Punjabi American Festival is link to ancestral country

Nindy Kaur was in the house, and more than a few young men, women and children mouthed lyrics along with the Punjabi singer, a star of the Bollywood music scene.

Bollywood — a nickname given to the extensive and sophisticated moviemaking enterprises in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India — produces a steady stream of popular culture icons and ready links between the Punjabi community in Yuba City and its roots.

Like most movies produced in Mumbai, the 17th Annual Punjabi American Festival held Sunday at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds featured traditional music and dance, as well as contemporary hip-hop-inspired music.

G. Sidhu has made participation in the outdoor festival a family tradition.

Her 7-year-old daughter performed bhangra, Punjabi folk dancing, with a group of children Sunday. It was her third year doing so.

The Roseville family attends a gurdwara — or Sikh temple — close to home, but takes advantage of big cultural events in Yuba City.

"It's good for the kids to see that, yes, this is a big Indian community around them," said Sidhu, who moved to the United States from India 13 years ago. "They see all these people in the same kind of dresses and all speaking the same language."

Raising her daughter as bilingual and dual-culture, she said, is important to her.

Aman Preet brought her two daughters Simar and Jaap Kaur from Martinez to hear the music and take in the sights of the festival.

"I like the food," said Simar, 8, with a grin.

Her 3-year-old sister bobbed to the sounds of a tabla — a traditional Indian drum — knocking out a go-go beat.

Preet, who arrived in the U.S. 12 years ago, said that Punjabis make up a tiny minority in their community and that attending events in Yuba City helps connect her family to its heritage.