The Chardi Kala Project Joins Interfaith Coalition
Tarnjot Singh Brar & Kamalla Kaur of The Chardi Kala Project
“We all have our little circles, but we need to get people to stand together,” Kamalla Kaur, Executive Director of The Chardi Kala Project, said as we chatted at Bellewood Acres on a brisk, sunny day.
Started in 2018, The Chardi Kala Project is under the umbrella of the Chuckanut Health Foundation. The Project fights hate crimes against Sikhs and other marginalized populations by educating and providing opportunities for connection around Whatcom County. Of the nearly 229,000 people who live in Whatcom County, 8,000 are Sikhs. The Chardi Kala Project believes that hate crimes and bigotry can be stopped if we get to know each other, even if it’s in small, positive interactions every day.
“In Whatcom County, we tell ourselves that we don’t have racism here. Yet, I talk with people who have had hate crimes directed at them in this county,” Kamalla says.
“Being a white person, I don’t have the experience that many Sikhs or other minority groups have. But I do have access to people and resources that they may not. That’s privilege and I intend to use mine for good,” Kamalla said.
She and the Project’s Director, Tarnjot (TJ) Singh Brar, try to be a bridge between Sikhs and non-Sikhs. TJ speaks Punjabi and helps translate English into Punjabi for local schools, Goodwill, and pretty much any organization or group who wants to connect with Sikhs in Whatcom County. Many of you may know him from his job as a Whatcom County Real Estate Agent and Mortgage Broker.
Members of The Chardi Kala Project hosting langar
Born in Bellingham, Kamalla’s interest and connection to the Sikh community began when she was studying Religious Studies in college. Next to her campus was a gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship where people of all faiths are welcome. Being a college student, Kamalla was most interested in the free meal she could get each day for lunch at the gurdwara. Eventually she learned the meals were part of the Sikh tradition of langar, a community meal that welcomes anyone, regardless of their place in society. It was started by the founder Guru Nanak to break the caste system. Worldwide, langar feeds nearly 1 million people every day.
When hate crimes toward Sikhs started increasing, Kamalla combined her studies and writing to shed a light on Sikh beliefs and to educate non-Sikhs. For oversight on her writing, she joined online forums with the Sikh community so they could fact check her.
“They certainly let me know when I had inaccurate information,” Kamalla laughs. “But really, I’m a white woman who was trying to convey their culture. I of course made mistakes and they graciously taught me everything I now know.”
About The Chardi Kala Project
The Chardi Kala Project has created K-12 educational programs and well as community events, such as job fairs and arts festivals, so anyone in Whatcom County can learn and connect with Sikhs and their traditions. Staff and volunteers give presentations in schools, to clubs, and as part of both the Bellingham Recreation Department and Whatcom Library System. One presentation is called “Sikhs Make Good Neighbors” and teaches who Sikhs are and the sociology of their culture. Another presentation is for children and includes more hands-on education, such as showing pieces of fabric that are used to wrap into a turban. For Sikhs, turbans represent a crown that makes the statement: All humans are of noble birth.
“I try not to give presentations because who wants to hear a white woman talk about someone else’s culture, but last week I ended up needing to talk to a group because our presenter was ill. I spent the day sitting on the floor with second graders passing around fabrics for turbans and talking with them about Sikh practices, traditions, and their belief in equality for everyone. Talk about lightbulbs going on!” Kamalla said.
University and college classes are invited to take field trips to the gurdwaras in Whatcom County. Medical anthropology students have attended seminars at the Singh Sabha Gurdwara Bellingham where they learned about Sikh approaches to medical care. The Chardi Kala Project has also worked closely with hospice and medical professionals whose patients are Sikh.
A celebration around The Arch of Healing and Reconciliation. The arch is a reminder, “there is always another way”. It is a doorway to step through certain perspectives to see what’s on the other side.
“It’s really powerful to be able to provide recordings of hymns from the Sikh Holy Book, the Great Guru Granth to a Sikh who is dying and to have the nurses and doctors experience that tradition,” Kamalla said.
A presentation on racism that The Chardi Kala Project gives in high schools and colleges is called “The Eviction of Sikhs from Bellingham in 1907”. It teaches about the forced removal of Sikhs from Bellingham caused by mob riots. In 2015, Satpal Sidhu and other community members, interested in learning about the mob riots, sought reconciliation from Sikhs for the wrongs committed against them. During that time, forgiveness was also asked of Chinese and Japanese Americans for their persecution and removal from Bellingham. As a symbol of this collective recognition of this time in Bellingham’s history, The Arch of Healing and Reconciliation was erected behind the Bellingham Central Library in 2017.
Coming Together.
Essential principles of Sikhism include social equality, truthful living, and service to humanity. Within the Sikh community, “Chardi Kala” is itself a state of mind achieved by doing the right thing, keeping a neutral mind, and accepting what comes our way with gratitude. To do the right thing, one must be free of fear, revenge, and rage. Kamalla references Sat Sri Akaal, a Sikh phrase that generally means, “great truth is eternal” (in comparison, Hindus say, “Namaste.”) When said to another person with folded hands and a nod, Sat Sri Akaal shows respect and recognition of each other’s spirit and existence.
Because both The Chardi Kala Project and Interfaith Coalition connect people with different beliefs who unite for a common good, Kamalla Kaur approached Interfaith Coalition about becoming a partner. We agreed that with our abilities to bring people together to help others, the partnership is a great fit. The Chardi Kala Project hopes to tap into their collective strength to help us with projects to ensure our housing remains safe and secure so it is welcoming to families on their paths out of homelessness.
We welcome our new connection with The Chardi Kala Project, as well as our connections with our longtime partners who help provide stability and community to families in our housing. There is power in people of diverse beliefs working together.