Dastaar King

For a long time now I have been tying decades old Dastars, all of them are faded. I decided to get a few new ones from a good store. I was getting tired of waiting for someone to bring one from Punjab. While on one of our evening walks out of nowhere Bhai Jagjeet Singh mentioned about Punjab Cloth House, the new mega warehouse the opened up on 80th avenue in Surrey and how they have the best cloth anywhere and the lowest prices

Now normally we don’t buy clothing from here, but get it directly from the homeland whenever someone comes over. We thought that the cloth sold here was somehow inferior, even though the higher quality cloth that mills in Punjab manufacture is sold to outside international markets like Surrey.

He had been reminding me for a long time that they have a huge sale. Time passed. So on November 24th 2007 we decided to head out and see if they had any decent cloth for my dastaar.

As soon as I saw the huge building I knew that this was not just any other Punjabi cloth store but someone far beyond. The place was huge and I had a good feeling that we would not be disappointed.

We went in and lot out a collective WOW at the amount of area they had for the store.

After the initial shock wore off we moved in and walked around. There was bhangra pumping out from the overheard mini-system speaker tied to the rafters with a yellow rope. It seemed like we were transported to Punjab.

On one side there was free cloth and on the other was the ‘readymade’ suits, jackets, jewelry and stiff like that. We went into the khulla kapra section and we were drawn to a man behind the counter cutting cloth.

We approached him and he said fateh and asked what we wanted. I told him that we were looking for some cloth for dastaars. He pointed to a shelf to his right:

As soon as he was done he came over and we asked him what kind of cloth we should get for dastaars, he recommended that we get rubia 2X2(I think that’s what it was). I asked him what kind I was wearing he said that it was the same stuff we were holding.

After that he went for a tea break. He came back a short while later and Jagjeet Singh said that we liked to interview him. He was taken aback but agreed without any hesitation. We talked like we had known each other for many years. He was super-friendly and knew his kapra.

I asked him what his name was; he said he was Lachman Singh. We were very surprised to know that he sells on average over 100 dastaars a day. He further said that the most popular color that people buy is navy blue. And he told us that a good number of youth who come into sikhi buy dastaars from him for the first time and he gives them good wishes and encouragement for starting to tie a dastaar.

He said the kapra they sell comes from all over the world but the cloth for dastaars that we got was made at the famous Phagwara mill in district Jullandher. He told us of the number of different kinds of cloth and the benefits of each and which one is suitable for what kind of dastars.

If you need any kind of kapra you should visit Punajb Cloth House and see baba Lachman Singh; all your clothing needs will be met there and all questions about cloth will be answered. Punjab Cloth House is located on the northern side of 80th avenue at 127th Street, you won’t miss it...

Culture Crawl: Part 2

Culture Crawl: This Weekend!

This evening Hari Singh, Jagjeet Singh and I went to one of the most worthwhile events in Vancouver. It’s called the Culture Crawl. The East Side Culture Crawl opened tonight in Vancouver and will go on throughout this weekend. I highly recommend that you take time out and see the great artists out there.

We visited three venues where there were more than 15 artists in each building. I never imagined the art movement was so rich and diverse right here in Vancouver. You will be amazed at the amount of diversity and talent there is out here in our very own city.

Artists are among the best souls out there. Tonight we met some really great people and had the chance to see their artwork. Seeing all the great demos has inspired me to once agian take up art in the free time that i don't have right now.

This event is free and you should check it out tomorrow or SUnday.

"Purchase something that strikes your fancy, commission something to be uniquely yours, or just browse through the studios and meet the artists, learning about their specific works of art, materials and tools, approaches and techniques. This is a once a year opportunity to meet many diversely talented artists and view their creations in the studios where they work. Be part of this exciting event, which brings people from all over the Lower Mainland, and share in the imaginations that enrich our neighbourhood and lives."

Jagjeet Singh liked a T-shirt at Sidual so much that he was desperate to get one. However they did not carry his size; fortunately for him Steph made a white on white on an organic cotton shirt on the spot. He got it autographed too!

Surrey Babbai

One of the best things about living in Surrey is numerous Babbai(seniors) roaming the streets. Better still is greeting them and totally making their day. The majority greet you right back and their face lights up. This post is dedicated to them. No one else can experience this in the west, the close proximity isn't as much as it is in my pind Surrey.

Whenever I go for a walk or walk to and from Kwantlen(University College) it's a given that I'll see a few of them walking their grandkids or pushing a stroller or just merrily walking with an umbrella in hand no matter rain or shine.

