This Isn't A Battlefield

Hey guys I'm back! Sorry it's been a while. I've been totally caught up with family stuff and some events. Big shoutout to my homies from JSA in Delaware for getting me the gig on June 22nd! It was exhausting but I had a great time.

Anyways, last night I watched a video from VIBC which is the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration. It was held from May 30th to June 8th this year and featured a bunch of amazing artists and talented bhangra teams. They also had a discussion with a panel on a bunch of topics like Bhangra Teams' Forum, modern and traditional bhangra, and the whole popularity and competition factor.
Ever since 7th grade when I started dancing I've been learning more and more about bhangra itself, competitions,teams and the whole circuit.
An issue that one of the girls in the discussion brought up was that on BTF whenever she would give feedback she would get shut down because she "doesn't dance". Is that some kind of defense mechanism for anyone to use when they're given constructive criticism? Does the opinion of an audience member not count as "legit" feedback anymore? Or do some teams simply think they're the best? It seems like whenever a team doesn't want criticism they play the "oh but you don't dance" card.
As a self taught solo performer, I still have a lot to learn. But isn't it the duty of the more experienced dancers and teams to help educate the new dancers in the circuit rather than shutting them down every single time? If I were to post some feedback on BTF I would get a comment like "oh, but you've never danced on a team". Honestly, if us newbies are wrong, TELL US WHY. Don't rudely shut people down on a worldwide forum.
Most teams almost see bhangra as a popularity contest now rather than a folk dance and an age old tradition. Why is there so much hate and negativity in the bhangra community?
Also, in my opinion old is gold. Gimmicks are great to entertain the crowd and are super cool, but are we not losing sight of what bhangra really is?
I really just had to vent about that. But to anyone reading this who knows anything about bhangra, let's teach each other and share our views, because in the end our main goal should be to preserve our culture and pass it on to future generations. Competitions are great and all, but this isn't a battlefield. We all have one common passion, which is bhangra. Let's keep it that way and not turn against each other. Strive for respect, not popularity. The point is to make the bhangra community bigger, not create a divide. I get that competitions are intense and there's nothing wrong with some healthy competition, but why let that competition take over the entire circuit and blind us from seeing what bhangra truly is?
Bhangra Teams Forum is a great idea and a great way for everyone to communicate and learn. I'd love to see it grow more and see more positive feedback on the posts to keep it as awesome as it's always been
If I have the wrong impression, someone please comment or message me or something and let me know. Because as someone who's almost based my life around bhangra, I'd like to know. I will appreciate any sort of feedback.
I also want to quickly thank all of those in the Bhangra community who have supported me and been genuinely kind to me throughout this learning process, specially my favorite ladies from SMD! <3

OH and I can't stand it when people say that girls can't do bhangra. Just saying.

Beware of RATCHET MELAS

As some of you know, I had a gig to host yesterday. A lot of people asked me how it went so I decided to just blog about it and write about it once rather than over and over. I have to say it was a complete waste of time. I'm usually not one to go public about stuff like this, but for anyone trying to get into the Desi entertainment industry, these are some things to look out for.

