Agam Singh Brar, 7, performs with Kermit the Frog alongside his cousins behind his grandfather at their residence in Twinsburg, Ohio. Agam’s father moved to the US a number of years in the past searching for higher alternatives, elevating his youngsters in an area the place two worlds meet: American life outdoors the house and Sikh values inside it. By means of play, creativeness and household connections, these youngsters navigate twin identities, embracing their heritage whereas participating with the world round them, balancing custom and modernity in a uniquely American Sikh expertise.
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Since 2023, Akash Pamarthy has been documenting the lives of members of the Sikh faith round Ohio. The Sikh religion originated within the Punjab area of northwest India within the fifteenth century, however Sikh individuals have migrated and settled all over the world. In Ohio, Pamarthy discovered a group that embraces its Sikh Indian roots and a brand new era mixing their religion with their American identification.
“Sikhism has all the time fascinated me,” Pamarthy stated. “The Sikh religion is deeply community-oriented, grounded in equality, resilience and repair. Sikhs stand tall and assist each other by way of each problem.”
NPR requested Pamarthy about his work to doc the group. The interview has been edited for readability and size.
Households collect at Ohio’s first established gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship, in Richfield, Ohio, for Sunday service. Sitting aspect by aspect on the ground, they hearken to hymns and readings from the Guru Granth Sahib, the everlasting Sikh guru. The service emphasizes Sikh ideas of equality, humility and group.
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Meals are served within the langar corridor, a free group kitchen on the gurdwara. Open to all, no matter caste, creed, colour or faith, the langar embodies Sikh values of equality, service and group — a convention established by Guru Nanak, the religion’s founder.
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Sukhman Kaur helps Harsaajan Singh together with his turban throughout a turban-tying class on the Gurudwara Dashmesh Darbar in Solon, Ohio. In Sikh tradition, tying the turban is a vital custom that represents self-discipline, respect and a visual expression of religion. Many gurdwaras maintain turban-tying workshops for kids, serving to them study and take pleasure of their Sikh identification. These areas play an important position in passing down cultural values, particularly as youthful generations navigate and steadiness their lives between Sikh and Western identities.
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As soon as a group church, the constructing now serves as a gurdwara — one of many latest Sikh homes of worship in Ohio. The state’s Sikh group, which established its first gurdwara within the Nineteen Eighties, has grown steadily over the previous 4 a long time to almost 10 gurdwaras throughout Ohio by 2025. Solon’s gurdwara stands as an emblem of that development and the group’s continued efforts to protect religion and tradition whereas establishing deeper roots in American society.
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Alliance, Ohio, police officer Ethan Griffith talks with Sukhvir Singh Grewal, Ohio’s first and solely turbaned police officer, whereas the pair have been on patrol. Whereas Sikh officers have served in international locations together with Canada, the U.Ok. and India for many years, Grewal’s position displays rising variety in Ohio regulation enforcement. His turban serves as a visual image of religion and identification, underscoring the significance of illustration in professions which have traditionally lacked cultural inclusivity.
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Dr. Sukhbir Singh examines an X-ray for Ranger, a 10-year-old blind canine, as Ranger’s proprietor, Abigail Bickerstaff, 30, and Singh’s workers maintain him down throughout a go to for abdomen points. Singh immigrated to the U.S. in 1993 after incomes his veterinary and grasp’s levels in small animal surgical procedure. For over 25 years, he has served the group of Niles, Ohio, by way of his clinic, caring for small animals and exotics.
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Rajinder Singh Brar drives his truck from Bedford to Sandusky, Ohio, to ship a load. After transferring to the US, he discovered alternative and stability within the trucking trade, a occupation that has turn into a spine for a lot of Sikh immigrants. At present, greater than half of Ohio’s Sikh group is related to trucking, a area that enables flexibility, independence and a gentle livelihood. For many years, Sikh truckers like Brar have performed an important position in conserving America’s provide chains working, constructing group alongside highways and truck stops.
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Vikramjit Sandhu, a small-business proprietor and former Service provider Navy officer, campaigns door to door in Richfield, Ohio, in October 2023. As one of many first Sikh American candidates within the space, his marketing campaign displays the rising engagement of the Sikh group in native politics. Sandhu received an election in November 2023 to be Richfield Township’s fiscal officer with 64% of the vote and is working this yr to characterize Ohio’s thirty fifth District within the state’s Home of Representatives.
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Are you able to inform me a bit concerning the group’s historical past in India and right here?
