1991-2004
The MIT Bhangra Club (originally the MIT Punjab Club) is group at MIT
dedicated to sharing the vibrant traditional folk dances of Punjab.
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This webpage is a copy of the old MIT Bhangra Club website, created mostly by myself (Radhika Nagpal), Sunil Vemuri and Sumer Johal, with content from the many generations of wonderful people who danced and taught in this club. Much of the content on this site (translated lyrics, a "bhangra" dictionary, info on costumes etc) was the work of many dedicated people who cared about sharing the culture of Punjab with everyone. Our hope is that this website will continue to play this role, even as many of us have moved on to other things. If you are looking for the current MIT Bhangra Website, click on the link -- they continue to do great things! 
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Bhangra is a folk dance of Punjab and an integral part of Punjabi culture. It is
a vibrant dance with dhol (drums), boliyan (lyrical couplets), and it is
typically performed during the harvest season and festive occasions. On
Baisakhi, the harvest festival, entire villages fire up in the spirit of
Bhangra. Bhangra is often used to describe many different and distinct folk
dances - bhangra, giddha, jhummer, etc. Bhangra is typically performed by men and is
centered on the dhol. It often includes props (sticks, chimtas, etc.) and
acrobatics. Jhummer is a particular style
of bhangra. Giddha
is performed by women and is centered around boliyan. Whether
performed by men or women, Punjabi folk dances incorporate all the teasing,
fun and exuberance of Punjabi life.
Bhangra is also part of the urban culture and danced and sung at wedding parties. Recently bhangra has invaded the popular scene and a new breed of bhangra-pop-reggae can often be heard at dance parties. The lively sound of punjabi music is impossible to ignore. Authentic bhangra though still has its own charm, and our club focuses on the traditional style. But bhangra is also a living folk art, and evolves as its dancers lives change. The ultimate goal is to be able to create our own bhangras, that mix expressions of our life with those of our heritage.
There are many sites where one can learn more
about bhangra or Punjabi culture. www.punjabonline.com has articles on
Punjabi culture, Punjabi lessons as well as album ratings.
www.bhangra.org has its own Punjabi
radio station and has very nice biographies of popular bhangra artists around
the world. www.jatt.com has information on
the history of bhangra, especially in the context of sikhism.
For more about
the MIT Bhangra club, read on!
The Punjab Club was started by
Radhika Nagpal,
Sumer Johal and Sumeet Sandhu in
1991. The original team consisted of six people - four
Punjabis (three Indian, one Pakistani), one from Karnataka, and one
Gujarati-American. Since then the club has grown enormously with an
even more diverse composition, but still retains much of the original
philosophy of Sumer Johal. Today the open classes regularly have more
than 50 people and we perform many times a year. Every year the
composition of the team, and the instructors, changes as new people
come to MIT. But many alumni stick around to help as instructors,
advisors, or friends. They are the key to keeping the spirit of the
club alive.
In 1998 the team took the name Noor-e-Punjab (Light of Punjab) and went to our first
competition. We won second place and since then have participated in many
different competitions. After Sumer left in 1999, Sunil Vemuri and
Radhika led the club for several years. During this time the popular India
Independence day summer performance at Hatchshell started and the voluntary
bhangra executive committee was born. In 2001, the club was run by the group
efforts and collaboration of the Bhangra Executive
Committee. The result has been many wonderful experiments in new ideas
for bhangras, giddas, fusions and teaching and strong collaborations with
other Boston college teams and the Boston Punjabi community. An example is the
2002 Noor-e-Punjab team, which won third place at the Michigan Boston Fusion
competition. The team was composed of ex-leaders from MIT, Harvard, Tufts and
BU who collectively created a beautiful and narrative bhangra. Also in 2002,
thanks to the untiring efforts of Arundhati Singh, we became an
official
ASA recognised group at MIT and Rasika
Kumar became the first president to lead the club. In May 2003 we won the
Laya and Jerome
B. Wiesner Student Art Award for the many years of contribution that the
members of this club have, and continue to make, to the community (award certificate). Many people share the
credit for this award, past and present.