Now many people have a negative view of all babbai as being drunk all the time and just sitting there on park benches playing cards. I think that's the case with a small minority who are pushed into these circumstances. From what I've heard and seen most babbai have a rotten experience at home and so they venture outside and find similar company and lessen their collective 'dukh.'
This pauree From Bahi Gurdass Jee comes to mind:
ਅਮਲੀਰਚਨਅਮਲੀਆਂਸੋਫੀਸੋਫੀਮੇਲਕਰੰਦੇ॥
ਜੂਆਰੀਜੂਆਰੀਆਂਵੇਕਰਮੀਵੇਕਰਮਰਚੰਦੇ॥
ਚੋਰਾਂਚੋਰਾਂਪਿਰਹੜੀਠਗਠਗਮਿਲਦੇਸਠਗੰਦੇ॥
ਮਸਕਰਿਆਂਮਿਲਮਸਕਰੇਚੁਗਲਾਂਚੁਗਲਉਮਾਹਮਿਲੰਦੇ॥
ਮਨਤਾਰੂਮਨਤਾਰੂਆਂਤਾਰੂਤਾਰੂਤਾਰਤਰੰਦੇ॥
ਦੁਖਿਆਰੇਦੁਖਿਆਰਿਆਂਮਿਲਮਿਲਅਪਣੇਦੁਖਰੁਵੰਦੇ॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਗੁਰਸਿਖਵਸੰਦੇ॥੪॥

Over this summer I have gotten to know how bright most of them really are. It's surprising how much general knowledge these folks possess on all matters of life. You just have to get a conversation started.... These guys are on top of everything that happens around town, around the province, country, world and beyond. Its amazing the great number of them can fluently speak English have a crazy British like accent. I would guess it's because they served in the Indian Army, Air Force, taught school etc.

One time in 2002 I was starting work the first day and had to take a bus to get there. I was almost lost. Seeing my confused look two of them came to me told me what the best way to get to Richmond from 22nd Street Station would be and which bus to take. Most of the time I've taken a bus to places outside of Surrey, I've been amazed at how far these guys can go just with the help of the bus pass. More and more of them can be seen in the Downtown core whenever I'm there. Their navigational skills are unparalleled.

One of the most admirable things about them is that they don't hesitate to do what they deem right and stick up for it. One example is asking for rides at the end of a gurdvara program where they come up to you know ask you which way you are headed. I would never have the guts to ask someone who is a complete stranger....

Even the most dessiest of Babbai can get around easily. I have never encountered a baba who was lost and needed any direction.

It would be unfair to mention some of the negative aspects of the baba-life too. There are the ones who drink and urinate in public places. A few days ago there was this guy in his 60s singing a Jamla Jutt song and pointing at cars passing by. THere was the one who passes out across the street and was picked up by an ambulance. This week still one was sighted walking wildly and hit a pole while almost getting killed as he stumbled across to oncoming traffic.

I don't see how things could be different even if everyone tried to solve this. Negative aspects of the baaba life are quite old and old things turn into habits and habits never die. As Bhai Gurdass Jee has said, one naturally finds the company of the same without any problem. I think things are looking up even with the not so good public exhibits.

One thing you can do is to include the Babbai of Surrey in ardass and ask guru sahib to give them good-mutt and realize that death is coming nearer and nearer.... and that its still not too late to change.

Kirtan in Dreams

One of the best things ever is to experience a kirtan dream. What is a kirtan dream? Well it’s a dream where while asleep there is kirtan going on and you dream a dream and you hear kirtan in the background within the contents of the dream. Your dream follows kirtan. I myself listen to kirtan while asleep and I have recommended it to anyone I know as well. From having listened to kirtan at night, all night for over 14 years I can tell you that my dreams have been the very best someone can dream and I have never had a scary dream all this time.

As usual I had a really good dream last night. It was about my workplace moving to Langley and getting a really big warehouse with many big machines. Nearby there were other mega warehouses and a huge shopping mall.

So I was there at work at the end of the week and working night shift during a break I went to one of the windows and saw that there were kids in the opposite set of warehouses. I went out to my car and get a pair of roller-skates out and went to the business park adjacent to ours. It was nighttime and there wasn’t anyone about who I would have to report to.

So anyway I go over to where the kids were and when I get there I didn’t see anyone. I went to the back of the buildings and saw that there was a big opening to one of the buildings and when I went in all the kids were there skating, a group of about 5-6. The whole warehouse had a huge tubular track lined with white green and blue tiles with ridges and bumps like it was made just for skating.

So this may sound like I’m a gorafied Punjabi but for the longest time I taught these kids how to do new tricks. I then looked outside and it turned out that there was light coming from the windows and it was way late to go home.

