Newsletter April 2012

ugnu Bhangra
hangra
JJugnu
Jugnu Bhangra
www.jugnubhangra.com
April 2012
Making Headlines
Welcome to the Vaisakhi 2012 edition of
Jugnu Bhangra Group’s Newsletter. Jugnu
Bhangra Group wishes everyone a very
happy Vaisakhi.
The past year has been full of achievements and success
including an Akand Path to celebrate the 40th anniversary,
raising money for charity, entertaining crowds at a cricket
match involving the Indian national team and judging
national bhangra competitions. In recognition of these
achievements the group has also received global press
coverage from Des Pardes and the Punjab Times.
The group thanks everyone involved for their hard work
over the past year and continued support in the future.
Jugnu in
G-Company’s
Debut
The Big 4 - 0
After spending the past few years working behind
the scenes in the bhangra industry from his studio in
Southampton, G-Company released his debut album
entitled ‘Folklore’. The album was accompanied by an
official music video directed by eNCy Films (Neil Coxhill),
which highlights the lead track ‘Nachna Nai Onda’ featuring
Ashok Gill on the vocals. The boys from Jugnu spent a day
on location shooting the video which also featured the
Jugnu van. The song proved to be a summer hit and was
well received throughout the bhangra industry. Check
out the video on YouTube and download the album from
iTunes.
Manbir’s
st
21
Jugnu Bhangra Group, established in Gravesend in
1970 and one of the UK’s longest established Bhangra
groups, concluded its 40th Year celebrations in April
2011 with an “Akhand Path”, an exhibition of the Group’s
work at their base (The Studio), and hosting of the
drama production of “The Maharaja and the Kohinoor”
at Woodville Halls.
An Akhand Path is a continuous reading of the Guru
Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy scriptures, concluding with a
religious service. Jugnu’s Akhand Path was attended by
hundreds of people, with about 400 guests present on
the last day. About 100 Jugnu members, past and present,
helped throughout the three days.
Jugnu’s guests included Bhangra and music groups from
across the country, including:
Jugnu also congratulate Manbir Singh Sihota who
celebrated his 21st birthday in December. Manbir has
been an active member for many years and has always
worked hard to contribute positively in the group in many
ways. His birthday celebrations were capped off with
a performance from the group and a guest appearance
from Bee2.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Gabhru Punjab De (Birmingham)
Hasda Punjab (Wolverhampton)
Punjab Bhangra Group (Wolverhampton)
Amar Group (Leamington Spa)
Hasde Nachde (Birmingham)
Nachda Sansar (Birmingham)
Taranga (Birmingham)
Heera Group (Southall).
Vasda Punjab, Virsa Punjab and Kulwant Bhamra
sent messages of congratulations. The group was
congratulated from the stage of the Royal Albert Hall,
during the performance of world famous Punjabi singer
Gurdas Maan, by Sukhi Bart of Brit Asia TV Channel.
Jugnu particularly wishes to thank those from the
above groups who have worked with us for many years,
including Satnam Singh Poonia, Gurcharan Mall, Sardara
Gill, Palvinder Dhami, H. Dhami and Sukhi Batth. The writer
Balbir Singh Kamal came to give his best wishes.
Past and present group members honoured song writer
and lyricist Harbans Singh Jandu Litranwala for his lifelong service to promote Punjabi language and culture.
“Jandu Litranwala” was presented with a certificate and
a book signed by Jugnu members and other guests. Mr
Jandu read a poem that he wrote especially for Jugnu,
which thrilled everyone.
Jugnu founder and President Dr Surjit Singh Randhawa
welcomed guests and gave a history of the group.
Gurdwara President Jaspal Singh Dhesi praised how
Jugnu members always take a leading role in serving the
local community and the Gurdwara.
Guests were invited to Jugnu’s base, the Studio, after the
Akhand Path. All were amazed at the facilities that Jugnu
has been able to develop, and the way that Jugnu works
with local partners and agencies to maintain the Punjabi
culture in new generations. Jugnu founder member,
Shaminder Singh Bedi MBE, described to visitors how
the Studio had been developed and is managed, in
partnership with Holy Trinity School.
