Teeyan festival held for Northern Nevada Sikh women in Carson City

Northern Nevada Sikh women gathered Saturday for their traditional Teeyan festival to enjoy food, song and dancing at the Carson City home of Malkiat S. Dhami.

Dhami, an owner of area hotels, said the festival is similar to Teeyan festivals held by the Sikh community in India.

It is celebrated there between July 16 and Aug. 15 by and for married ladies of the community. The large SIKH contingent in Northern Nevada has been doing the same for the last five years in Reno and this year in Carson City.

Dressed in colorful finery and wearing ornamentation, some 100 ladies from the capital city, Reno, Fernley, Dayton, Minden and Lake Tahoe enjoyed their culture with various activities. Children joined in or played on a backyard trampoline.

Dhami is founder and president of the Reno Sikh temple, the owner of four Northern Nevada Holiday Inn Express & Suites, and serves on the Carson City planning commission.