Spice of Life: Delaware lawmakers win hearts with Bhangra beats on Baisakhi
The challenges didn’t stop at the choreography. For instance, when the Bhangra attires courier arrived from Barnala, the salwars had no drawstrings! In one case, a senator popped in her husband’s necktie instead.
A group of eight Delaware state legislators made history on April 14 by becoming the first team of American lawmakers to perform Bhangra.
The seven legislators, four senators and three representatives, were joined by a legislative aide for their debut during the Baisakhi celebration at the Sikh Center of Delaware. For several months, the novice dancers were coached by local Bhangra legend Vishwas Singh Sodhi.
Last year, Representative Paul Baumbach and Senate Majority Leader Senator Bryan Townsend visited the gurdwara on an invitation and were impressed by the Bhangra they saw. Representative Baumbach suggested that House and Senate members might form a Bhangra team that could perform the following year.
I caught on to what he said, kept bringing it up to him and other legislators for the rest of 2023, and earnestly pursued it at the dawn of this year.
Representative Sophie Phillips, the youngest state legislator in Delaware at 26, was the first to commit. She enlisted two more representatives from the House, while the Senator Townsend recruited three of his colleagues.
In the training weeks that followed, they amazed me with their commitment. Their legislative positions and busy schedules notwithstanding, when it came to Bhangra, there was complete unity of commitment among them.
The team was diverse otherwise, which reminded me of the diversity that Panj Pyaras had. The team comprised two men and six women, ranging in age from the twenties to the sixties, and of various racial and ethnic backgrounds: Hispanic, Asian, African-American, and Caucasian.
Their professional and educational backgrounds were also varied and included a teacher, an investment banker, lawyers, and an environmentalist.
Despite being busy with work and family, the team dedicated more than 30 hours to practice, twice or even thrice a week. They sometimes drove 60-70km to attend practice after legislative sessions. They were committed to achieving excellent team performance.
It wasn’t a smooth ride to the Baisakhi performance day.
The coach, Vishwas, a young man, was strict, pushing them to work harder. I used to be concerned when he would say something like, “I’m taking everyone’s car keys, and no one can go home till you learn this move.”
I worried about what would happen if even one of them walked off. After all, they were only there voluntarily to embrace inclusivity and enhance the Baisakhi festivity.
The challenges didn’t stop at the choreography. For instance, when the Bhangra attires courier arrived from Barnala, the salwars had no drawstrings! In one case, a senator popped in her husband’s necktie instead.
The weather was a big worry because the stage was in the open, and it had been raining all week. But it turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day on April 14.
The team put on an incredible performance, surprising everyone, including their coach and an audience of 600, who cheered them with unprecedented enthusiasm.
Wouldn’t you call that Balle, Balle!
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This column was published online by https://www.hindustantimes.com/ on April 24, 2024.
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