Resilience and Rebellion: The Women of Heeramandi Represent Ongoing Struggles of Female Liberation

Bhansali's lens offers a nuanced perspective, celebrating the labour of women in preserving cultural heritage while challenging prevailing narratives of marginalisation.

Image credit: Netflix India – a star-studded cast featuring Manisha Koirala as Malikajaan, Sonakshi Sinha as Rehaana Begum/Fareedanjaan, Aditi Rao Hydari as Bibbojaan, Sanjeeda Sheikh as Waheedajaan, Richa Chadha as Lajjo and Sharmin Segal as Alamzeb

For decades, the saga that is Heeramandi has brewed within the playgrounds of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's mind. A project marked by numerous renditions and cast changes, it stands as a testament to Bhansali's unwavering dedication to craft a narrative that transcends mere storytelling.

Unsurprisingly, it’s also one that navigates and explores the contexts of gender within Indian society and the contexts of cultural preservation and evolution. In delving into the intricacies of womanhood, societal expectations, and the evolution of cultural norms, Heeramandi emerges not just as a tale of the past but as a thoughtful reflection of contemporary struggles and triumphs - including the notion of being subdued and oppressed, even if the fight for physical freedom is one that was conquered by our ancestors long before our time.

Image Credit: Brown History Substack – An image of a young Tawaif in the real Heeramandi as reference to this saga and the visual undercurrents that starkly differ between the series and real history of Lahore’s red light district

The enemy of a woman is not a woman

At the heart of Heeramandi lies a tapestry of relationships, both tender and tumultuous among its many female characters – one that is also a rare sight to see coming out of Indian cinema. Bhansali masterfully juxtaposes camaraderie and enmity, revealing the complexities that underscore women's interactions with each other. Through characters like Rehaana Begum and Malaika Jaan, we witness the dichotomy of sisterhood and betrayal, each action laden with societal implications and devastating personal repercussions that transcend generationally with Malaikajaan’s rivalry with Rehaana Begum’s daughter, Fareedan.

Central to the narrative is the exploration of the confines of womanhood within a patriarchal society. The series is introduced with Rehaana Begum sealing the fate of her sister, Malaikajaan’s son, and her nephew, whom she gives to a nawaab while her sister sleeps shortly after giving birth. Compared to Malaika Jaan's female children whom we are introduced to shortly after, this serves as a stark reminder of the double standards imposed on women. 

Despite both enjoying wealth and privilege, the paths of Malaikajaan’s children diverge dramatically, reflecting the entrenched expectations and limitations placed upon them based on gender. On one hand, her female children are pushed to carry the weight of the Tawaif lineage within their house in Heeramandi, whilst her son, renamed Zoravar, unbeknownst to him, enjoys the lavish life of a Nawab and also ironically frequents his birth mother’s residence. This subplot concludes for the audience to reflect on with Malaikajaan revealing to Nawaab Zoravar at his wedding, in front of all of his guests, about his origins. In response to his abuse against Lajjo, of whom he was a long time patron, she reveals that the same people he disrespects are the same people and environment he was produced from. This subplot sets the stage for further social dynamics that are explored within the series.

Video credit: Netflix India – check out the scene between Malaikajaan and her son, renamed Zorawar, where she dicloses his mysterious origins after he brutalises Lajjo at his wedding

At the end of the saga, it is seen that all rivalries are squashed against a common enemy. Albeit, it is the coloniser that ends up being the enemy, it is also the patriarchal coloniser who deepens the harms and hurts between women. This is a central theme to much of the concepts that the series explores, including the genderisation of freedom movements and resistance.

It’s easier to fight for freedom when it’s not gendered

The character of Taj, the leading man of the series, returning from Britain with preconceived notions about Tawaifs, embodies the clash between tradition and modernity, as well as the overlap of East and West through the ongoing effects of the act of colonisation. His journey towards acceptance mirrors society's struggle to reconcile sensuality and womanhood with societal norms. 

Through this idea, Bhansali skillfully dismantles Orientalist tropes, exposing the destructive impact of external influences on indigenous cultures and identities. 

North India, including Punjab, is no doubt a regional hotbed full of colonisation and heavy militarism through various conquests over thousands of years including the Turkish, the Greeks, the Iranians and the Mughals. Yet, the cultures of so many have blended to develop the artistry of women and blend cultural archetypes into one that is distinct. Even if it does not fully represent Punjabi culture, it does outline how life was like for a specific sect of people within society pre-Partition.

Image Credit: Netflix India – Sharmin Segal as Alamzeb and Taha Shah Badussha as Tajdaar Baloch

Within Taj’s character development, the audience sees how easy it is for him to come on board to the idea of freedom fighting and resistance, yet, the hardest thing for him despite his radicalist, educated and modern views is the idea of where his lover comes from. His own development as a character sees him from being absolutely opposed to the ideas and values that Tawaifs represent.

Although he softens to the idea as he further interacts with his love interest, Alamzeb, Taj still very much embodies this during his interactions with the British police – focussing his defence on his repulsion of Alamzeb’s background and what it represents. Did he need to go this far to defend himself? Probably not. He does so anyway, ensuring that humiliating Alamzeb as a woman, specifically for her background and where she comes from, becomes the focal point of his own defence for the sake of the revolution.

The irony of this weighs heavily on the audience. Revolution and freedom come at the cost of being a woman, and the most taboo idea within the grounds of the series is that of being a Tawaif and what it represents to be one.

Moreover, Heeramandi underscores the intergenerational transmission of culture and resilience. The legacy of Tawaifs as patrons of the arts and custodians of tradition is portrayed through generations, highlighting their enduring impact despite societal ostracisation. Even within the challenges of a starkly changing society at the height of social and cultural tensions and divide, tawaifs harness their subdued and underlying identity of being women, serving their nation, and being stewards of their culture.

Bhansali's lens offers a nuanced perspective, celebrating the labour of women in preserving cultural heritage while challenging prevailing narratives of marginalisation. And even in the context of having many riches, they aren’t much in comparison to the freedom of being a male in a patriarchal society.

Image credit: The Hindu – even within the scope of having material riches, Tawaifs are subject to ample marginalisation and stigmatisation within society

Bibbojaan’s symbology is unique in the realm of celebrating Indian Freedom Fighters in History and Cinema

Bibbojaan emerges as a symbol of unwavering resilience and defiance against oppression. From her beginnings and introduction within the saga, until the very end, she embodies the spirit of a freedom fighter, confronting adversity with unmatched courage that is highlighted by her softness as a woman in her day to day life. However, what lingers hauntingly in the aftermath is the brutal stripping of her womanhood — a visceral portrayal of the sacrifices women make in the fight for freedom, liberation, and equality. 

Image credit: The Hindu – featuring Aditi Rao Hydari as Bibbojaan and Fardeen Khan as Wali Saab, a nawaab and patron of Bibbojaan who often kept her informed of tensions between British colonisers and rebellion fighters.

As the series concludes, within the climax itself, we witness Bibbojaan's journey marked by bloodshed and bruises, the product of torture from colonising British officers, and each inflicted wound becomes a testament to her unyielding determination. Yet, it is the callous severance of her hair that cuts deepest and perhaps becomes the most jarring part of the scene, devoid of any reverence or symbolism of sanctity nor womanliness. This scene is a visual depiction of an attack against the divine feminine – one that is not very different to how the idea of Tawaifs is approached by the British throughout the series as is. 

Further to this, unlike the portrayal of male freedom fighters, who often step into their execution chambers adorned with symbols of strength and valour, Bibbojaan is denied this visual homage and honouring. Instead, she confronts her fate with a rawness that speaks volumes of the injustices endured by women in the shadows of history. Even in her pursuit of freedom, she is not visually depicted as a wild woman in her own terms, rather, it is done to her to strip her of her dignity.

The only courage and valour we get to see as an audience in comparison to all the films about Shaheed Udham Singh and Shaheed Bhagat Singh is the courage in Bibbojaan’s eyes, and within the voices of the women supporting her behind the wall of the chamber.

In portraying the labour of women in freedom movements, Heeramandi confronts the erasure of female contributions to history as a byproduct.

The character of Bibbojaan epitomises this struggle, her sacrifice and resilience — qualities rarely explored with such depth and nuance through a female lens in cinematic settings within the history of Indian cinema until now — are starkly overshadowed by societal indifference to the topic itself.

Image Credit: Netflix India – Bibbojaan moments before her execution: her visual depiction is tattered, bruised, and violated in juxtaposition of many male freedom fighters in the context of Hindi cinema

Heeramandi disrupts conventional narrative and traditionalist ideas on what a freedom fighter looks like, sounds like, and acts like. It shines a glaring light on the erasure of women's contributions whilst celebrating a woman in her pursuit of freedom with the singing echoes of other women – many of whom Bibbojaan had tensions with within the saga – in support of her.

While male counterparts in Indian cinema are lauded for their bravery, Bibbojaan's story remains a silent testament to the countless women whose sacrifices have been overshadowed by patriarchal narratives, and it’s one that still weighs heavy and speaks to the female condition four to five generations later – within India and within the diaspora as well.

As such, then, Bhansali deftly exposes the hypocrisy of heroism, where male freedom fighters are glorified while their female counterparts are marginalised and stripped of their dignity.

Video of Azadi, a juxtaposition of how freedom fighters are traditionally shown in Indian cinema. Video credit goes to Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions

Not your woman, no matter our class

While undoubtedly entertaining, the growing and long-lasting trend of item songs perpetuate harmful stereotypes, undermining the intrinsic beauty and symbolism of womanhood. Women are the creators of life itself, and whether in the realm of prostitution depicted in films like Gangubai Kathiawadi, or the world of high society artistry embodied by characters like Bibbojaan, women play indispensable roles in shaping our lives and society.

Yet, despite our multifaceted contributions, and despite our positions within social classes themselves, society frequently fails to accord us the respect and recognition we deserve.

Image credit: Netflix India

Thought paradigms in Heeramandi rise in existence today

In essence, Heeramandi transcends the confines of historical drama, offering a profound reflection on the complexities of womanhood and societal expectations. Through Bhansali's artistry, it becomes a poignant reminder of the enduring struggle for equality and the resilience of the human spirit, as well as the female struggle for liberation. The world is modern, it has changed so much since the time period in which Heeramandi is set.

But when you look at headlines in India, crimes against women are still at an all time high. Within the diaspora, a quick look will show an emergence of alarmingly rising movements of conservatism, be it in Hinduvta circles or right-wing Sikh circles, a woman’s value isn’t much beyond her labour for a movement or giving birth to keep a kom (community) alive and well-numbered. We are not welcome in academic settings even if we have the same (or honestly, a lot more) qualifications than our male contemporaries and counterparts. Headlines about gang rapes of women, or the secret filming of women taking a shower or engaging in intimacy with their partners still very much come out of Indian news outlets on the regular.

This is no different than the horrific plot tool of Malaikajaan being gang raped by British officers for the freedom of her daughter, Alamzeb. Women still very much suffer at the hands of men – just this time, it’s not in a colonised setting, it’s a different form of repression and oppression. It’s our own men doing it to us, in a literal sense, because man cannot be born nor borne without woman.

Image Credit: ComingSoon.net – Fareedan, Malaika and Waheeda tearfully and powerfully walk to the jail where Bibbojaan will be executed for rebellion. In this scene, they powerfully fight British officers and croon about the freedom of their country

Closing Thoughts

As the curtains draw on this saga, the echoes of its narrative reverberate, urging us to reevaluate our perceptions of gender, freedom, and cultural heritage. Heeramandi will be, no doubt, subject to its own criticisms by numerous groups of people for different aspects of the narrative, including and not limited to creative, artistic and historical perspectives. But, it also does a lot of good with full intention of juxtaposing against narratives of sensuality, the arts, and generational patronage. Ultimately, this saga speaks to Bhansali’s ongoing message speaking to the masses that you cannot separate a woman from her sensuality, but reducing her to a mere sexual object is a notion that is indeed destroying our world and our microcultures within it.

Image credit: Koimoi

Heeramandi is a saga that is available to watch on Netflix India. What are your thoughts on the series? Let us know!

Breaking Borders: Diljit Dosanjh's Impact on Representing Punjabi Artists Globally

Written by: Dil Bola / Image from Andrew Chin/Getty Images

Diljit Dosanjh, once again, etched his name in history. This time we were privileged witnesses to his remarkable journey in person through his Dil-Luminati Tour, and also, closely on social media.

Diljit’s influence is global and it’s not stopping any time soon

For those who don’t know him, Diljit is not only a musician but a well known actor in both Panjabi and Hindi cinema. He has spent his career breaking the ever too common stereotypes of Sikh Panjabis within the Indian film industry — specifically those who wear a dastaar or turban. Breaking serious social and cultural stereotypes alongside his many talents make it apparent as to why Diljit continues to reach new heights of superstardom. Most recently, Dosanjh has acted in a new film, Chamkila, which albeit was controversial for many reasons including issues of domestic violence, still highlighted and explored the rising stardom of Panjabi and Dalit-identifying folk singer, Amarjit Chamkila. Among all opinions of the film and its background lies the issue of caste which the film intricately navigates and explores for the viewer to deduce the long lasting effects of casteism with a lens that explores the issue contemporarily and within the 1980s, when Chamkila rose to superstardom himself.

Last year, Dosanjh was the first Panjabi to perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the first South Asian to play a set on their main stage. This was ground breaking for so many South Asian artists with dreams of doing the same. Amongst videos on YouTube and social media of the event was a crowd full of folks from all different backgrounds rocking it out to Diljit’s Bhangra tunes – invoking a sense of worldy and globalised culturemaking. Most recently, on April 27th, 2024, Diljit continued to expand his musical legacy and reach, performing for over 50,000 people in Vancouver, Canada. This time, Diljit broke records as the first Indian-origin and Panjabi musician to play this large of a show outside of India – he sold out BC Place Stadium to crowds full of not just youngsters, but varying Panjabi families including children and the elderly.

