Feel The Pride
Vikas Khanna
Chef Vikas Khanna was born on 14 November , 1971 in the city of Amritsar . He was born to Davinder and Bindu Khanna and is the second child. As a young child Vikas Khanna was unable to walk until 13 years of age . He was born with misaligned legs and feet . Due to this Vikas Khanna spent much of his time in the kitchen with his grand mother and started to learn the art of cooking . He started cooking and developing recipes at a very young age . When most kids of his age were busy playing outside in the fields , Vikas Khanna was cooking with passion . Soon he decided to open up a small business in the form of a small cholla bhatura vendor at Lawrence gardens banquet. It was all going smooth until his uncle questioned him that if this was what he wanted to do all his life and took him to a famous caffe and told him that this is the bench mark that he has to beat .Vikas Khanna started taking things seriously and applied to join Welcomgroup graduate school of hotel administration (WGSHA) . He graduated from WGSHA , Manipal . Post graduation he decided to go to the U.S and make the country proud. Before moving to the states he worked under many renowned chefs of Taj group of hotels , Oberoi and Leela group . Vikas Khanna struggled in the USA , adjusting to a new culture and coping with daily needs . But it was his love for food and determination which kept Vikas Khanna going even though there was a time when he stayed at a homeless people shelter due to lack of money . After roughly struggling for 9 years , Vikas Khanna opened his world class Indian restaurant in new York by the name of ‘Junoon’ . Within a year his restaurant shot to fame for the service and quality of food provided and was awarded the prestigious Michelin star by Michelin guide in 2012 . Vikas Khanna has hosted the likes of Richard Gere , Tyra Banks , Salman Rushdie , Harrison ford , Christina Hendrix , Martha Stewart and Andre Agassi at his world class restaurant . The restaurant has been widely written about by the new York press . Vikas Khanna rose to fame in the states and became the face representing Indian cuisine in the west . Khanna has even served the US president Barrack Obama in 2012 for a fundraiser at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York . On charity fronts , Vikas Khanna inaugurated , ‘ South Asian Kid’s Infinite Vision ‘ (SAKIV) which focuses on the world wide issues that demand urgent action such as tsunami relief , hurricanes and natural disaster relief funds . He has collaborated with other charitable organizations such as , ‘Save The Children’ and hosted many events world wide . Khanna became a household name in India when he took over Akshay Kumar as one of the judges in ‘Master Chef India’ (season 2) . Currently he is judging ‘Master Chef Junior Swaad Ke Ustaad’ alongside chef Kunal Kapoor and chef Jolly . His other media appearances include him featuring as a consultant chef on Gordon Ramsey tv show ‘Kitchen Nightmare’ on FOX . He also appeared as a judge on the two-part season finale on ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ . Apart from being a chef , a luxurious restaurant owner and appearing for several shows , chef Vikas Khanna has also written several books . Some of these books are , ‘Flavors First : An Indian Chef’s Culinary Journey’ , ‘My Great India Cookbook’ , ‘Everyone Can Cook’ , ‘Savor Mumbai’ , ‘Modern Indian Cooking’ and ‘Ayurveda – The Science of Food and Life’ . Chef Vikas Khanna also produced the film series , ‘Holy Kitchens’ . In the series he explores the food sharing traditions of different cultures . The first film in the series , ‘True Business’ , features Sikh community kitchens ( Langars) with the introduction by Deepak Chopra . The episode premiered at the Sikh international film festival . His second episode , ‘Karma to Nirvana’ , premiered at the New York Indian Film Festival . The third episode , ‘Moon of Eid’ , premiered at Harvard university . Vikas Khanna has been featured on the cover of Men’s Health India Magazine (October 2012) . He also featured in the Top Sexy and Successful list of ‘Anokhi Magazine’ in their 5th Anniversary Issue and as the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ by People Magazine in 2011 .
