Babanian Kahanian Divas

Arpinder Kaur is a First Officer with American Airlines and currently flies Boeing 737. In her free time she enjoys volunteering at her children's middle, elementary, and Khalsa schools. Her son Jivat Singh is 10 years old and will be entering 5th grade in the fall! He is an aspiring Astronaut and enjoys playing tabla and piano. Together they will be reading, singing, and discussing a Kavita (poem) on nature.

Gurmeet Kaur is a children’s author, storyteller, and teacher of the Punjabi language. She has authored and published the book series ‘Fascinating Folktales of Punjab’, the first bilingual, illustrated book series that has created a new wave of interest in children’s literature on Punjab. A mother of two, Gurmeet switched from her twenty-five years long software engineering career to being a full-time author, publisher, and activist for Punjab and the Punjabi language. Gurmeet and her daughter Liv Kaur will be sharing a folktale from their book series.

Harliv Kaur is a Sojhi curriculum developer and teacher trainer with SikhRI. She is an elementary school teacher in San Antonio, TX. At SikhRI, she has been an active courseware developer for the Sojhi Elementary School curriculum and creates programming for families and resource materials for educators. Besides her work with SikhRI, she founded Kikli, a company that has developed fun and innovative tools for learning Panjabi. Kikli collaborated with Ujjaldidar Singh Memorial Foundation to create “Ik Chota Bacha & Other Sikh Nursery Rhymes.” Plexers are used at the beginning of a lesson. The purpose is to get the kids mind thinking about what today’s lesson could be. They are mind puzzles using both Gurmukhi and English.

Inni Kaur is the Creative Director at the Sikh Research Institute (SikhRI). She has served SikhRI in several capacities since 2010, including Chair of the Board, and most recently as CEO. As an accomplished representative of the Sikh community, she is a dedicated advocate for raising awareness of key interfaith and women’s issues. Her list of achievements includes addressing the U.S. Office of the Pentagon Chaplin several times, speaking at Yale, Fairfield, Columbia, and other Universities, as well as presenting to the Connecticut Board of Education and local police departments to further the dialogue regarding the Sikh identity.
Inni Kaur is an esteemed and passionate author, poet, and painter. Recently, she broadened her creative artistry into publishing a children’s book series, Journey with the Gurus, that is inspired by the life and teachings of Guru Nanak Sahib. Her other children’s books are Sakhi-Time with Nani ji, Thank-You, Vahiguru, Daddy’s Turban, and The Story of Us. She is passionately involved in trans-creating Sabad and the writings of Bhai Vir Singh. She is a prolific spiritual writer whose work is featured on Sikhchic.com and SikhRI.org.

Inni Kaur has been featured in documentaries related to the Sikh faith. She also worked on I See No Stranger: Early Sikh Art & Devotion exhibit with the Rubin Museum of Art, NY. In 2018 she worked on the exhibit Guru Gobind Sahib: Emperor-Prophet and in 2020 she co-curated the exhibit Guru Nanak Sahib: 1-Ness to 1-Identity.

Inni Kaur is an active member on the Board of the Interfaith Council of Southern Connecticut, an organization devoted to increasing interfaith understanding. She serves on the editorial board of Nishaan, a magazine celebrating Sikh heritage, and is also a board member for Munshi Bishan Singh Kochhar Foundation. In addition, she continues to extend her services and expertise on the Advisory Board of the Sikh Family Center and serves as a local Justice of the Peace.

Following a unique, transnational path, Inni Kaur was born in Kuwait, and lived in New Zealand, Australia, and Greece, before relocating to the United States. Today, she resides in Fairfield, Connecticut, USA, and continues to bring multifaceted perspectives to her work.

Jasmine Kaur has worked in the education field for over 20 years and holds degrees in elementary education, sociology, human development, and family studies. Jasmine served as the Director of Education with SikhRI for over 8 years. She was the coordinator and chief developer of the Sojhi - Gurmat and Panjabi Education Resource. She has developed training using the curriculum to increase classroom confidence and maximize the resources in content areas of Boli and Virsa, as well as classroom management and teaching techniques. To date, Jasmine has personally trained over 750 educators and administrators. Her passion is developing creative and interactive activities for all ages, especially young children. She currently continues to work with SikhRI developing and conducting Children’s workshops, webinars, and online courses as well as creating materials for Gurmat and Khalsa schools and Individual learning. Jasmine has published articles on the future of Sikh education and her own experiences growing up as a Sikh in Japan, India, Canada, and the US. She lives in Washington, DC area with her husband and twins who keep her very busy and remind her every day how blessed she is.
Come get introduced to different vocabulary in Gurbani about the world and dive into a Sabad by Guru Nanak Sahib on how he sees the world around him.

Preetinder Singh is a renowned musician, researcher and educator in the field of Sikh Music and a lead teacher at Raj Academy.
Raj Academy is at the forefront on Sikh Music education and revival since 1994, creating a global renaissance in the world of Sikh Music. Preetinder has travelled and performed globally alongside his teacher, Professor Surinder Singh, taking the Taus to global platforms, world stages and raising it’s voice to new heights.

Preetinder began his musical journey at the age of 12 with the Dilruba, as his passion for music grew stronger he developed an interest for history and research. He has since developed his musical abilities on to the Taus and dedicated his life to reviving the blessed instrument of Guru Gobind Singh.

Taus is the Persian word for Peacock, (pronounced ta’oos in Persian). This instrument was designed and played by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, who was not only a great warrior and leader but also a master musician. Taus was inspired by the peacock in its appearance and sound creating a strong enchanting atmosphere.

Rapinder Kaur is a Registered Psychotherapist, Art Therapist, public speaker, facilitator, clinical supervisor, board member and founder of Art as Therapy, a community based therapy practice. She has worked with children, teens, adults and parents for 23 years and is passionate about supporting her clients to tap into their innate creativity, believing they have what it takes to manage and overcome even the most difficult of life's challenges.
Participants will be lead through a fun & engaging art making activity using found nature objects and simple art materials to help them explore what both they and nature need to flourish and grow.

SikhRI connects people with the teachings of Sikhi and strengthens the bonds of the Sikh community around the world by offering courses and seminars in a variety of mediums.