A Celebrity that other celebrities also adore

It’s not just that Dosanjh breaks multiple records as he continues to make his mark across multiple industries, he also manages to create unforgettable experiences and melt hearts across people from various backgrounds and walks of life – often emulating the magic and unconditional love that is so unique to feel when he performs. Yet, as a contemporary pop icon, he also holds a place similar to Taylor Swift as a musician —– the musician that other celebrities obsess over. Diljit’s concerts are just as star studded as other mainstream chart breaking musicians who have had the créme de la créme of the entertainment industry pay for tickets just like us to watch her perform. In the same example, Swift’s had the likes of Jessica Chastain, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Goldblum and many more.

Similarly, Dosanjh has actors, businessmen, directors and other notable film industry leaders attend his performances and they sing along word for word just as the Swifties would. A recent example of such is his performance at the Ambani wedding, where he performed alongside a power-celebrity roster including the likes of Beyoncé and Rihanna, and for notable film figures like Karishma and Kareena Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Vicky Kaushal and their contemporaries within their respective field.

Diljit brings pride to the entire South Asian community and its effect is evident through all of his experiences and achievements within the industries he works in. But, one such moment for me really reflected this part of his personality and journey as a performer and musician. At the Vancouver stop of his Dil-Luminati Tour, Dosanjh brought a young 6 year old boy on stage while performing one of the songs on his set. The child was wearing an exact copy of Dosanjh’s Coachella stage outfit last year. The two danced it out together over one of his latest tracks, and the shine in their eyes could be seen from the furthest seats. The symbolism of the moment was so wholesome – how beautiful that the next generation gets to experience Panjabi culture so interactively and so freely not just within the diaspora, but openly, in public, too.

Snippets of Diljit’s historic Dil-Luminati Concert in Vancouver, BC on April 27th, 2024

Things are changing, and Diljit's stewarding how we interact with Panjabi culture going forward as a diaspora

Given that the millenial generation is growing up and the elder Gen Zs are too, it’s now our responsibility to the future generation to ensure we stay representing who we are, so that the effect and understanding is positive instead of negative. And Dosanjh is doing exactly that within the music and film industry – he is carrying forth culture, honouring, and acting as a medium for Punjabi culture to cultivate and evolve to translate into the world of a new generation.

In 2024, we all know that representation – especially within media – is very important. Representation allows young people to identify with someone who understands them from a cultural nuance point. As a result, they are able to form strong identities and negate negative stereotypes they may be experiencing and processing as they learn to understand themselves and navigate the complexities of the world. Cultural representation supports a strong sense of self esteem and that would naturally affect mental health.

Negative stereotypes are not limited to Apu from the Simpsons – in fact, Hindi cinema has on numerous occasions, consistently portrayed stereotypes of Sikhs as loud, uncouth, rustic, and clownish characters. I myself cringe every time I hear “Balle Balle” come out of a Sardar character’s mouth in a Hindi film. Dosanjh provides range for Sikhs — he’s played the loud, fun, jokey character, but he has also played very serious, mature characters, romantic leads, and more that we don’t typically see for Sikh characters. From his first role as ASI Sartaj Singh in Udta Panjab where he touches on the issue of drug usage by Panjabi youth to his latest appearance as the suave customs officer, Jaiveer Singh in Crew, Dosanjh holds range and creates opportunities ffor complex characters that add to Sikh representation to emerge on the silver screen – breaking away from cultural stereotypes to more accurate and varied representation of who we can be whilst being proud of our identities,how we look like, and the values we represent.

Snippets of Diljit’s historic Dil-Luminati Concert in Vancouver, BC on April 27th, 2024

Breaking Stereotypes looks like this

On the eve of his historic concert in Vancouver, Diljit said: “they said Sardars can't be fashionable, and I said, 'I will show you.' They said Sardars can't star in films, so I showed them. They said Punjabis can't thrive in Mumbai, and I showed them.” And he continues to show us all as he continues to make his mark through history while he continues to show up to represent Punjabis, the Punjabi language, and Punjabi culture across the world through the medium of performing arts.

Diljit Dosanjh has paved the way for so many South Asians in the future, and more South Asian artists continue to do the same. Punjabi singer Karan Aujla recently won the 2024 Juno Fan Choice award and AP Dhillon played at the Coachella Festival in California this year. It’s clear that South Asian artists are continuing to break barriers, and in another celebratory statement, many are breaking so many stereotypes and records all around the world, and proving that when you have a dream, you can achieve it – no matter what.

Article written by HIMMAT MEDIA Resident Writer Dil Bola with edits by Journal Editor Jagreet Dhadli

Last edit to include the film Chamkila’s exploration of casteism on May 8th 2024

Shedding Light on the Shadows of Caste

Written by: Dil K Bola

“What’s your last name?”

This is seemingly an innocent enough question for most, but is yet, one that is entirely something different for South Asians, where it holds the weight of thousands of years of often, oppressive history.

This Spring, the Poetic Justice Foundation is displaying a thought provoking exhibit at the Burnaby Village Museum. The museum explores the concept of caste, a hierarchal and hereditary social classing system developed in Ancient India which still holds its clutches on modern South Asian [and diasporic] society. The exhibit explores the “evil of caste that lurks in the shadows of our community.” In its scope, it touches on how caste migrated with immigrants from the region to North America. The exhibit also dives deep into caste’s pervasiveness in Panjabi popular culture, and how equality—a core tenet of Sikhi—is rarely truly practiced today with the adoption of caste in contemporary contexts.

This exhibit illustrates the bizarre, dichotomous reality and juxtaposition of religious equality through the lens of Sikhi and the prevalence of caste oppression. When asking for a South Asian’s last name, you’re asking for more than just that. You’re asking for their family history, their status, their place in society. And that is exactly why “the Sikh Gurus sought to abolish the Indian caste system that assigned value and rights to individuals based on the families they were born into.” [wearesikhs.org]

Caste continues to affect our community in new shapes and forms, and the exhibit implores you to think about how it has adapted after following us to the West.

The origins of Sikhi lie in caste abolishment

With hopes of ending discrimination and promoting equal rights, the Gurus encouraged their followers to take the names Singh and Kaur. This change not only eliminated the classism that powers caste discrimination, but also allowed women to be recognized “as individuals with value and identities existing independently of their relationships with men.” [wearesikhs.org]

At the end of the day, this is a core value of the Sikh religion and community at large – so why are last names and conversations on caste so pervasive today? The excuse I hear the most is, “oh, immigration led to us bringing our last name back … we needed it to better identify ourselves … etc.” Some say only those who have taken amrit follow this tradition whereas others claim its to avoid forgetting their history.

The modern concept of caste

The modern concept of a last name coming from a patrilineal line is fairly Western against the background of South Asian history. Last names are at the end of the day, our clans. If we know our pind — our village — would we really forget who we are are and where we are from?

As the exhibit displays, even when part of the diaspora, we cannot escape our identity. Throughout the various stories shared within it, many spoke on the fact that despite growing up in the West, conversation on caste prevailed. The aforementioned question “what is your last name?” echoes through the halls of schools for local and international students alike. Inter-caste couples struggle to receive support from their families to the point of breaking up or being disowned.

“I have a cousin who marries outside of their caste … her family disowned her … “ (OVERCASTE)

Dating apps and biodatas continue to request specific caste matches, lower castes such as Chamar or Chura are used as synonyms for unkempt or dark skinned appearances (a feat that is incredibly problematic on its own with the pervasiveness of colourism in South Asian culture) and rappers touting their higher caste status as Jatts continue to hit the top of the charts.

At the end of the day, the caste system in its form today continues to oppress all of us. Whichever rung of the ladder you may be, you’re still being stepped on while someone else climbs to the top.

“In 1906, my great-grandfather Maya Ram Mahmi became the first recorded Dalit immigrant to Canada, seeking a brighter future and escape from the social and economic oppressions he faced in India. Yet, he and his descendants, including myself, have faced ongoing caste discrimination, an issue that persists over a century later. Through the OVERCASTE exhibit, we aim to highlight the often-ignored problem of caste bias in Canada. This initiative seeks to amplify the Dalit Canadian narrative, which has been historically sidelined and ignored”

— Anita Lal, Co-Curator of the exhibit and Co-Founder of the Poetic Justice Foundation.

And you may look at the top of this article and think, “well, she’s got her last name on there.” You’re right, I do, but that wasn’t my choice. Not to say it was my parents’ choice either, their parents made that decision for them. And as many did before them they followed what their ancestors had done without thinking about the implications of a something as simple as naming your child. But it takes one person to change that cycle, and I for one, will not be passing this onto my children.

“I was dating this guy, and he asked me my caste and when I said I’m a Chamaar, he’s like “that’s going to be an issue.” (OVERCASTE)

Final reflections

At the end of the day I’m asking you to think. This exhibit is asking you to think. How did we become so complacent? How can we change this? How can we make our community more equitable by changing behaviour in our day to day life? How can we look at the exhibit and examine the ways it asks us to reflect on how we separate ourselves from each other through harmful modalities like social heirarchies? How do we get to decide we are better than others?

The OVERCASTE Exhibit is currently travelling internationally and returns to Burnaby Village Museum on May 4th, 2024.

Learn more at overcaste.com.

Images provided by the Poetic Justice Foundation, taken by Behind the Lens Photography

R&B's Kaleidoscope: ASTU's Harmonic Merge of Eras and Identity Narratives

Image from Variant Magazine

Stumbling on ASTU, a musical artist based in the Bay Area of California, is an accidental surprise – this transcendent musical entity steps into the limelight with a sonic canvas that seamlessly blends elements of retro soul, a splash of nineties R&B nostalgia.

Embarking on ASTU's musical odyssey is akin to embarking on a journey through a kaleidoscope, one that unfurls from the deconstruction of outdated thought patterns to the sacred realm of introspection. With each lyric and every note, ASTU becomes our guide, leading us through a labyrinth of contemplation where we challenge the limitations of conventional thinking and venture into the uncharted territories of our minds. ASTU's musical journey is an intricate tapestry that intertwines diverse threads, creating an expansive soundscape that resonates far beyond the ordinary. Anchored in their rich heritage of R&B's generational rhythms, this sonic voyage is a testament to their boundless creativity. But it doesn't stop there – ASTU boldly weaves the vivacious colors of pop, the cosmic echoes of synth-wave, and the kaleidoscopic harmonies of psychedelia into a symphony that opens portals to the depths of the mind and soul.

ASTU possesses a magical ability to summon the spirit of 90s club songs, resurrecting the infectious rhythms that once ruled the dance floors. With every pulsating beat and groovy bassline, listeners are transported back to dimly lit dance halls, where neon lights and rhythmic movements created a symphony of youthful exuberance. The playful energy that characterized the 90s club scene is palpable in ASTU's music, infusing each track with an irresistible allure that makes it impossible to resist moving to the rhythm (just take a crack at their piece, Suit Up, and tell us otherwise!)

An integral part of ASTU's identity shines through their music – their unapologetic queerness. Their artistry transcends the conventional, offering a safe haven where listeners are free to explore their own identities. In each note, a celebration of diversity; in each melody, an embrace of individuality but also a counter-movement that invites celebration of a unique and fresh narrative of queer love as a physical manifestation within the music. ASTU's music becomes a bridge that connects hearts, minds, and souls, inviting us all to partake in a shared journey of self-discovery and acceptance, while simultaneously experiencing a narrative of love that may not be one it would otherwise conjure up on its own without invitation.

In between the intricate mix of pop, psychedelic and rhythm and bass lies the cadence of those hymns finds new life in the rhythmic heartbeats of their music, while the soul-stirring melodies weave threads of nostalgia that tug at the heartstrings while also creating a new array of sound that is experienced for the first time.

​​But perhaps most intriguing of all is the infusion of psychedelic soundwaves and harmonies. These auditory kaleidoscopes paint the mind's canvas with hues and patterns that defy logic, inviting us to transcend the mundane and explore the extraordinary.

ASTU – Motion via YouTube

Here’s our suggestion on how to dive in:

• sunsetmedown

• Motion

• Roots

• Satellites

• The Hunt

• Suit Up

• Staycation / Runaway

For Zodic, his upcoming album, Hierarchy, conquers the order of his own life

Over the past three years, Seattle-based rapper and hip-hop artist, Zodic, has poured his heart and soul into his new album titled Hierarchy. Throughout his journey of producing the album, which isn’t different from the overall theme of his life, he reflects on overcoming numerous obstacles, sacrifices, and challenges. With a firm belief in his vision and ideas, Zodic embarked on a creative odyssey that has culminated in the release of his highly anticipated 12-track artistic work. In this article, we delve into the story behind the making of Zodic's album, exploring his inspirations, creative process, personal growth, and the valuable lessons he wishes to share with aspiring artists alike.

The concept behind the album is all about conquering social hierarchies that are set up for us in society. To start, the album’s cover was created by Gold Kidd, an artist from Vancouver. Inspired by a photoshoot in Seattle during the summertime, the image portrays a powerful staircase—a metaphor for reaching new heights and embodying the strength and determination to pursue one's dreams. Zodic invites listeners to click on the cover art while experiencing the album, allowing the visuals to enhance the immersive musical experience.

Zodic's album is a testament to his desire for musical variety and his emotional depth and expression style. With each track acting as a chapter in a larger narrative, the album seamlessly blends different styles, ranging from angry and introspective to happy and upbeat to, at times, cheeky and outright. Zodic's writing process is deeply intertwined with his personal experiences, allowing him to channel his emotions and thoughts into his music. With each song, he unleashes different challenges of navigating tough times and hard emotions. Something of which allows for relatability from his audiences right off the bat.

The album's opening track, "Melody," sets the stage for Zodic's return from his 2021 album, instantly captivating listeners with its introduction. Collaborating with a friend from high school who supplied the beats, Zodic seamlessly weaves his own unique style and perspective into the music. While some songs originated from existing beats, Zodic's true artistic expression shines through on tracks like "Mad Mad," where he built the beat from scratch, infusing it with his personal rhythm and energy. This is followed by songs like Enigma, which hold more lo-fi elements and reflective lyrics that express morose over the harder lessons of life.

