Columnists

A Full Twelve Months

by I.J. SINGH

 

When its Editor asked me to write something about sikhchic.com on its first birthday, my initial instinct was to demur.  I like and enjoy this site too much to be objective, and I don't want this to become a paean of praise.

Then, my mind went back about forty years, to when I was a new graduate student. A few of us  -  young and wild  -  wanted to celebrate our new status and relationship of working together on matters of science, where objectivity is prized.  So we created a society aptly named SLOBS.  No doubt we were slobs, but more importantly, the initials stood for "Society for the Lack of Objectivity in the Biological Sciences".

This was a salute to the fact that there really is no such thing as total objectivity.  This was our totally objective opinion, unambiguously and aggressively stated.  All that exists reflects varying and different degrees of subjectivity.  Objectivity is a measure of the lack or surfeit of subjectivity.  It is a matter of degree  -  lesser or greater, as the case may be -  just as darkness is described as the absence of light. 

Let me, then, celebrate sikhchic with a great deal of subjectivity, in which occasionally some unintended objectivity might also creep in.

Putting aside this confession, I was never quite clear in my mind as to what the objectives of this site were when it started  -  and, remember, that I was present at its birth. 

At birth, this infant appeared fully formed, not with the yelp or a whimper of a human newborn, but an assertive roar of one sure of its territory and its destiny. 

My primitive French told me that with the name "sikhchic", we were looking to declare the existence of and capture the sophisticated inner self that exists in all of us, even in Sikhs. 

But I was just as sure that some readers might wonder if this was a site for picking up chicks, and that we just didn't know how to spell the word.  Occasionally, I still get smirks when I spell out the name of the site for friends, but, this way at least, it finds a quick niche in their memories.  And if they log onto it once, they will be quickly disabused of their adolescent notions, and their minds will find new horizons to explore.

I look at the rich variety of the contributors.  Some are genuine scholars of Sikhi, others are highly dedicated amateurs, and then there are those who may be only marginally connected to Sikhi.  The Sikhs and non-Sikhs on the site come from a vast variety of backgrounds; their vocations and avocations defy pigeon-holing.  I, too, am a frequent contributor, but I have no idea how to classify myself; all I know is that I am lucky to be in this wonderful group of writers. 

And there are many non-Sikhs, perhaps more than there are Sikhs, whose writings find an honored place on this site on a daily basis.  And then there are many whose umbilical cord to Sikhi seems to be fraying, but they write captivatingly, and they hit just the right chord. 

The umbrella of Sikhism, this site tells me, is capacious enough to accommodate all kinds of Sikhs  -  from the orthodox to the fellow travelers at the periphery.  To see what I mean, just glean through the postings.  The one common thread running through them is that they touch on some aspect of Sikh existence.  They celebrate Sikhi in all forms and wherever it exists.  I find this the most valuable lesson of life that I learn from this site.

Occasionally, there is a piece that is euphemistically and best described as Sikhi-related fluff, and I wonder why it is there.  But then, the same day, on the other end of the spectrum, would be a thoughtful piece that would stay with one, setting up a long and necessary debate within the mind. And then, I realise that fluff shouldn't be rejected out of hand; it is an integral part of every life.

Anything that might occupy Sikhs and their friends is fair game and will find space.  So there are discussions on esoteric practices and traditions connected to Sikhi.  There is also celebration of gross and exquisite humor, and sometimes there is something that reminds me of slapstick.

When this site started, I didn't quite expect the quality of Sikhi-related art and its eye-catching, mesmerizing strength. In fact, I didn't even know that so much of it existed.  I have to salute the editor, who selects and arranges the art like an expensive custom-made frame for the presentation. 

Dear readers, you must wonder where the editor finds all this art, and how extensive is the staff that works on it.  I, too, wonder!  But I have a feeling it all stems from the Sikh tradition of defining one as equivalent to 125,000.

This child is precocious.  In just one year, the readership has grown several-fold and spans almost all continents (I don't think I have come across readers from Antarctica!) One can find Sikhs in all varieties and even their fellow travelers.  Sikhchic now has a truly global presence, from the villages of Punjab to the ivory towers of academia in America.  I don't exactly know how many countries are represented, but I have encountered correspondents from all over Europe and North America  -  and don't leave out the remote corners of the world  -  down under in Australia and New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Pakistan, and points in between, including nations in East Africa.

Sikhchic mixes art, humor, even cuisine, sports and music  -  from classical to rap  -  with the fundamentals of our faith, some that are easily grasped, and others that appear more esoteric, and it does it all with a with a rare panache and a sense of aesthetics. 

I can confidently assert that no comparable experience on Sikhs and Sikhism exists anywhere else in any medium, nor has there been one in our short but colorful history.

A yearend exploration is usually somewhat like an annual report that your child may bring home from school.  It mandates two parts: an evaluation of where we are, and a projection of where we are headed.  I opt for a third alternative instead: a celebration of the existence of sikhchic, and leave further analysis to more objective heads.

Does sikhchic overwhelm me?  You bet it does.  I am grateful that it provides me an outlet for sharing my journey along the Sikh path.  It provides me an electronic sangat in cyberspace that I rarely encounter in real life.  These are people that I have never seen, but I know them well; they are now an inseparable part of my life.

Sikhchic is only a year old, but just days ago, a friend, Manjyot Kaur, and I were talking about it.  It seemed to us that it had been around far, far longer.  Why?  Because it has so insinuated itself into our lives that one forgets when it all started.  We are in a global village now, and sikhchic informs us about the world according to Sikhi.

Let the editor debate and discuss his plans for this baby of his.  I am sure they are well thought out and comprehensive.  But let them also be adventurous. 

The Sikhs are a nation without borders. What defines a nation are not borders cast in stone or barbed wire, but quality of communication and discourse among the citizenry.  This is how national values and goals are clarified.  What sikhchic is well on its way to becoming is the site and method of a national conversation for Sikhs and their friends across this flat world connected in cyberspace.  Sikhchic.com provides the national caucus; it then also becomes the "bully pulpit".

There can be no caucus without raucous voices and contradictory opinions, but these can become the uniting glue, rather than the dividing wedges.  The purpose here is not to arrive at homogeneity of thought or unanimity of opinion, but to cultivate the art of conversation and discourse where we can disagree without becoming disagreeable.  And that, I believe, becomes the overriding, overarching charge of sikhchic, indeed, its raison d'etre.

This, then, becomes our path towards defining our 21^st century version of Sarbat Khalsa as envisioned by the Gurus. The purpose remains unchanged; only the means are different.   I, for one, am content to repeat the sentiment of John Milton: "They also serve who only stand and wait".

It is in discussion and debate that we sharpen our focus, define our goals and hone our skills.

Yes, sikhchic is one year old, but it already stands on the threshold of maturity; I could say to it, "You have come a long way baby, but you have a longer way to go".

Let's light one candle to sikhchic, that illumines our passage through the world of Sikhi.

 

December 13, 2007

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