Songs of Revolution

Thursday, March 19, 6:30–8:30 p.m. (reception to follow)

Surrey City Hall (13450 – 104 Avenue, Surrey)

VIBC’s vision is to create an inclusive community for all through celebration and the joy of bhangra. On March 19, they are inviting you to attend an extraordinary event at Surrey City Hall, connecting revolutionary Ghadar poetry to elements of folk bhangra performance.

Sponsored by Hari Sharma Foundation, and hosted by Bali “Lady B” Deol of Swaraj Radio, Songs of Revolution includes discussion, dance, poetry, and music inspired by the Ghadar movement, undertaken in the 1900s in Canada, the US, and India by Indians seeking their freedom from the British Raj.

Songs of Revolution takes place in four parts, each in its own way illuminating aspects of a movement that shaped—and continues to shape—the lives of so many individuals and families here in Canada and abroad. To open the evening, local community members and academics will introduce the Ghadar movement and explore its significance today. Then Royal Academy of Bhangra will present a 10-minute performance set to poetry describing scene-by-scene the story of the Ghadarites’ call for India’s independence. This will be followed by recitations of Ghadar poetry by local poets, authors, and scholars such as Sohan Singh Pooni, Jasmin Chahal, Sandeep Singh, Kalwant Singh Nadeem Parmar, and Amal Rana. The evening concludes with a short reception sponsored by Nanak Foods, to which everyone is invited to socialize and share more poetry in an informal setting.

Songs of Revolution is a community event and open to all.