Recognizing the need to take his craft seriously and elevate his work, Zodic invested his time and energy into honing his skills and pushing his creative boundaries. Learning from past projects, he embarked on a journey to discover his unique sound and style, breaking free from conventional norms and embracing his own artistic vision. The album represents a significant milestone in Zodic's growth and self-discovery. “I became a better person through adversity,” said Zodic. The self-awareness aspect explored in the album allowed him to specifically connect with his own inner child, and pull from his own childhood experiences: “when you’re a kid, nobody’s giving you straight answers, deflecting from you, you gotta find ways to figure out things in unique ways, stretch your mind, and look at same puzzle diff sides and angles to get the answers, because most people will not help you. But if you’re determined to figure out your path and the answers, or where to go, people will show you. They may not go with you, but they will show you. And that’s what’s been poured into this album – from the time of my childhood to now, the lessons learned and the defiance of creative expression, it’s all there. It’s all connected together.”

To those facing similar circumstances, Zodic offers his advice: find the things that truly resonate with you and hold onto them. Whether it's a passion for art, music, or any other form of self-expression, never let anyone steer you away from what brings you joy and fulfillment. Embrace the creative process, explore different perspectives, and defy societal boundaries that may attempt to confine your imagination. Zodic emphasizes the importance of being genuine, honest, and continuously striving for self-improvement while treating oneself and others with kindness.

Overcoming the Heirarchy of Societal Expectations

Zodic acknowledges the societal pressure on men, particularly men of color, to suppress their emotions. The power of expressing oneself authentically, and by sharing his vulnerabilities, Zodic harnesses this album to challenge societal norms and encourages other men to embrace their emotions.

What’s Next for Zodic?

Z: Dropping the rest of the album. I would like to let my name be heard and just try to take the next step in artistry. I would like to focus on my feature film, seeing how it can get done while trying to get a foothold in the music industry. Either way, I’m ready to continue achieving greatness for myself.

Hierarchy’s Tracklist

1. Melody

2. Down Deep

3. Deez Snakes

4. Party Upstairs

5. Mad Mad

6. Flawless Interlude

7. The Standard

8. Nobody's Problem

9. Desire

10. Make it (One Day)

11. ENIGMA

12. Don't/Always (Do)

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Blank Canvas Event Series Reimagines & Redefines Local Music Artistry in Vancouver

On New Year’s Eve, local vocalist Ana Santos and Deejay Caston, a member of local rap group The Castons, put together a show and showcase that closed off the year with uplifting, grassroots creativity titled Blank Canvas. This event was the first in a series of multi-faceted events celebrating and showcasing artistic expression and excellence in the Lower Mainland region.

The duo debuted the event at 648, a local arts studio in Mount Pleasant, Vancouver that is a reflection of the independent, artistic and grassroots nature of the neighbourhood.

The event featured works by Qeyonnia Caston, a local independent artist specialising in stunning silhouette art, and performances by local singer-guitarist-songwriter Ty Koch, The Castons, and Ana Santos throughout the duration of the night’s programme. 

Blank Canvas fostered community collaboration and partnership in a way that hasn’t been seen before. Ana and Deejay Caston not only brought together a community of artists that enjoy artistic collaboration and experimentation, but created a multi-faceted experience that celebrates various forms of expression and art through audio, visual, and sensory experiences. As a result, not only did the audience experience swoon worthy serenades from Ty Koch and Ana Santos, but also, jazz inspired collaboration between Ana Santos and The Castons. Finally, the night hit an energetic peak with rap performances by The Castons – who really knew how to light up the stage and pump the crowd up for the New Year.

Live Performance by The Castons

The end result? A night to remember. It is more than clear that Ana Santos and The Castons have a vision of what grassroots collaboration in music means. They allow ample space for the creation and cultivation processes – allowing possibilities to emerge through, and for meaningful memories to be created. Everyone in the crowd was buzzing with conversation after each set of performances. For me personally, I’ve been to hundreds of shows as a festival operations manager, arts administrator and music journalist. Never have I seen the crowd so engaged in the performances and then go to internalise them together in a group process.

Performance by Ana Santos

Clearly, then, Ana Santos and Deejay Caston are onto something here: not only are they creating a new form of artistic expression in the city, but they’re redefining what community connection and community in general mean. Their music extends far beyond into the audience, allowing them to truly move and transform those whom they touch with their performances.

If you were unable to catch Blank Canvas’ last iteration, they are performing tonight, Friday, February 10th at Buddha’s on 109 East Hastings. Doors open at 8pm, and tickets are $10. This event seems to have expanded in its capacity of vendors and performers, including: Left Hand Minivan, Gabe Regerh, Ana Santos, Jonelle, Polo Brian and The Castons, iterating that the event organisers are growing this series into one that the City is responding positively to.

We can’t wait to see you there.

BRITTNEY GRINER, HARPREET KAUR GILL, MEG THEE STALLION & MANDEEP KAUR EXEMPLIFY THAT GENDERED VIOLENCE & DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN OF COLOUR IS STILL ENTRENCHED IN OUR INDIVIDUAL PSYCHES

The last few months have shown many reports of domestic violence, character assassination of women, and misogynoir within celebrity culture and our everyday society. Yet, an eerily, intimately known, generational theme of gender inequality continues to persist in our seemingly more egalitarian world. And we are at a critical juncture where we must reflect as individuals, as a generation, and as a global community in order to create real change.

“Black culture holds a consistent, visible framework of struggle against domestic violence within its pop cultural paradigm and through the established concept of misogynoir that is non-existent in the South Asian world and is adequate to compare culturally.”

But before we can even do this, it’s important to identify the terrifying trends that increasingly occur within our real world – and the harmful discussions perpetuated in the online world. Namely, this includes addressing harmful phenomena like misogynoir (ingrained prejudice against Black women) when harmful instances of misogyny occur like domestic violence, and applying the concept to how South Asian, namely, Punjabi women, are perceived and treated. Then, this article brings in suggestions on being part of the change, and not the problem, for all everyday individuals to consider.

So, here are four high profile cases of women of colour going through it – notice the trends of how society is currently [now, in this moment, 2022] treating them.

Image Credit: WNBA

Brittney Griner

It made international news when American WNBA player and 2x Olympic Gold Medalist Brittney Griner was imprisoned in Russia for carrying a gram of cannabis oil [prescribed by her doctor as pain medication]. If you commit a crime in another country, the rhetoric is, you do the time. Fair. However, Brittney isn’t the first person to carry cannabis oil in her luggage upon entering Russia. In 2019, American-Israeli, Naama Issachar, was sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison for a similar mishap – where she unintentionally brought cannabis into the country when travelling from India to Israel. She was pardoned by Putin within 7.5 months when tensions rose high between the two countries – something that wasn’t the case for Griner despite tensions between America and Russia.

Separating from the rhetoric of paying dues for committing crimes, Griner was released in a prison swap with convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout on December 8, 2022 – a deal that has been claimed to be ‘manageable’ by the Biden Administration. In response, many right-wing propagandists started to spread false information about Griner: harnessing her unique physical characteristics such as her height, deeper voice, and body size to argue that she is a man pretending to be a woman playing in the WNBA. Not only is misinformation about Griner’s biological sex spreading like wildfire, her outward gender fluidity despite identifying as a woman is exactly the ammo being used to further perpetuate misinformation, harassment and bullying against her. So, despite the fact that Griner spent time in horrendous conditions in Russian holding cells – despite the fact that she literally went missing and her loved ones had no idea about her whereabouts or condition – people think it's perfectly fine to channel hate towards her because of a prison swap deal she had no control over. As if she is the cause of war. As if the US does not perpetuate wars, arm countries with its $175 billion weapons manufacturing industry and hasn’t destabilised and destroyed almost the entirety of the Middle East [including the ongoing war in Yemen, where over 300,000 children are severely malnourished.] But, right, Brittney’s the one who isn’t patriotic. Cool.

Image Credit: Forbes

Meg Thee Stallion

In July 2020, American rapper Meg Thee Stallion was shot by her then boyfriend, fellow rapper Tory Lanez. For some reason, Tory Lanez fans really want to dispute this. LAPD reports from that evening themselves reveal that Meg was rushed to the hospital for bleeding from gunshot wounds on her feet, while Lanez was charged for carrying a concealed firearm. Now that the case has reached the American Court, misogynists across the globe, including within celebrity culture itself, have developed rhetoric on regular and social media channels denying what happened – instead, they place blame on Meg. This is something that has happened time and time again not just within the rap community, but any time, essentially, a celebrity has come forward with a domestic violence case. 

The rap and hip hop industry is notoriously male-centric, with only 21% of the industry being composed of female rappers. A common byproduct of this is, of course, misogynistic lyrics, which, for the sake of this article, we’re not going to get into. That’s a whole other discussion. But, similar to Griner’s case here, misogynoir knows no bounds. Just like many women who have gone public about their domestic violence ordeals before her, Meg finds herself constantly defending herself against online bullying and harassment. Because for some reason, people find the need to message her horrible things in defence of Tory Lanez – and make memes and jokes out of the whole ordeal. And so do media outlets. Just like the South Asian community, the black community also holds a disturbing trend of protecting offenders instead of survivors.

Image Credit: Harpreet Kaur Gill on TikTok

Harpreet Kaur Gill

This case hits close to home because I knew of Harpreet Kaur Gill. On the evening of Wednesday, December 7th 2022, Surrey RCMP arrived at the complex of Narinder Singh and Harpreet Kaur Gill. Narinder had stabbed his wife to death – and despite what the media and interviewees within news stories are telling you, yes, one of Harpreet’s three children was also harmed in his rage. Contrary to what her neighbours are telling news reporters, everyone in Harpreet’s townhouse complex knew what was going on in her home. No, the family wasn’t stable. Yes, it had a history of domestic violence. And to the credit of a few folks – a couple of Punjabi neighbours intervened in the violence over the few years she lived with her family in the townhouse complex she was ultimately murdered by her husband in. I was physically around for some of these instances. Police were also called a few times to intercept her husband’s violent, rageful episodes as well. 

My nephew and niece knew Harpreet’s children. They played in the complex together. They went to school together. They were friends. Although they are one of the few kids in the complex who don’t identify as South Asian, at a young age, these children very quickly learned how the Punjabi community operates – to this day, when I visit, the kiddos often ask me why my community is so quick to turn a blind eye to the horrible screams of women that they sometimes hear at night. A sombre reality they also live in as a byproduct of what happens “on the down low” in a majority of our Punjabi homes. Nope. Harpreet’s home is not the only one that holds a violent, unstable Punjabi man. How can you be surprised though? So many South Asian homes in Surrey, the Lower Mainland, BC, Canada, and throughout the diaspora within the world hold a similar story. 

Harpreet died in vain – I will even go so far as to say it was the community that contributed to her murder. The violence she faced was something that was well-known. I’ve seen men and women in our community, in that complex, turn a blind eye to her plight. Ostracising her instead – something that is also common in our community. If a woman, for some reason, is facing a husband who hurts her – puts his hands on her, assaults her be it physically, sexually or verbally, or controls her, we say “well shit, there must be something wrong with her. She must have done something to piss him off.”

Image Credit: EasternEye

Mandeep Kaur

This case is one that I am so surprised has not pivoted the way we interact with domestic violence as a community. In early August 2022, a video circulated among Punjabi WhatsApp groups, social media, and media channels of Mandeep Kaur, a mother of three in Richmond Hill, New York. In the video, she revealed that she suffered horrid domestic abuse by the hands of her husband. She recounted gruesome ways in which she suffered – often physically – while her children helplessly watched. She also circulated a video of herself being strangled by her husband, unable to breathe and struggling under his body weight. In the video, she said she couldn’t tolerate the abuse anymore, and found the only way out was to end her life.

Since the videos came out, Mandeep Kaur made international and cultural news. In the midst of her pain, many people, including Punjabi media personalities, questioned her role in her suffering – claiming that she “must have done something to deserve it.” Yeah, contemporary media is somehow, bafflingly, creating space for toxic, misogynistic discussions like this. What does this tell you about what Punjabi society accepts, and what it doesn’t?

Let’s back it up. Why are black and brown stories coupled here?

No, we aren’t trying to create connections that aren’t there. Neither do we have our own sneaky, hidden agenda [yes, this is a dig at those who think everything in the world has a hidden agenda] by writing this article and linking black female celebrities with everyday immigrant Sikh women. There are many parallels between the ways black women in celebrity and pop culture and brown women in everyday life are ostracised by society – a greater reflection of the domestic violence and gender inequality struggle within the black community, and within the world as a whole. The two recent examples of online harassment and character assassination of Brittney Griner and Meg Thee Stallion can be exemplified further by black women throughout time – from parallels between Michelle Obama’s body type and Brittney Griner’s, to public domestic violence cases against black female celebrities like Tina Turner, Rihanna, and Kelly Rowland to name a few.

Fact of the matter is, with the visibility of these public celebrity stories, the black community is a lot more open and takes a bigger stand against domestic violence. Yes, misogynoir exists and is extremely prevalent. But, there is a larger, a lot more visible acceptance of domestic violence as an issue within black communities and spheres. South Asians aren’t there yet, and this stems from pushing our issues under the rug and refusing to acknowledge them as a community, let alone tackle them. Our biggest domestic violence case to make the rounds in celebrity culture was between Aishwarya Rai and Salman Khan in the late 1990s/early 2000s. And even now, media rhetoric continues to favour Salman Khan in misreporting facts about the case in entirety. While people all together choose to forget the horrid details of what Aishwarya underwent as they file into cinemas during a new Sallu Bhai film opening [I am also guilty of this.] Thus, black culture holds a consistent, visible framework of struggle against domestic violence within its pop cultural paradigm and through the established concept of misogynoir that is non-existent in the South Asian world and is adequate to compare culturally.

In the same light, notice how the Punjabi community once again is not equipped with language to describe gender disparity, gender inequality, and the unique plight and suffering of women at the hands of an unequal social system for the genders. Barriers of language negate the existence of things. By having no language around how wrong domestic violence is, how will we know to speak up against it?

We are the problem

It becomes clear at first glance of each of their stories that these four women live(d) four very different realities. From cultural connections and self-expression, to ways of being. Their commonalities? They’re all female. Their plights are very classically gendered predicaments; reflective of various different kinds of oppression no matter how “modern” and “accepting” our collective, Western society seems to be. And the end result? Somehow, for some reason, always ends up focussing on character assassination, bullying and harassment of women going through ordeals instead of speaking on larger problems perpetuated by bigger systems and paradigms of thought. Meaning? We keep shitting on women when our systems and internal biases themselves still make it impossible for women to live day-to-day lives without their characters, and physical lives, being threatened.

