In 1960 when came to the United States there were two or three Sikhs in New York and no more than a handful of Indians, so ‘one vainly searched for a familiar face in area of strangers. Now, 35 years later, on ‘a bright sunny afternoon there were so ‘many Sikhs crowded in atwoblock space in New York City perhaps ten thousand strong that once again one searched in vain for a familiar face in a sea of strangers.
On April 29, 1995, thousands of Sikhs from the New York metropolitan area marched down half a mile of Madison ‘Avenue. The parade end Edina Small Park the length of three city blocks where a stage and public address system were set up for the usual speeches that go unheard and might have been better left undelivered. The first Sikh Day Parade in New York City was held in 1988 so this was the eighth. There is no better city than New York for parades, some of the best in the world are held here. St. Patrick’s Day Parade is an Irish institution that attracts every politician who has even a modicum of ambition to be elected to any office even that of a dog catcher. Around Halloween (end of October) the gays put on a colorful extravaganza of entertainment. The Tlalian Americans parade every year as do the Puerto Ricans, Blacks, Muslims, Americans of Korean descent, Pakistanis, and many others. Americans immigrants of Indian Crescent also parade every year.
Until 1984 Sikhs marched along with ‘other Indians at the India Day Parade held ‘every year on or about August 15th, after “Operation Bluestar” Sikhs were no longer ‘welcomed in that parade and hardly any Sikh wanted to join it. The India Day Parade was also noted for the heavy presence of Indian government personnel in the details of the parade, The Grand Marshall leading the parade was often some movie star or politician from India. ‘That movie stars are on the reviewing stand of an India Day Parade is to be expected When you realize that in twentieth century modem India the patina of Indian culture, the glue that binds the diverse traditions of India into one nation is probably the Hindi movie industry.
It wasn’t only “Operation Bluestar” but by the mideighties Sikh migration to the United States had blossomed; Thousands of new arrivals enjoyed the American dream. Many new Sikhs were from East Africa, Thailand or Afghanistan; their Indian roots were shallow. In 1960 there was not a single gurdwara here, 24 years later there were at least seven within commuting distance of the City. Religion and culture remain inseparably intertwined. ‘There was an increasing need for Sikhs including their American born or raised children to carve and define their own niche in the complex mosaic of American society.
The Sikhs chose a Saturday near Vaisakhi for their parade; the first one in 1988 attracted nearly a thousand. The day was dreary and wet but the Sikh spirit was soaring; many marched with umbrellas. In 1995, there were over ten thousand; balloons, streamers and flags dotted the landscape. The mile long caravan was ‘awash with saffron turbans, scarfs and Dupattas. Leading the parade was a float with the Guru Granth. There were six colorful bands and as many floats. There were Sikhs in wheel chairs, even a 105 year old gent celebrating the Sikh spirit the new world. Proclamations were sued by the Mayor and the Governor, Congressman and other politicians made their appearance, to pay homage to the force of numbers and the economic muscle of the Sikhs in America.
Some habits, however, never die, Our Indian and Punjabi cultural Roots were ‘obvious, at times standing out like a sore thumb. Slogans to Khalistan (in Punjabi) were raised; Speeches were plentiful but were mercifully ignored. They would have made no sense to anon Indian, non-Sikh, Sikhs and Punjabis love good food richer the better. So the parade became less of an organized march down Madison Avenue and more of a walking, mobile An orgy of food and a moving mela indeed Why Madison Avenue? Again the reason lies in our roots and our contentious view of life Madison Avenue has offices, Jewish businesses and art galleries that ‘are mostly closed Saturdays, Many Sikh he wanted the parade on Broadway where has been held in the past and which has Indian owned markets along with main stream department stores like Macy’s (the largest in the world) and A&S among others, that are open Saturdays. On Broad. Way people of all ethnicities and nationalities are Walking about all day, Broadway would have made a better showcase for our presence than Madison Avenue but the management of the largest and ‘most influential gurdwara (Richmond Hill) was engaged in potentially suicidal, internecine warfare, Agreements were lit. rally hammered out and plans for the prarade finalized only days ahead of the day. (This pattern should sound familiar to observers of Sikh polities in Punjab.) ‘The give and take of our very human: interaction becomes clear from the proceedings of the final meeting of representatives of the various gurdwaras in the New York metropolitan area. Should the Sikhs march down Broadway (as many wanted) or down Madison Avenue? Finally the powerful leader of the Madison Avenue lobby blurted in typical rural Punjabi: That seemed to clinch. The argument and so to Madison Avenue we went.
Sikhs and Punjabis love food and talk, So there were snacks, fruit and drinks all along the 12 block walk, Generous donors trucked in thousands of bananas and tons of dry . Volunteers had stayed up nights to bake cookies and fry matches. There were hot and cold beverages. The variety of snacks was awesome, their quantity could have fed a small nation. At the park packaged lunches and snacks were handed out to all.
It remained a picnic of the Sikhs, by the Sikhs and for the Sikhs alone, Sikhs had congregated in outlying gurdwaras early in the moming, A hearty breakfast later, bus loads were carted into town for the parade, At the end of full day, back they Went to gurdwaras for more tea and snacks before dispersing.
The Sikhs ambled down Madison Avenue with no attempt at disciplined walk, There was hardly any uniformity of dress or marching style. A lazy walk on lovely day! They broke ranks, not sporadically but almost continuously, to talk to friends in nearby floats or greet others in true Punjabi style on the sidewalk. People Walked around hugging friends and foes alike.
No one can match the Sikhs in being able to feed 10,000 people in under two hours but management arid organization ended there. In eight years there has never been. an honest postmortem of a parade, never a decent analysis, only a Vague promise that next year will be different. Every year the community goes to sleep following the parade only to wake up just days before the next parade, This year was and will be no different.
No attempt was made to build ‘any bridges to the host community. No sale outlets, no stalls, no booths for information staffed by these competent in the language and culture of the host country. Hardly any decent literature in readable English was available; almost no attempt to attract Instead of the dreary speeches a cultural Program would have said a lot more for the Sikhs and the richness of their heritage and said it better. That and some reading or visual material could have profitably introduced Sikh to non-Sikh. I.J. Singh New York University.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 9, 1995
