Photo essay: happy birthday to Singhs Motorcycle Club UAE

The community club turns eight this week

Members of Singhs Motorcycle Club UAE during the group's eighth anniversary celebrations in Dubai. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National

A drummer playing a dhol at the anniversary party.

A young member of the Sikh community gets his turban prepared for the party.

The event was also the sixth anniversary of Bhangra Crew Dubai (Folk Dance School).

Children received certificates and awards during the anniversary event.

A cake to mark the occasion.

The event was held at Al Khoory Sky Garden Hotel in Dubai.

Participants perform Bhangra, a traditional folk dance from the Punjab region in India.

Amandeep Singh, founder of Bhangra Crew Dubai, centre, with members of the Sikh community performing Bhangra.

Participants perform Giddha, a popular women's folk dance in the Punjab region.

Gurnam Singh, founder of Singhs Motorcycle Club UAE, second from right, honouring Amandeep Singh, founder of Bhangra Crew Dubai, centre, and other members of the school.

Members of Singhs Motorcycle Club UAE dancing during the anniversary party.

Members of the motorcycle club.

Singhs Motorcycle Club UAE paid tribute to the late Indian singer Sidhu Moose Wala.

Last year Sidhu Moose Wala filmed one of his music videos with Singhs Motorcycle Club UAE in Dubai.

Gurnam Singh, founder of Singhs Motorcycle Club UAE, addresses the anniversary gathering.

Member of the club with Virasat Sandhu, centre, a Punjabi singer and guest of honour at the event.

A dancer getting ready for the event.

Brightly coloured turbans were the order of the day at the celebrations.

Singhs Motorcycle Club UAE has been revving loud and proud for the Sikh community in Dubai for the past eight years, and this week the group had a big bash to celebrate the anniversary.

Marking the occasion alongside Bhangra Crew, a traditional dance school that turned six years old this week, members held an event at Al Khoory Sky Garden Hotel.

Gurnam Singh, founder of the UAE chapter of the motorcycle club, said the event was "fantastic".

"The Bhangra Crew are our brothers, they're from the same roots. We've done a number of projects together over the past six years, exploring and sharing the same culture and traditions from the Punjab and India."

The soiree didn't only mark the dual anniversaries, either, as Singhs MC UAE also launched its elite club, and invited people to join the club who don't ride bikes but want to do something for the community.

"Anybody can join who is looking forward to doing something for the community, the youngsters and the next generation, to promote the culture, traditions and connect people," Gurnam Singh says.

The legacy of Singhs MC UAE, the members of which like to call themselves the "Turbanators", dates back to 2014, when Gurnam Singh, a long-term Dubai resident and architect, co-founded the club with Tanuj Singh.

"During that period we have done a number of projects that have been extraordinary. So many special rides for the nation, so many parades," he says, citing events for the Year of Tolerance, Year of Zayed and breast cancer awareness.

Most recently, the group participated in an anti-drug rally alongside the Dubai Police this month, and took part in the inaugural Kandura Rally.

At the event, the guest of honour was Virasat Sandhu, a Punjabi singer and lyricist, who also "promotes the culture of the Punjab and Sikh history", Gurnam Singh says.

Bhangra Crew performed wonderfully on stage, Gurnam Singh says. The school teaches traditional Indian dance to youngsters, "diverting their attention from gadgets and devices and bringing them on to the floor to exercise and be physically fit for one hour on weekends", he says.

Women also performed the Punjabi folk dance of giddha at the event.

Another highlight of the event was when the community paid tribute to late Indian singer Sindhu Moose Wala, who was killed while he was driving near his home in Moosewala village in Mansa district of northern Punjab on May 29.

When Moose Wala visited the UAE last year to shoot his music video GOAT, Singhs MC UAE were invited to be part of the video.

"We paid tribute and everyone was standing, from children to the elderly."

Gurnam is also celebrating the club's latest achievement, which is setting up a chapter in Sydney, Australia called Singhs Social Motorcycle Club, which currently has 28 members.

The latest ride they took part in was travelling 350 kilometres to a war memorial to pay tribute to Sikh soldiers who fought in the Second World War.

"Our next vision is our northern India chapter," Gurnam Singh says. While that chapter already exists, there are plans to expand its reach.

Gurnam Singh says he couldn't have done any of it without the community in the UAE.

"We thank the community that gives us so much love, our fans who get involved on social media, the government of the UAE and the authorities who give us freedom to ride in a turban and promote our culture and explore the vision of brotherhood.

"We look forward to taking this message further, beyond the UAE."