Sports

Khalsa Day & Hockey Night:
What It Means To Be Canadian

by CHRIS FRIEL

 

 

Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Last Sunday was, for me, a quintessentially Canadian experience.

Brantford's Sikh community celebrated Khalsa Day, which was marked by a festival at the Gurdwara on Park Road North and a parade that celebrated the culture of Sikhism in Canada.

I have been to the gurdwara many times over the years. I have always enjoyed the welcome and open atmosphere, learning the basic tenets of a religion that, until those moments, was foreign to me. There is much misunderstanding about Sikhs and Sikhism. But, understanding has been created over the years, as the Sikh communities worked to educate their neighbours and invited them to come together and learn. For the most part, I think that they have been very successful.

I entered the gurdwara on Sunday with Dalip Singh Multani, a local builder and president of the Sikh Association of Brantford, our re-elected Brant MP Phil McColeman, and Brant MPP Dave Levac.

A young man was speaking about his passion for Sikhism and the importance for the young people to stay true to their faith and culture. What was really interesting was that this young man was also confessing his love of hockey and of Brantford's most honoured son, Wayne Gretzky.

It turns out that this young man is Harnarayan Singh, one of the voices for Hockey Night in Canada - Punjabi. It was how eloquently Harnarayan sang the praises of our wonderful country that led me to talk with him as we were preparing for the parade.

Harnarayan is from Brooks, Alberta. He lived a typical life of a young person in rural western Canada; hanging out with friends, playing ball hockey and rooting for the Edmonton Oilers. Harnarayan and I walked together throughout the parade. We talked about his upcoming nuptials and the Edmonton Oilers, and the fact that the wedding reception will be in a hockey arena. I hope I am not giving too much away so as not to incur the bride's wrath.

Our conversation meandered from religion to hockey to politics to day-to-day Sikhism to how wonderful Canada is as a multicultural country and back to hockey. I enjoyed the experience of walking in the Khalsa Day parade with the colour, the music and the prayers.

I learned about gatka, the Sikh martial art, on display in front of us as experts performed mock sword battles. I learned more about the music and the playing of the tabla and harmonium, which Harnarayan also enjoyed and has had the opportunity to perform in front of large audiences. I noticed that, while he was playing in the gurdwara, that there was a "funkier" beat to the tabla playing. He commented that it is a sound that is more prevalent in younger players.

I learned simple things, like the different forms of turbans worn by many Sikh adult men and that a "sportier" version is used by the men performing the gatka. And I learned that boys learn to wrap their turbans from their fathers and grandfathers, but over time they take on their own style that is influenced by what they have learned.

This was significant to me because I instantly understood more about Sikhism by the simple act of a father showing his son how he learned to wrap his turban. There is such a depth to humanity in this understanding that I was able to connect as a father and as a son and grandson. Simple, but a simplicity I had not considered.

When our conversation turned to hockey we were two Canadians walking in a religious parade talking about the great Canadian religion.

"What is wrong with Vancouver?"

"How do you feel about the Kessel trade?"

"What's wrong with the Sedins?"

I love to learn, and I love to share what I learn. This Khalsa Day was a revolutionary learning day for me as I felt a greater understanding of the Canadian lives of one of the world's great civilizations.

It was also revolutionary because of how wonderfully Canadian I felt being part of the Sikh parade. There were no maple leaves fluttering in the sky. There were no Mounties on horseback. There was no maple syrup on the food table. There was no need. It was wonderfully Canadian because it was wonderfully Sikh.

Khalsa and hockey mix to provide a meaning of what it is to be who you are, and be accepted for who you are because we, as Canadians, are an advanced society.

I can't remember a day when I felt more Canadian - or more proud to be a Canadian.

Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji ki Fateh.

 

The author is Mayor of Brantford, Ontario, Canada.

[Courtesy: The Expositor]

May 13, 2011

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