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World's oldest Vancouver Piped Band enthralled GNDU students on Baisakhi eve

April 13, 2019 08:19 PM

AMRITSAR: A spell-bound live performance of about an hour by the world's oldest non- Military Vancouver Pipe Band was witnessed by a large gathering of Guru Nanak Dev University. Students and people of the city felt proud to be a part of this historic event. The band performed traditional tunes of Canada and some religious and folk tunes of Punjab in the jam-packed Hockey stadium of the University here today.

Prof. Dr. Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor presided over this event. He said that the objective of this program was to make the students aware about the culture of other Countries and also mark the remembrance of 100 years of Jalliahwala Bagh massacre.  He said that more such programmes will be organized in the future.

Prof. Dr. Sarabjot Singh Behl, Dean of Academic Affairs and  Coordinator of this event welcomed the Band members and other dignitaries. He also introduced the Band and detailed about the achievements of the University. He said that every year this Vancouver Police Pipe Band is known for giving a strong live performance at Baisakhi celebration in Canada. He also thanked Prof.  Sandhu for encouraging such activities at Campus. The Band was lead by Chief Constable Adam Palmer of Vancouver Police department. This 34 membered Band was also accompanied by Deputy Chief Constable Steve Rai, M.O.M and Barj ( Barjinder) S Dhahan, member, Vancouver Police Board from Canada who have their birth roots in Punjab.             

 informed the gathering that for the first time ever, the band incorporated Dhol in its the performance here today and has ensured to continue this practice in its future performances to strength the valour of Punjabi culture globally.

Chief Constable Palmer said that the Vancouver Police Pipe Band has spent the last 100 years entertaining people around the globe, while at the same time acting as ambassadors for their country, province and city as the world 's oldest, continuous serving police pipe band and official band of the city of Vancouver. In January 2014, the Mayor awarded Vancouver's highest honor to the men and women of the band-the freedom of the City Award.

Deputy Chief shared his emotional contact with Punjab and highlighted the diverse ethnicity in the band where 7% of its members are Punjabi; just as 8% of the population in Canada, today is from India. To further strength the Indo-Canadian relations, the VPPB has taken up this cultural tour of India from 8th April to 18th April. Before coming to the University campus for their performance today, the band visited Harminder Sahib to pay obedience.

The officials from the Vancouver Police Department and the members of the Band were also honored by Prof. Sandhu on behalf of the university. Prof. Hardeep Singh, dean student welfare proposed a formal vote of thanks to the dignitaries and the august gathering. The programme was successfully conducted by Amrit Kaur, an MPhil student of the university. After the performance, the audience utilized the opportunity to get photos and selfies clicked with the guests and the band. Dr. Karanjeet S Kahlon, Registrar, S. Kulwinder Singh Dhahan, General Secretary, Guru Nanak Mission and Educational trust, Dr. H.S. Bhatia, Dr. Geeta Hundal, Harpreet Singh, president Student Council and others were present. After Amritsar visit, the Band will also perform at many other places in India for the rest of their tour to introduce the masses with Vancouver's rich legacy and heritage.

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