Tian Da Mela Festival bridges gap to old country

Amid the vivid dance, song and costumes of Sunday's annual Tian Da Mela Festival was a common theme — fellowship among Punjabi-American women, from young girls to grandmothers and everyone in between.

Literally translated as "women's festival," Tian Da Mela is the Mid-Valley's tribute to the annual late-summer East Indian ceremony marking both the start of the rainy season and the reunion of women with their families.

Dancing, fairs and displays of new clothing all mark the occasion, as they were for the hundreds who packed Yuba City's Andros Karperos Middle School for the 12th annual event, organized by the USA Punjabi Women's Cultural Organization.

"This is for all the ladies you just enjoy being with," said Davinder Kaur of Yuba City, a 10-year U.S. resident attending her fifth Yuba City festival. "It's like I'm back in India again for a few hours."

Seventeen groups took the stage at Tian Da Mela, treating audiences to a program of traditional dances, comedy, a Miss Punjabi mini-pageant, and chants traditionally passed down to younger generations for the events. A free dance closed the afternoon, as guests of all ages took the floor all at once.

For festival regulars young and old, the celebration was a double bridge — spanning generations as well as the thousands of miles separating old country and new.

"It keeps us connected, keeps us close to our older relatives," said Gill, 20, a Yuba City native strolling the clothing and jewelry stands with her cousin, 22-year-old Aman Sidhu of Roseville — one of about a dozen relatives visiting the festival with Gill.

"Everybody's been excited for months (thinking) about what we're going to wear, what we're going to do," said Harjit Uppal of Yuba City, a former Tian Da Mela host who has performed for seven years. "This is the only way they have (here) to come out and all dance as a family.

"We are so far from our country, but our children get to see that this is our culture."