The One with Shabd

In this episode, Shabd interviews Navyug Gill about the historic and ongoing farmers’ protests in India.

Navyug Gill is a professor in the department of history at the William Paterson University in New Jersey with a doctorate from Emory University Atlanta, GA. He specialises in Modern South Asia, Labor History, Agrarian Studies, Caste Politics, Global Capitalism, Postcolonial Theory, and Subaltern Studies.

In this episode, Shabd interviews Jaslin Kaur about her campaign running for City Council District 23 of New York City. 

Jaslin Kaur is an organizer, survivor advocate, and lifelong resident of Glen Oaks, running for City Council District 23. She wants to transform the public transit system, bailout gig economy workers, and foster a violence-free New York City for students, seniors, and families across Eastern Queens. They talk about her experience in the Sikh community and how her values translate to politics, her reaction to the 2020 Presidential election and the broader politics in the United States, her progressive agenda for District 23 and more. 

In this episode, Shabd interviews Jasdeep Singh, about his book 'Sparks From The Same Fire', a collection of 4 short stories. Each story explores experiences and emotions which weave us together in the tapestry of humanity.

Jasdeep Singh spent years performing poetry as a hobby. Eventually people started referring to him by the town he grew up in - Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. His writing is influenced by Sikh philosophy, through which he is learning about the concepts of compassion, selfless service, and the common source of all things. He spends his days gardening, learning to ride horses, and having interesting conversations with people around the world.

Shabd interviews Sonny Singh who is a trumpet & dhol player, singer, songwriter and a social justice educator. He is also the original member of red baraat - a band out of Brooklyn, New York.

They talk about Sonny’s experience with racism growing up, learning to play tabla and harmonium as a young SIkh kid, finding ska music, discovering and attending social justice movements and more - all of which go into his work as a musician and an educator today. His first single as a solo artist, ‘Mitar Pyare Nu’ comes out on August 18.

This is Part 2 of History of Yogi Bhajan and 3HO with Philip Deslippe. The discourse between Philip, who has dedicated years to studying this story, and Shabd who was born and raised in the community, provide a unique perspective on the oft-misunderstood community.

They finish up the history of the community and use them to talk about contemporary developments. They cover the relationship between gurus and students, 3HO’s corporate wing, ideological roots of the community, recent revelations and more.

Shabd interviews historian Philip Deslippe on the history of the community known as 3HO and its founder Yogi Bhajan. The discourse between Philip, who has dedicated years to studying this story, and Shabd who was born and raised in the community, provide a unique perspective on the oft-misunderstood community.

They talk about the context of early American yoga, and gurus, Yogi Bhajan’s arrival in LA, 3HO’s teachings, the emergence of a business, exploitation and control, relationship with Sikhi and more.

In this episode, Shabd is joined by Lou Fenech - who’s a historian and a scholar specialising in Punjabi and Sikh Studies. His publications include three books, the most recent of which is: The Sikh Ẓafar-nāmah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire (2013). He is also co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies(2014).

They talk about the Darbar of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh master and the ideas of balancing Dharam or righteousness and realpolitik. They also talk about the political and social context of that time, and how the Sikh Guru’s philosophy interpreted and explained it. This is done by reading and understanding the vast scholarship of Guru Gobind Singh.

"Remnants of a Separation is an Oral History archive focusing on material memory. It is the first and only material study of the Partition of India, taking into consideration those objects that refugees brought with them when they migrated across the border, those objects that were left behind in houses and lastly, those objects that were lost in the midst of the journey of migration."

Aanchal Malhotra is a multidisciplinary artist, writer and oral historian living in New Delhi, India.
She received a MFA in Studio Art from Concordia University, Montréal in 2015. Her thesis project, entitled, 'Remnants of a Separation', developed and defended under the guidance of photographer, Raymonde April, is the first and only study of the material remains of the Partition of the India in 1947.

On today's episode Aanchal Malhotra walks us through some of these memories from her outstanding thesis and now book.

Jvala Singh joins us for a bonus episode about the philosophical play: Prabodhchandrodaya.

Jvala writes:

The Prabodhcandrodaya - The Rise of the Moon of Awakening, is a very influential Sanskrit play, written at the end of the 11th century. Rooted in Advaita Vedanta philosophy, the text took numerous forms over the centuries, including a Persian version (17th century), as well as a Braj Bhasha version (18th century) translated by Pandit Gulab Singh, a Nirmala Sikh.