Harpal Singh Sokhi
Famous for hosting the show , ‘Turban Tadka’ , Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi became a name to reckon with in the hotel industry due to his fusion of Indian food with International cuisines . Harpal Singh Sokhi is a music lover and can speak fluently in English , Punjabi , Hindi , Bengali , Oriya and Telugu . He grew up with two elder sisters and a brother and was inspired by his parents in terms of cooking . His mother was a house wife and his dad was an Indian Railways worker . Harpal Singh Sokhi’s dad used to travel a lot during work and was culturally aware . He wanted his kids to know about the different cultures and the different foods of each culture . Harpal Singh Sokhi’s interest in culinary arts grew and it was in 1987 that he went on to complete his Catering Diploma from the Institute of Hotel Management in Bhubaneswar . He set out to be a chef and follow his passion . Harpal Singh Sokhi grew as a chef when he worked with an old time Ustad , Ustad Habib Pasha in Hyderabad . He learnt the intricacies of Hyderabadi cuisine from him and also Begum Mumtaz Khan who was an authority figure in Hyderabadi cuisine . Harpal Singh Sokhi claims that his love for cookery and food is mainly because it tells you a lot about other cultures and educates you about different types of food . After working in Hyderabad he went on to work for several famous restaurants and hotels . Some of them include , Vintage (Hyderabadi speciality restaurant) , Centaur Hotel (Juhu Beach) , The Oberoi (Bhubaneswar) , Vidarbha (Mumbai) and The Regent (Mumbai) . At hotel ,The Regent in Mumbai Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi had the privilege to develop the concepts for the restaurant and showcase his skills with a bigger responsibility . Currently Harpal Singh Sokhi has collaborated with Khana Khazana fame Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and together they share the dream of making Indian cuisine the number one in the world . He is hosting the much popular cookery show ‘Turban Tadka’ on Sanjeev Kapoor’s ‘Food Food’ Channel . He is also hosting the show ‘Sirf Tees Minute’ . Harpal Singh Sokhi also participated in the world gourmet summit in Beijing . He is also currently active in developing reedy to eat gourmet chutneys and pickles for the ‘Khazana’ brand . Concurrently he is developing various book contents for Sanjeev Kapoor . Harpal Singh Sokhi’s partnership with Sanjeev Kapoor dates back all the way to the first ever episode of ‘Khana Khazana’ in 1993 which Sokhi hosted himself .
Apache Indian
A pioneer Indian reggae artist who mixed both world of the Jamaican rap and Punjabi Bhangra in his songs and presented it to the global audience is Steven Kapur also known as Apache Indian . Apache Indian was born on 11 may 1967 in Handsworth , Birmingham , UK . There have been many Bhangra artists and artists of Indian origin from Birmingham as there is a huge south Asian as well as black community there . But Apache Indian was one of the first artists to hit the top of UK charts and make a major impact on the trends with his hits in the 90′s . Early in the days Birmingham had the reputation of producing reggae artist and bands such as , ‘Steel Pulse’ . By the early 1980′s Apache Indian was working with local sound systems and rocking dreadlocks . In 1990 he went on to release his first single , ‘Movie Over India’ , which at first was a white label release but was later picked up by England reggae distributors , ‘Jet Star’ . The single consisted of him mixing elements from reggae and Bhangra . The track was appreciated by audiences of both genres . In the same year Apache Indian won the ‘Best Newcomer British Reggae Industry’ Award . Two years later ‘Fe Real’ went on to hit the 33rd spot on UK charts . Then in 1993 he released many singles out of which ‘Chok There’ , ‘Don Raja’ , ‘Arranged Marriage’ , ‘Boom Shack-a-Lack’ and ‘Nuff Vibes’ were cult hits and brought him to the attention of major labels . Also the same year he came up with his first album ‘No Reservations’ in collaboration with his cousins Simon&Diamond which was recorded in Jamaica . Apache continued his career with more single releases in 1994 . ‘Music Relief’ and ‘Wrecxx Shop’ went on to consolidate the 12th and 26th position on UK charts respectively . 1995 saw Apache Indian come up with two singles , ‘Make Way for the Indian’ in which he collaborated with Tim Dog and ‘Regamuffin Girl’ which featured Frankie Paul . In 1997 Apache Indian released another album under Island Records titled , ‘Real People / Wild East’ . The album was his most experimental album and had more Indian elements than the other albums . He went on to release many more singles over the years such as , ‘Om Numah Shivaya’ (2005) , ‘The Israelites’ (2005) , ‘Ruff n Ready’ (2008) and many more . Apache Indian usually sings in Jamaican patois, and is known for his sharp social criticism . In his career he has collaborated with many international artists such as , ‘Blackstreet’ , ‘Boyz II Men’ , ‘UB40′ , ‘Sean Paul’ , ‘General Levy’ , ‘Shaggy’ , ‘A. R. Rahman’ and many others . Reggae singer ‘Sean Paul’ , who has topped the Billboard charts with many of his singles , toured the U.S. with Apache Indian . Apache Indian’s single , ‘Boomshackalack’ was featured in five different Hollywood movies, including ‘Dumb and Dumber’ and also was the soundtrack for ‘Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed’ . In terms of awards , Apache Indian has won three UK Asian Music Awards . The first one for being the ‘Best International Success’ (2003) , followed by ‘Outstanding Achievement’ (2005) and the last being for a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ (2011) . Apache Indian is not fluent but can speak a few words of Punjabi . Therefore he has collaborated with several Bhangra artists . Some of these collaborations were with artists such as Preet Harpal(2006,’Teriyan Adawaan’) , Aman Hayer(2007,’Ground Shaker2′) , Punjabi by Nature(2009,’Sohni Lagdi’) , Jazzy B(2005,’Romeo’) , Miss Pooja(2012,’Gabroo’) and Malkit Singh (2003,Midas Touch 2) .
Fateh
Over the last few year the Internet has seen an emergence of young Indian artist booming the desi hip hop scene . 2nd and 3rd generation Punjabis have been leading the charge with this change . All of them are making their own name and each of them have huge fan following . Out of these artist , Fateh Singh is one . Fateh Singh is a California native who currently resides in Toronto . He was born in Bangkok, Thailand and migrated into the states at a young age. He lived in the Bay Area (Hayward) until his move to Canada . Fateh discovered hip hop from his elder peers and one of the first few artists that he heard was Tupac and DMx . Fateh liked the rawness and the emotion presented by hip hop songs . His interest grew and today he has made a career out of it . Fateh Singh started out by producing high quality videos and releasing it on the net worldwide . He went on to release 3 mix tapes independently , ‘California State of Mind’ (2009)
, ‘One Verse Curse’ (2010) and ‘Mr Wall Street’ (2011) . All of them were big hits which helped Fateh acquire a fan base . Later on when he shifted to Toronto he slowly got to know of the desi hip hop scene over there and collaborated with the likes of Humble the Poet , Babbu, Noyz , B-Magic and Villa and formed the band by the name of ,’Zoo Babies’ . In 2012 they released their first track titled ‘Zoo Babies’ . Fateh was also picked up by Nirmal Sidhu for a song in the Punjabi film , ‘Pure Punjabi’ . Jassi Sidhu’s B21 have worked with Fateh on their comeback album 1-2-B . Amrinder gill also approached Fateh to do the title song, for the film ‘Taur Mitran di’ . Fateh is an exceptional dholi and is also proficient at tabla and harmonium. Bhangra is also something that Fateh excels at. He is an amazingly talented dancer and a great role model for the young dancers. Part of what makes Fateh such an intriguing individual is how he has utterly embraced his culture and religion. He continues his musical career with tracks and several collaborations lined up with Dr.Zeus.
Jus Reign
Jasmeet Singh aka Jus Reign was born and brought up in the city of Guelph, Ontario , Canada . Jus Reign can be considered as one of the pioneer Punjabi YouTube artist . He started filming himself with his friends making small comedy filled skits which he showed his family and other friends . When YouTube became famous in the mid 2000′s Jus Reign took the opportunity and put out his video on the network in 2009. He received an enormous response from the audience and they requested him to do even more videos . Soon Jus Reign gathered a humongous audience and fan following which made him decide to pursue making YouTube videos for a living. In his video Jus Reign often targets typical Punjabi stereotypes , family issues and issues that any young Punjabi brought up abroad would face . After starting out primarily making skits and comedy scenes on his channel , Jus Reign branched out into making vlogs( video blogging ) on his second channel . In his videos he also comments on certain political issues such as Barack Obama refusing to visit the Golden Temple on his trip to India . It is rumored that AkakaAmazing and Jus Reign have a beef with each other and don’t get along . Jus Reign keeps on collaborating with various YouTube artist especially those of Punjabi origin such as Babbu , Fateh , Rupan Bal , Villa and as well as with his younger brother Anmol . He says his aim of comedy is not only put a smile on the faces of many, but to do it in a positive manner that promotes his rich culture, heritage and people, portraying the uniqueness of the strong values and beliefs Punjabi people hold, and breaking down any negative stereotypes that might affect the community. Over 3 years of him making and producing various comedy skits and acts Jus Reign has managed to acquire over 103k Facebook fans and 53k twitter followers . His first channel on YouTube has attracted over 34.5 million overall views with 85 uploaded videos . Much of Jus Reign’s YouTube fame can be accredited to his videos being easy to relate to by the Punjabi youth globally .