Simply put, we are failing women. We are allowing gross misconduct and dehumanisation to occur on radio programming, television media, and entertainment media. Yes, a lot of it is coming from the polarised political right wing – but it goes deeper than this.

Without discounting systemic disadvantages, in reality, many of these news stories are reflective of the ways we view and treat each other as a community, and then document them accordingly. This is even more so apparent in the South Asian community, where suddenly, you have extreme misogynists coming forth as experts on female morality [think of “former” radio host Paul Brar striking again and again and making CBC news headlines for his bigotry here.] So, even if a woman’s gone through something horrible, some dude is gonna bark about how women should act. Like he personally knows the perpetrators in these news stories and has gotta back his homies up.

And the moral policing is still extremely apparent and important to consider in Punjabi communities. A recent ordeal where an OnlyFans creator posted pictured of her Punjabi wedding celebrations showed a frenzy of males [and females] expressing their extreme offence at the fact that a Punjabi OnlyFans creator had a Punjabi Sikh wedding – as if males aren’t the biggest consumers of porn and sexually explicit content anyway, and Sikh males don’t watch porn or engage in sexual activities…

We blame social systems and social paradigms for a disturbing theme that actually reflects us as a society: and that is that we absolutely massacre the reputations [and quite literally, in some instances, the actual physical bodies] of women.

And we lie. We pretend nothing is going on. That it isn’t us. That we don’t perpetuate these harms in our own circles by either staying silent, refusing to acknowledge harms, and character assassinating the women in the headlines instead of addressing and taking a stand against those who are hurting them. We are complicit. This isn’t a left or right or media issue. It’s an US issue.

So what do we do? There is already a disparity between what is considered ethical, socially responsible reporting. So much so that any reporting that supports females in certain cases is accused of being overtly leftist propaganda [talk about irony.] We have heard the term “radicalism” so many times that it doesn’t mean anything anymore. Yet, somehow, this radicalism seems to constantly be applied to the female psyche, female body, female mind, and female soul. As modern and increasingly egalitarian our world claims to be, the root of the issue still lies in the fact that the problems women of colour, be it Black, Brown or Indigenous, face are still very real and extremely life threatening.

Hold up Juggi, the community can’t take the law in its own hands. That’s something the police can only deal with.

Right. Besides the fact that citizen’s arrests are a very real possibility in Canada, we really can’t do much to charge someone – and we definitely can’t take the law in our hands. But, we also cannot leave the burden on law enforcement here. Law enforcement can only help us as much as we let them. I’ve personally talked to countless Constables with the VPD on domestic violence cases. A trend that remains consistent across generations in Asian and South Asian communities when it comes to reporting domestic violence is that of “honour.” The police simply can’t do anything if we do not report, or charge someone with domestic violence without our compliance. Beyond the question of police brutality, even if they want to help, they can’t because they’re forced to live by an “honour” code that we as Asians abide by. Quite literally, you could have a black eye, or be wearing a cast from abuse. If there isn’t reason beyond a doubt for a cop to charge someone for abuse, or if you’re denying that your black eye came from your husband, they simply can’t charge him.

This is where community complicitness in holding the silence comes in. When we protect abusers, or when we turn a blind eye to someone’s plight, we quite literally are saying it’s okay for them to be dealing with another person who is putting them physically in harm's way. What does this say about who we are as people? And what does this say about how we, the next generation, choose to lead?

But wait, what’s the solution, then?

We conducted our own research from 2019 through 2021, where we interviewed over 100 South Asian identifying locals (in Vancouver, Canada), and international male and female participants individually for no less than 90 minutes about how they interact with the world around them. In our sample, we asked the same questions relating to what it was like growing up in and interacting with adults playing traditional gender roles, lasting trauma from life experiences that participants defined as disturbing or traumatic and included definitions of domestic violence, and pivotal moments in their lives that they described to be moments of clarity and self-awareness in breaking cycles of trauma for themselves and their loved ones. 100% of participants witnessed domestic violence and gender inequality at home to some level – whether it was through an unequal distribution of household work and the responsibilities that come with raising children, verbal abuse, or flat out brutal, traumatic domestic violence between parents and relatives.

In our sample of 100 participants, all participants reached a stage of self-awareness in order to create agency and change in their own lives. Whether it was through observation or a rebel phase of their own – they all came to the conclusion that the cycles of trauma that they saw and experienced in repetition had to end through their own psychological and emotional transformation – which ultimately created a paradigm for them to then take concrete action to break the cycle and create space for a new way of thinking that bends these frivolous gender rules.

So… what does this mean?

It’s clear. The onus is on us to do the individual work to shift our mindsets. But, before we do this, we have to create an inner self-awareness that transmutes our ego and individual experiences. We have to start questioning why these things happen – not stay apathetic or look at these gross cycles of abuse and trauma as one to adopt for ourselves. Because, fact of the matter is that, every week or so, there is a new murder of a South Asian woman that ends up on our news.

We were the kids who helplessly watched – and now we have agency to make a choice.

If you’ve made it this far into this article, this is your call to do your inner work. To make it all about you for a second to understand your own biases, harmful ways of thinking, bigotry and misogyny, and then never do that again when it comes to how you interact with domestic violence at home, within your social circles, and within the framework of the South Asian and global communities. It is not your time to speak if you are not part of a growing community of domestic violence survivors – and this includes women. It is your time to be an ally. To listen, to uplift, to create meaningful solidarity that extends beyond a few words on Twitter feeds. Solidary is not something to be monetised. It’s not something to create a mass following over. It’s something to embed into our own individual existences and come together as a collective so we can shift from being “hush hush” into creating concrete action as a community against despicable acts like domestic violence [from character assassination to a dude with anger issues taking it out on his girlfriend or wife]. Goddess knows it’s about damn time.

Sources

1. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/brittney-griner-american-israeli-woman-was-held-russian-prison-cannabi-rcna37938

2. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-military-exports-idUSKBN28E2ZK

3. https://www.unicef.ca/en/donate/help-children-in-yemen#:~:text=Treated%20217%2C041%20children%20for%20severe,drinking%2C%20cooking%20and%20personal%20hygiene

4. https://www.vox.com/culture/23494788/megan-thee-stallion-tory-lanez-assault-trial

5. https://bpr.berkeley.edu/2020/12/21/are-you-listening-misogyny-in-rap-music-and-what-it-means-for-women-in-society/

6. https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/process-addiction/porn-addiction/pornography-statistics/

Santino Le Saint's “No More Icons” is a haunting symbol that allows for the existence of both self-loathing and radical self love

Image Credit: Santino Le Saint via his Instagram account

U.K. based musical artist and guitarist Santino Le Saint dropped his new album No More Icons on November 11, 2022. The 24 year old singer, rapper, and guitarist from Brixton dropped its first single, Goodbye Paris on September 21 to promote his album, followed by Damaged Goods on October 20. With 7 tracks, this album will take under half an hour to listen to – becoming the next perfect thing to mull over during your next quick commute.

The aesthetic vibe of the album (we’re a marketing company specialising in branding and we just have to speak on this after all) is starkly different from the highly contrasted bright colours and dark tones that can be seen throughout his previous work. This album’s aesthetics focus on black and white photography that reminds us of Jimi Hendrix and many rock and roll Gods in the same right – high exposure plays with shadows and intelligently matches the lyrics, tone, and overall feel of the album – vulnerability and exploring our own shadows are crucial narratives that take centre stage on the album cover alongside throughout each musical piece.

Read on to learn more about the album and catch our reviews and thoughts about the entire album and its tracks.

Image Credit: Santino Le Saint via santinolesaint.com

No More Icons is an auditory story that narrates the experience of given wisdom and often, dark night of the soul experience that is required to attain true enlightenment and understanding of harsh truths about life. Le Saint artfully narrates common interrelational and romantic situations that are often riddled with heartache and judgement; whether this includes judgement of ourselves, or how others perceive us, it is a symbol that allows for the existence of both self-loathing and radical self love. Pain can truly be dripping with sweetness – like a haunting lullaby, or, as Santino Le Saint coos in Burning, “like rain hitting an open fire.”

There is a heavy lightness that comes with the truths Le Saint sings about – the permanence of life is nonexistent, and the full range of human emotion is integral to our experience in this lifetime, in this realm.

We're living on borrowed time

So come get yours

Baby it's all borrowed time

So when it rains it pours

Oh borrowed time

I adore you

It's all borrowed time

Who needs more

– Borrowed Time [hook], No More Icons

Video: Borrowed Time by Santino Le Saint via YouTube

The entire album is unapologetic and raw, yet each track is masterfully crafted to almost sound the complete opposite at first listen – each song has a powerful, yet minimised feel, and Le Saint makes sure to capture each emotion he feels to the maximum artfully through his poetics. The lyrics have a transfixing, haunting quality to them, as does Santino Le Saint’s voice. You can hear, feel and identify so many different, often opposing emotions in his melodic coos between each song. This can especially be heard in the song Say What You’re Gonna Say. Santino centres the song around the concept of “nothing [being[ left to hide”; it is truly as if he’s giving his listeners reassurance through his own pain – it is completely okay to be in a state of being fragmented and dejected. There’s beauty and romance in this, too. 

Throughout Santino Le Saint’s lyrics, self-sabotage is also curiously juxtaposed with self-actualisation (figuratively, but also, quite literally in the song Somewhere Between Heaven & Hell) Both are essential to continue transforming and evolving in this life. The liminal space between seems to be just as much of a sweet experience as it afflicts pain.

Image Credit: Tidal

In terms of the genre of this album, Le Saint successfully continues to evolve on his own unique sound. It’s hard to truly determine what exactly that is as he creatively blends multiple genres of music together to produce this album. You will frequently hear grunge combined with dark R&B, and there is a heavy prominence of rockstar level guitar riffs with smooth, sultry vocals and strong percussion – it’s not rock, it’s not R&B. Just like this album’s lyrics and overall feel, the music creates harmony between contentment and escapism.

This is similar to the feel of his previous albums, where he often intermixed escapism through drugs and alcohol with complete and utter vulnerability and often, spirituality. Yet, here, Le Saint does it in a way that goes beyond all worldly concepts – there is truly something significant underlying the music and lyrics, a raw earnestness that hasn’t been explored by Le Saint in this manner before.

Video: Burning by Santino Le Saint via YouTube

Then we get to the track Wings off a Dove, which sounds slower, more sultry and has an immensely sexy beat, but is just as intense as the rest of the album. With no bars held back, in this track, Le Saint creates inroads between feeling guilty and accepting things for what they are, including our own mistakes. Here, Le Saint allows us to be free to make our choices, but also allows the people around us to feel free with theirs without letting our perceptions of ourselves and reputations get in the way. Through his eyes, we are able to see beyond imperfections and flaws – to see a person for who they truly are. 

No More Icons is a series of melancholic ruminations that investigate, inquire and analyse the honest truth of every kind of emotion without judging them – it is matter of fact. As we experience the album in full with you, we would like to ask you, the listener, the following questions inspired by the album to ruminate upon with us: how much smoother would our experiences in life be if we let ourselves feel our emotions without judging them? Wouldn’t we be more truthful with ourselves and the people around us?

Image Credit: Equate Magazine

Our rating of the album:

4.5/5

Our favourite songs:

Damaged Goods

Borrowed Time

Burning

Plunge In and Explore Deeper – Video: Kill My High (Freestyle) by Santino Le Saint via YouTube

Anjali Appadurai's Disqualification Symbolises Everything Deeply Wrong within BC's Provincial Politics

Image credit: Anjali Appadurai via Twitter

To start, this article is not based on personal feelings or personal facts. Albeit, it blends the narrative format of social commentary with research, fact checking, and reporting on a range of public opinions, it speaks to information that is crucial for us, as global citizens as a whole, to reflect upon.

On Wednesday, October 19 2022, BC NDP Party Candidate and climate justice activist Anjali Appadurai was disqualified from the leadership race. Her contender, David Eby, MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey, is now automatically the sole candidate representing the BC NDP – and is on his way to becoming the next premier of British Columbia once current NDP Premier John Horgan steps down.

Eby, himself, is a human rights lawyer and former Executive Director of the BC Liberties Association – a provincial organisation that holds those in decision-making positions accountable to do so with the public’s civil liberties and wellbeing in mind.

Appadurai, who in her own right, has been powerfully campaigning for months to run fairly and justly to, at the bottom line, build a stronger foundation for the BC NDP Party, which has grossly been failing at creating effective policies around climate change, and has, instead, had its pockets lined with corporate money from exploiting the environment. The BC NDP’s Chief Electoral Officer, Elizabeth Cull, is also a well-known LNG lobbyist. So, of course it makes sense that the BC NDP has done virtually nothing to reduce carbon emissions and complicitly sits in refusal of acknowledgement of climate change, let alone effectively strategizing against the climate emergency.

Yet, despite this glaringly concerning conflict of interest, the BC NDP has also ignorantly supported the cutting of old-growth trees, which has exponentially increased the amount of carbon emissions being let into the atmosphere due to the wiping out of trees that convert this carbon into oxygen – instrumental and fundamental in combating the effects of climate change. Combine this with the BC NDP’s absolute neglect of First Nation's peoples and land – and you see a party that is already blatantly unfit, inadequate and incapable of leading the province.

Image of old growth forest in British Columbia via the Squamish Chief

In contrast, Appadurai’s campaign and policies included real action around problems the current NDP government has grossly neglected and outright abused – affordable housing, climate change, and better healthcare infrastructure. And she did it in a way that challenged the status quo while also modeling how a political party can recoup, reflect, and realign itself to reflect the best interests of the citizens it serves.

Appadurai’s political organising and messaging have been extremely effective – bringing in an influx of new NDP members, yet, she did not get the chance to run against Eby during the scheduled NDP leadership vote in December. 

