Punjabi Language, Literature, and Culture Celebrated at UBC
Vancouver – April 23, 2025: The Department of Asian Studies and the Asian Library of the University of British Columbia held their annual Harjit Kaur Sidhu Memorial Program. The Program was established in loving memory of Harjit Kaur Sidhu (née Gill) who was a strong advocate for education, Punjabi culture and language, and women’s issues. This yearly Program has been held for many years, and every year it is successful in attaining its objective, which is to draw attention to the importance of Punjabi language and culture, encourage Punjabi education, and to inspire students to study Punjabi.
Each year, the Program recognizes the accomplishments of an outstanding individual for their contribution to Punjabi language and literature, and awards them with a lifetime achievement award. This year, the worthy recipient of the award was Jasbir Gunachauria who is one of the most recognized Punjabi lyricists globally, as he has written approximately 600 songs for some of the most prominent Punjabi singers throughout the world. In addition, he has published six books, and been extremely successful in reaching a wide readership. It was an honour to award Mr. Gunachauria this accolade, and the audience appeared captivated by his address following the award ceremony. All those in attendance were able to hear firsthand from Jasbir Gunachauria about his journey in song writing, and the auditorium became further energized when they were fortunate enough to hear Gunachauria singing as well.
As the Harjit Kaur Sidhu Memorial Program does annually, the winners of the yearly Punjabi Essay Contest led by the Department of Asian Studies and the Asian Library were announced as well. This year, the essay contest received a substantial number of entries that were highly competitive. Students from UBC’s Punjabi Program entered the contest in considerable numbers, and their entries proved to make the contest highly competitive. Once announced, the winners, and those who were second and third in the beginners and advanced category were invited on stage, where they were recognized and had the opportunity to take pictures with the Program Committee.
Concluding the event were presentations from current and former students that presented on various topics of language, literature, and culture. This event continues to be one of the primary Punjabi language events at UBC, and encourages students and the community at large to support Punjabi, and acknowledge excellence in Punjabi.
