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What we’re about

This group is about members sharing and learning the history, philosophy, culture & language of the Punjab.

Join us to explore this part of the world through its through food, folklore, culture, philosophy, literature & visual heritage that spans many millenia.

The defined geographic extent of the Punjab has varied over time.  The Punjab of the Indus Valley civilisation, the Gandharan period, the Kushan Empire, the Gupta Empire, the Mughal times (the sixteenth century) was not the same as the Punjab of the Lahore Empire of Ranjit Singh and was not the same as the reshaped version of the British period in the late nineteenth century. After 1947, there were two "Punjabs", one in India and another in Pakistan. On the Indian side, there have been three "Punjabs": the one carved out in 1947, gave rise to another form in 1956 and a third form in 1966.  Its also probably remarkable for having 4 scripts in use for a single language!  The language itself has many dialects reflecting a complex set of influences over time.

However, food, folklore, culture, philosophy, spoken language and to some extent literature & visual heritage have remained unifying forces, though the depth of history and its complexity remains poorly understood; even by those who trace roots to it.