Image Credit: The National Observer

In fact, as soon as Appadurai’s campaign gained significant momentum and traction through grassroots organisation, the NDP, as her very party, launched a malignant campaign against her – creating false narratives of dishonesty and claiming Appadurai was involved with the BC Green Party despite fully registering as a BC NDP member and political contender long before these false accusations. During her own campaign to encourage the general public to join the BC NDP Party by September 4th, she was under fire for allegedly breaching the Elections Act. The BC NDP disqualified Appadurai due to her email list sign up, which promoted signing up for the BC NDP party to British Columbians to be able to participate in the voting process to determine the Party’s next leader. And yet, despite Appadurai’s apparent violations, throughout her campaign, the BC NDP Party allegedly suppressed votes of members who were in support of Appadurai.

We at HIMMAT MEDIA, up until yesterday, didn’t write on politics. This is largely because we have worked on multiple campaigns to some form or extent and have had our eyes and ears peeled on the election process for all forms of government as a result. We are aware of the extent to which candidates will lie to receive votes – we are already seeing the result of this no more than 4 days after multiple candidates have been voted into positions of power within the municipal elections in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey on October 15, 2022. Unrealistic plans, empty promises and pledges rooted in exploiting emotions and growing desperations instead of concrete action and integrity. We’re a marketing company, after all. That includes PR. We know what sells. And we see right through it.

We don’t do neutrality among social disasters like racism and sexism that have been going far too long without consequence for racialised women on all fronts, leadership and politics included. The narrative against Appadurai by many leading Canadian media companies are a separate article and conversation all together, but largely complicit with the narrative the BC NDP has created. In consequence, the treatment Appadurai has received throughout her campaign from British Columbians and the BC NDP Party has been starkly different from the blinding support David Eby has achieved through major media publications. Because alongside grossly neglecting the future of our planet, Canadian media also works hard to mask the racism embedded into its very social fabric.

We don’t engage in blind objectivity when it is so evidently clear – through our collective experiences living with climate catastrophes like flooding, wildfires, droughts, smog and unnatural temperatures and scientifically proven evidence that indeed, we are at a breaking point that requires fierce, pragmatic, organised leadership. Not racism. Not sexism. Not disgusting corporatocracy for selfish reasons. Not manipulating positions of power. Real people who will challenge notions of complacency and create innovative, actionable solutions. Stuff, we as taxpayers, pay politicians to do. A job that’s supposed to have our best interests in mind. 

It shouldn’t be this easy for Eby to hold office. Not only have Party members had no say in the matter, but his own involvement in civil liberties begs the question of whether it is even ethical for him to take this spot so easily and eerily undemocratically.

Image of 2021 Abbotsford-Sumas Floods via Global News

Yes, we can totally spread fear-mongering, and call Appadurai a dreamer unrooted in the realities of the current world. There is a risk that public opinion will bring the Liberal Party back provincially. Yet, there is a larger risk of exposing internal corruption and completely turning off the public to the NDP Party – something it achieved with this disqualification decision.

The fact of the matter is, the world is changing and politics need a new approach. Political candidates need to take a firm stance against the very companies that are direct, large perpetrators of climate change as opposed to individualising climate action and setting the onus on the people, who, in comparison, are not doing major damage to the planet. It’s well known that “100 companies are responsible for 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions,” so by default, this narrative that the BC NDP is putting out strategically now, as it concurrently bullies activist and key power players like Appadurai is illogical rhetoric and does not work.

We must challenge the ways the current system works. Because it’s not working. The fact that Appadurai was not given this chance and was undemocratically disqualified speaks volumes about the current interests of political parties and how we, as citizens, need to reevaluate how we participate in this rigged system that has us perpetually convinced of nihilism and doom.

So, we ask you to think about these policies and how they are breached. Who are they really serving? How are they gatekeeping politics?

British Columbians aren’t just headed to a point of no return. We are already there. And amongst a glaringly blatant, critical problem that jeopardises not just the future of the next generations, but our direct present on this planet, we are still dealing with high level corruption in democratic politics. It makes sense that provincial election voter turnout is so low. According to Elections BC, 2020’s Provincial election saw a 28.8% voter turnout as compared to 60.8% in 2017. It is clear that the interest in provincial politics is drastically decreasing. Corruption makes people meek, disinterested and renders us feeling powerless.

BC Wildfires which have extended through the fall into October 2022. Image Credit: DW

If you are a supporter of Appadurai, or if she inspired you to shake off apathy towards provincial politics, this is NOT the time to feel this way. This is not the time to give up hope. Leaders like Anjali Appadurai deserve the backing of the people. We, as a province of people, are just as complicit in accelerating environmental calamity as the NDP Party, who have surrendered democracy and jeopardised the future of Canadians, and the entire world, to selfish companies who profit off marginalisation and blatant disregard for the wellbeing of the planet, when we are apathetic. When we do not stay up to date or take interest in politics. When this happens, anyone can make anyone king. And those in power no longer work with or for the people.

Whatever Anjali Appadurai does next, we are watching and following her actively. We support her unwavering stance and commitment to practical policymaking that goes beyond empty promises. Right now, every single climate action plan makes sense solely on a superficial level due the overuse of climate buzz words and “good PR”. Realistically, no party is equipped to truly deal with climate change, and is not rooted in the reality of the disastrous effects of it – something we urge you, as a BC citizen or someone who may know a BC citizen, to prioritise.

So, whether you support Anjali or not, we encourage you to stay informed, refuse to tune out those who haven’t been cheated into the system, and hold those in power accountable – be it by voting them out of power, educating yourself and getting involved in more grassroots organisation, or utilising your own personal power to stand up against the glaring corruption we are seeing within the politics of this province. The time for change is now – and corrupt politics won’t change that.

This is an independent publication that is not affiliated with Anjali Appadurai or any political movement in any way. For more information on this and the subject matter we choose to write on, view our community policy.

Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)

Image of Jhumpa Lahiri’s Namesake (film). Image via Scroll In

So many of our families left South Asia because of varying, but equally heartbreaking challenges: a lack of opportunity, systemic corruption, economic failure, indifference about humanity. Apathy.

I sit here and wonder sometimes, what’s the point of it? The divide and the hate have followed us. Horrific genocide – colonisation. Famine. Foeticide. Resistance. Counter-attack. More divide. We’ve suffered it all as South Asians. Divided in so many different ways by colonisers and twisted politicians since pre-”independence.” Since the time we lie to ourselves that we stripped ourselves in half willingly for those who never cared about us to begin with. I know my great grandfather played in the fields with yours. We are one of the same. 

Blood spilled. Four and seven. Seven and one. Eight and four. I’ll never play these lotto numbers. Today. Blood keeps shedding. At what point does bloodshed cease to be our biggest romance? What are we hurting each other for?

Traumatic, life-boggling horrors happened. In resistance, in sadness, in silence – people left. Stripped away forcibly or helplessly from everything they held dear and had called their home. Because the divide threatened them. Every time. Collectively, eventually, among all the chaos, we are complicit in letting the worst of it all happen.

via YouTube

A new land. A new culture. A new place. A safe place to let the children be children and grow. To be promised a future. Security. Abundance. Stability. And they stayed. Got the job done every single day, time and time again – worked hard, made a modest living, prayed to God every day.

It rested deeply. For decades. And then it awoke again – violent, angry, lustful, hungry. Like the headlines of horrendous rapes that we see. Of all the ways we hear Mother Earth crying. Stop.

It’s time to feed. The bloodshed follows. Because the divide follows. Every time; we let it.

Why is my existence still a threat to yours? 

[I’m sorry that your existence appears to be a threat to mine]

Image of 1947 Partition mass migration, via Google Images (Pinterest)

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Image via ScoopWhoop

5 Tips On How to Write the Perfect About Section For Yourself and Your Business (And Why It’s Important)

Image via Unsplash

One of the hardest things for an artist, business or entrepreneur is coming up with an about section and personal biography that is authentic to who they are, while also bringing forth the excellence of their services. Ironically, this very undertaking, which albeit seems common, is actually harmfully affecting your business if overlooked or done incorrectly.

Our businesses tell a story about who we are. Whether you’re part of a giant corporation, an artist looking to book more gigs and grow your audience, or an entrepreneur who specialises in niche contract work – your services, your mission, and your brand’s overall look and feel play an integral role in a potential client’s interest in working with you or hiring you.

In fact, a study published in 2017 titled “The impact of brand concept on brand equity“ conducted important research on the impact of branding and brand identity to the financial performance of a business. The study found that a customer’s emotional response to your brand is a key indicator of their commitment to your brand. Now, when you think of branding, you naturally think of logos and colour palettes first – visual distinguishers. However, a lot of us forget that written communications are equally as important. Our personal biographies – which can be a part to a whole about section – play a key factor in our brand. In fact, they play a key role in communicating a deeper story to who we are and why we exist to provide the services we provide. In fact, websites with about sections,

The importance of personal bios and about sections is universal

Artists, businesses and charities aren’t the only entities who need an about section. About sections and personal bios (both of which can be interchangeable or the same thing) are also equally important for influencer marketers and social media influencers themselves, as well. More often than not, influencer work comes from collaborations, sponsorships, and public appearances. An about section and personal biography is just as much of a first impression as your headshots. Written content allows you to create a compelling pitch: details on yourself, your niche, your portfolio, insight and statistics into your audience and growth will make it clear on why you’re the perfect choice for the business opportunities you want.

People simply don’t invest enough time or effort into their about sections – and it’s harming your business

Since 2019, HIMMAT MEDIA has worked with over 35 international brands. During the onboarding and discovery process, we’ve consistently noticed our clients’ about webpages ranked as the second-most visited pages on their website on Google Analytics (if you’re curious, the most popular page is usually the homepage.)

Yet, we’ve also consistently noticed that the bounce rate on the about page (between 27-64%) are the highest. Meaning, about half of a website’s audience (and potential clients) are exiting these websites after reading the about page. Meaning, if you haven’t been contacted for your services by many of your website visitors (and exitors), you’re likely losing out on sales.

What does this mean? Well, according to our research (cited above), this usually means that the customer hasn’t been successfully convinced that you’re the right choice for what they’re looking for. Meaning, somewhere in your description of your business, you are losing connection with your customer demographic or audience base.

Here are 5 tips on how to write a kick ass bio and about section for yourself and your brand.

1. Identify your core skills

What are you good at and what do you enjoy doing?

Take a pen and paper, or bust out a note taking app. It’s time to dive in a little deeper to find points for reference as you begin the writing process. Identifying what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing (in life, at work, with others – a hobby, a task, an experience, you name it) will help you connect with yourself.

Often times, we choose our path for a reason that feels familiar, but isn’t always obvious at face value. By identifying some of the things we enjoy doing, or have positive associations with doing (like performing a task that has positive consequences for ourselves or others, or having a positive memory associated with an experience), we lead ourselves to our core understanding of who we are. When we get there, we release mental and creative blocks. Consequently it gets easier to write.

Image via Unsplash

2. ADD UP THE YEARS

A great addition to your describing your skillset in your personal or business' biography is the amount of time you've spent developing those skills. How long have you been doing what you’ve been doing for? This includes all of the unique services you provide, within a total linear time frame.

Experience is an important factor of the client buy-in process. If you disclose the duration of time it took you to build the experience you have now,

Are you new to your craft or industry? Add up the number of projects you’ve completed – including and not limited to: collaborations, internships, volunteer opportunities, pro bono work, and school projects. All of these experiences are valuable in building the skillset you have today. A bonus tip is to include the range of your projects. For example, if you’re a vocal artist, specify and number the amount of songs you’ve featured in, genres you’ve sung in, and any other significant life experiences relating to your craft.

3. INTROSPECT

Another proponent to a solid personal or business bio is a colourful description that helps you stand out, but also stay authentic to who you are and what you do.

Ask yourself, how does doing what you provide make you feel? How does it feel to build a finished product for your customers? As you reflect on these questions, be sure to list out key words or phrases in bullet points or full sentences. The impact of introspection is huge because doing so is helping you describe your work powerfully. By describing how you feel about your work, you are providing very real, honest insight into why you do what you do. In this way, you’re setting forth a persona that is easy to connect with. We all have our passions in this life. By identifying yours and tying it into your work, you are immediately able to establish a connection with the reader. This will keep them intrigued to continue reading, and also, create further opportunity for them to connect and relate to you.

4. lean outward

A great way to understand your own individuality and authenticity as an artist, entrepreneur or business professional is to understand the outward value of your products and services.

What feedback have you gotten from your supporters about your work? This could include your customer base, your audience, and colleagues you've collaborated with. By reflecting on these questions, you’re allowing yourself to learn a different perspective about your services and your commitment to your craft. This will allow you to understand your strengths, your uniqueness, and what makes you stand out – great value adds to your about section that create immediate impact on potential clients.

Bonus tip: add a client testimonial. Ask 1-3 clients or colleagues for a testimonial on what it is like working with you or buying your services. By adding this to your website’s about section, you’re giving prospective clients successful stories to lean on in their buyer decision process of buying your services.

5. LET YOUR VALUES EMERGE

Lastly, the most key component to writing a biography that is authentic to you is ensuring that your values glow throughout your copy.

Why do you get up and do what you do everyday? Which of your skills, hobbies, & interests intersect with your messaging, mission or value proposition? Answering these questions can allow you to start finding intersections and patterns between your services and your values. By doing so, you’re developing a deeper connection with your prospective customer base.

Clients look for pleasant experiences – well executed work, friendly experiences, professionalism and considerable care are universal expectations we have when we are spending money on services. Bringing out your values and tying them to your mission allows potential clients to see humans behind fancy fonts and vivid colour palettes, an impact that will mitigate those alarming bounce rates.

Need an example of this? Check out our about page.

Final Remarks

Remember that your bio and about section will always change. As you evolve as a person, as you further perfect your craft and expand your skillet, and as you develop more experience in your field and life, your business and services will also naturally evolve – as perhaps, will your why. Either way, your craft is integral to solving some of the world’s problems. So, take comfort in knowing that what you write about yourself doesn’t have to be perfect – it just has to be you.

ਦਿਲ ਦਾ ਨੀ ਮਾੜਾ Legends Never Die: REMEMBERING SIDHU MOOSE WALA

The world is mourning Sidhu Moose Wala’s death. From Drake in Canada to Burna Boy in Nigeria, many rappers and international artists have come together with the rest of the globe to mourn the gunned down rapper who had his own unique take on eliminating apathy within Panjabi youth.