Superwoman
YouTube over the years has produced a number of famous personalities . And with the rise of many Indian YouTube personalities its not surprising to see a Punjabi girl in the mix with over a million subscribers under her channel . Lilly Singh aka Superwoman was born in Scarborough, Ontario and lives with her parents. Like most Punjabi parents , Singh’s parents wanted their daughter to have a secure and successful job as an engineer or a doctor . But Superwoman chose to graduate with a Degree in Psychology . Her YouTube career all started when she was down and depressed . Superwoman realized that it was no point being depressed and decided to get out of depression by posting a video . She fondly remembers her first video of a spoken word piece she uploaded onto YouTube to show friends and family the performance. Little did she know the kind of response that she will be getting . Her video was shared by many . Her viewers demanded more videos and soon Superwoman started churning out positive and motivational video on her channel every Monday and Thursday . Today partly a comedian and a motivational speaker , she seeks to entertain and uplift people . Slowly as Superwoman gathered more subscribers and got invited to many schools and functions in the community to give speeches , her parents understood her success and tried to comprehend her fame . But she claims that her dad still thinks that this is not a full time career and that his daughter will go on to become a lawyer . Superwoman’s videos are currently not only being watched by Punjabis but by the global audience . The content of her videos revolves around her daily life and things that she notices . Some of the videos include her talking about things that annoy her while some portray typical desi problems that every young Punjabi experiences . Over the years Superwoman has collaborated with many artists such as Humble the Poet , AkakaAmazing , Zaid Ali and many others . Superwoman has also recently collaborated with Jassi Sidhu in the track ‘Hipshaker’ . The track has become a commercial hit and has exposed her to the Indian audience on a big scale . Superwoman now has produced over 200 videos on her YouTube channel and has a subscriber list consisting of more than 1.2 million subscribers . Apart from making videos she says she likes Bhangra and Punjabi music , being a Bhangra performer herself and Bollywood movies as well . Also she is a vegetarian and is a social activist as well. Superwoman uses social media as a means to spread her message of ‘One Love’ and also to raise awareness of the ignorance within the South Asian community.
Jassi Sidhu
Former lead singer of British Indian bhangra band B21 , Jassi sidhu , was born in , Birmingham, England on 13 December 1978 . From a young age Jassi Sidhu had the knack of music and used to perform in functions and various marriages . Also he follows the english premier league and is an avid Liverpool F.C. fan . To startup his career , he went on to collaborate with Bally Jagpal and others to form a band called B21 . Jassi Sidhu split from the group in 2002 , declaring that B21 was nothing more than a glorified mime act. After the split Sidhu went on to release solo albums in the UK and India and was a success in both territories . Jassi Sidhu released his first solo album ,’Reality Check’ in 2003 . This album gave Jassi Sidhu the opportunity to provide his own music which was quite different from the music produced by his former band B21 . Prior to release , Sidhu was an unfamiliar face in India . ‘Reality Check’ was commercially successful in both India and UK . it resulted in a wider fan base for Jassi Sidhu . ‘Reality Check’ was released as ‘Ishq Vich Jogi’ in India in June 2003 under the label, Nupur Audio . After making a solid debut with his first album , Jassi Sidhu released his second album , ‘Aashiqui’ in 2005 . He released his old songs recorded with B21. The prime purpose of releasing this album was to introduce his older hits to the Indian audience . The album was both critically and commercially acclaimed. Three tracks ,’Chandigarh’, ‘Din Raat’ and ‘Deor Da Viah’ were recorded with new effects, and music but resembling to the earlier versions . Jassi Sidhu, released ‘No Strings Attached’ in 2005, after the success of ‘Reality Check’ and ‘Aashiqui’ . This time Sidhu packed the album with 10 brand new songs .The album was a big commercial hit in India but was not well received in the international market . Thereafter , the album , ‘Ke Kehne’ was released in 2008 . Ten new songs and two remixes saw Sidhu team up with ‘MBE’ Malkit Singh . He also teamed up with producer and friend Rishi Rich as well as Aman Hayer , the man responsible for hits like ‘Tharti Hilde’ and ‘Sher Punjabi’. In April 2009, Jassi Sidhu released, ‘Jassi What Happened?’, an album comprising all his hits in live version recorded in the studio . His recent stint includes ‘Singing Between the Lines’ in 2011 , an album comprising of Sidhu and longtime collaborators Aman Hayer and Rishi Rich along with Honey Singh, Pama Sarai, Billy Sandher & PBN (Punjabi By Nature) . Also , in 2013 Jassi Sidhu came back with the single , ‘Hipshaker ft Superwoman’ . The track had traditional Punjabi lyrics with modern day electronic beats and a rap by Superwoman who is a Punjabi YouTube artist . The solo was a big hit world-wide .
Jeev Milkha Singh
Son of Olympic athlete , Milkha Singh ( Flying Sikh ) and former captain of the Indian women’s volleyball team , Nirmal Kaur , Jeev Milkha Singh is a famous Punjabi golfer . Jeev Milkha Singh was born in Chandigarh , Punjab on 15 December 1971 . He is one of the most successful Punjabi golfers in the history of the sport . Jeev Milkha Singh is one of the most highly ranked Indian golfers ever. Singh started golfing at a very young age and loved the sport . He won his first amateur tournament , American Express Championship in Delhi , at just 13 years of age . Jeev Milkha Singh thereafter worked on his skills and the learnt the sport inside-out . Concurrently he was studying like any other normal kid of his age . Later on Singh attended college in the united states at Abilene Christian University where he acquired his Degree in Business and International studies in 1996 . It was during his years in U.S that Jeev Milkha Singh got more involved with the sports and won several amateur level competitions . One of the major tournament which he won at amateur level was , NCAA Division II individual golf championship alongside Abilene Christian in 1993 . The same year Singh turned professional and won his first game at the 1993 Southern Oklahoma State Open . In the mid 1990s , he mainly played in Asia where he was a regular winner . Also since then he has been a regular feature in Asian PGA Tour and has bagged a number of major competitions . Some of his wind in the mid 1990s include Bukit Kaira Golf Championship (1993,Malaysia) , Shinhan Donghae Open ( 1994 ,South Korea ) , Northern Indian Open ( 1994 ) , Thailand PGA Championship ( 1995 ) , Mahindra BPGC Open ( 1995,India ) , Philippine Classic ( 1995 ) , Asian Matchplay Championship ( 1995 ) and Philip Morris Asia Cup ( 1996 ) . Prior to 1997 , Jeev Milkha Singh made 7 starts in European Tour and thereafter joined the tour the following year. In 1999 , Singh came 50th on the Order of Merit . This was the beginning of the peak of his career . He finished 2006 as the winner of the Asian Tour Order of Merit and capped his season with a pair of back to back wins in Japan to become the first Indian to make the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. In 2007 he became the first Indian golfer to participate in the Masters Tournament. He also received India’s fourth highest civil honor , ‘Padamshri’ , in 2007 . In August 2008, Singh achieved the highest ranking for an Indian in any major event at the 2008 PGA Championship in Oakland Hills, finishing at T9, making him arguably India’s best golfer ever. Jeev Milkha Singh is a regular in the European Tour and has participated in all the European tours from 1999 right up to the 2013 European Tour . Out of these he has been 3rd in 2 tournaments , runner up in 3 tournaments and winner in 4 tournaments . Apart from participating in European Tour championships , Singh has won several cups with teams including Dynasty Cup ( 2003 ,Representing Rest of Asia ) and Royal Trophy ( 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 ,representing Asia ) . He also made team appearances for World Cup ( 2008, 2009 representing India ) . With career earnings of well over €20 million , Jeev Milkha Singh is one of the most decorated Indian golfers ever . Currently he resides in Chandigarh with his wife , Kudarat and continues to play the grand sport .