As I went outside and told the kids I had to go home now, through the sidewalk of the building I made my way and one little guy tugs at my shirt and asked me what they should be doing. I told them that its very simple, they should Jaap naam. And like a dam bursting I could hear all the kids do Vaheguru Vaheguru Vaheguru in unison so loud that I thought the neighbors would wake up.

I kept going and the one kid who asked what they should be doing was still with me and i asked him if I’ve seen him before and he said yes he did and that I taught him Punjabi at Khalsa School during the summer, it turned out that it was a fact too I recognized him instantly at that.

When I woke up I was listening to the Bhai Prabhjot Singh Jee Track from Prince George Raensbayee 2005 with the Vaheguru dhunni still going.

Listening to Kirtan during the night pays. One dream too good.

A Classic Anecdote

Pressure of atmosphere at sea level : 76 centimeter of mercury column

This anecdote may or may not be authentic (I don't know where it comes from) but it's very amusing and interesting

Some time ago I received a call from a colleague, who asked if I would be the referee on the grading of an examination question. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student claimed he should receive a perfect score and would if the system were not set up against the student. The instructor and the student agreed to an impartial arbiter, and I was selected.

I went to my colleague's office and read the examination question: "Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer." The student had answered: "Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the building."

I pointed out that the student really had a strong case for full credit since he had really answered the question completely and correctly. On the other hand, if full credit were given, it could well contribute to a high grade in his physics course. A high grade is supposed to certify competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm this. I suggested that the student have another try at answering the question. I was not surprised that my colleague agreed, but I was surprised when the student did.

I gave the student six minutes to answer the question with the warning that the answer should show some knowledge of physics. At the end of five minutes, he had not written anything. I asked if he wished to give up, but he said no. He had many answers to this problem; he was just thinking of the best one. I excused myself for interrupting him and asked him to please go on. In the next minute, he dashed off his answer which read: "Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, using the formula x =0.5 * a * t2, calculate the height of the building." At this point, I asked my colleague if he would give up. He conceded, and gave the student almost full credit.
In leaving my colleague's office, I recalled that the student had said that he had other answers to the problem, so I asked him what they were.

"Well," said the student. "there are many ways of getting the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer. For example , you could take the barometer out on a sunny day and measure the height of the barometer, the length of its shadow, and the length of the shadow of the building, and by the use of simple proportion, determine the height of the building."
"Fine," I said, "and others?"

"Yes," said the student. “There is a very basic measurement method you will like. In this method, you take the barometer and begin to walk up the stairs. As you climb the stairs, you mark off the length of the barometer along the wall. You then count the number of marks, and this will give you the height of the building in barometer units.”
"A very direct method."

"Of course, if you want a more sophisticated method, you can tie the barometer to the end of a string, swing it as a pendulum, and determine the value of g at the street level and at the top of the building. From the difference between the two values of g, the height of the building, in principle, can be calculated. On this same tack, you could take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to just above the street, and then swing it as a pendulum. You could then calculate the height of the building by the period of the precession".
"Finally," he concluded, "there are many other ways of solving the problem. Probably the best is to take the barometer to the basement and knock on the superintendent's door. When the superintendent answers, you speak to him as follows: 'Mr. Superintendent, here is a fine barometer. If you will tell me the height of the building, I will give you this barometer.'"
At this point, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to teach him how to think.

The student was Neils Bohr and the arbiter Rutherford...

I'll be

I’ve wanted to address this issue for a long time but just didnt have the chance or time to do so earlier. When i was little I always wanted to become a doctor but didnt know which kind. The main reason was that a doctor can administer injections, and that used to freak me out and when that happened I would just put myself into the shoes of Dr Davinder Singh Jee. Fun times!

But really do we need to have the lawyer doctor engineer thing pushed on top of us... ok so its not pushed as hard as it was 10 years ago... yet when you ask typical Punjabi parents what do you want your kid to become, "ਬੱਸ ਸਰਦਾਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਨੂੰ ਡਕਟਰ ਤਾਂ ਬਣਾ ਈ ਦੇਣਾ ਆ"

ਅੱਛਾ ਜੀ!!??!? yeah right!!>>???? then if not, what??:"ਪਰ ਜੇ ਰੱਬ ਨਾ ਕਰੇ ਰਹਿ ਰੂਹ ਜਾਏ ਤਾਂ ਵਕੀਲ ਜਾਂ ਇਨਜੀਨੀਅਰ ਬਣ ਈ ਜਾਊ"so if their kid can’t become a doctor then our putt will become an engineer or lawyer.... how many times have i heard that.

I dont think anyones ever heard of a punjabi parent say that they want their kid to decide when they want to do, even though they know what will really happen. Why not just make it that much easier for both parties.

What would the world be like without all the wonderful pieces of art and literature left to us by the greats in the middle ages till today.

