Maderans celebrate Punjabi culture

Courtesy of Pam Grewal From left: Ranjit Hans, Meena Gill, Ranjit Gill, Daljit Gill and Baldesh Kaur enjoy the evening while catching up.

---

Lions Town and Country Park turned into a Punjabi celebration, paying homage to women from around the Central Valley.

The Teeya Teej Dyan event was held Aug. 12 with many in attendance dressed in traditional Punjabi clothing.

Event chairperson Tajinder Chahal was happy with the turnout that included women from Madera, Chowchilla and Fresno.

Teeya Teej Dyan is a festival celebrated during the monsoon season by women, according to Wikipedia.com. Married women go to their maternal house to participate in festivities. In the past, it was traditional for women to spend the whole month with their parents.

“I got to see some of my friends I have not seen for a long time,” Pam Grewal, of Madera, said. “We talked, we ate and we danced together. Events like this bring people closer together. There are lots of very successful professional women who are on top of their careers and some own more than one business, so there is not time for fun. Today, we all went there without work and added some joy to our lives. It is a Punjabi culture where we wore custom dresses and were proud of who we are. I wish we had this even once a month and not once a year.”

In addition to plenty of catered food, the festival included a deejay, henna and make-up artists and HIFE College.

HIFE is non-profit organization that helps parents and young girls on how to apply to colleges and how to get financial help.

“Sometimes parents and students are not aware of it all. This is where we step in and help them with everything,” said Jaspreet Kaur, certified college consultant.

“Thanks also goes to the City of Madera for the park space and my committee that made this event possible for everyone,” Chahal said.