New look website and
Facebook profile
As a continued effort to keep our members, fans and
sponsors appraised of our progress, and to celebrate
the 40th anniversary, Jugnu have launched a new
website.
The new website was designed by Jugnu’s very own
design entrepreneur Amar Drubhra. To see more of
Amar’s work, visit www.amardrubhra.com.
In addition to the new website, Jugnu are now on
Facebook. To get the latest updates and photos
from Jugnu’s travels, check out www.facebook.com/
jugnubhangra.
Bhangra vs Cricket
Kent County Cricket Club played World One-Day
Champions India at Canterbury in August 2011, and
Jugnu entertained the crowd with vibrant dancing,
loud Dhols and colourful costumes. Jugnu’s dancing
was appreciated by the sell-out 7,000 crowd as much
as the cricket, while they waited for the game to start
after some rain.
Jugnu sent 30 of its members to Canterbury. They
celebrated every boundary with loud and rhythmic
beating of the Dhols, bringing the atmosphere of
cricket on the Indian Sub-Continent to Kent. Jagdev
Singh Virdee, Chairman of Jugnu said: “Jugnu have
always been at the forefront to promote Punjabi culture
and support such events wherever possible. This event
provided a unique opportunity to bring together
Bhangra and Cricket in Kent, the Garden of England.
Jugnu provided a great atmosphere at the match by
dancing, singing and playing dhols throughout the
match.”
Jugnu Bhangra Group and Gravesend’s Shinde Bains (of
Shinde A1 Construction Ltd) jointly sponsored the Man
of the Match Award, won by Joe Denly of Kent. India
won the match by just five runs. Shaminder Singh Bedi
MBE from Jugnu Bhangra said “It was a great honour to
be part of the Man of the Match presentation, with the
support of Shinde A1 Construction.”
Indian stars present included M S Dhoni, Sachin
Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, S K Raina and Virat Kohli. The
tourists were managed by veteran India player Shivlal
Yadav. All enjoyed watching the Bhangra from the team
balcony before the match started. Also watching the
match was veteran West Indian player Clive Lloyd.
The Mayor of Gravesham Mr Tanmanjit
joined the presentation party for the
Match Award, thanking the teams for a
and praising Jugnu Bhangra Group for
ambassadors of Kent and Gravesham.
Singh Dhesi
Man of the
great match
being great
Surinder Singh Dhinsa, Manager of Jugnu Bhangra,
said: “Jugnu have always flown the flag for the Punjabi
community and keep the Punjabi culture alive in
the UK. The group have over 80 members of all ages
including male and female dancers, and about 30 were
at Canterbury.”
Jugnu Bhangra Group held a fund raising event
to support the Mayor of Gravesham’s selected
charities, Ellenor Lions Hospice and Macmillan
Cancer Support. A cheque for £2,000 was presented
to the Mayor, Councillor Tanmanjit Singh Dhesi.
Contributions from those attending and proceeds
from the auction of a cricket bat signed by the Indian
Cricket team were topped up by Jugnu Bhangra
Group and Asian Welfare Society. The Mayor was also
presented with a Jugnu glass trophy to mark his year
as Gravesham’s First Citizen.
The Mayor said: “I am extremely grateful for the love
and support that Jugnu members have shown me in
my year as Mayor. The reason that I appreciate Jugnu
so much is that your aims and achievements fit so
well with my vision and theme for this year, which
is ‘Integration’. How well you achieve this has been
shown brilliantly tonight”.
Jugnu Chairman Jagdev Singh Virdee says: “I would
like to thank everyone who performed and those
who worked behind the scene to make the evening,
and the past year, a success. Surinder Singh Dhinsa
choeographed the evening brilliantly. Jugnu’s lead
singer Amrik Singh Kalsi sang with the Group’s
performances, while organisation of the evening
was supported by many; including Shaminder Singh
Bedi MBE (former chair and founding member),
Amarjit Kalsi, Indy Sandhu and Jaspal Bhanot. We
are proud to support the charitable activities of the
Mayor and proud that he, as a young British Sikh, has
achieved this position.”