Why? Well, my theory is two fold: because most people(jutts) living in a typical village had life very hard and in order to satisfy that psychological burden placed upon themselves by their emigration to Canada. part two is weather or not they’ve had the harsh live in a pind tear them apart day in and day out, its just the lust for money and material good.

No matter what anyone says, when push comes to shove EVERYONE takes shelter in education and doesnt want to end like just like the next guy on the street.

the amount of people I see at college and when aksed what their major is and what they plan to become in 5 years time most are in the general studies program and have no clue what to declare their major as let alone any aim at getting to become any of the 3 biggies.

so why are we like that? why the false hope and glittering golden dreams to make it look like like. At the end of the tunnel the reality is that we DO NOT need that many doctors and engineers or even lawyers.

All the other things which make us human must be territory the punjabi parent must venture into. NO! not even that what must happen is that one must become confident enough to politely point the finger at the kid and say i dont know what hes going to become, I want him/her to decide when they want to do with their lives.

I really wish this was what most punjabis though about in the 80s if they did perhaps we would have had the Bindi Johal the great hockey player or the dosanjh brothers ARTcorp but no those dreams as well as their parents hopes of engineers, doctors and lawyers seemed to burn away suddenly with time.....

Sit Down

So when my grade 6 English teacher Mr A. Rahemtula jee asked us to hand in our journals the second week of class for marking he said something which to this day I don’t forget. “You Fool!!!!! I know in whose room I wouldn’t want to set foot in. Yours!” and he hurled another volley of abuse “Man oh man it must be like an earthquake in there.”

After a few smirks and may smiles later when everyone had another gulp of air he said to me how do I know? I was too wounded to respond and he said he’ll tell the class: “your writing is the dirtiest I have ever seen!”

“Why do you write so messy?” asked he.

I today had the same treatment but in the hazoori of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Jee and in a calm filled voice. I learned something which I should have learnt a long time ago. And that is to keep a neat and tidy room, but beyond that your workplace home and even writing.

My writing has improved little since Grade 6 but still I haven’t come across major problems after all these years. (for the record I still think Mr A Rahemtula was one of the best assets khalsa school ever had, never come across such a teacher even after so long) His students know this first hand...

Meet Bhai Shangara Singh Jee:

He’s one of my closest associates, besides this is also my Fuffar Jee and fellow hockey player. So anyway, today I was at their house and after listening to Sehaj Paath and once they were going to start Rehrass Sahib I went out the door and told them that they shall do paath without me since my legs were sore.

Even though I didn’t intend to i said them all: “I’ll do paath on my rollerblades”

HERE IS THE POINT OF THIS POST:

So Fuffar Jee explained that I shouldn’t be doing any paath while walking around or doing something else. Especially Rahrass sahib, since it’s a chaunkee, and it is a must the Sikhs sit down and do paath in the evening time.

I hadn’t thought of that before and so I came to the startling yet basic realization that when you’re doing paath you should have a dedicated time which should be alloted out of out busy schedules. Since Guru Sahib listens to paath it must be a calm atmosphere as well.

Some from point A to point B obviously since Guru Sahib I with me all the time, and becuase i do paath in my room, my room should be neat and tidy. So Mr. Rahemtula’s voice again ringing vibrant and vivid “your room must look like an earthquake has struck”

PS. I will wtite up a sakhi directly endorsing these points when I have more time(next few days)

Singhs Deer Hunting

ਭੈਰਉਮਹਲਾ੫॥
ਦਸਮਿਰਗੀਸਹਜੇਬੰਧਿਆਨੀ॥
ਪਾਂਚਮਿਰਗਬੇਧੇਸਿਵਕੀਬਾਨੀ॥੧॥
ਸੰਤਸੰਗਿਲੇਚੜਿਓਸਿਕਾਰ॥
ਮ੍ਰਿਗਪਕਰੇਬਿਨੁਘੋਰਹਥੀਆਰ॥੧॥ਰਹਾਉ॥
ਆਖੇਰਬਿਰਤਿਬਾਹਰਿਆਇਓਧਾਇ॥
ਅਹੇਰਾਪਾਇਓਘਰਕੈਗਾਂਇ॥੨॥
ਮ੍ਰਿਗਪਕਰੇਘਰਿਆਣੇਹਾਟਿ॥
ਚੁਖਚੁਖਲੇਗਏਬਾਂਢੇਬਾਟਿ॥੩॥
ਏਹੁਅਹੇਰਾਕੀਨੋਦਾਨੁ॥
ਨਾਨਕਕੈਘਰਿਕੇਵਲਨਾਮੁ॥੪॥੪॥

Loose line-by-line Translation given below:

Bhairao mahala Panjma

I have tied up the deer with great ease, and the ten sensory organs along with it.

