Sukhjinderjit Singh Bath, aka Sukhi Bath, a Canada-based businessman and philanthropist, in 2016, gave his hometown of Surrey, Punjab Bhawan – an arts and culture precinct to celebrate and promote all things Punjab, thousands of miles away. This is said to be the first of its kind outside India.
Mr Bath is currently touring Australia to explore the possibility of the second such Punjab Bhawan. He says that he has been highly impressed with the Punjabi diaspora of Australia especially by its budding writers and artists.
“I’ve been living in Canada for over 40 years. I’ve worked very hard, like all us Punjabis do: worked in farms, drove taxis to find my feet in a foreign land. Now that I have established myself in Canada, and also have lived a large part of my life, I want to live the remainder of my life to the fullest by helping the needy and creating a society where there is communal harmony and accommodation for all faiths and ethnicities. Also, my dream was to give back to ‘Punjabiyat’ outside Punjab, hence the idea of Punjab Bhawan,” says Ms Bath in detailed interview with SBS Punjabi.
Mr Bath says that after travelling around Australia and meeting people who are promoting Punjabi literature and art here, he is convinced that Australia can have one or even more Punjab Bhawans.
An event organised by Punjab Bhawan on International Mother Language Day. Source: Supplied
Mr Bath says Punjab Bhawan doesn’t limit itself to promoting Punjabi literature written only in Gurmukhi (the Punjabi script used in Indian Punjab).
“We have a huge population of Pakistani Punjabis in Canada. Therefore, we organise events that celebrate Shahmukhi (the Punjabi script pused in Pakistani Punjab) as well,” adds he while speaking about several mushairas (poetry recital) that Punjab Bhawan had organised to commemorate great Pakistani poets like the late Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
Known as a “revolutionary poet” in Pakistan, Punjabi poet, Baba Najmi, was invited to Canada to preside over a mushaira. Eminent Indian Punjabi poet and Padma Shri awardee Surjit Patar has also been invited for a literary event.
Shedding light on the versatility and accommodating nature of Punjab Bhawan, Mr Bath says that it doesn’t cater to people of only Punjabi origin. “We have people across ethnicities and religions who use our space as a venue to host their events. In fact, even government bodies like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police organise their public events about health and general awareness in Punjab Bhawan,” says a proud Mr Bath.
Punjab Bhawan also publishes a quarterly magazine, Sugandhiyan, which chronicles the work of established as well as upcoming writers and poets in Canada and outside.
A copy of Sugandhiyan. Source: Supplied
The Canadian cities of Surrey and Vancouver, are together often jocularly known as ‘Mini Punjab’, owing to the generous population of Punjabis who have called it home for close to a decade. It is not surprising for such a place to have an arts and culture precinct dedicated to Punjab.
To listen to this interview in Punjabi, click on the player at the top of the page.