The goal of this club is really to teach and
share bhangra, and to give people a sense of what Punjabi culture is
about. Culture is truly something worth sharing, not something to be guarded
fiercely against intruders. Although the composition of the MIT Bhangra Club
has changed significantly over time, it still has at its core many
philosophies and guiding principles that were laid down at the start and have
been passed down over the years. Many of the active members can tell you why
they love this club. Maybe some time we will get around to documenting those
ideas.
Recently we have added short Punjabi lessons
to our classes and we have put up a small glossary
of commonly heard Punjabi words as well as the lyrics
to many popular bhangra songs. We even occasionally sing boliyan in class!
In 1998 we sent our
first team to the 5th Annual Bhangra Blowout
Competition and won a standing ovation and
second place!
The competition is sponsored by George Washington University in Washington
DC and is attended by 4000 people from all over the east coast. Our team
chose the name Noor-e-Punjab, which means
the light of Punjab. Noor-e-Punjab competed again in the 1999 blowout.
In January 2002, Noor-e-Punjab competed at
the Bhangra Fusion Competition in Detroit,
Michigan and we won third place! This time however
the team was composed of members from MIT, Harvard, BU and Tufts, who all
collaborated to produce a bhangra. The Michigan competition allows teams of
any composition, and we believe that that is the right way to foster better
and more community-oriented bhangra. Competition teams are usually selected
by auditions. The teams are like extended bhangra families - you will
see them everywhere as instructors and generally helping out in
running the bhangra club
(blowout 98, blowout 99, fusion 2002). MIT also organizes a bhangra competition
called Bhangra Blast,
here in Boston and each year Sunil Vemuri, as part of MIT Bhangra, has selected
the judging panel. So far MIT Bhangra has not competed in this event, instead
we provide an exhibition performance. Photo collection Team Pages
Classes
The MIT Bhangra Club holds free classes that are open to EVERYONE. All skill levels and all backgrounds.
Non-MIT students, MIT students, or not students at all. Classes are held
periodically. Details are announced the our mailing
list. Usually classes are held at MIT; however in 1998 we held joint classes
with Boston University, which were a great success. In 2000, we held summer
classes on a roof deck overlooking the Boston skyline! We teach bhangra, gidda,
the history of bhangra, and more.
Mailing List
The main way the Bhangra Team communicates
with interested people is through its mailing list. You can add yourself to
the list by sending a blank email to bhangra-mit-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. You can
send email to bhangra - request @ mit .
edu if you have any other questions or need any information about
our group.
Performances and Competitions
Spring time, the time of Baisakhi, is the
time for many performances. Traditionally our main performances are at the
MIT cultural show, the MIT international fair, and at the IAGB India Independence Day show at the Hatch
Shell. Smaller groups of people also perform at Sloan events, Boston events
and other Boston area schools' cultural shows. Most performances are open
to everyone and anyone who likes to do bhangra. Again information about performances
is sent out to the mailing list. We also perform for charity events and
at private events to raise funds for our club.
In the News and on TV!
Photo Gallery
(2003 all the way to
1991)
[MIT International Fair (Ifair) 1999]
Related Sites
Natya
- MIT's Classical Indian Dance Club
Sangam - MIT South Asian
Organization
MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
South Asia Center - Organization creating a unified focal point for the South Asian community of the Greater Boston Area Acknowledgements
Several different organizations have made
it possible for the Bhangra Club to hold classes, acquire music and costumes
and lately, compete. We especially thank MIT Council
for the Arts, MIT Association of
Student Activities, MIT Finboard, NetSAP, Innovative Moves, Boston Business Journal, India Association of Greater Boston, McCormick
Hall and residents, BNN TV's "It's All About Arts", Sangam, Sloan, and the MIT Media Lab for their support.
We would also like to thank Varun Puri and his family who helped us acquire
our first costumes and props from India. We also rely on many people within
the community, such as Jaspal Singh of the South Asian Center, who continually
make personal efforts to help our club grow.