I have been able to shoot the five desires with the Word of Guru Sahib’s Bani. ||1||

Now I go out with Sants(Enlightened Singhs) to hunt;

And so we captured the deer without horses or weapons of any sort. ||1||Pause||

Once my mind used to hunt about while running around on the outside.

I have now found the game within the home of my body-village. ||2||

I have caught the deer and brought them home.

Dividing them up, I shared them, bit by bit. ||3||

Guru Sahib has given this gift.

Guru Nanak Dev Jee’s home is filled with the Naam, the true Name of the Lord. ||4||4||

The Vaisakhi Massacre 1978

It’s surprising how fast history is forgotten. It seems like no one remembers what happened on Vaisakhi of 1978, well no one outside the realm of a few internet forums which make one relive important historical events from time to time.

Recently I went up to 10 people who grew up in India and would have had good memory of the event at the time in ’78. Only 2 people recalled event without any help. And how can the whole ‘adherlay born’ bias be explained? The people coming from India today are many times more spiritually devoid than anyone can imagine…

This exactly explains why people like badal keep getting elected time and time again. The best way to explain this day in history is this keertan.org speech of Bibi Harsharan Kaur Jee from New Jersey from a few years ago.

A word about Bibi Jee: she lived a long with with Bhai Sahib Bhai Randheer Singh jee, which explains her outlook and poise. When she talks the most important people from all spheres listen and don’t dare talk in front of her. In this speech she clearly lays the entire blame on Parkash Badal, in denying justice to the shaheedhs.

One thing I’ve noticed is anything which you listen repetitively and don’t get bored of listening, is something special, not like the geet which ‘becomes beha by the mid-day’ I must have listened to it about 10 times today and its still resonating deeply.

Bibi Harsharan Kaur is the only women in the past 40 years of her caliber, I dont see anyone even closely matching what she is. She isn’t a puppet like other politicians, when asked about what she has acheived, she always attributes all that is her to the sangat of gursikhs like Bhai Shaib Bhai Randheer Singh.

See also this Fort: Panthkhalsa article

To listen to the speech click here

To download the speech click here

Loose Transcript is given below:
--------------------------------------
… From April 1978 onwards ones who have done ardass to defend the honor of the living joyt of the ten Gurus, Sahib Shri Guru Granth Sahib Jee to stop the slanderous procession by laying down their lives. Open ground… no support, no wall, no defensive position, just a straight open road… On the one side the entire bustling Nirankari town from there their bullets raining down from the other side the police sending a hail of bullets at the Singhs. Because the police did not want Bhai Fauja Singh and others to interfere with the Nirankari program.

Fauja Singh was such a personality… I have spend a lot of time with both of them. The one who you call Sant Jarnail Singh jee, he used to call me a mother-like elder sister. I had always known him as my younger brother. Because he was my elder daughter’s age. Whatever he did something, he would call everyone and have a discussion about the matter at hand.

My benti to you, the sangat is: Shaheeds cannot be divided, Shaheeds are commonly shared throughout time. However we sometimes make one soul so great that… Like Shaheeds like Baba Deep Singh Jee, that shaheedi has not become old Khalsa Jee. We can make historical additions, but we should not take earlier historical events and start from a newer chosen beginning. Shaheedhi day of Shri guru Arjan Dev Jee, without talking about them…. Where have we learnt about the concept of Shaheedhi? We haven’t learnt this ourselves. It has been passed down to us by Shri Guru Arjan Dev Jee himself. Why were Sikhs scalped alive, sawn in half, cut limb by limb? Shaheedhi was passed down to them.

By becoming shaheeds neither do we die or reach a higher plane, the greatness is the Guru’s. The guru who has given us amrit through the Khandhaa and Bata. The Khanda is two-planed and thus it ensures that you live in maya by being detached from it; it has enabled you to live while having your head chopped off.

My benti to you today in regards to shaheedi is to present the history of shaheeds in its entirety from beginning to end so that our children can understand the whole story.

If the April 1978 massacre never took place, I’m telling you that the following Morchai, protests, massacres would have had no room for them.

The story of Bota Singh and Garja Singh: they heard soldiers saying that we have killed off all Sikhs now. They decided to prove to them that Sikhs were alive and well. So they blocked off the road and declared that its Khalsa trerritory and began to charge tax of 1 taka for a donkey and 1anna for a cart. They stood there back to back attained shaheedhi while they fought the army. No one asked them to be shaheedh, no one told them to get shaheedh.

