Our traditions · Himmat's roots
Himmat's Punjabi heritage
The food, the music, the laughter, and the sense that there is always room for one more.
A little bit of Punjab
It is in the language, the music, and especially in the way family comes together. There is always someone to feed, someone to invite in, and somehow always enough food for one more person!
Himmat's Punjabi heritage is also inseparable from his Sikhi. Seva, generosity, community and looking after one another are all part of the way his family celebrates and lives together. Remembering Guru Maharaj and being grateful for each blessing has guided Himmat throughout his life, and continues to shape the man he is today.
And then there is the food, and the inevitable question of whether you've eaten enough, usually followed by another serving anyway!
Bhangra and dhol beats have always been part of the home, and you can expect nothing less at the wedding!
These are the things Himmat grew up with, and the things he is bringing with him as we create a family of our own.
The sound of the dhol
Ask anyone Punjabi about a wedding and they will tell you about the dhol: a double headed drum you feel in your chest before you hear it, and the reason a Punjabi celebration is never quiet.
Bhangra began in the fields of Punjab, farmers celebrating the harvest, and became the sound of every celebration since: weddings, birthdays, and sometimes just a very good Sunday. Like everything Punjabi, it is not something you watch. It is something you join, shoulders first.
When the bhangra dhol meets the garba circle on our dance floor, you will see both of us.
Punjab at our wedding
You will feel Punjab before anyone points it out to you.
It is in the Milni, when our two families meet and welcome one another, a Punjabi welcome if ever there was one. It is in the Anand Karaj itself, the ceremony at the heart of our weekend, with the Guru at the centre and our families beside us. And it is in the langar that follows: a meal shared with everyone, exactly the way a Punjabi home would have it.
Most of all, it is in the room once the dhol starts, because a Punjabi celebration is not something you watch. It is something you join.
What it means to us
Punjab, carried forward
That warmth belongs at our wedding too. From the Milni that welcomes our families to the langar we share and the music that will not stop, Himmat hopes to carry Punjab into everything we build together, how we celebrate, how we host, and how we raise a family of our own.
His Sikhi is woven through all of it: the ceremony we chose, the community we serve, the Guru at the heart of our home.
Nina & Himmat