How the giddha folk dance and boliyan songs are helping Punjabi-Canadian women connect with their roots

Editor's note: The interviews used for this story were conducted in May 2022.

The moment you step into Shan-E-Punjab Arts Club in Surrey, B.C., it feels like you've stepped into a whirlpool of sound and colour.

Dozens of young women dressed to the nines in traditional salwar-kameez, donning golden pieces of old-fashionedjewellery,claprhythmically and singmelodious poemswhile laughing.

Jasmine Kaur Sidhu, a coach at the club,is leading a group practisinggiddha the folk dance of Punjabi women fromIndia and Pakistan and singboliyan,its accompanying songs and poems.

Sidhu, who was a giddha student at the club before she became a coach, says the dance and verse helped her get a better insight into the Punjabi language without having to go to a formal language class.

"I learned so many new words.I learned more about my culture because of it.I've changedas a person," said Sidhu, who adds that learninggiddha and boliyan has brought her closer to her extended family.

"There's so many boliyanthat can be sung about them," she said.

Sidhu is helping others learn the vocabulary and emotions behindgiddhaas more Punjabi-Canadian women look to strengthen their identity by reconnecting with their cultureand traditions.

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"Giddhareally helps them make a social connectionand have a little group where you cansee who you really are," she said.

The use of cultural artifactssuch as pakhi[a decorated handheld fan], peedhi[a traditional stool]and phulkari [an embroidered shawl]as props is another entertaining way the dance conveys the spirit of Punjabi culture, she says.

Away for women to express themselves

Giddha,which focuses on grace, flexibility andstrength,originated as a way for women to celebrate happy occasions.

But with the introductionof boliyan, it transformed into a medium for women to express themselves by, for example, venting theirgrievances about their in-laws, husbands orcareless brothers, or talking about love and romance in a society where they wouldn't normally do so.

"Back in the day,this was a way to take out women's frustrations and kind ofa satire of what was going on in their lives," said Sidhu.

Kamaljit Neeru, a legendary Punjabi singer, says while giddha is a place where women can feel completely free, boliyan provides them with a medium with which they can air their concerns and outragein a satirical way, without worrying about public judgment.

Many boliyan include comments about personal relationships and addressspecific family members usingunique Punjabi words for each relationship.

"InEnglish we have just one word, 'aunty' or 'uncle,' but in Punjabi we have maasi[mother's sister], we have bhua [father's sister], we have daadi[paternal grandmother], we have chaachi[younger paternal aunt], we have maama-maami[mother's brother and his wife]. Every relationship is unique," Neeru said.

Someboliyanare also written as short performances depicting different scenes, such as wedding rituals or family fights,offering insight into the past.

Neeru gives the following example that condenses a complicated sceneabout a seasonal festival celebrated by singing and dancinginto just four lines:

,

,

It's the month of Sawan,
Peacocks are singing in the gardens.
I don't want to go back to my in-laws,
Return withyour empty bullock cart.

Preserving the past, reflecting the present

But the traditional dance and verse are also changing with the times.

Sidhu, who says she is seeinga gradual increase in the number of giddha students, says the dance is picking up steam on social media.

Jas Malkeet, who studied giddha and boliyan for herdoctoralprogram at the Punjabi University in Patiala, India, says as human behaviour, relationshipsand vocabulary change, so doesboliyan.

"Many other things that are not related to our old culture,they are in now," said Malkeet.

Specific boliyan about Canadian experiences have been popping up, as well.

"Women go to pick berries, and now berries are added into boliyan," said Malkeet, giving an example of one line:

" , "["Don't wear your turban so nicely today, I'm off to pick berries."]

Neeru says boliyan have always reflected the present, and they should continue to do so.

"We should change ourselves with the times.If we don't, we will be left behind," Neeru said.