The thing is that the each and every Sikh has inside of them the same drop of Amrit which makes their thinking the same: that the Panth must live even if it means that I die. Besides this there has never been any other thinking or concept.

My benti to you is that there is nothing more beautiful than the history of Shaheedhs. Children must lean who we are and how we live. But this history must be told from the start. Just like in ardass how it begins and ends in the same manner, the story of shaheedhs must be told in the same chronological order.

These shaheedhis started in 1978. 87 or 88 were wounded, the first shot that hit Bhai Fauja Singh went in from the left eye and blew the entire skull from the back side. He went behind a truck and took his dumala and tightened it with dripping blood shouted only one Jakara and said to the singhs that no one should leave.

Badal’s boat has sunk! I fought the 13 cases of the shaheedhs against the Nirankaris DSP Joshi, was used in the court case and he took .5Million and the case that we had won, we lost.

Today kathavachaks come here and say that Baba Deep Singh Jee could not have fought as he did…

…The entire Khalsa Raj in within this Bata of Amrit. The drop of amrit is the only thing that will make the Panth stronger. Whenever you talk about anything start from the Guru.

Cadet Japnaam Singh

Royal Canadian ArmyCadet Bhai Japnaam Singh in the national cadet magazine 'Proud to Be' vol. 8, spring 2000

Citizenship and football

Reaching out to their community and to their country is all part of the citizenship so highly valued by cadets across Canada.

Cadets in Pacific Region paraded their citizenship before hundreds of thousands of Canadians last fall when they unfurled the Canadian flag during Grey Cup 99 in Hamilton, ON. How did they get there? The cadets from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island forged a partnership with the B.C. Lions football club last year, unfurling a 40 by 20-metre Canadian flag at the opening of every home game. The flag, held by 70 to 100 sea, land and air cadets, filled half the field. They did the same at Grey Cup 99.

The cadets’ affiliation with the B.C. Lions football club represented the first affiliation of cadets with a professional football team for the entire season, according to Capt Judith-Ann Jarrett, area cadet officer (air) with Pacific region. “We will be campaigning to encourage these kinds of affiliations of cadets in other cities with professional sports teams,” he says. “It’s terrific tri-service exposure for the cadets and a fitting way to pay tribute to our country and display the citizenship values cadets learn in the movement.”

The cadets have been such a hit, they’ve been asked to return this season.

**************************************

Jaloose '07: first impressions

I had the good furtune of experienceing about 30 minutes of the Nagar Social. My First Reaction: WOW.

What a difference a few years and power shifting makes. It was a few years ago that the Club D heads did not wish to upset the government and have pictures of Shaheeds displayed on floats or even in the langar hall. Yes I'm talking about slogans of Khalistan too, oh and also pictures of Shaheed Bhai Talvinder Singh Babbar. That year I wasnt feeling well enough to attend but i could hear the roar of helicopter blades overhead for almost the entire day, while i did 5-6 Sukhmani sahib paaths. That year the beizati level had reached an all time high. Khalsa School floats were taken out of the procession as a protest measure.

Anyway, just one picture is enough to illustrate the change of stands of the club D management.


more later....

Jaloose '06

Since at 2005 Nagatr Social was presented on this site as a series of pictures, this time around I’ve decided to use the wonderful world of words of illustrate the happenings of the Surrey Nagar Kirtan and the things behind the obvious layer of simplicity. So here goes; I’ll attempt to go through everything as best as I remember and in the most accurate way possible. Since I DO have very good memory I believe that pretty much all of what will be presented in the following parts is as accurate as it can and did get.

As the morning rain, cleared up white grey puffs of cloud hung abreast the glistening blue sky just above the tree-line. As a looked out of my room through the south facing window, rays of light were piercing through the remaining cloud covering the lower reaches of the horizon. It was April 15th and not just any other Saturday, but somewhat special this time as Surrey and Vancouver were bracing themselves for a concurrent Nagar Social jaloosefest.

Unlike the 2005 Nagar-Socials where both of them took place one week apart, this year in 2006 they decided to outdo each other by the media coverage alone, which is always open for dispute; spectators like us would not have the chance to actually go see the two different jalooses in person, see, and conclude ‘which one was better.’ So while the Surrey Nagar-social-jaloose was set to happen, across the Fraser, the historical ‘Nagar Kirtan’ turned Street-bhangra-Classic was preparing to launch out of the Ross Street Gurdvara. At both places the mood would be celebratory and inflated spirited chardhi kala greetings would be exchanged along with the usual, “Veh halsa Veh Fateh’s”

To be honest I have never been a keen Nagar Kirtan participator for many reasons, including the most creative ones listed below:

