PITTSBURGH: The fifth annual interstate competitive Kirtan Semelan was held on Saturday, September 1, 1990 from 12:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. at TriState Sikh Cultural Society of Pittsburgh Gurdwara.
There were two age groups: Children under 13, and Children 13 and older.
Nineteen organizations (27 Jathas with 150 children) from all across United States and Canada participated. About 800 people attended this competition.
The evaluators for this competition were Bhai Jaspal Singh from Los Angeles, Dr. Pashaura Singh from University of Toronto, Dr. Rajwant Singh from Washington D.C., Mrs. Jasbir Kaur from Chicago, Illinois, Mrs. Sunder Kaur from Windsor, Ontario.
Program was started with Ardas and Waak by Giani Satpal Singh of Pittsburgh Gurdwara. Dr. Jasbir Singh Gill secretary of TriState Sikh Cultural Society Pittsburgh Gurdwara welcomed the Sangat and read the rules of the Kirtan Samelan and introduced the evaluators and two youth stage secretaries, Gagan Kaur Bal from Youngstown, Ohio and Surpreet Kaur from Buffalo, New York.
Since each group performed superbly, the evaluators deliberated more than one hour to develop the final ranking. During the time the evaluators were deliberating, Jatha (Parimder S. Bathla, Ravinder S. Mahal, Barinder S. Mahal, Rakesh S. Dulai and Paul S. Dulai) from Sikh society of Dayton Ohio performed Rehras Sahib and Anand Sahib on the Harmonium. The program was concluded with Ardas by Sonika Kaur Gill of Pittsburgh, and Waak by Priya Darshan Kaur Tulsi of Guru Nanak foundation of America.
Dr. Amarjit Singh of Sikh Educational Cultural Society of Western New York (Buffalo) and Bhai Jaspal Singh distributed the prizes. The name of the winners are as follows: For running trophy: Jatha from Hamilton/Burlington, Canada. (Second year in a row). For Examplary Category: Jr. Jatha Buffalo, N.Y. Sr. Jatha Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, Washington G.N.F.A. Maryland, Hamilton/Burlington Chicago Kitchner, Canada, London Sikh Society, Canada. For Excellent Category: IrJatha G.N.F.A., Maryland, Hamilton/Burlington, Canada, SrJatha, Buffalo, N.Y., Cornwall, Montreal, Canada, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Sikh Foundation of Virginia, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Washington Sikh Center, Pittsburgh, For High Standard Category: Jr. Jatha Youngstown, Ohio, Sikh Foundation of Virginia, Sr. Jatha North Carolina (Durham) Dayton, Ohio, Sikh Assoc, Baltimore. For Satisfactory Category: Jr. Jatha Alabama, Monroeville, Penn, and Pittsburgh.
The evaluators and the Sangat was impressed with the proficiency of the children in Ragas and Pronunciations of, even though Sanskrit words in the Shabad.
Dr. Gill thanked all the evaluators, the participants, and the Sangat and emphasized the importance of participation in such programs,
Article extracted from this publication >> September 21, 1990
