Bhangra originated as a folk dance from Punjab and has grown in popularity in the West since the 1990s. It emerged as a popular art form in the UK as second generation Sikhs incorporated it into British culture to express their Punjabi identity. Bhangra gained mainstream success through artists like Punjabi MC sampling western music. More recently, Bollywood films have helped popularize Bhangra globally by blending it with popular Hindi genres. Singers like Diljit Dosanjh have also spread awareness of Punjabi culture to younger audiences through a mix of traditional and modern Bhangra music.

1. Krishan Sharma
20949146
February 15, 2016
ASIA 304
Thomas Hunter Jr.
When East Meets West: Bhangra in the West
Over the years Bhangra has become a well known dance performance in the west.
Several universities have professional Bhangra dance clubs, dance workshops, and nightclubs in
cities such as Vancouver, organizing Bhangra themed nights. Bhangra emerged as well known
art performance in the 1990’s due to the success of singers such as Punjabi MC and the use of
Bollywood infusing the genre in Hindi films which helped popularize the art form in the
diaspora. Some people view it as another genre of music where as there are some who consider
Bhangra as part of their identity. This paper is going to analyze the historical effect of Bhangra in
the Sikh diaspora through the emergence of Bhangra from Britain, its growing popularity in
Bollywood and how the growing Punjabi music industry it had impacted the lives of second
generation Sikhs.
Bhangra on its own is a traditional folk dance that originates from the state of Punjab.
The Punjab is located in ‘northwestern South Asia which straddles the post Partition Indo
Pakistani border’ (Mooney, 105). There are significant instruments that makes Bhangra stand out
from the other South Asian preforming arts which consists of a dhol, an enormous one-piece
drum, toombi, a one string guitar, a harmonium, which is prevalent in several forms of South
Asian music, and an algoza, a two-piece flute. Bhangra is very gender oriented given that is
performed exclusively by males with females performing its counter part Giddha. Bhangra traces
back to “masculine values: labour, industry, and self-sufficiency, in agriculture, loyalty,

2. independence and bravery in personal, political and military endeavours and the development
and expression of virility, vigour and honour.” (Mooney, 110). Along with Giddha many
Punjabis describe Bhangra as “lively forms of music and dance which contribute to an
atmosphere of mauj-masti (fun and frolic)”. This comes out in shouts such as Balle Balle and
Chak De Phatte and at the same listening to cultural meanings such as “gender, kinship, and
locality.” (Mooney, 109). However, it was not until the mid 20th century that we begin to see a
growth of Bhangra’s popularity in mainstream society.
During the mid 20th century many Sikhs began migrating overseas to prospering
countries such as America, Canada and the United Kingdom. By the mid 1980’s, the United
Kingdom had a vast Sikh population with Southall in West London being viewed as the
neighborhood hub for Sikh gatherings. It was also during this time that many Sikhs began
incorporating Bhangra into the British culture. This was considered to be “a new form hybridised
bhangra” where it “developed and came to constitute a means for the younger generations to
express their identity as Punjabis in the West.” (Leante, 112). Considered to be the godfather of
Bhangra, Channi Singh along with his band Alaap released “Teri Chunni De Sitare” in 1984
which is now viewed as “the pioneer album of the new genre” marking the beginning of ‘British
Bhangra (Leante, 112). It was also this time that many Sikh artists would begin to sample
western beats into their bhangra tracks. Malkit Singh another pioneer in the British Bhangra
movement sampled the first ‘20 seconds of Carl’s Off Carmina Burna’ and used it for his ‘1984
mega hit Bolyian’ featured on the album Midas Touch’ (Leante, 121). Another popular genre
that was popular for young Sikhs growing up in the mid 70’s and 80’s was disco. B21, a small
Bhangra band consisting of brothers Bally and Bhota Jagpal along with Jassi Sidhu incorporated

