Here is a short video compilation of all the supporters and sponsors that made the 2008 San Jose Mela possible.
A big thank you to everyone you supported this event and made it into one of the most memorable Punjabi Melas ever held. More updates will soon follow along with pictures from this past weekend’s event.
Please take a minute to view pictures from past San Jose Punjabi Melas. If you would like to purchase a picture, please email info@sanjosemela.com. The high resolution, watermark free picture will be emailed to you after payment is received. Thank you.
Please be kind to excuse the downtime for the Photos page. We are adding organizing and adding more photographs to the collection for your viewing pleasure.
San Jose Punjabi Mela will now begin posting pictures of our past and future. To get a sampling of what you can expect at this years San Jose Mela, please click the “Photos” tab on the top of the website or sidebar to view the photos from last year. You can view them as a slideshow or one by one. You can also click here to be directed to the Photos Page.
A big thank you to Lorna Dietz for helping create a strong presence on the popular social site Myspace. Please take a minute to view the valuable information on myspace, including more pictures and videos from past San Jose Mela. Click here.
The popular tournaments held at the San Jose Punjabi Mela will be back.
In the team, or transnational, style of kabaddi, two teams of seven occupy opposite halves of a field of 12.5m × 10m (roughly half the size of a basketball court). Each has five supplementary players held in reserve. The game is in 20-minute halves, with a five-minute half-time break during which the teams switch sides.
Teams take turns sending a “raider” to the opposite team’s half, where the goal is to tag or wrestle (”confine”) members of the opposite team before returning to the home half. Tagged members are “out” and sent off the field.
Meanwhile, defenders must form a chain, for example by linking hands; if the chain is broken, a member of the defending team is sent off. The goal of the defenders is to stop the raider returning to the home side before taking a breath. If the raider takes a breath before returning, the raider is sent off the field.
A player can also get out by going over a boundary line or part of the body touches the ground outside the boundary, except during a struggle with an opposing team member.
Each time a player is out the opposing team earns a point. A team scores a bonus of two points, called a Iona, if the entire opposing team is declared out. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins.
Matches are staged on age and weight. Six officials supervise a match: one referee, two umpires, a scorer and two assistant scorer. {Cited from Wikipedia}
During the festival, there will be many dance performances and sport tournaments held at different locations on the grounds. Below are pictures from past events. Come out and experience the Punjabi Culture.