Their historical past is marked by displacement and wrestle. When India was partitioned, Punjab was divided into two, leaving the Sikh group in financial misery with immense lack of land and wealth. Looking for alternatives to rebuild, many migrated overseas to assist their households. In 1984, following Operation Blue Star, the assassination of India’s prime minister by her Sikh bodyguard triggered horrific mob violence that killed 1000’s of Sikhs throughout the nation, pushing many extra to flee.
In the US, after 9/11, Sikhs have been typically misidentified due to their turbans and confronted racial assaults and discrimination. But, regardless of centuries of persecution — from Mughal rulers to trendy misunderstandings, they’ve by no means deserted their religion or identification. It takes immense braveness to stay true to who you might be, and the Sikh group continues to embody that braveness era after era.
Rupinder Gill talks together with his sister earlier than mounting a horse to go to his wedding ceremony. The procession, generally known as the Baraat, is a central a part of conventional Sikh weddings, symbolizing the groom’s journey to the bride’s residence or venue accompanied by household, pals, music and dancing. Within the cultural setting, the Baraat represents pleasure, celebration and the group’s assist for the couple.
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The Chooda ceremony is a central Sikh pre-wedding ritual celebrating the bride’s transition into married life. The bride’s maternal uncle and aunt present her pink and ivory bangles, that are first dipped in a mix of milk and rose petals to cleanse and bless them. This act symbolizes fertility, prosperity and religious safety, whereas members of the family collect to wish for the bride’s happiness and success in her new journey.
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Making roti is a day by day ritual of Sikh culinary and cultural life. Historically produced from wheat, it’s a staple meals that displays the group’s farming roots and connection to the land, reflecting the agrarian roots of Punjab. Sharing roti in houses and making ready it for langar, the free group meal served at Sikh gurdwaras, symbolizes service, equality and togetherness.
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Girls collect within the gurdwara kitchen, working collectively to make roti for the langar, the group meal served to all guests. Girls who don’t put on turbans cowl their heads, consistent with Sikh custom that hair be coated on gurdwara premises. Getting ready langar has lengthy been a central observe in Sikhism, relationship again to Guru Nanak within the fifteenth century, emphasizing equality, service and group. In Ohio, these ladies proceed that custom, sharing labor and meals throughout generations, constructing bonds amongst households, newcomers and elders, and guaranteeing that the gurdwara stays an area of religion, tradition and togetherness.
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What are the impacts of the present political local weather on the group now?
The Sikhs are proud Individuals who deeply respect this nation and see it as a land of alternative. Many have constructed their lives right here and wholeheartedly name the U.S. their residence. Nevertheless, the present political local weather has created a way of unease — not only for Sikhs however for a lot of communities. Regardless that they’re law-abiding and contribute positively to society, there may be nonetheless an underlying concern and uncertainty.
Anybody will be American. They’re … rooted in a special religion, however they’re proud to be there on this nation, proud to contribute, proud to characterize or name themselves as American — whereas rooted in their very own tradition.
Throughout Vaisakhi, members of the Sikh group ceremonially wash the pole bearing the Nishan Sahib, the Sikh non secular flag, and substitute its material with a recent or cleaned one. The act symbolizes renewal, purity and devotion. For kids and girls, taking part in or witnessing the ritual reinforces a way of belonging, religion and continuity, passing cultural and religious values to the following era whereas celebrating the unity and resilience of the group.
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Cincinnati’s Sikh group celebrates Vaisakhi, the Sikh New Yr, with a vibrant parade organized every April by the Guru Nanak Society of Better Cincinnati. Vaisakhi marks some of the vital festivals in Sikhism, commemorating the founding of the Khalsa, the collective physique of initiated Sikhs, by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. The day symbolizes renewal, equality and the spirit of selfless service. Through the celebration, members fill the streets singing hymns, sharing meals and sporting conventional colourful apparel. The parade not solely honors religion and heritage but in addition serves as an act of outreach, inviting the broader Cincinnati group to find out about Sikh values of compassion, inclusion and unity. For a lot of of Ohio’s Sikhs, celebrating Vaisakhi publicly affirms their identification and ensures that youthful generations keep related to their cultural and religious roots whereas fostering understanding throughout cultures.
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5 males representing the Panj Pyare, or the “5 Beloved Ones,” maintain their swords as they lead the Sikh New Yr parade on the Sikh Society of Dayton Gurdwara in Dayton, Ohio, on April 14, 2024. In Sikh custom, the swords, or kirpans, symbolize braveness, selflessness and the responsibility to guard justice and righteousness.