1) (Unleashing of maha-pakhand, for just one day) ≠ (chardhikala)
2) When the media questions someone what they like today: definitely the FOOD & MUSIC .
3) Wearing of Kesri(saffron) ≠ [panthic jazba]
4) Roadside stalls of food ≠ [langar]
5) Politics of which float will lead ≠ [panchic unity]
6) Singers singing ‘dharmik songs’ ≠ [dharmik person]
7) Commercial aspects, Vasakhi sales etc. ≠ [Celebration of Vasakhi]
8) Unfit entities hitching a ride on floats defeat the entire purpose of the ‘kirtan’ part
9) 400db of loudspeakers blaring out CD tracks making you deaf in your tracks
10) The Shaheed police trying to stop certain pictures from going up on floats, so much for
freedom of expression under the charter…

Knowing just how much chardhi kala would be on the measuring block I decided that for this Vaisakhi Nagar Social day today I must not merely go into the mela as a normal nagar social goer in garbs of a ‘chardhi kala sikh’: Navy Blue gurmukhi-Kurta pajama, navy Blue Gurmukhi Dastaar, white Hazooria without any kadhaayee, but make a statement like everyone else. Why? Why not? Nagar social gear is what I wear everyday, so to capture the true essence of the mela hype I thought for once I should do something khutti.

Looking out the window I pondered how the costume predicament should be best handled. Should I go with a costume like everyone else or was there a plausible reason why I could defy convention and dress the way I really wanted. After deep thought lasting a few seconds I decided to go with something I hadn’t worn in quite a long time. Actually about six years or so, not only was it something close to my heart, it also was a collective article of clothing which forged the Davinder Singh as is today.

So this mystery bana was actually the uniform of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets’ Irish Fusiliers. It would be a great injustice to not mention the Irish here. The cadet experience and why I was involved with it is simple, it was like anything else everyone does when they’re in high school, everyone I knew From Khalsa School was in it, and just because of that reason, and maybe because being a fauji seemed cool, I was inclined to join the Irish Fusiliers cadets. Commitment of Tuesday evenings and sometimes weekends compared to the rewards of free skiing trips, repelling exercises, winter excursions, camps and possible chance to make serious money during summer camp not to mention the chance to get 2 high School credits, the overall lure was just too much. Almost everyone I had known at the time were in the cadets among them: Bhai Jagjeet singh, Daljit Singh, Arvinder Singh, Khushminder singh, Amrit Singh, Manjot Singh, Kamalpreet Singh, Ricky Sahota, Panesar, Sukhminder singh and Bhai Karamjeet Singh was the officer stationed who oversaw ‘the klan’ and kept everyone in check. Another obvious reason was to be able to get arms training, shooting targets with serious firepower is a chance of a lifetime for many.

At about 8:00am I went into my room and got the tunic, shirt, pants, belt and everything else but the tie and kalgi. Yes, we did wear a kalgi when going to cadets, and a green one too.
We had some singhs from our of town who stayed over just so they could attend the nagar kirtan. Really, I had already had enough of the drama from nagar social 2005, it was the singhs pushing me and my thinking that they had come all the way just so they could watch it, so I agreed.

At about 8:30 we were all ready to leave for the main gathering area, near Dashmesh Darbaar ~ 128th street & 84thh Ave. We left and went to Bhai Jagjeet Singhs house to pick him up. Afterwards we made out way out to 132Street north. Along the way we could see almost everyone flocking towards khalsa school, to catch a free bus ride, so they wouldn’t have to take their cars. Almost everyone was dressed in either blue or kaisri(saffron).

As we turned onto 132 Street we could see the huge line of traffic backing up more and more by the second. It took about 15 minutes to pass just half a block. When we reached about a block before the 80th Ave intersection I had enough of waiting in line, so I got out. Even with about 20 cars in front of us we could see the mismanagement of traffic by the traffic lady hired for the day. Anyone could see that she was deliberately obstructing traffic. I had a word with her and told her to call up another traffic person, until the other person arrived I directed traffic coming from all 4 sides.

For anyone whos been to a Surrey nagar Kirtan will know that it doesn’t take much to clog all routes leading to Gurdvara Dashmesh Darbar, and it starts getting bad at about 8:00am. In the past years I’ve been fortunate enough to reach the Gurdvara at around 7:00am or so. So from there as the traffic situation improved I in full cadet uniform walked west on 80th Ave.
It’s worth mentioning here that the cadet uniform worn by the Army cadets is very similar to the uniforms worn by the Canadian Army. So for the laypeople who have no knowledge about the two uniforms, they think that the we, the Irish were really the Canadian Army.

