IndiaPost.com - Lehmber Hussainpuri at Bruin Bhangra 2007

India Post News Service

LONG BEACH, CA: It was a first time experience for a lot of people at Bruin Bhangra. Not only did first time VIP guest and talented vocalist Lehmber Hussainpuri perform in Southern California, but also the first time a few teams made it into Bruin Bhangra. Just like in former years, the hype of Bhangra in Long Beach grew fans counting down the days.

The ninth annual Bruin Bhangra competition sold more than 3,000 seats. Some dying to see the teams and some dying to see Lehmber. The 'biggest and baddest' Bhangra competition on the West Coast. "This is our first time performance at Bruin Bhangra. It's really a privilege considering it is the most respected competition in Los Angeles," Amrik Sahni from CU^2 said,

"It's not only my first time performing, but our team's first time performing together." Wearing his "blue and peach" Bhangra costume, Sahni explained CU^2's members are half Cornell Bhangra members (red) and half Columbia Bhangra members (blue). "We are a collaboration of Cornell and Columbia. We put a lot of hard work into making this collaboration possible considering that both teams live four hours away from one another.

Our moves are something extremely different to what people out here in California are used to because we take moves that are traditional and fuse them with moves that are modern," said Sahni. He was right, the team added hip-hop and 16-beat moves to their dance routine, making it something different to what audiences in So. California are used to.

Punjabi Soormay was another team that added a different angle to their routine. Paying tribute to Surjit Bindrakhia, Punjabi Soormay member Sahdev Singh, 15, explained how it felt to be one of the youngest performers competing. "It is an honor to be performing here at one of the best competitions with my brothers. I believe it is important for kids in my generation to perform Bhangra because it preserves our culture," Singh said. Hollywood Harr, Canada's funniest Punjabi comedian, and Dan Nanian, the next top Asian comedian, were also first time hosts of Bruin.

A good choice for breaking competition performances, the duo also exercised their unique jokes to make the audience laugh. But it wasn't the uniqueness that made the judges score high. The teams with a variety of live and recorded music and a message seemed to take the reigns for first, second, and third place. Lethal Bhangra Crew took first with their simple and straightforward routine. Second place went to the UBC girls whose message was 'Real Girls do Bhangra'.

Third place went to the flawless live performance of United Bhangra. But the highlight of the show was the man with a smile on his face. Lehmber Hussianpuri, dressed in stunning pink took the stage. His rich voice filled the auditorium with such presence that people took to the isles dancing to his upbeat and meaningful music.

"I am here today, performing for the first time in Southern California because of the kids. I was once a kid, and I feel it is important for us to encourage kids to take part in their culture," said Lehmber in an exclusive pre-performance interview. Lehmber wanted his first performance to be something tied to children.

He had several children perform with him onstage as he sang various favorite songs. "My favorite song to perform is Das Ja," Lehmber said with a smile, "It makes me happy just as much as the crowd." Just like Lehmber said, the crowd went wild when he sang Das Ja. For his first time performing in So. Cal, Lehmber defiantly got the thumbs up from his fans.

For his message to the Bruin Bhangra attendees and participants, Lehmber said, "Don't forget about your culture and go into good fields of study. If you follow both, you will be set. Keep up the Bhangra and that will keep your spirits high." Lehmber Hussainpuri's tour will be starting next month. His next album will be releasing sometime in October. As for Bruin Bhangra, there will be the 10th annual Bruin Bhangra next year, and who knows what kind of surprises Chak De Phatte Inc from UCLA will have in store.