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Are you able to inform me a bit concerning the individuals you met whereas making this work? Is there a person who made a huge impact?
Through the challenge, I lived with 82-year-old Jagbir Singh Dhillon. I by no means met my grandfathers, however my time with him felt like what it could have been to have one. He taught me on a regular basis expertise like chopping wooden, cooking, shoveling snow and deeper classes about persistence, kindness and goal. I discovered so much from him about life, individuals and relationships. He was among the best roommates I’ve ever had. We regularly spent lengthy evenings speaking about something and all the things, sitting by the hearth. I by no means wanted my cellphone or felt bored in his firm.
He jogged my memory quite a lot of my grandmother, who all the time appeared ahead to feeding me. He was the identical manner — all the time ensuring I ate sufficient. He would typically say, “Kuch khata hello nahi, kaise jeeyega?” which suggests, “You do not eat something — how will you reside?”
Jagbir Singh Dhillon, 82, shovels snow from his driveway in a winter jacket and his turban. Initially from India, Dhillon has lived in Ohio for over 4 a long time, studying to navigate the Midwest’s harsh winters. Clearing snow has turn into a part of his seasonal routine, a observe he is tailored to over a long time as a part of day by day American life, mixing the rhythms of his environment with the life he has constructed whereas sustaining his cultural identification.
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Jagbir Singh Dhillon, 82, watches a soccer sport from his sofa on Christmas. A former hockey participant in India, Dhillon moved to the U.Ok. after which the U.S. within the Seventies searching for higher alternatives. Soccer was unfamiliar when he arrived within the U.S., however over 4 a long time, he developed a real love for the sport. His ardour displays how immigrant experiences can mix with American traditions, and the way love for sports activities can join individuals throughout generations and backgrounds.
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Folks depart their footwear outdoors the principle corridor on the entryway of Guru Nanak Society of Better Cincinnati gurdwara in Hamilton, Ohio. They wash their palms and tie a head masking earlier than getting into the corridor.
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Nihal Kaur homeschools her son, Anik Singh, at their residence in Twinsburg, Ohio, on March 2, 2025. Kaur stated she hopes to ultimately ship her son to highschool however worries he’ll be bullied for sporting his patka, a small Sikh turban.
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What’s one thing you discovered about your self whereas making this challenge?
One factor I’ve discovered about myself is that I am not somebody who provides up simply. I hold making an attempt, even after I fail. After I’m obsessed with one thing, I pursue it with persistence.
Jasleen Kaur Mann, 23, demonstrates a gatka transfer whereas educating youngsters on the Guru Gobind Singh Sikh Society of Cleveland’s gurdwara in Bedford, Ohio. Gatka, a conventional Sikh martial artwork, blends religious self-discipline with bodily ability, symbolizing braveness, self-defense and religion. Instructing it to youngsters helps protect Sikh heritage and instill core values of bravery, respect and group service throughout generations.
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Agam Singh Brar, 7, collects sweet from his neighbors in his Halloween costume. His father moved to the U.S. a number of years in the past seeking higher alternatives. Agam selected to develop his hair after being impressed by his cousins in India, a call absolutely supported by his household. His father takes pleasure in seeing him embrace his Sikh identification at such a younger age whereas confidently navigating life as each an American and a Sikh. This displays how youthful Sikh Individuals are studying to steadiness religion and belonging, proudly celebrating each their heritage and the tradition they’re rising up in.
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A household bows on their knees, touching their heads to the bottom in worship earlier than the Guru Granth Sahib, the everlasting guru of the Sikh religion, on the Guru Nanak Society of Better Cincinnati. In Sikhism, religious steering as soon as got here from human gurus, starting with Guru Nanak and persevering with by way of 9 successive gurus. After the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, the lineage of human gurus ended and the Guru Granth Sahib — the holy scripture — was declared the everlasting guru, embodying the gurus’ knowledge, teachings and religious presence. The textual content rests on a raised throne and is handled with the identical respect as a residing individual. It’s ceremonially woke up every morning, supplied meals and ceremoniously laid to relaxation at night time. Devotees collect to sing hymns and provide prayers, training devotion, humility and repair. These traditions protect a residing connection to the gurus’ teachings and move cultural and religious values to future generations, anchoring the Sikh identification even whereas residing within the America.
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Akash Pamarthy is a photojournalist primarily based in Seattle. You possibly can see extra of his work on his web site, akashphotography.com, or on Instagram, at @akashpamarthyphoto.