Basically I was told to be there by 11. Being a girl, I take forever to get ready so I woke up at 9:30am, curled my hair and did my makeup and left the house by 11:15. Normally I would leave by like 10:45 but this is a desi mela, there was no way it was going to start before 12. I get there and no one knows what's going on. The organizer thought it would be a great idea to plan everything out by herself and ended up not giving anyone directions until the last minute. While touching up my makeup I met someone who I've known through work for a few years. Anyways, she was a judge for the dance competition and we were both told days before the event that there would be rooms for us to get ready in, but when we got there the rooms had no lights or mirrors, so she had to get ready in the bathroom. Lesson 1: Always make arrangements for guests at your event. Whether it's something as simple as getting a couple of lamps and mirrors, do it. It makes a difference.
When I got back to the stage my co-host (or the woman I would be taking turns to MC with codename: pagal aunty )took it upon herself to tell me she would be hosting until 3 or 4. It was 1:30 and the event had FINALLY started, but if I'm told I need to do my job at a specific time I'm going to follow it. Specially if this woman comes in at 12:45 and expects to take my slot, thinking of me as an amateur, but whatever.  I decided not to care as this would give me some time to hang out with my friends who were performing/ modeling and have a look at some of the stalls. Even though I had to leave by 6 I made arrangements to stay later because of how things were going.
When I got back to the stage I go up to my co host to let her know that I'm back and say " Hey It's 3:30 so I'm here whenever you're ready", then I get the bitch stare and she says " Oh well I'm good right now I can take care of it for another couple of hours". Excuse me, since when am I your backup? But once again I leave and some random ladies who I had met earlier asked me why I'm not on stage. I explained the situation and one of the ladies decides to go ask my "co-host" what time I'll be on stage. She also gets yelled at and pagal aunty says "Oh, well I don't care. Until the organizer tells me to I refuse to give up the mic". Well the organizer came, yelled at her multiple times for screwing a bunch of things up, and told her to pass it on to me. When I asked her to fill me in she goes " Hold on ill tell you", waving her old fat wrinkly hand in my face. Uhm who are you again? I didn't even know this aunty's name and she's waving her hand in my face like a diva. Apparently if she didn't announce the next few acts I would get too confused. (last time I checked I've been doing this for at least 5 years). Lesson 2: People are EXTREMELY fame hungry, whether they know what they're doing or not. Sometimes you have to fight for it.
I finally get on stage and everything is a COMPLETE mess. All of the performances were pushed back like 3 hours and even the organizer didn't have a set schedule. Lesson 3: MAKE A SCHEDULE. Even if it's a little off by the time the show starts, you can make changes, but have a schedule to follow. Don't just list random events and over-book performances.
Before I knew it I had made enemies, all of the dance teachers almost attacked me demanding to go next. I probably said "I'm sorry it's not up to me, I'm just following what the organizer is telling me. If she tells me to introduce you guys next, that's the only way I can do it. I'm just doing what I'm told" at least a hundred times. Lesson 4: DON'T SHOOT THE MC. Hosts/MCs are not in charge. We're just announcing whatever we're told. I'd suggest to anyone who will be on stage, find a secluded place with easy access to the stage.
THEN, pagal aunty came back, asking over and over if I needed any help. No, I've barely been on stage for 90 minutes. I've dealt with worse. I don't need another person breathing down my neck while I'm trying to do my job. This woman then tells me she's supposed to take care of another segment according to the organizer. I obviously wasn't going to take her word for it, and found out that the organizer never said such a thing. Lesson 5: Trust no one besides the light/sound people and the organizers.
Anyways, once it was time to announce that segment, I handed her the mic. Once again she decided to bitch at me to fill her in. Excuse me when I asked you to fill me in, you didn't. I'm not wasting my breath. You can ask the organizer. Fed up with everyone, specially her, I decided the sooner I got off stage the better, for my own sanity. If people want some fame at Ratchet Mela 2013 or something similarly bootleg to that, go ahead. As far as I'm concerned I don't want to be associated with that sort of organization. Mind you, I wasn't even getting paid, but I had committed to my station. I had to be there. Lesson 6: You need to have thick skin. Don't get offended when someone tries to take advantage of you or "shine brighter". You can do better. Don't settle for these unprofessional events like I did. Hint: If there are grammar errors on every piece of promotional material, don't do it. Overall, it was a good experience to know how to manage things backstage and during what could possibly be the worst case scenario for an MC, but I would never do it again.
A couple of other things I noticed : Models, bring some of your own makeup. Chances are if you've never heard of  the makeup artist they might mess up your face, forcing you to fix it. Also, always make backup arrangements for yourself. Have a couple of water bottles and granola bars or something in your purse. Bring  essentials like flats, hairspray, extra clothes, cash, makeup etc. And most importantly no matter what kind of situation you're in, smile as much as possible. It always leaves a great impression. Hope you guys learned from my terrible experience yesterday! :P

PS: thank you to Prachi, Surya and all of my girls who were modeling for attempting to keep me sane!

Expect the Unexpected

I was planning on writing my second blog post this weekend and possibly posting it early next week, but today's been an epic day. A friend found the video he took of my bhangra performance at a private event with Malkit Singh from a couple of months ago (Thanks Josh!!). Also a couple of days ago I was pretty bummed out about not getting this one gig I was looking forward to hosting. A couple of my friends(Raja and Vishwas- you guys totally rock) told me about this mela in Delaware and one of them was on the committee so I said "hey, let's give it a shot.".