Humble The Poet
Since the last few years there has been a surge of Indian artists on YouTube . Leading the charge in north america is an artist by the name of Kanwer Singh also known as Humble The Poet who has taken the Desi Hip-Hop scene with a storm . Desi hip-hop has been on the rise in recent years with a number of artist emerging through social media and record labels every now and then . But Humble The Poet has had a major impact in the scene and can be considered as one of the most influential artist present in the genre . His rhymes and poetry are infused with deep messages , thoughts , notions and concepts which we all are exposed to in our daily lives but have little clarity about them . Humble The Poet tries to create a discussion and brings about many analogies on board while expressing his views on Sikhi as well as the hardships that Punjabis have gone through in the past . He also shines light on the issues in the Punjabi culture which need to be addressed such as cancer and aids . As a kid , Kanwer singh grew up in Toronto and loved the environment it provided . Toronto was and still is a mix of cultures with different classes of society and generally a diverse city . Humble the poet had the ambition of becoming a fire fighter as a child . He pursued to become a fire fighter and went for the exams and physical evaluation tests but was rejected due to his appearance with a turban and beard . Kanwer Singh passed on that opportunity and instead became an elementary teacher . He taught grade 3 and 4 for quite a few years . While being an elementary school teacher Humble the poet started creating songs , mixing beats and using his written material from over the years . Humble released one of his songs , ‘Voice for the Voiceless’ , which spoke of the pain and suffering that Punjabis have experienced as a collective group . He put it up on YouTube and the song was well received by the audience world wide . Humble has released over a 100 odd tracks with the most popular ones being , ‘Be About it prod. Sikh Knowledge’ , ‘Voice for the Voiceless II’ , ‘Mohamed Said ft. Sikh Knowledge & Selena Dhillon’ , ‘Baagi Music prod. Sikh Knowledge’ , ‘MiddleRingPinky ft.Sikh Knowledge & Hoodini ‘ , ‘Life of an Immigrant’ , ‘Singh With Me ft. Sikh knowledge’ and ‘Punjabi Mc- Moorni(remix)’. Humble the poet says he used to study artists that he liked and used to observe them hard . He kept going and broadening his knowledge of words and music . He encourages anyone young and wanting to make a difference to keep going and listening to artists that you like .
AkakaAmazing
Over the years YouTube has become a platform whereby any individual can express his views , create original content or put up any kind of video that one wishes to .It has grown in popularity so much so that it is ranked at no.3 in the whole world . it has created opportunities and made many stars such as little Justin Bieber himself . Recently there has been a surge of Indian YouTube personalities who have risen to fame and have a huge fan base on the internet . One of these individuals who has done so goes by the name of AkakaAmazing on YouTube and is our very own Amandeep Kang . Amandeep Kang was born and raised in Toronto , Canada . On his YouTube channel , AkakaAmazing currently has over a 100,000 subscribers . But it all started when he was free at home during his school holidays . AkakaAmazing was working at Costco and found that he still had a significant part of the day where he was idle . So while just web surfing on YouTube he found artists like Humble the Poet . He found this to be pretty interesting and noticed this turbaned guy who was rapping hard and had many followers . Since there was already an Indian community presence on the net so he did a small video without expecting much out of it . Next morning there were over a thousand views on YouTube . He put up his second video and the response was even greater . Soon after putting out a bunch of videos AkakaAmazing was offered the partnership program by YouTube . He got certain incentives from YouTube and also met up with Humble the Poet . Soon he discovered other YouTube artist like iisuperwomanii and started creating good original content . AkakaAmazing got even more famous with his ‘Living In A Brown Fam’ series release . His recent stint includes ‘Living In A Brown Fam 3.75′ . He also has a clothing line of his own . AkakaAmazing says Punjabi families have a huge generation gap which needs to be filled . Also he agrees that young Punjabis abroad need to be taught and educated of where their roots actually lie . AkakaAmazing says he wants to tell people who we Punjabis are and what are we like . He also wants to go back to Punjab and help out the people there and educate them about making videos and creating globally apt content .