Image from Sidhu Moose Wala’s Moosetape

Sidhu Moose Wala, also known as Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, arrived in Brampton, Canada as an international student from an almost remote village in Mansa, Panjab called Moosa. In 2016, he wrote the lyrics for a song for another artist. He quickly rose in fame due to the recognition he was receiving as a lyricist, and in 2017, released his first single, “G Wagon.” After that, he produced hit after hit, with various albums and mixtapes released under 5911 Records and his own label.

Turning Stigma on its Head

Sidhu embodied the dream of coming up. Like many newly arrived in Canada, Sidhu was an international student, and marginalized community member, coming from a land riddled with intergenerational trauma, lack of opportunities for growth and political tension.

Sidhu’s coming up story is integral to the morale of many. In Canada, rampant mistreatment of international students still exists today, where, they not only face racism and discrimination, but are often exploited as migrant labourers and, as Baaz News reports, “cash cows for post-secondary institutions and governments.” International students also fill integral labour jobs, and also are subjected to discrimination and exploitation with housing within the Panjabi communities scattered throughout the country.

Baapu, Yes I Am Student – Sidhu Moose Wala, Tarnvir Jagpal, Intense – Tips Punjabi via YouTube

ਮੁਸੀਬਤ ਤਾਂ ਮਰਦਾ ਤੇ ਪੈਂਦੀ ਰਿਹੰਦੀ ਏ

ਦਬੀ ਨਾ ਤੂ ਦੁਨਿਯਾ ਸਵਾਦ ਲੈਂਦੀ ਏ

“If you progress, you’ll be met with hate,

Trouble dies and falls, SO don’t let the world GET A taste OF you”

Expressing the struggle with his own twist

In the 1980s and 1990s, history documented a counter-movement of the Black American community through gangster rap, which was utilised as a medium to express communal frustration over a lack of personal and community agency, racism, exploitation and labelling, poverty, as well as an overall lack of institutional resources supporting the success, life and liberty of Black Americans.

Sidhu Moose Wala, although known as a rapper internationally, was also an extremely talented Panjabi folk singer. He authentically brought our roots to the genre. Panjabi’s and Sikhs have been heavily influenced by gangster rap even though we are outside of the Black community due to our community’s marginalisation as a minority community in and outside of India. A lot of our collective trauma as a community also stems from racism throughout our immigration journeys post colonisation, the 1947 Partition and mistreatment onwards. We are also a heavily displaced people with often, roots forcefully ripped from our own homelands time and time again. The struggles arguably have their immense differences and unique hardships, but the fundamentals of uprising against struggle and being authentic to one’s self expression remain the same.

Sidhu’s messaging relays something integral: that we are more concerned as a society about banning those with a message of truth and autonomy than creating avenues for misled youth engaging in violence to step into their own power and build meaningfully for themselves and their communities. Still, today, we shoot the messenger – we don’t tackle the conditions, traumas, and cultures that bring people towards such violence and chaos.

Today, Panjabi is in scarcity even in Panjab. Sidhu was not only a talented rapper and singer, but he was a maestro of the Panjabi language, communicating it and teaching more of it to diaspora kids through rap and folk songs. He was a powerful force encouraging us to sing and rap in our mother tongues and learn what the words mean. Through our mother tongue, he motivated youth to step into their power and be authentic to themselves. 

Yet, despite the fact that he is arguably the greatest youth icon of this generation, his method of being and relaying his messages were constantly deemed notorious. His subject matter and bluntness in expressing his thoughts and feelings brought out something deeply suppressed in all of us who listened to his music. He and his image bore the brunt of it when youth got violent at his international shows. The 0.1% that overglorified the violence in his branding and messaging quickly brought upon public safety concerns for his shows – further creating notoriety in his messaging. In my own experience in the industry, I have personally seen how various institutions have manipulated his image instead of working with music festivals and concert producers to create concrete safety plans, messaging condemning violence at prospective shows, and overall, tackling Vancouver’s gang problem ways that are effective and preventative.

Yet, Sidhu’s messaging relays something integral: that we are more concerned as a society about banning those with a message of truth and autonomy than creating avenues for misled youth engaging in violence to step into their own power and build meaningfully for themselves and their communities. Still, today, we shoot the messenger – we don’t tackle the conditions, traumas, and cultures that bring people towards such violence and chaos.

295 – Sidhu Moose Wala & The Kidd from Moosetape tells youth to keep their heads up and not fall into anything that compromises their integrity.

ਐਥੇ ਬਦ੍ਨਾਮੀ high rate ਮਿਲੂਗੀ

ਨਿਤ Controversy Create ਮਿਲੂਗੀ

ਧਰ੍ਮਾ ਦੇ ਨਾਮ ਤੇ Debate ਮਿਲੂਗੀ

ਸਚ ਬੋਲੇਗਾ ਤਾਂ ਮਿਲੂ 295

“There will be a high rate of notoriety

Daily Controversy Create

Debate in the name of religion

Speak the truth then meet 295”

Shubhpreet Singh with his Mom in Panjab.

The Media We Consume Is Doing Exactly What Sidhu, And So Many Before Him Called Out

The first thing most of the world woke up to with the news of Sidhu’s death includes grotesque imagery in circulating videos and photos. We clearly see people taking videos of Sidhu’s (almost) lifeless body rather than helping him out of the jeep. A mother and father lost their only child, and the media’s job is to honour him and them – parents who lost their only child.

Media maligns those who speak the truth, advocate for their communities, unabashedly speak their own language. We’ve seen this happen plenty of times with American gangster rappers. The push to notoriety is misleading, as, in many interviews with those who watched Sidhu grow up, come to Canada, and move back to his pindh (village) have seen the contributions he made to its progress. This includes encouraging girls to go to school and often, waiting for them to return from school at the bus stop to avoid rampant eveteasing, female inferiority and rape culture that is so prevalent in India. And that’s one thing that’s consistent throughout Sidhu’s music – he never disrespected women in his lyrics to be a bad ass. Frequently, he honoured his mother and created lyrics similar to late Panjabi legend Surjit Bindrakhia, who spoke of women in relation to men with jest and joy, bringing the toughness ultimately back to himself, not through the abuse of women.

Rumours of whodunit also interweave political complexity in a region riddled with corruption and the continued suppression of youth well after protests. Ultimately, the media circus cannot take away from the heavy, personal loss fans feel. The rest is truly noise.

Image via MistaClix on SoundCloud

Heavily Influenced by Makiaveli

Sidhu was a big follower of Tupac Shakur, ofen citing his imagery through fashion the Makiaveli mindset in a lot of his lyrics. As a marginalised, minority community, our own icon’s parallels to Tupac’s life and death are uncanny: his fight for self-sovereign thought, liberation of self, and standing up for the rights of his community rose with him during his fame, something that also continued to exist with Tupac during his rise to fame. We take solace in knowing that he is resting with his icon – the imprint of his work on the world is mighty, and it’s enough.

Sidhu’s impact on the Panjabi music industry, in educating youth about our ongoing struggles as a community, advocating for international students, standing up for the truth, and stating things as they are no matter who intimidates us into silence can be seen in the celebration of his life. Panjabis are coming together; whether it's in the diaspora, or in Panjab across borders that divide us, too. 

It’s hard not to be dazed and jaded, but we know that legends never die. Sidhu Moose Wala’s work will be immortalised – and the movement of speaking our truth that his existence sparked will continue to emerge from his embers.

The Last Ride – Sidhu Moose Wala & Wazir Patar immortalises the artist.

ਦਿਲ ਦਾ ਨੀ ਮਾੜਾ, ਸਿੱਧੂ ਮੂਸੇਵਾਲਾ

DIL DA NI MADA, SIDHU MOOSE WALA

Roses and Women Are Anything But Delicate

A Critical Commentary on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi

Image Courtesy of Scroll In

Disclaimer: If you haven’t watched Gangubai Kathiawadi, and don’t want the plot of the film to be revealed to you, bookmark this article and don’t come back until you’ve watched it.

Before you begin reading, I want you to know that this article on Gangabai Kathiwadi isn’t about how well anyone has acted or how beautiful the sets are. Neither is it a commentary on how the plot line interweaves with the cinematography. 

Rather, this is a reflection of all the ways in which the film positions itself, ditching the evergreen hero and villain archetype format to refreshingly explore its characters as people. Here, all fronts are dropped to show the inner lives of women deemed disgraceful by society. Their constant challenges are ingrained in who they are, and within their every day interactions with each other. 

With this approach, our inner worlds are able to mirror one another’s more deeply.

How do we interact with each other? How do we perceive each other? How do we grieve? How do we use and abuse? How do we stifle and suppress the feminine in every which way in our micro and macro cultures? Why do we do what we do?

For me, it’s most chilling to note that so many of the situations, emotions, and interactions within the film are still relevant today – 60 years after the film was set.

Jhume Re Gori from Gangubai Kathiawadi introduces Gangubai as a dreamy eyed storm of a young woman. She is free, she is happy, and she has big dreams.

Well before the end of the film, you’re quick to realise that the once timid, dreamy-eyed Gangubhai is perhaps the strongest female character to come out of India in a long time. In an age of fast plots and female characters that lack being fleshed out, she is well rounded – her sexuality is realistic against India’s long standing trend of hypersexualising women. 

Gangubai is not villianised or made into an overglorified, sappy and sentimental hero. Rather, she displays astonishing spirit against the media norm for how someone who has been betrayed, and traumatised by someone she dearly trusted, as well as the ways society so easily allows women to be coerced into the flesh trade, would behave. The way she handles being sex trafficked and tortured is defiant to her circumstances. She doesn’t just fight for herself to be in better conditions despite her situation. She also fights for her fellow sisters in the brothel she is trafficked into, branded by, and forced to work in.

How she quickly gets voted in as the Madame to take care of the women who work with her underlines a very important realisation: their everyday agency and lack thereof are blended to put forth a genuine expression of the human condition. These are not just glammed up women doing a job they were forced into. Their flesh being traded also transacted their invalidity in general society. Yet, they defy being outcasts; they’re a community in this together.

Gangubai is not villianised or made into an overglorified, sappy and sentimental hero. Rather, she displays astonishing spirit against the media norm for how someone who has been betrayed, and traumatised by someone she dearly trusted, as well as the ways society so easily allows women to be coerced into the flesh trade, would behave.

Image Courtesy of The Guardian

The film’s plot refreshingly doesn’t pit women and society against one another – but rather, weaves a very apt, accurate narrative that women are a functioning, integral part of our society, no matter the trade we are in.

Instead, the relationships we observe and experience as an audience are unique juxtapositions which explore the many burdens women take on due to patriarchy. Included in this, and perhaps the most critical relationship to note is between Gangubai and Raziabai, the President of the brothel locality, Kamathipura, and a self-identifying eunuch.

Raziabai, not fitting any of society’s gender norms, laments about how she is a hardened woman who uses weapons and bullying as her ways of communicating because she had to defy all odds to even get to where she is. We see a marginalised woman scorned who does not wish to give up her power in risk of being subjected to abuse and violence that she fought so hard to rise above through harnessing political power – and we only experience this glimpse into Raziabai’s inner world and experiences as a woman after she fiercely battles Gangubai in locality politics to ultimately lose.

The film’s relational dynamics between women is a direct mirror of how our relationships with each other as women exist today. Even in the most gruelling, heartbreaking and mind-altering circumstances, the notion of sisterhood can prevail – but it is fragile, it can also crumble easily. Women often still mistaken competition as sisterhood – misidentifying harming one another for abundance and support. Decades after the film’s setting, the film prompts us to explore how we as women continue to pit ourselves against each other.

How do we recycle our traumas onto one another? How do we build relationships only to become against one another and use each other?

We are further consumed past a life cycle stolen from us – as if the only thing that should come from us is solely the benefit and satisfaction of others.

Image Courtesy of Hindustan Times

Now is a time, more than ever, that we must come together.

Dozens of horrific, high profile rape and suicide cases of women have been gouged through the media cycle. In these cases, the perpetrators have often been given the opportunity to publicly share that they have zero remorse for their actions. Even after facing terrifying, torturous death, the existence of women is torn apart, shredded by media news. 

We are further consumed past a life cycle stolen from us – as if the only thing that should come from us is solely the benefit and satisfaction of others.

My settled home of Turtle Island, under the name of Canada is no different. Indigenous women are continuing to go missing, often sex trafficked and horrendously murdered to be met with the apathy of the RCMP and public. Indigenous women’s lives are continually threatened well past the periods of colonisation and genocide in our history textbooks – it’s still occurring today.

How do we come out of the mentality that we own other women? That, even as women, we can attack, spread rumours, gossip about, malign and steal from other women? What makes us think we can have ownership over one another too?

Image Courtesy of FilmiBeat

We don’t have to face the battles in our lives alone. But sometimes, we force each other to.

Gangubai’s outward, public persona of a tireless advocate for her community is starkly different from the loneliness and pain she feels, as well as the trauma and isolation she constantly works through on all fronts. The battles never end for her. And before she can process and grieve all she has lost, she is plunged into a new heartbreaking situation that life throws at her. And yet, she proudly, authentically and responsibly shows face every time she needs to. Even if she does cry alone, behind a veil.

This hasn’t changed. In my own experience of interviewing women about their trials and tribulations, they’ve often had to put on a brave face for the world as they plunged into violence and uncertainty within their own lives – a common theme for women everywhere throughout time.

Ultimately, the film sees Gangubai lobby for the rights of sex workers all the way until she meets the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru to continue her advocacy work. Well before the time countries such as the Netherlands and Canada adopted an abolitionist approach to sex work, Gangubai fought for the same cause – for buying sex from a sex worker to be illegal, not sex work in and of itself, so women in the flesh trade are not criminalised for their bread and butter.

Nehru doesn’t allow Kamathipura to be run down – because Gangubai doesn’t.

Image Courtesy of Media9 Tollywood

The male characters within the film allow the audience to explore the film in more than just a gender or occupational binary, but rather, based off their own values. Rahim Lal’s role is more than just Gangubhai’s brother – his relationship with her is formed based on his values of justice and equality, even though he himself is a part of the underworld. Afsaan, Gangubai’s companion and friend is a raw, innocent young man exploring the fine lines between love and lust while also caring for and seeing Ganguhai as a person with her own traumas. Mr. Fezi is a stark contrast of a male who mercilessly brutalised Gangubai under the guise of a client, Shaukhat Khan – Fezi is clear headed, fair, just, and provides Gangubai with opportunities to amplify her story through his trade. Indeed — the writing profession is powerful. Just as powerful as access to education.

