Sikh Presence In Los Angeles

Sikh Presence within Los Angeles
Background
The Sikh community is a minority group within Los Angeles consisting of roughly 300,000 population and ever so expanding. There are 9 Sikh temples located in the Los Angeles region and 5 in which offer a school program to teach the youth about the language, culture, and history. Gurdwaras (Sikh temple) are not exclusive to Sikhs, as a way to unite those within the community. Sikhs welcome anyone into the temple as a way to get to know each other better. One aspect taught in Sikh schools is the concept of Seva. Seva is an important virtue within the Sikh community, it adheres of giving back to ones community through community service whether it be through langar (hot meal) and or sacrificing 10% of ones income to fund services within the community. Sikhs have joint efforts with Fred Jordan Mission of Downtown Los Angeles in providing for the homeless community.
Nagar Kirtan
Around the second week of April every year Sikhs come together in communities to celebrate Vaisakhi. Vaisakhi is celebrated as reminiscing of when the Khalsa or the religion of Sikhism was formed. On this day Sikhs come out in bright colored attire, men suited in kurte pajama, and woman suited in bright chunni’s in celebration of the formation of the Khalsa Panth. One form of celebration includes parading around in the streets singing, prayers, dancing, etc. The Los Angeles Convention Center holds the festivities from 7am extending to 4pm. Thousand’s of Sikh Gurdwaras throughout LA counties come together as one in rejoicing in this religious holiday. The streets are shut down around 10 blocks or 1-mile radius circling downtown LA. In which devotees go around singing prayers around the city.
Darbar-E-Khalsa
Around December 25th of every year, Sikhs from Los Angeles and nearby states gather around in celebration of Guru Gobind Singh Ji birth. Kanwar Harbajan Singh Ji, founder of Institute of Gurmat Studies in which would later become International Institute of Gurmat Studies. International Institute of Gurmat Studies organizes the event by reaching out to all the Sikh temples and organizations in Southern California area. Attendance has grown significantly from a mere 700 attending to 10,000 annually. Religious service is held at Fairplex pomona from the hours of 7am to 3pm but tends to stretch out the entire day. Thousands of devotees gather in prayer and homage to their Guru with prayer, speeches, and awards. Towards the end of the festival, the Sikh holy scripture known as the Guru Granth Sahib is lifted upon a helicopter in applause to show courtesy towards the Guru.
Bhangra
Sikhs are known for their pop culture. They have made a splash in the Bollywood community and some of that influence is rubbing off in SoCal. Bhangra is known as a form of bodily expression in which caters to various freeform movement. Bhangra has been around the 1940s, seen as a folk celebration used around the time of harvest by Sikh farmers. The dance has evolved into more as universities in the Los Angeles communities have adopted this and formed clubs instructing those about the dance. Notable universities such as UCLA, USC, UCI, have bhangra competitions in which compete against one another representing their university. Bhangra is used as a tool to bring students closer. As stated by Bruins Bhangra, "the organization has grown to create a network of over 115 alumni."
Notable places
* Khalsa Care Foundation
* Hollywood Sikh Temple
* Sikh Gurdwara of Los Angeles
* Sikh Center of Orange County

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