Apparently Raja was too late in telling the organizer and they had already hired someone else. Super upset, I started questioning why adults in the Indian community always tell the youth to be more involved in community events, but then never give us the chance to. I really want to make some money this summer to finance all of my summer shopping because I hate spending my dad's money for things that I don't absolutely need. Most events that I end up hosting I don't charge for because of the nature of the event but it never hurts to make a few dollars while doing what you love right? My friend Vishwas suggested that I contact the organizer of the mela to let him know what I do, for reference for future events. I didn't expect much out of it but decided to give it a shot anyways. After a bunch of  Facebook messages that seemed more like essays, I got the offer to host the event. Even though it's only a week before the event and I don't have much time to prepare I'm SO excited. 2 weekends in a row.
Now I KNOW I finally need to figure out how to put on some false eyelashes, get one of my suits fixed and spend hours planning a hairstyle and makeup look. Although I'll be once again missing a week of my show, I'm pre-recording it thanks to my awesome team at Radio Asia( yay for Shawn and Nimish!). For those of you who still want to jam to some bhangra on Bhangra Beats, you can still tune in to Radio Asia Saturday from 4-6pm via radioasiafm.com, the Radio Asia FM app for iPhones and Androids and via iHeart Radio. If any of you are in New Jersey this weekend, on Saturday June 15th I'll be hosting at the Asian American Fair at the Garden State Exhibition and Conference Center in Somerset NJ, so come cheer for me and say hi! AND If you're in the Delaware Area come through to the mela going on, I'll be hosting in the auditorium from 2-7pm at Glasgow High School! I hope I see some of you there. Here's the link for the fb event! https://www.facebook.com/events/314317298700528/?fref=ts
Moral of this little story: NEVER GIVE UP! Good things will happen when you least expect them! In this industry, anything is possible. Don't get bummed out if you don't get your chance right away, if it's the right opportunity, it will come to you! Just try your best and always put your best foot forward. Don't be afraid to branch out and try new things. TAKE THE EXTRA STEP. You never know where it will take you. And hey, when you're trying to make it big in the South Asian entertainment industry, every event, every gig really counts. Just be sure to choose the right ones!

Who is this Trisha Bhangra Arora girl?

Hey guys! Yes I know, it seems like I'm just another average brown girl trying to be cool and blog. I've basically decided to start blogging because as my teachers told me in elementary school, writing really helps you get your emotions out. There's so much going on in my life that I feel as though I need to just slow down and let everything sink in. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not the average punjabi girl. I'm a host and MC, I have my own radio show on Radio Asia in New Jersey called Bhangra Beats, I'm an intern for E3UK, an aspiring journalist and most importantly, I'm absolutely obsessed with Bhangra. My career path has given me some unusual struggles which I'm sure will get worse in the future, but with the help of my dad, (sometimes) my mom, my cousin Jasmine and my amazing friends, I think I can get by. This definitely isn't about the typical desi girl trying to be a doctor or lawyer. Don't get me wrong, those are amazing careers, but I gotta do whats right for me.
It kind of sucks to admit it but as a kid my best friends were my cousins, parents and my stuffed animals. I was the weird girl in school that no one wanted to be friends with. As the only child of South Asian decent in elementary school some things were hard to deal with like having kids younger than me call me "that Indian piece of shit" and things like that so I was very quiet and reserved. Of course my nerdy glasses, frizzy hair and terrible fashion sense didn't help me much either. No friends equaled zero confidence. Finally elementary school came to an end and my parents decided on something BIG. We were moving. Dad worked at TV Asia which was in the heart of the brownest New Jersey town I knew of, Edison so we decided to move closer. Later I found out the reason for the move was actually because of all of the "kaale" moving into the town that I had grown up in. Typical. Anyways, I was SUPER excited. This move meant a fresh start, a new beginning. As an awkward lonely 12 year old, that was all I could have asked for. But I have to admit I was totally freaking out about middle school.
When 7th grade started, once again I was alone. I didn't know how to socialize or make friends. My mom no longer helped me with homework and I did terribly in math class, and I could just never remember my locker combination. It was horrific. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, I met the "fob crew" as I liked to call them. You know, that group of popular desi girls who were mean to everyone? They were basically the equivalent of the goriyan in Mean Girls. At first I had thought I made a new group of friends, little did  I know these girls took no time in spreading rumors about me. Just what a new girl needs. I can easily say those few months were HELL. A Pre-teen girl's worst nightmare. In my spare time I started listening to more Punjabi music, learning Bhangra steps from YouTube videos and just teaching myself. It was the only way for me to escape the terrible life I had at school, and let's just say I've been obsessed ever since. Luckily I also found an amazing group of friends right before middle school was about to end and those girls are still my closest friends, no matter how distant we may get.
High School had finally begun and it was totally overwhelming, but it was the best time of my life. It was like a fresh start once again. I had finally convinced my dad to buy me my first hair straightener and I got contacts right before the 8th grade dance, so things were good. As much as I hated school, it was the best 4 years ever and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Of course some freedom would have been nice, but hey, I have Punjabi parents.
Now I've finished up my 2nd year of college and I'm looking forward to an amazing career in the future. My life is filled with ups and downs which I'm sure most of you can relate to. The reason I wrote about my childhood is I hope that some of you can relate to what I went through as a kid. As much as I didn't believe it while I was growing up, things DO get better and everyone has a bright future ahead of them. This blog is going to be all about what I'm going through as a girl in my 20's in the desi entertainment industry while trying to deal with the same issues or situations as any other brown person living abroad. I'll be posting about events I attend, my show, family, friends, and all that stuff. Hope you guys enjoy my posts :)