!

Shotu from Satwari takes dig on city issue. He has everything in his deck of cards to make you laugh

#Lohri is one of the most popular Punjabi festivals celebrated by Punjabis all over the world and there are various origins of Lohri which are linked to this festival from the #Punjab region.Its believed that Lohri festival commemorates the passing of the longest night before Winter Solstice. Lohri had originated on the night before the winter solstice since it is the shortest day of the year. This year also the Punjabis will celebrate Lohri in full swing with festive spirit on Friday, January 13th 2017.Lohri is considered the coldest day in northern India since the earth is farthest away from the sun at this time and begins its journey towards the sun on Lohri. Thus, bonfire Festival of Lohri marks the end of cold month of Paush and the beginning of Magh or the arrival of spring. This season shift is an occasion for the people to celebrate. Lohri even marks the last day of the month of Maargazhi, the ninth month of the lunar calendar.As we all know the Festival of Lohri is succeeded by Makar Sankranthi which is a popular festival in central India. The auspicious day of Makar Sankranti (January 14) is celebrated as Bhugali Bihu in Assam, Pongal in South India and Bhogi in Andhra Pradesh and even other parts of India. Priyanka Chopra, the renowned Bollywood and Hollywood actress, singer, philanthropist and film producer has ventured into regional cinema in India. After Marathi and Bhojpuri films her Punjabi movie Sarvann made under her banner Purple Pebble Pictures Directed by Karaan Guliani will release at a theatre near you on Lohri on 13th January 2017.Check out this #BollywoodExclusive #Video where SARVANN Movie Producer Dr. Madhu Chopra and Director Karaan Guliani wish everyone for Lohri !