One thing I knew about cadets was that Army cadets were way more fun than air or sea cadets. The people above were all full fledged cadets before I decided to go. But the things they talked about on exercises were unreal and were what finally convinced me to join. Most of all the cadet program was next to being free, you got to go places and the skills learnt were transferable to other scenarios not to mention the natural JUTT-FAUJI connection. Its worth mentioning here that if you know anyone who’s under 17 and meets the enterence age of ~10years I highly recommend the cadet experience. With a few years under their belt, the Canadian cadet program makes one a better person, a leader and many times stronger from the outside-in to the inside out.......(chaldha)

Accountibility ਕਲੰਕੋਲਿਆਂ ਦੀ...

ਕਰਮਹੀਨ ਤਾਰੇ, ਕੁਲ-ਮਲੀਣ ਤਾਰੇ, ਦਾਗੁ ਧੋਇ ਕੇ ਕੁਲ ਕਲੰਕੋਲਿਆਂ ਦਾ।
ਕਾਸ਼ਟ ਕਲਮ ਤਾਰੀ, ਸੁੱਕੇ ਰੁੱਖ ਤਾਰੇ, ਤਾਰਨਹਾਰੁ ਡੁਬਦੇ ਪੱਥਰੋਲਿਆਂ ਦਾ।
ਕੌਡੇ ਰਾਖਸ਼ ਸਰੀਖੇ ਪਾਪਿਸ਼ਟ ਤਾਰੇ, ਤਾਰਨਹਾਰੁ ਮਹਾਂ ਨਿੰਦਕੋਲਿਆਂ ਦਾ।
ਨਿੰਦਾ ਕਰਤ ਸੱਤੇ ਬਲਵੰਡ ਤਾਰੇ, ਤਾਰਨਹਾਰ ਮਹਾਂ ਮਲੇਛੋਲਿਆਂ ਦਾ।੩੧੩।
ਤਾਰੇ ਪਾਤਕੀ ਜਨਮ ਜਨਮੰਤਰਾਂ ਦੇ, ਪਾਪ ਉਤਾਰਿ ਕੋਟਾਂ ਪ੍ਰਾਛਤੋਲਿਆਂ ਦਾ।
ਕੋਟਿ ਪਤਿਤ ਕਰਮੀ ਨਿਮਖ ਮਾਂਹਿ ਤਾਰੇ, ਤੇਰਾ ਬਿਰਦ ਪਤਿਤ ਪਾਵਨੋਲਿਆਂ ਦਾ।
ਤੇਰੀ ਮੇਹਰ ਦੇ ਬਾਝ ਨ ਤਰੈ ਕੋਈ, ਤਾਰਨਹਾਰ ਤੂੰ ਚਰਨ-ਸ਼ਰਨੋਲਿਆਂ ਦਾ।
ਸਭੇ ਤਰੇ ਪਰ ਤਰੇ ਜੋ ਪੜੇ ਸ਼ਰਨੀ, ਸਫਲ ਤਰਨੁ ਗੁਰ-ਸ਼ਰਨਿ ਪੜੋਲਿਆਂ ਦਾ।੩੧੪।
-ਭਾਈ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਭਾਈ ਰਣਧੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ {ਜੋਤਿ ਵਿਗਾਸ, ਅੰਗ ੫੪}
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I just wanted to address some comment feedback i received since the last major updates. Many comments were left however a lot of comments failed to get published, and later got deleted.

So this is what Anonymous Bhai Sahib(I'm pretty sure its not an Anonymous Bhen Jee) said:
"Singh you are too harsh on Khalsa Credit Unions Calender. You could spend your energy doing better things."

For those who haven't figured it out, its regarding the two posts on the Khalsa Credit Union: recently posted and the older one.

Now it would make one wonder why it appears that I may have an agenda aginst such a great institutation and. These seemingly little things like their calendar may seem trivial, however accountabality all but seems to have disappeares in business.

One may ask why not attack its workings, and the politics which sorround its historic glory being the symbol of Sikhs' financial progress in BC.

I have thought at length why people do what they and about the day to day operation and inner workings of just such institutions labelled as panthic.

Well why not let the media jump at them and keep them in check? The media themselves seem to out of line with ethics themselves; the list of inaccruacies is long and it is beyond the scope of this post at this time.

Why the players running the panthic santhathayas seem to be out of line with proper panthic maryada is a question of moral ethics in itself..... behind these community orginzatrions fail to right their actions even after relentless media persuits by the likes of the Canadian Mahasha press.

Looks like Bhai sahib said it best, righting things is the ONLY way to righting character....

VIkramKhalsa Relaunch

Vikram Singh has just put up his website again. He'll be putting up a lot of new content so check it out. It’s much better than the desi looking Version 1 with the funky colors. Also be sure to watch his famous magic videos.