A Culture of Generosity: Shad Alum shares how her Sikh Heritage has shaped her identity and provided her a community steeped in love and compassion
As Aneil Garcha prepares for Vaisakhi, the harvest festival observed every April by Sikh communities around the world, she is reflecting on the important role her Sikh heritage has played in her upbringing. From providing her with the values she uses to guide her life choices to the confidence and empowerment she draws from Gatka, a form of Sikh martial arts, Aneil feels her faith and community have been a consistent force for positivity and strength throughout her life.
“I owe a lot of who I am to my Sikh heritage and the members of my community who have taught me about compassion and generosity and equality. My experiences at the Gurdwara (the Sikh house of worship) have taught me to be confident in myself and encouraged me to pursue my goals without worrying if I could do it or not.”
When Aneil set her sights on attending Shad and pursuing her dream of a career in STEAM, she reached for those lessons in self-worth to overcome any fears she had about leaving home for a month and spending time with people she had yet to meet.
“Growing up in the Gurdwara, I never felt less than or like I wasn’t an equal. Whenever I was in any lesson with boys and girls together, I always felt that I had equal opportunity to lead a prayer or to share something that I had recently learned. It taught me that no one is better or worse, we all have something to offer, and that really helped me going into Shad.”
As a child, Aneil was introduced to the important practices of the Sikh faith and continued to immerse herself in learning its traditions as she got older. She took Kirtan classes where she trained in traditional Sikh hymns and music and studied Sikh history to more fully understand the ancestors from whom she’s descended. Her time spent at the Gurdwara allowed her to learn to read, write, speak fluently in Punjabi, something she feels has brought her closer to members of the Sikh community.
“Learning Punjabi really allowed me to get in touch with my Sikh and Punjabi heritage because I was able to understand more of the Sikh works and poetry and other traditions that really deepened my perspective of my community.”
Sikh Heritage Month is celebrated in April not only because of Vaisakhi, but also because it is a time to celebrate the founding of the Khalsa, which established the Five Ks of Sikhism: kesh (unshorn beard and hair), kangha (a comb for the beard), kara (a bracelet of iron or steel), kachera (an undergarment), and kirpan (a small, curved sword). Collectively, the Five Ks form important articles of faith and Sikh identity.
“April is such a wonderful month of celebration within the Sikh community. We get together to decorate floats for Vaisakhi, we hold outdoor celebrations with food booths and things people can buy, like t-shirts and other items celebrating Sikh culture. And people from outside the Sikh community are welcome to come and learn about Sikhism and experience some of our traditions. It’s really a time of celebration and sharing.”
This atmosphere of sharing and building connection is a similarity Aneil saw reflected in the space created at Shad. She felt the Shad campus at the University of Waterloo provided students with a safe environment to explore and share who they are as individuals, which helped Aneil discover and develop her interests and academic goals.
“Participating in labs at the campus’s kinesiology lab was amazing and really helped me realize I want to pursue medicine at post-secondary. I felt like Shad was a place where everyone could share their perspective and express different opinions from their diverse backgrounds, and everyone was appreciated for who they are as individuals.”
Aneil hopes that Sikh Heritage Month will inspire this same appreciation for the value of diverse perspectives and a willingness to learn about different cultures. She believes that taking the mystery out of different ways of viewing the world might stem some of the fear and hostility that can arise when people simply lack knowledge. Inviting people to learn about Sikhism opens the door to seeing what we all have in common.
“I hope people will visit a Sikh gathering and take away how loving and compassionate we are and how willing we are to help anyone in need, both members of the Sikh community and members of our wider communities. I want them to see the generosity and what we all have in common so that, like we did at Shad, we try to meet where we have things in common instead of focusing on what makes us different.”