But, you also see that women are not free of men even after death. Specifically, we see this when Gangubai’s best friend Kamli dies post childbirth, and her body is lovingly taken care of by her housemates in the brothel. Here, we see the women she lived with doting her body with a mother’s caress and a father’s protection while surrounding her body and decorating it. They reminisce while doing so, but are abruptly stopped by Gangubai, who tells them to tie Kamli’s legs tightly together “because there is no telling of the nature of men, they will desecrate a woman’s dead body to fulfill their sexual urges.” This dialogue, and the coldness in Gangubai’s eyes as she says it reminds me of Mukesh Singh, the man who stole the life of Jyoti, internationally known as India’s daughter. “While being raped, they shouldn’t fight back,” he said. Closed legs, a subject of endless discussion to blame women for being sexually assaulted. Today, in this context, they are a symbol of defiance.

As I explore the different personalities of the male characters, in this film, something dawns on me. Values define who we are. No matter our trade, no matter our gender. If our principles do not reflect respecting one another’s bodies, intellect, intelligence, emotions and life experiences, we cannot truly be allies of one another. It always starts with self.

Image Courtesy of Filmi Beat

The main takeaway?

Women are powerful. Despite being censored, policed, undervalued, overworked, overburdened, and subjected to fixing the world’s problems, we are anything but weak or meek. We have been fighting an uphill battle for millenia – with glimpses of light before being plunged back into darkness. But, we have work to do. We cannot claim to be part of a larger sisterhood when we are also hurting one another – yes, patriarchy has hurt us, but if we are unable to be true to ourselves around each other, to harness strength in one another’s vulnerability, respect each other’s boundaries, we cannot truly advocate for each other or ourselves.

And to those who work against us

You can try to censor us while you worship us. You can try to control us while we nurture you. You can try to take control of our bodies through unjust abortion law overturns (I’m looking at your mistakes overturning Roe v. Wade, America – and your recent decision to disqualify sexual assault under the influence of alcohol, Canada). You can do all you can to dim our voices.

We will roar louder. We will survive against all of the ways in which you try to box us in. Somewhere, we may be crying or laughing behind veils. One day, I pray we will be laughing and crying in meadows together – as sisters walking this life. But, today – everyday and always – we will not let ourselves exist in the shadows of society.

If you haven’t caught Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi yet, you can stream it on Netflix. If you don’t understand Hindi, there is an English dub option, as well as subtitles in English. It stars Alia Bhatt, Shantanu Maheshwari, Vijay Raaz, Jim Sarbh, Varun Kapoor, Seema Pahwa, Indira Tiwari, Ajay Devgn and Huma Qureshi.

Meet Pav4n: Strength in Numbers & Seeing the Future

Watch: Strength in Numbers by Pav4n via YouTube

Disruptive. That’s what comes to mind first when I think of PAV4N.

If you’re not familiar with his work your memory may be jogged with the fact that he is also a founding member of the UK hip hop group, Foreign Beggars. But, if you aren’t familiar with the hip hop scene, you’ll definitely remember PAV4N for his mind-bending aesthetic peppered with elements of Hindu mythology and the endless amounts of gold drip resting on his blue-tinted physique. When you first encounter his music, you’ll also immediately recognize classical Indian instrumentals with heavy bass and trap beats. And as you get deeper into his works, you’ll quickly realize every song is a mantra – you get roped in and captivated before you are even really able to comprehend why you’re so fixated. Yet, when you do start to understand, you’ll be quick to experience a tranquil acceptance of an emotionally and spiritually rich ride where you'll begin to see layers of the world that has always been in front of you. Such is what I like to call, the PAV4N EFFECT. When this happens, I’m floored, I’m schooled, and a lot of the internal storm within me starts making more sense. 

PAV4N dropped a single called Strength in Numbers on May 13 – one that is a mighty mantra dripping in emotional and spiritual medicine as we process the horrors happening right now in the world.

I’ve been tapping into the sheer power of this tune and channeling it to rebuild my own personal armour as I reflect about current global affairs since its release. Listening to PAV4N speak is like accessing pure, unfiltered streams of consciousness that see things as they are – so uncannily that it’s like he’s also seeing the future. This is something I don’t take lightly. It’s one of the few instances where I’ve instantly taken the backseat with ease to simply listen and reflect. 

My own consciousness takes a while to respond to PAV4N’s  energy because it recognizes the momentary trancelike state between his energetically sharp and quick observations of reality. This is something you’ll be quick to catch as you read on. It’s happened every time I’ve interacted with him, and unsurprisingly, when we video chatted for the first time for this piece.

PAV4N was kind enough to catch up with me so I could pick his brain about the track and figure out how and why it is so crucially accurate in contextualizing the world we live in.

they robbin’ us blind, they sellin’ our futures. creating more debt, they render us useless. the banks get stronger, the poor get poorer. till those who believe believe no longer.

J: Tell me about your thought process behind the lyrics and sound of the track.
PAV4N: This track was giving me goosebumps. I think if I’m having a physical reaction, it indicates this is working – whether it changes my heart rate or gives me goosebumps or makes me want to stand up and do shit. It sounded like some kind of big procession. Like a protest song, a march, or a call to action. I was imagining a big crowd of people moving in unison to change, for change. It had some gravity behind it, and there was real space for lyrics. It just shook me to the core. 

With Karma, I’m saying similar things but it’s not quite on the nose. Karma was about where we are at as a human species. With Strength in Numbers, the target I’m speaking to is you. For me, seeing everything happen, a right wing shift in England, France, Brazil, and suddenly India. I’m observing how easily people are now manipulated. We as South Asians kind of have a slight naivety or innocence, or we're quite submissive as a general population in terms of listening to authority. But, I’m just done with all the social hypocrisy that comes with it. The social pressures that come with family values – which are beautiful, but when it comes to the showing of the public face, how much people value money and property over actual family values like love and relationships and nurturing these things is increasing. People would rather manipulate, control, and silence their children, so that they look good in public, as opposed to actually, you know, growing their children in a beautiful loving way. 

Then, we saw big shifts with current political affairs with Hinduism being attached to nationalism and the detrimental effects of this. The result is just gaslighting the shit out of people and manipulating them constantly, just like the trend in twisted family values we are seeing. Inequality within genders and caste and between people is growing at massive rates. All of that shift is coming together and unfolding in the ugliest, most hurtful and grotesque ways.

It is being sold to everybody that this is new progress, that we’re making a different world, but you know, each level is bought by putting your foot on someone else’s neck, and everyone who believes in this progress is being used as a tool to further create divisions through the process of being turned into little consumption bots. This paradigm is squeezing and squeezing vulnerable people in reality.

I've tried to be poetic with how I put everything down. But I've been a bit ‘no holds barred’ with the lyrics. There's no subtext, it's just straight in your face. For me, it needed to be simple because we need to fucking understand and see here because everything that’s been happening has been an extension of a bigger propaganda machine.

leading from deep in their fortresses, while leaving their people impoverished.

they brandish our truth a hypothesis, while preachers convene to dishonour us.

Watch: PAV4N Live @ Dubai Opera via YouTube

J: How important is artivism to you? Why?
PAV4N: Especially in hip hop, everything I’ve learned and received is information that has come from people who go through struggles and don’t necessarily have a platform to communicate. But, this is such a beautiful platform because it goes under the radar for so many people. People who really care about things get the subtext of what’s going on. I think this is very important because it makes its way into certain places where certain voices wouldn’t get that platform. If Banksy comes out and does something it’s going to be a hit whether or not the piece itself changes anything. But, even if it just manages to raise awareness and communicates the issue or what’s going on to people, then that’s what really matters the most. 

Art is literally something that historically has had the power to break pillars or constructs that society, government, religion, everything those in control construct into place – whether they came about naturally or were imposed. Art and music go straight to the core and break all of that ish.

You’ll see lots of artists bring up things in different ways. Look at what Bob Marley did in Jamaica and how he’s impacted our thoughts and understanding of our emotions even today. 

Now, social media is a medium to bring more awareness to an issue. And awareness still happens through music, be it through a ‘where’s the love’ vibe or a more direct approach, which is one that I’ve chosen to take. 

Everybody going through any struggle anywhere or anyone living a peaceful life provides a gateway for progressive thought and empathy. To me, this is artivism. 

they’re keeping us quarrelling all of us, they’re keeping us beefing through monitors. then, monitor all of our purchases, they keepin us begging and borrowing.

J: This song does so well at capturing not only what’s happening in India during this battle with COVID, but throughout the rest of the world.

PAV4N: With hop hop coming about, the voice has broken through. People can speak, they can communicate and the younger generations can speak in a slang that these elitist mf’s or authorities can’t understand. This was seen in the 80s, where hip hop broke out in New York. But now, as it becomes more mainstream, the challenge becomes the increasing global political threats that come from free speech channeled through mediums like hip hop. How do we navigate this as artists and as populations? It’s completely new territory.

We have to speak our minds at some point. We keep thinking things are going to change and get better as new policies get put in place. But, if you look at Israel, Palestine, nothing’s changed since I was growing up, or when I wrote this song two years ago. 

J: I can’t believe you wrote this song two years ago. I think it would be more relevant now than it was two years ago.

PAV4N: We have forgotten what the eye of the storm was when we were living back then because we’re always in the eye of the storm for some reason.

J: What’s next for you?

Pav4n: More music, more music. The record label is kicking up (4NC¥). Looking at the present, with everything going on, the world’s a mixed up place, and so the present is the future already. I feel as if I’m already living in the future. I can infiltrate anywhere.

the energy’s deep within all of us, we walk with the strength of the gods in us.

Himmat Interview Excerpts: Meet Seemi Ghazi

Meet Seemi Ghazi, one of the incredible women we interviewed for the Himmat: Celebrating the Women Around Us Exhibit

[As womxn,] “we code switch a lot. We have a certain way we dress and the way we move our body, the way we use our voice, what language we’re speaking literally. And if we’re speaking english are we speaking it differently in our mosque or our desi functions and maybe we go to school and its totally different.

Meet Seemi Ghazi

I'm 54 years old, I was born in London, England. My Dad was studying Political Science doing his Masters at the London School of Economics. When I was 3 1/2, we moved to Cambridge Mass. When he was doing his PhD, we lived in an amazing place called the Centre of Study of World Religions which was at Harvard and was founded by my Dad’s mentor William Campbell Smith, who was a great scholar of religion.

Seemi Ghazi pictured with her parents, published with permission.

On challenges

“I’ve had 3 or 4 miscarriages before and after my daughter and son were born. Some of them were early, some of them were late. So that was definitely a big challenge. I really love children, I grew up being the eldest of five, also with so many cousins around. I’ve already helped raise so many kids, so it was very difficult for me to think about not having children. It seemed like I couldn’t give birth to a sibling for my daughter.” 

On healing

“I think a thing I learned between each of those experiences is that I was able to own the process and was able to be there and give birth to that child and hold it. Sometimes it was so small, like a seahorse. And the last one before I had my son was a perfectly formed little baby boy. They’re so tiny. It’s incredible. Because first they’re perfectly formed and then they grow. But, I feel so whole and healed about it and I think it’s because I really took my time and I honoured this process. I held them in my hands and I prayed over them and I wrapped them in white cloth which is what we do as Muslims. There’s a place where I buried them all out in nature, a place that is special to me that I can go visit. And I really feel their presence and I feel their protection and guardianship. Sometimes I dream about them and see them as teenagers or as they’re older and they have different personalities. For many women, I know that they can’t even talk about it. There’s no space for grief. I feel incredibly blessed that I have this ongoing relationship.” 

“Each of those times was a time when people would say, “you’re being so strong.” I didn’t feel like I was being strong, I just felt carried in those moments and I felt that the veil between this world and all the other worlds that are unseen became so thin and so fine. I’ve never felt the presence of the beyond so palpably.” 

“It really increased my faith, not in a cerebral experiential way but really experiencing the world that they had gone to and the world that I was in and us being very connected. That was an immense gift that they gave me. I felt that they were there –  that I was on this side and then they were on that side.” 

Seemi Ghazi, published with permission

On triumph from resilience

“In 2006 they told me that I would never get pregnant again and if I did, I would never carry a baby to term so they told me to stop trying. And then in 2010 when I’m not trying nothing, I have this beautiful miracle boy at 45. That was a very unexpected happy moment.” 

What does Himmat mean to you? 

In Arabic, Himmat grammatically is a feminine word. My image of Himmat is definitely my mother. She always has high aspirations for herself and everyone around her and she knows how to make everything, whether it be a plant or a pet or a child or a student, she knows how to make people thrive and to give them what they need to thrive. She has foresight and courage and diligence and dedication to bring that about. For me, Himmat is those things, it’s to have a high vision and high aspirations and to have strength, courage and wisdom and dedication to bring that aspiration into a reality.

Childhood photo of Seemi Ghazi, published with permission

Album Reflections – ZAYN's "Nobody Is Listening" begs the question ‘when will you come home?’

Video Courtesy of Zayn Malik via YouTube

We sat down to experience ZAYN’s Nobody is Listening. And the result is nothing but raw, honest bear-your-whole-soul-but-be-shy-about-it brilliance. This isn’t a space nor album for the weak-hearted.

Image courtesy of Clash Music

it’s a scary thought to be unheard

Although ZAYN has held a special place in my heart since I was a doe-eyed 14 year old girl watching Britain’s Got Talent, I’ve fallen off-track terribly when it comes to keeping up with his musical ventures in the last few years. So, it was natural that I hadn’t gotten to his album until a little over 4 months post its release. The curiousness of finding ZAYN live on Instagram at 3am one day with a new soundtrack in the background was enough to reignite my curiosity and convince me to commit to checking it out. It was snowing for the first time in 2021 when I decided to spend a few hours experiencing it in its entirety, on repeat. The combination of the accumulating softness outside and ZAYN’s sweet words were such a sweet, hidden delight. Yes. It really is that sweet.

