About this event
Girmitiya Day is a reflection of the lived experiences and history of indentured labourers in Fiji. Often this history centres on the trauma of crossing “kala pani” and the hardships of girmit. This year we will reclaim the day to honour and remember this history. We have envisioned today to focus on diasporic Indo-Fijians searching for our authentic selves through the stories and oral traditions of our ancestors.
Speakers and Presenters
Milan Singh
Milan Singh (she/her) is a curator, podcaster, and community organizer. Her work focuses on issues of race, gender, and justice that have impacted the South Asian diaspora in British Columbia and Canada. Milan is passionate about community histories and sharing untold narratives of early migration. Milan’s parents are from Tavua, Fiji with family ties to Ba and Labasa. Milan has a PhD in Communication Studies from Simon Fraser University.
Angelene Prakash
Angelene is a community engager and organizer. She is the founder and co-host of No Ties 1879 podcast where she and her brother, Ashneil, discuss issues related to social justice. Angelene is also a menstrual equity activist.
Cassius Khan
The globally renowned Cassius Khan is a Canadian musician who plays the Tabla and simultaneously sings classical Ghazal and Thumri (poetry in Urdu and Hindi) and is the only professional musician in the world who presents his art in this way. A recipient of the 2005 Salute to Exellence Award, a 2008 Juno Award nomination, a 2011 Western Canadian Music Award nomination and a 2019 Bernie Legge Artist of the Year Award recipient, Khan's performance will showcase the difficulty of dividing his brain into two facets of his mastery- singing Ghazal in classical form and playing complex rhythmical patterns on his tabla.
Amika Kushwala
The globally renowned Amika Kushwaha is a renowned Canadian Kathak/Harmonium exponent who has learned the nuances of the Lucknow Gharana ( school) of Kathak dance. Her style is one of grace, beauty, fluidity of movement, as well as immense strength and stamina. In her performances Amika skillfully showcases her prowess on mathematically difficult compositions, her strong footwork patterns coupled with her graceful beauty in dance, thus creating her trademark “Poetry In Motion.”
Rizwaan Abbas
Rizwaan is the Director of the Indo-Fijian Cultural Society of Canada and Archaeologist with the Semiahmoo First Nation. He is also a published author, curator, and cultural historian. It is his goal to preserve, and raise the profile of the Indo-Fijian Culture both at home and abroad.
Sharin F. Ali
Sharin is a biracial poet and multimedia artist. Born to an Indo-Fijian father and European- Canadian mother, her unique upbringing heavily influences her work. She currently resides in Surrey, B.C. You can follow her on Instagram @sharinwrites for updates.
Sam Thiara
Sam is a professional who has created a personal journey as a speaker, storyteller, writer, educator, coach, entrepreneur, problem solver and community activator. His goal is to help individuals realize their greatness. Presently, he teaches at the Beedie School of business and is also the Founder and Chief Motivating Officer at Ignite the Dream Coaching and Consulting. He has become an expert in career coaching with over 5,000 conversations and an engaging conference speaker. He has authored two books, and shared at two different TEDx conferences.
His tagline - "Everyone’s life is an autobiography…make yours worth reading"
Arif 'Alite' Ali
Alite is a hip hop artist that creates music about love, social, economic and political issues that affect people across the world. This journey through music has led Alite to search for the truth of his identity, culture, and ancestry. Using hip hop and other artistic mediums Alite wants to empower and unite people across the diaspora and highlight how incredible we are.