HOMECOMING! We brought the bus HOME to where I grew up — Clovis, California — and were welcomed with such love by the sangat, the Sikh community, who raised me.
When I was a little girl, the Sikh gurdwara was on Dakota Street in Fresno. My grandfather Captain Gurdial Singh — Papa Ji — was the secretary and would take me on Sundays. I grew up in the arms of all the aunties and uncles of this sangat.
Fast forward 30 years — The community has grown and moved to a new location, now called the Sikh Institute of Fresno. On Sunday night, they hosted us for a special event, and we offered katha and kirtan — stories and sacred songs in #SageWarrior — to the aunties and uncles who raised me. Guddi Ranu, who taught me when I was a child, welcomed us. It was overwhelming. We all wept as we felt the presence of the elders of our community who are no longer with us.
We remembered Guddi Sidhu — the first Sikh woman in my universe who had a public voice. Her heart filled with passion, her voice smooth as silk, she empowered the girls around her, including me. Her husband Dr. Sidhu described how she would sit with my grandfather for hours talking about a new poem he had written. Both passed their love of Sikhi to the next generation — our elders’ love is the foundation for the work we are doing now, on this tour.
RevolutionaryLove.org/Tour | LINK IN BIO
The evening ended with langar and conversation about the phenomenal work of the Sikh Women’s Association of Fresno, offering life-saving services to women and families. TY @sikhwomensassociation. May our offering
nourish and empower what you do every day. You are #RevolutionaryLove.
The next morning, the bus pulled into my aunt and uncle’s house on the land in Clovis my family had lived on and farmed for generations. Our team sat in the grass and talked about the deep history of the land and the memory it holds — Indigenous people for thousands of years, and then Punjabi Sikh farmers who poured their sweat into the soil for the last century. My father relayed his childhood memories growing up on the farm. It was so beautiful!
In this one place, 100+ years of Sikh American history, past and present. ✨✨✨
