Brown Motion

Traveling outside of east bay in San Francisco you can be in farm country in no time.  But Sikh farming communities?  Yes indeed. The San Joaquin valley, a stretch of around 150 miles between Sacramento to the north and Fresno down south is prime farming country.  Largely almonds, grape vines to yield raisins, and olive is grown here. Due to historic migrations over the last few decades the Sikh faith from India by way of Canada as well as direct migration came and settled here. The climate is similar to their native Punjab (region where the Sikhs predominantly live in India) and they took to what they know best - farming.  Since then they have moved up in the supply chain by growing, harvesting, transporting and cooking the foods they produce.  Sikhs in America own among other businesses trucking companies, truck stops, restaurants and of course acres of farms. As a result the land is filled with everything from Gurudwaras (temple for their faith), to ea...

It is fascinating to experience different people's background and belief system in person if one can.  We enjoyed such an experience right here in the bay area today.  We went and attended a prayer service for the Sikh religion followed by a community lunch served by volunteers at the attached kitchen to the main prayer hall. This place of worship for the Sikh community is called a Gurdwara or literally the gateway to the master or leader (guru).  The SF bay area has quite a few around which is a testament to the Sikh diaspora in this area.  Many thousands have migrated from their native Punjab over the last five decades and made this area home. They have since married in caste and inter caste and have a diverse population scattered across the region.  We were able to visit this weekend and witness a lot of social and religious events within an hour.  On first impression the location appears very calming situated on about 100 acres of the east bay ...