The evening, full of lively international entertainment
and compered by Jugnu’s Vice Chairman and
International Tour Manager Keith Wyncoll, included:
•
•
•
•
Punjabi songs by local singers Pritpal Singh
Padda and Vijay Singh
Ladies from the Jugnu Bhangra Fitness class
giving their first ever public performance.
Jugnu’s long term friend, African artiste Usifu
Jalloh, giving an amazing performance
that brought together African story-telling
and drumming with Bollywood Hindi and Punjabi songs
A finale made up of electrifying performances
by Jugnu’s male and female teams and a joint
performance, followed by a fusion of African
Drum and Punjabi Dhol.
Capital Bhangra was organised by Naujawani.com; a Sikh
& Punjabi internet broadcaster. The inaugural event was
held at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London and hosted
by YouTube Asian sensation, Superwoman. Jugnu’s very
own Surinder Singh Dhinsa was one of three judges
alongside Isha Dhillon and Simon Berik from Queen Mary
University’s Bhangra Society. Jugnu also performed an
exhibition item at the event. With three teams competing
for the night’s top prize, UCL-LSE won the title of Capital
Bhangra champions 2012.
Hammersmith Apollo and attracted an audience of 3,500
bhangra enthusiasts. Nine university teams wowed the
audience with a mix of traditional and modern bhangra
performances and there were also performances from
Saini Surinder, Bee2 and TajE, Nirmal Sidhu and America’s
very own Bhangra Empire. The event was organised by
Imperial Punjabi Society and hosted by BBC Network
Asia presenter Tommy Sandhu. Having judged the event
in 2011, Deepak was one of seven judges in this year’s
competition alongside other dancers from Gabru Punjab
De (Birmingham), Virsa Punjab (East London), Vasda
Punjab (Southall), and The Punjab Dancers (Southall).
With a traditional performance, Queen Mary and Barts
University won this year’s competition. University of
Birmingham and Imperial College London finished second
and third respectively.
Jugnu’s Deepak Drubhra returned as one of the judges
for the UK’s most established university bhangra
competition – The Bhangra Showdown. Now in its fifth
year, the competition was held at the world famous HMV
Jugnu congratulate the teams who participated in both
competitions and the organisers for organising two
hugely successful events. Every team’s performance
from both competitions is available to view on YouTube
The group was also represented at the two UK University
Bhangra competitions; Capital Bhangra and Bhangra
Showdown.
Festivals
In a busy year, Jugnu performed at many key festivals
across the UK including Basildon Festival, Fling Festival in
Chelmsford, Colchester Carnival, Crawley Mela, Broadstairs
Folk Fesitval, and the Herne Bay Festival, and performed
alongside H Dhami at Thurrock Theatre.
Training with Jugnu
Dhol Classes
All levels
Sunday from 5.30pm
Bhangra Classes
Beginners class
Thursday from 6.00pm
Advanced class
Sundays from 6.30pm
Thursday at 7.00pm
Women’s Bhangra Classes
Dance class
Wednesday from 6.30pm
Fitness class Wednesday from 8.00pm
Photo by Karan Kalsi
Giving Back
Judging Competitions
Contacting Jugnu Bhangra
Web www.jugnubhangra.com
Email
info@jugnubhangra.com
Facebookwww.facebook.com/jugnubhangra
The Studio Community Arts Centre,
Holy Trinity School
Trinity Road
Gravesend, Kent, DA12 1LU
Surinder Singh Dhinsa
General Enquiries
+44 (0) 7789 212 235
Jazz Bhanot
UK Bookings
+44 (0) 7863 337 400
Keith Wyncoll International Bookings
+44 (0) 1474 329 325
Jagdev Singh Virdee
+44 (0) 7798 733 637
Chairman and General Enquiries
Design and Layout by Ramandeep Kaur Goraya