Part I – The Punjabis

To be born a Punjabi is a privilege, ask any Punjabi and he would tell you that. No matter where a Punjabi is born, he would feel connected not only to the present day Punjab of Prakash Singh Badal but the Punjab that was once the domain of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

For better or worse, there is no getting out of being a Punjabi. It is like genetic herpes, not only you, even your progeny would find it hard to either shake or discard the tag of being a Punjabi. And this is how Punjabis all around the world connect with each other. The immigrated villagers in Canada or the suave urban Sardars of Ludhiana, they are all Punjabis.

But not all Punjabis are Sikhs. Punjabis come in all religions, shapes, sizes, races, regions, caste, creed and culture. It does not matter what you mix with a Punjabi with, the end result would always be a Punjabi. Like I said, it is like Herpes.

Punjabi is also inanimate. Consider this, we have French suits, Italian shoes, and Punjabi Juttis. You may imagine the rest for yourself.

So, what am I getting at here? This is a multipart series that would explore the current state of Punjab through the eyes and experience of people who are living, working, paying taxes, stealing electricity, raping, pillaging, killing, selling, buying, somehow surviving and slowly dying in the Indian state of the Punjab.