Film/Stage
Winning Hearts and Minds in France:
Angad Singh
by GURMEET KAUR
It takes courage to do what he is doing.
I don’t think I had the remotest clue of how to solve problems of this magnitude when I was his age. Did I even have any idea of the issues around me? I don’t think anything else mattered to me but my petty teenage problems.
I cannot imagine standing in front of hundreds of peers and grownups in a foreign country, showcasing my work that points to an unfair law of their land that affects my people, all in their language.
Why would anybody invite me to point out flaws in their system?
Even if that happened by a fluke, why would people care for what I have to say?
Is it even possible?
From his track record, and being a witness to what he has done in the past, the odds are that he will do it again. He has won many hearts across the globe when his peers have already broken some.
The French will be no exception.
It’s Thanksgiving evening here in the United States. Our home is quiet without the boy. My body is here, but the mind is in the port city of Nantes, France, that I have only seen in the many picture books the young French boys have brought over the last few years as a souvenir from their hometown.
It is the French premiere of "(Ex)Changed", Angad’s third and last documentary out of our little home in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. Next year he flies out of the nest to go to college.
He has been invited by this school in France to show the film, talk about American culture and his life as a Sikh-American for a week long visit. He will be presenting his work of two years to his “target audience” in the school theatre, at an event that is much anticipated and planned for months.
The documentary is for anyone interested in other cultures but specifically speaks to the French teens that are studying American Culture in schools. Hundreds of students, their parents and the staff of this reputed private school will see what this American kid has to say. Post screening, he will go up the stage and answer questions. It will be the first time most of them will see a young Sikh man.
How will they react to him and his work? What will they ask?
How shall he respond?
What message will they take home? Will they see a change in their hearts?
Will they think of Angad and his message when they are the ones making policies on who is allowed the right to education and other civil liberties while others are punished for following their religion?
Will some be offended and rude? How will he react?
It also takes love, dedication and genuine care for his fellow beings to do what he does.
My thoughts race to three years ago when Martin, our first French exchange student left after his stay with us.
“He cried most of the way to the airport and it took us a lo-o-ong time to get there”, Angad’s French teacher called me as she rode back in the empty school bus which had just dropped the 32 exchange students and their teachers. “None of the other boys cried … there were a couple of other girls who were a mess.”
An hour earlier he was doing a fine job smiling and saying good bye to the new American friends he had made. Angad was doing equally well, hiding behind his camera the whole time, filming the departure; but when he went up the bus to give Martin one last hug, along with his loud M-A-R-T-I-N hail in his French-Punjabi accent; Martin had broken down.
When we first saw Martin at the airport just two weeks prior; we had no clue that when he would depart he would take a piece of our heart with him. He was a little wary at first for we were not the typical American home he had expected to be - I was a single parent, Angad wore a turban, we ate vegetarian food that was spicy and, with our super busy lifestyles, our home was always a mess.
Thankfully, love transcends everything and all of that didn’t matter to Martin. At the end of the two weeks he was one of us. He loved my cooking and was glued to Angad. He visited the gurdwara with us in traditional Sikh garb that he himself asked for when he saw Angad dress up. He sat cross-legged on the floor for the full two and a half hours and thanked us for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It also takes farsightedness.
Backtrack 3 more years.
“Spanish is the second language in our country; every other person in the South speaks it. You should learn it. Besides, what’s the point in learning French? They don’t even allow Sikh school boys your age to go to school - why bother with their language and culture?”
“Exactly that’s why, Mom!” replied my seventh grader - who at age 13 had declared that he was going to study French as the world language of his choice for as long as he could.
Just five years later, he would have hosted three French students at our home (one more on the way), visited France three times, made hundreds of French friends and educated a whole bunch of them on who Sikhs are, what is their connection to France and why they should consider the flavor of secularism that is based on respect of religion and cultures as we have here in North America.
And I hope this is just the beginning.
I have learnt a lot from this boy.
He teaches us that ignorance causes fear and fear causes people to make irrational decisions including hatred. So what do you do when you are subject to such hatred?
Tackle ignorance by education.
How do you do that when the minds are closed to education?
With friendship and patience.
He tells his audience that relationships between people are like double doors, each opening from either side. If someone shuts their side and you shut yours, the relationship is over. If you keep your side open, perhaps some day, the other person will see you in true light and may just open his/her side.
A very important thing that he teaches us is the way one should react to a challenge. He teaches us to consider a challenge as an opportunity. To outwit the challenger by responding to it with compassion and construction, not anger and destruction.
But the real reason he has made a difference is that this boy walks his talk. I say that as a silent observer, not as his mother.
I wish I could be like him at some point in this lifetime.
To read more about (Ex)Changed, please CLICK here.
November 26, 2011
Conversation about this article
1: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), November 26, 2011, 9:29 AM.
The French have been 'bailed out' twice by America and the British who used whole Divisions of Sikh soldiers in the two World Wars, who "kicked the Nazis' teeth in", but who don't even get a mention until the last couple of years! Angad must remind the ungrateful French and the world about these extraordinary sacrifices by the Sikh Nation ... otherwise the French and Europe would be speaking German and living under the Gestapo!
