HowlRound: Ghadar Geet and the Unfinished Work of Revolution

Joti Singh in Ghadar Geet: Blood and Ink performed by Duniya Dance and Drum Company. Written by Joti Singh and Bhagwan Singh Gyanee. Artistic direction by Joti Singh. Choreography by Joti Singh, Stephanie Chen, Jessica Pfisterer, Angel Adedokun, Nadhi Thekkek, and Rasika Kumar. Lighting design by Stephanie Johnson. Production management by Charlie Boyd Brown. Music by Ishmeet Narula, Navi Mahey, Neil Prasad, and Bongo Sidibe. Photo by Rod Searcey.

A long strip of red cloth moved across the stage. It gathered, loosened, pulled against itself. For a moment it read as water, then thickened into blood, then hardened into a line that could divide. Just as the eye began to fix it in place, the cloth was lifted and wrapped into a Sikh turban—a pagri. The shift was small, yet it altered everything. What seemed fluid and abstract took on weight and solidified into form: dignity, identity, a symbol that has endured scrutiny, erasure, and defense across time.