Being a middle kid and a bit of an odd one, self-deprecation is the kind of humour I know a little too well; not as a way of putting myself down, but rather, as a channel that makes me feel completely liberated – all pretence of formality is dropped. I’m away from social pressures of having to prove my intelligence and existence to anyone and everyone I come across, to merge with infinite love and just be – whether it appears to be a watered-down version or excessively gratuitous version of myself. It’s all One.

So, the somewhat daunting album title “Nobody is Listening” resonated well with me – like a promise to cut out the external chaos and get comfortable with the unknown that lies within.  It’s a scary thought, to be unheard. And the privilege of holding space for myself is one I’m learning to appreciate.

By the end of the album, however, I was reminded how soul-soothingly enough it is to hold clarity within. To make space for internal dialogue that is authentic enough to listen to myself – from my deepest desires, to understanding the emotions behind so many different relationship dynamics, to sounds that remind me of snowy, beautiful, easy days.

And so, ignited by the mood of this album, I wondered… when’s the last time I listened to myself? Or reflected on my own perceptions of my life thus far? By the time I was 3 tracks in, the experience of this soundtrack reignited my appreciation for the richness of inner dialogue, and sparked much needed questions I needed to ask myself. Like stuff about my own authenticity in experiencing my thoughts and emotions about my inner and outer worlds. This definitely wasn’t a trip for the weakhearted. Not following? Read along to learn more.

Video Courtesy of Zayn Malik via YouTube

we are who we are when we’re alone

As an overarching theme, common threads between all of ZAYN’s albums post One Direction include nostalgia and introspection at the forefront –  a potentially deadly combo that sends even the most seasoned individuals under a path toward self-sabotage if not done right. Yet, it seems ZAYN’s got it figured out, irrespective of what his relationship with self-sabotage may be as he hums his tunes. Behind all this lays ZAYN’s honest, raw channeling of his own EQ. ZAYN’s not afraid of showing his vulnerabilities or documenting the innermost thoughts experiences he feels and ruminates on. I wonder why we don’t do this with each other enough. And, if there’s shame involved in the answer to this…. why the fuck are we so ashamed of what we feel?

ZAYN’s seemingly high EQ is something I’ve noticed and grown to admire in his lyricism any time I’ve heard his newest hits playing on the radio since I was a young girl. The earnestly unfiltered lyrics of many of his ballads in this album, the latest fragrance from this flower coming from the ballad Better, strike a chord of sheer appreciation for simple emotions. What a joy it is to experience and reminisce on them, regardless of what we may be experiencing right now. Check out River Road and Better, combined and deconstructed, they remind me of the earnestness, hushed resolute, and emotional honesty of iT’s YoU in a lot of ways.

And so, with Calamity, and Windowsill in the background I ruminate on how violent emotions can be hushed within us. When we will stop silencing ourselves and each other as we refuse to understand them?

“Nobody is Listening” holds tempos and beats that aren’t foreign to ZAYN, The album consists of tunes and melodies – fast and slow – that are all too delineative of my own musical taste growing up. A cross between the undertones of One Direction’s signature pop sound, 90s hip hop inspired beats, ZAYN’s usual crooning that puts my puppy to sleep, and electro-R&B sounds heard in his debut album, Mind of Mine and in parts of Icarus Falls. Each track is a different experience, drawing in inspiration from different genres to create eclectic sounds that are now part of his signature soundtracks. They are dichotomous in a lot of ways: edgy but soft, pop but alternative. A reminder that the in-between is safe, even as we experiment, and not opting to choose between either is perfectly fine sometimes.

Image Courtesy of The Silly TV

i know i’m always in my head,

damn, i thought that we would make it

I never thought that feeling deeply was a wonderful thing. Combined with all of the mental noise and relentless rationalization of what I feel, until recently, it’s never been a fun time internally.  The bluesy pieces ZAYN outputs feel like they agree.

The story in Outside is one that is quite relatable. Just like many of the break up songs we’ve all grown to love – regardless of which languages they may be written and expressed in – play out to be tough and worthy containers for our experiences until the song ends, leaving us to deflect again. In the case of Outside, the imagery of being left out isn’t something I’m foreign to. I’m sure you’re familiar with it, too. How often do we leave ourselves outside of our own hurting? Or, our fellow human beings out of feel-good experiences?

And yet, leaving my life outside is one I find joy in. To ruminate over the blessings of what and who used to be behind the door – with aspirations, dreams and future goals honouring the silent blessings of who was the One. Who will be the One. Physical presence or not, it all lasts. It’s not abandonment to walk away from oneself and return home. This is part of your hero’s journey. It’s how you learn to love the newfound emptiness behind the door. Liberation. Melancholy, but free. I am my own hero, always. I hope you are, too.

Video Courtesy of Zayn Malik via YouTube

connexion

This album, in its entirety then, begs the question of why we are so afraid of intense emotional connexion. Why do we work against our pain and suffering to miss out on another love? Another human connection? Another opportunity to string hearts together. Is our relationship with what hurts us real bliss? Or is there fear behind building something significantly honest and resilient with each other?

The sheer revolution that comes from sitting in one’s own sadness of letting go while holding onto the beauty of how once back when felt is something I’m learning to let speak to me. I’m learning to be quiet and not let false mental intelligence get in the way. As ZAYN explores the facets of it in this tracklist, I am always reminded that nobody is listening. There is no room for that here. ZAYN’s earnestness in this sense, no matter how smooth and transparent the lyrics may be, invokes such stillness and allows space for meaningful internal dialogue. Looking back, I’ve never really been able to vocalize the pain of losing someone I love. Or letting go. Or walked myself through experiences with so much love for myself and the world, even if they may be painful ones. ZAYN’s introspection and bear-it-all emotional depiction in pitch and tone are a reminder of how uncomplicated being with myself to unpack all of this really can be.

And so I ask you, when’s the last time you left yourself outside?

When will you come home?

INTERMISSION: fLoWeR is a part of Zayn Malik’s first independent album, ZAYN (2018).

Video Courtesy of Zayn Malik via YouTube

always for the culture

I’m always about an artist representing their culture instead of following a phenomenon of “white people dreams,” which often, coloured people are pressured against by our micro communities. For me, Zayn undoubtedly is representing a whole hub of people across South Asia as he beautifully mixes his Pakistani origins with his British upbringing. This is something I have noticed and jumped quickly to appreciate – where, a lot of my favourite South Asians in mainstream music circuits look like me, but refuse to sound like me. Tightrope induces nostalgia that gets me thinking – as well as wondering why externally from me, nobody’s listening. I’m thinking of ZAYN’S half-Pakistani heritage, and how the influence Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan prompted the creation of Intermission: Flower, to, now, the quiet, 21st century version of Mohd. Rafi’s classic, Chaudvin Ka Chand Ho. I think of the cultural hotbed diasporic South Asians hold so much regard for – a foreign place to us in a lot of ways, but tightly wound in our DNA. An imaginary connector that we can’t see, and don’t realize how much we long for. Yet, we exist in a liminal space. Belonging to neither region and constantly ostracizing ourselves and each other for it.

And then, I think of all of the remixes that come out of Bollywood – often turning such thoughtful classics into unrepeatable versions of legendary tracks, reducing the quality, meaning, and quite literally, all else involved that makes a track so great. I wonder why such music has so many views, when melodies like Tightrope are deserving of the spotlight. These are the real culture-making experiences that we can claim, but also close our eyes and feel those who came before us close by.

ZAYN’s recent music is not a bridge we can see, but it is one we can hear. A valuable gift and documentation of our existence in this in between place.

This album, then, for me is an ode to the diaspora kids. We grow up with a lot of unanswered questions, yet, we also long for a culture and people that are so brilliant at dividing us. We can say ZAYN’s music is often repetitive with the beats, subject matter, and tempos he utilizes – which are subjects that link reviews I’ve read of ZAYN’s previous two albums – but, the unabashed connection he has to his heritage that he holds proudly, regardless if its created by meaningless lines that label us as Pakistani or Indian, or anything else, connects us to the generations of our parents and grandparents. In this case, the familiar tempos create an emotional channel to merge us with the cultures and sounds that shaped us, while also bringing a unique, fresh take to all that we hold dear from them. For this, I’m grateful, and I can’t wait to hear what other part of my childhood is connected with the world around me today in ZAYN’s next beats.

Image Courtesy of Man For Himself

Jagreet’s favourite tunes

Outside, Tightrope, Vibez, Better

Close seconds

Sweat, Unfuckwitable, Windowsill, Calamity

Album rating: 4/5

ZAYN will take you to a far away place where music draws raw, buried emotions within you to the surface to be uncovered, examined and felt to their full potential. Here, it may feel cold at first, but if you let go, I promise, it will always be snowy, dreamy heaven.

A Glitch in the Matrix: When Ambition Overpowers Humanity

My name is Jyotika Khosla and I’m a mixed-media artist who is passionate about exploring narratives and working with materials. In terms of life and the artistic process, I genuinely believe that learning never ends and every experience, good or bad, has the power to lead to inner growth, stability, and lessons to offer in exchange. 

Everyone has a story when it comes to mental health challenges. AND ALL ARTISTS THESE DAYS ARE USING SOCIAL MEDIA AS A WAY TO ADVANCE OUR CAREERS IN SOME FORM OR WAY. Today, I’d like to share mY STORY.

The mind is more complex than it’s given credit for. My experiences with the complexities of it include hallucinations and voices which began to interfere with my daily process of doing basic tasks. Voices ripped my confidence and paranoia would follow me everywhere I went. I would hear people clearly say something to me only to realize that they had not. There would be a constant, unsettling and funny feeling in the pit of my stomach causing very inappropriate laughter. It was complex, with even more complicated origins. And I was being medicated for this. 

Any form of media, whether it was my phone or a tv channel, was causing delusion and confusion. As I lost my peace of mind, I also lost my dreams, desires, and direction. As beautiful as the world is, internally it arose no interest. No matter what advice people would give me, it would not process well. The experience of a fulfilling life is dependent on the mind and inner peace. It’s also influenced by the quality of your inner circle and support system, which unfortunately revealed themselves and failed me when I needed them most. After much reflection, I can confidently say that a lot of this happening is due to our generation’s obsession with social media.

As I lost my peace of mind, I also lost my dreams, desires, and direction. As beautiful as the world is, internally it arose no interest. No matter what advice people would give me, it would not process well.

Jyotika Khosla, mixed-media artist from Vancouver, BC.

Social media apps put people on an illusory pedestal and hijack their ability to have basic human concerns for what’s taking place right in front of them. And to say that social media doesn't affect people’s mental and emotional health with its constant bombarding, even subtly, would be the world’s biggest illusion.

During this disturbing phase, the socially adept friends [with growing Instagram follower counts that I cheered on] whom I genuinely cherished not only disappeared but did not think twice to spread misinformation and rumours about me to the curious local artistic community. As I was being unfollowed and blocked for reasons that were beyond confusing for my sick mind at the time, I also became socially paranoid on top of already very scary and uncontrollable hallucinations for about three months. During this time, I was advised to stay away from my phone and media of all kinds.

Yet at the same time, due to the misinformation that was spread about me by the same people who I thought were my friends, I was being blocked and maligned by colleagues, potential commissions customers & acquaintances for having severe mental episodes.

I also learned that these friends were now attending mental health seminars, speaking as experts of victimization for marginalized groups within the diaspora and forging new connections with my friends in the arts community – bonding with them through the misinformation they spread about me for the sole purposes of being “instafamous.” Instead of showing empathy, or, at the very least, checking in on my health, they instead chose to villainize me for something I was unable to control – and was not blaming them in any way for. 

“Lakshmi – You Are Enough” by Jyotika Khosla

The anxiety from this only added to my paranoia and hallucinations. My brain was not processing any information as reality. It was a disturbing and uncomfortable few months of audio-visual hallucinations, excluding the recovery process. I am extremely lucky that my parents and other friends understood the seriousness of the situation and I got the help I needed.

From this experience, I learned the hard way that social media is not real life and online profiles don’t always reflect a person’s character. I never expected that the friends who were at my house almost every single day would disappear during a severe phase only to malign me online as well as in a community that I was naively excited to be a part of and work in. Yes, I cared a lot and went out of my way to ensure we were all thriving with opportunities but why was that a bad thing? Situations like mine create a genuine fear of failing in front of our friends and trusting people who are part of the same community as us.

Instead of showing empathy, or, at the very least, checking in on my health, [these friends] instead chose to villainize me for something I was unable to control – and was not blaming them in any way for. 

It is why becoming genuine friends with plants and animals is a way of life for so many of us. For me today, starting over is scary – especially in terms of using social media. We fail to realize that toxicity is a trait that goes ignored when ambition overpowers humanity.

I know how common psychosis is in our community and as a grown woman, I not only felt ashamed but also feel that whatever happened to me is underwhelming. Because of the loneliness and isolation I experienced after being avoided by so many members of the arts community due to the stories that were circulating about me, I felt there was no point in sharing a story. Yet, I know I am not the only individual that has experienced something severely traumatic.

Mural of Kobe Bryant by Jyotika Khosla

I condemn the idea that anyone’s merit and importance comes from a bad character with big numbers. Social media is not real life.

This means that the profiles of people with lots of followers and exciting posts are not always reflective of reality. I never expected that the friends I loved deeply would leave for a few insta claps. I began to understand why grown people are led to feeling mentally distant and bitter about social happenings when they begin to feel let down socially, thus internally. 

Today, it’s a difficult process opening up to people and putting myself back out there on the same screens that appear as nothing more than pixels. In a lot of ways, I still feel like a glitch in the matrix. When the insatiable drive and ambition of gaining some online merit comes at the cost of tossing and stepping on the throats of the same society and its people, the “rise” to success reveals as a mirage. You cannot succeed by hurting people, no matter how much you justify your wrongdoings as your truth and ambitions.

I know I have all the love and support I need. Although the world feels like an illusory circus, being there for other people in any way you can is the most fulfilling thing you can do. I promise it does not go unnoticed, especially in times like these when mental health crises are on the rise.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Jyotika would like to share a song that outlines her experience pretty well. It’s called Arcade Fire by Reflektor. Listen to it at the YouTube video embedded below to visualize her headspace.