2: Mai Harinder Kaur (Seattle, WA, U.S.A.), November 26, 2011, 11:46 AM.
Angad Singh ji has the gift of meeting people where they are and encouraging them to grow beyond their (previous) boundaries. I admit that the French are an exceptionally hard nut to crack, and if anyone can, he is the one to do it. He is truly blessed to have a mother who listens when his ideas go beyond the practical. I am excited to just stand back and watch where his wings will take him; Our Guru has given him the necessary roots to fly in the right direction.
3: Mai Harinder Kaur (Seattle, WA, U.S.A.), November 26, 2011, 11:58 AM.
Baldev Singh ji, this is a matter of meeting people where they are. My mother's family highly believed in French values and I learned some of them at an early age. To understand the situation, try to look at it from the French point of view: to the traditional French person, there is no higher honour than to die for France; hence those who died defending her already have the highest and best. To die for la belle France is a privilege and an honour, not a sacrifice; France owes them nothing because there is nothing higher to give. I do not agree with this stand personally, but I think it's important to understand if we are to move forward. We can also hope, of course, that the younger generation is more open to new ways of looking at things. Certainly, we cannot have a better ambassador than Angad Singh ji.
4: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), November 26, 2011, 7:37 PM.
Britons have been handed down stories by fathers and grandfathers of the extraordinary bravery of Sikh soldiers in theaters of war where the British were involved, The British have no time for the French, especially in military terms where it is said the 'England Women's Hockey Team could do better in any War!' They have been saved as a nation twice in 30 years. There is no excuse for their boorish ingratitude; all it reflects is a definite lack of real values and shame.
5: D. Sanchez (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), November 26, 2011, 11:36 PM.
French rifles for sale ... "Never fired, only dropped twice."
6: Harpreet Singh (Delhi, India), November 28, 2011, 1:07 PM.
"Poota maata ki assees". So much hope for such Sikhs. Is it possible that the Sikh sangat in India can see this movie and other good movies available in the diaspora? Sadly, most of Indians still do not have internet facility or even a computer.
7: Amardeep (U.S.A.), November 28, 2011, 3:35 PM.
What a great duo? Having mom who is so understanding and also your biggest fan is a blessing.
8: Mlle. Steinhauer (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.), November 29, 2011, 8:21 AM.
I am so proud of Angad. What more can a teacher ask than for a student to go beyond what she has ever done? Can't wait to see what else he accomplishes!
9: Gurmeet Kaur (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.), November 29, 2011, 11:38 AM.
Harpreet Singh ji: All of Angad's movies are available online via the Sikhnet online film festivals in different years. If you ever need to organize screenings and need high-res copies for such events, please contact us via the website, www.onelight-films.com.
10: Ish Amitoj Kaur (Fremont, California, U.S.A.), November 29, 2011, 1:27 PM.
Media is the most effective medium that can be used to reach people and educate them through entertainment. Angad Singh at a very young age has chosen this intricate and difficult medium. "(Ex)Changed" for me is the most effective documentary that I have seen which has been made for a general audience but has subtly handled a very difficult and delicate issue about our identity. The didactic purpose of cinema has been explored by very few filmmakers; Angad is one of them. We as a Sikh community have much to thank this young boy for: for dedicating his time and energy to give us a rich heritage of three documentaries in a row. I do not usually participate in writing reviews for articles but this is my first and what prompted me to write was the warmth and energy of a mother supporting her kid in so many ways. The mother did her job more for the cause than for the son. We do our jobs by reading the articles and then reviewing them, the French did their bit by inviting Angad to premier of the film. Just a little insight into "What can we do?"
11: Kanwarjeet Singh (Franklin Park, New Jersey, U.S.A.), November 29, 2011, 11:35 PM.
What a mother and what a son! Whenever I look at some of the idiots in our community who drag us down, Waheguru at that moment puts such a great Sikh example in front of me (perhaps to teach me about Ustat Nindia). Angad and Gurmeet ji - you have done such an awesome job. People like you are what makes one feel proud about Sikhi. 'Sikhi da naa roshan karan layee kot kot dhanvaad' - this will hopefully remind the French what the Sikh turban really stands for and how this turban is a primary reason that they can eat, live, speak French.
12: Simran (Oceanside, California, U.S.A.), November 30, 2011, 5:05 PM.
Thank you for sharing this article! It's is very touching and inspirational. Angad Singh is more than sava lakh (Angad > 125,000, for those who don't know what it means). Thank you sikhchic.com & Sikhnet team.
13: Satnam Kaur (Birmingham, England), January 24, 2012, 1:48 PM.
This article is a great inspiration for young Sikh girls and boys. Keep it up, Bha ji and Mata ji.
14: Sukhmeet (U.S.A), March 31, 2012, 7:30 PM.
He brings so much pride to our community. Good luck, Angad Singh, I wish you every success!