3. the bass rift of the “Bee Gee’s hit single “Staying Alive” as a loop in their song “Chitia Kipha
Da” from the album By Public Demand (1998)” (Leante, 122). Lastly Bally Sago, a British DJ
of Indian descent made headlights in the mid 1980’s and early 1990’s where he began remixing
traditional Bhangra and classic Bollywood songs with western beats with “Gur Nal Ishq Mittha”
(Love is Sweeter than Jaggery) by Malkit Singh being one of his most popular remixes to date.
However, it was Punjabi MC’s single “Mundian Toh Bach Ke” (Beware of the Boys) that
became a stable Bhangra song for the masses. Originally released in 1998, “Mundian to Bach
Ke” followed the format of a successful bhangra song: incorporating western beats, infusing
traditional instruments, and carrying an important message. Punjabi MC here sampled the “bass
sound from the soundtrack of Knight Rider” (Leante, 123) incorporates the toombi and dhol
which can be visibly heard throughout the song and the social message for women being aware
of the young Punjabi boys given that they are known to be rowdy. The single was later reused in
the 2002 successful film Bend it like Beckhman, the 2003 Bollywood movie Boom and later in
2013 used as a remix by prominent rapper Jay Z thus bringing its popularity to the mainstream
media.
Recently, the Hindi film music industry, commonly referred to as Bollywood has started
to incorporate Bhangra into the mainstream culture. Hindi songs such as “Mauja Mauja”, “Lucky
Kabootar”, “Sona Sona Dil Mera Sona” and “Mere Pyar Ka Ras Zara Chakhna ” blend popular
Hindi rhythms with the rural Punjab feel with the dhol being predominate thus making them
favorites among the mass culture. Daler Mehndi, an ionic singer is seen dancing with Bollywood
legend, Amitabh Bachchan in the popular song “Na Na Nare Nare” from the film Mrityudaata
(1997) . However, Mehndi achieved global recognition for “Tunak Tunak Tun” that is today

4. parodied and mimicked by various ethnicities. Recently Hirdesh Singh, commonly referred to as
Yo Yo Honey Singh has stepped into the bandwagon of making Bhangra an essential part of
mainstream culture by blending his rap/ hip hop, two popular genres that appeal to today’s youth
and with the commercial Bollywood music but at the same time maintains that Punjabi flare with
his energetic/ soothing voices. “Chaar Bottle Vodka”, “Sunny Sunny” and “Dheere Dheere” are
examples that have become favorites among the young mass and are highly played at night clubs
and various festivities. Lastly the late Labh Janjua, a recording artist and playback singer with
his well note single “London Thumakda” (Entire London Dances) from the Bollywood hit film
Queen (2014) brings Sikhs of all ages from all over together of appreciating their culture along
with the high respect of Sikh women through a perfect blend of the electric keyboard and
toombi, along with the feel good lyrics explaining the proud feeling of being Punjabi:
To ho gayi one to two, (You’e gone from one to two)
Oh kudiya what to do, (Oh girl what to do)
Oh o gayi munde di (You’ve now become the guy)
Patanga vari di (Like a kite)
Tu awain udd di (You fly just like that)
Oh ho gayi munde di (You’ve now become the guy)
Hila de chaldi tuk tuk tu kardi (You walk with heels making tuk tuk sounds)
Make up tu kardi yaar (and wear makeup)
Angrezi padhidi ghit pit tu kardi ghit pit tu kardi (You read and talk in Englis)
Jimne queen sadi Victoria, (like our Queen Victoria)
Tu kanti big ban di (You’re the bell of the Big Ben)
Poora London thumakda. (Entire London dances).

5. For the past few years, the Punjabi film/ music industry has started to become an avenue
for second generation Sikhs to learn and embrace culture. Kanika Kapoor and Diljit Dosanjh I
feel play an important role of spreading mass awareness. After her chartbuster single “Jungi Ji”
in 2012, Kapoor went on to become a successful singer in India particularly Bollywood to sing
Punjabi themed songs such as “Baby Doll”, “Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan”, “Desi Look” and “Da Da
Dasse”. Diljit Dosanjh on the other hand is a well known Punjabi actor who is known for his
commercial hits Jatt and Juliet (2012) and Punjab: 1984 (2014). However, like most prominent
Punjabi actors such as Gurdas Mann they unlike in Bollywood are also successful singers.
Dosanjh’s singles “Patiala Peg” and “5 Taara” have been extremely popular with the young mass
of today given that both singles have a nice blend of western beats, Dosanjh’s singing that
reminds people such as myself they are back in Punjab, and traditional Punjabi musical
instruments that are highly prevalent such as the dhol and toombi. In addition, Dosanjh has
recently began making appearances in Bollywood, which arguably has been used to spread
awareness of South Asian culture ranging from appearing in music videos in Singh is Bling
(2015) and acting in the soon to be released film Utta Punjab (2016) which despite not being
released yet has already gained controversy.
In conclusion, Bhangra since the late 20th century has come a long way. The UK
influence and the growing use in Bollywood from the mid 1990’s to now has made it accessible
for Sikhs to learn and feel a sense of pride of their culture. Along with the growing Punjabi
film/music industry and singers such as Dilit Dosanjh making a name for himself in both film
industries, Bhangra I believe will soon become an art that will be more globally appreciated
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