This is a great film. In fact, I need to post about a recent screening I attended at Princeton Theological Seminary. You can buy it at The DWF Site. Anyway, from the producers:

The wait is finally over! Seven years of production, two years of touring, and a national grassroots movement later, we have finally arrived at the end of a long journey… Divided We Fall is now available for purchase on DVD! Just in time for the holidays. (NOTE: If you pre-ordered your copy, do nothing - it is on its way to you.)

The DVD is packed, packed, with two hours of additional special features, including nine new short film documentaries! These “featurettes” explore in greater depth issues that are touched upon in DWF. See below for more details.

And, as a personal note, thank you for your patience and your undying support for us throughout the years. If you contributed, worked on the film, or were an audience member at one of our 200 screenings over the last two years - you are a part of this journey. The DVD marks the culmination of countless hours of toil, sleepless nights, and a fervent hope that our little film can make a difference. We are thankful you have been a part of it and have spread the word across the country.

So - keep on spreading the word! And we’ll keep you updated as we enter this new era in America and a new era for the life of Divided We Fall.

Sharat Raju and Valarie Kaur
Producers, Divided We Fall

I’m actually a bit surprised that the film didn’t go for national release, by having someone like Lionsgate Films pick it up. At any rate, it’s a great film and you should grab a copy!

Domestic Violence is one of those problems no one talks about. Fortunately, Amritpal Singh has given it a voice. In his words:

As a part of my residency in family medicine, I decided to explore the effects of domestic abuse on South Asian women in British Columbia. The intent of this exploration was to develop a better understanding of their experiences, coping strategies, and possible barriers to seeking support. Eleven South Asian women who identified themselves as victims of domestic abuse were interviewed in a combination of one-to-one and group interviews. Circumstances around the abuse, their methods of coping, and the effects it has had on their lives were discussed. They were also asked about the support available to them and possible barriers they faced in accessing this support.

Common themes from the interviews were analyzed and used as inspiration to produce a work of fiction. I hope that this piece will provide family physicians with insight into the unique struggles faced by South Asian victims of abuse and serve as an impetus to identifying and supporting women at risk.

You can read “Burdened Whispers” here, or after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Amritpal! There is so much here and so nicely put together. A great piece.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hey cool — the Surat Sikh Conference has kicked off a scholarship program this year to give people a chance to attend that otherwise would not. You can read more about the program, and apply, with the attached PDF file. Cool stuff!
suratscholarship2009

The United Sikhs, headed by one of the most dedicated Sikh lawyers I have ever met, Mejindarpal Kaur, presented a challenge to the French Turban Ban at the United Nations today. You can see the official United Sikhs press release here. France is a major world power — and they’ve basically banned “Being a Sikh” and living in France. We need to support United Sikhs — the Sikh organization spearheading the legal battle against France!

A Houston area Sikh family is recovering from a bizarre incident — calling the police for help and then getting handcuffed as suspected criminals. In a classic example of police unawareness and misunderstanding (obviously these cops haven’t seen the United States Department of Justice Training Video for law enforcement), several police officers jumped to conclusions and handcuffed this family in their own home. Little did the police know that the venerable Sach Productions operates in Texas and quickly put together the following excellent video. As you can see, the family members are well educated, intelligent, and aware of their rights. It’s a shame the police was allegedly not as well informed–hopefully the department will get the DOJ mandated training. I have full respect for the police and what they do for all Americans. It’s a tough job. Let’s improve the situation by proactively taking steps to avoid mistakes like this.

Update: Here’s the official blog for this incident and Police Brutality on Sikhs generally

Check this out — a brief report about Sikhs in Argentina by the Associated Free Press. Apparently this video documents the only gurdwara in South America! The report has a bit of a depressing tone, indicating that Sikhi is on its way out. I guess the difference between America and Argentina is that the Sikh community here is much larger — to the point where we have organizations and full-time employees dedicated to keeping Sikhi alive. The video does have some positive aspects to it, however.

Thanks to Rajdeep Singh for the tip.

The West Coast Sikh Youth Alliance will host a winter retreat in Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia from January 16-18, 2009.

I’ve attended the West Coast Retreat for the last two years and can honestly say it’s one of the best Sikh Retreats in North America. You should try to make it this year. The jury’s still out on whether I’ll be there, but that didn’t stop me from making this quick, fun video… Check it out on YouTube. Be sure to click “watch in high quality” for the best experience.

Here are some of the features of the Winter Retreat:

- Skiing, Snowboarding, Snow Tubing
- Swimming in Hot Springs
- Sikh lifestyle: full nitnem morning, evening, and night
- Excellent Workshops
- Excellent Sangat

As a fan of all things involving good, clean fun and exercise, I recently got myself a custom ordered pair of Khalsa Hockey Skates. Want a pair? I can see if I can get a few more made. See attached image.

Visit http://sikhri.webex.com to sign up for the 4-part series on the Sidh Gost. Great stuff. Unfortunately I have busy weekends so I may not be able to attend all sessions so I’m not going to sign up, but it looks awesome.

This course will comprise of 4 sessions within which participants will delve into Guru Nanak Sahib’s bani, Sidh Gosti. The introductory session will focus on the history of bani, Sidhs and their leadership, and meetings with Guru Nanak Sahib. Throughout the sessions, there will be an exploration of the internal themes of Sidh Gosti such as religion, life, yoga, gurmukh, manmukh, and Guru-Sikh. Participants will gain insights from Sidh Gosti through a comprehensive study of vocabulary, context, and interpretations. Course material includes pre-reading material, handouts, and a certificate of completion. Course does not require any prior knowledge of Gurmukhi script skills.

In light of the recent terror attacks, many heroes have emerged from the woodwork of Mumbai. As President-elect Obama would say, “ordinary people doing extraordinary things.” Among these notable folks is a group of Sikhs that has done the sewa (selfless service) of providing food and water to the forces responding to the attacks.

A nice quote from the article:

“Once, Shri Guru Nanak Sahab had little money left with him, but he used it to serve food to the needy. We all draw inspiration from that incident. A Sikh’s first duty is to serve the needy,” said Ajit Singh, a volunteer who was serving food outside the Taj.

I’ve added the story to http://news.sikhswim.com and voted it up. You should vote the the story up if you find it interesting.