Small Fish, Big Pond

Chiang Mai is an unusual place for a Gurdwara: a northern Thai city with a large and transient expat population, a long way from any established Sikh diaspora. Jaranjit Singh arrived there and took on the role of head priest, leading prayers and Kirtan for a congregation that shifts and changes as the international population moves through. The film follows him through his daily life in the city and his role at the center of a small but genuine Sikh community.

What comes through clearly is Jaranjit's conviction that Kirtan — the devotional singing at the heart of Sikh worship — works from the heart outward, not the other way around. The technique and the tradition matter, but they're in service of something that can't be forced. Small Fish Big Pond is a quiet film about what it means to maintain a religious practice in an unlikely place, and about the kind of person who chooses a small community over a large one because the work feels more real.