DAVINDER SINGH

Operation: Lasting Influence

2011-07-05T19:50:00.005-07:00

Veteran visitors of yesteryear will obviously be aware that to this site no longer gets updated. Once a surging spring the slow trickle of comment submission for moderating has also been reduced manifold. Though the occasional ones do manage to slip in, this precisely is the reason why I just had to post today. It is because of a challenging comment from yesterday and came to my attention whilst checking e-mail. Yes, I moderate comments, not to filter out dissenting or critical opinions, but the people who have taken to blogs to shamelessly promote their wares. So seeing that I am in the process of one of the tightest schedules ever, I thought to prove to myself and those who continue to follow this site that, YES; you can! If I can, You sure can too! Since I can write a few lines for the sake of putting up a post, you took can get started on something and it will be completed before you know it!

Enough on being punctual and pumping up the inspiration, I think it’s more basic human nature to become lazy and put events off. Procrastination for most is one of the more powerful habits that eventually inhibit success for many. May it be getting started on an essay, an unfun chore around the house, or getting started on a book on a fine Sunny Friday afternoon. At least for myself this is 75% of the struggle, but once started this 75% of the entire task just feels like it has completed itself. Once things get rolling, it’s hard to stop since the initial momentum furthers it right along and until you have marched past the finish line… stopping is quite simply difficult. I hope this is true for another blog streak… Just an attempt nothing major though.

The prime reason for not posting is that I have been spending time elsewhere, like reading, researching and being too involved to care much about this site. With those on the verge of contemplation, I encourage you to START! Start with even taking night school, work & learn, Summer High School, but most of all take a class this Fall when most Universities and Colleges open up for business. THere really is no comparison at all with anything than the classroom, no matter what side of the instructorish fence you are on. Again I urge you to take classes, head back to school; you will not have any regrets at all...

Enough about the why, now about the what: I personally believe in the power of thought, thinking through things throughout the past and why they occurred and what can be done to plan avoiding similar pitfalls in the future.

Riding across the mediascape one clearly knows radio, Television, tabloids, papers and certainly the internet has been full of stories about the doom and gloom the US housing bubble has brought upon us, leading to a near global meltdown and the subsequent aftershocks that have created a wave of horror up to even today; it has even led to some powerful nations to the brink of bankruptcy.

Never mind the media, we all know that we, the consuming public need a fat juicy story to captivate us, but this economic thing, the entire world focus on the economy has been such a ginormous deal that when the Canadian Minority Government fell here above the 49th, the candidate (now Prime Minister Harper; and yes, we have just come out of an election) made it his mission to ensure this butter-bread business became the absolute single election cow. And it was milked like crazy. Obama had change in his sails in 2008; it lead him into the harbour of victory, and Mr Harper arrowed on his action plan shooting him to a first right majority in a long time.

Since a former neighbour asked me how hard Canadian University Education in the Arts is. It really got me thinking, how much people fear the classroom. Well I did too for a long time and would do, and did anything to escape it. But the unknown does tend to frighten. I decided to show and tell ‘em what I went though my education journey with proper original artefacts. I decided to hunt them down and present as accurate a picture I could so that they know what you need to get through this jail of a jungle called higher education. One of the most revered professors told of a very profound reality that we are heading through today. It was that looking through old first had documents was a pain. Since there was very little often, wordy and patchy excerpts on early Canadian history, to our surprise some outright doctoring had been popularized and had even made into textbooks of repute. The professor mentioned that when future historians and ethnographers look to study the genesis of the internet era, they will find it amazingly difficult to put together even a shabby picture of how we lived. For that reason I have attempted to keep records intact. I realized that keeping a few of the course outlines I had from recent years would come in handy, and they have in a big way. So, now a few months ago I asked one of my Professors to e-mail me past essays that I had submitted electronically. I had the hard copies, but they were locked up and put away. I got them promptly even during a sabbatical. As it turned out I have not had an opportunity to share them with the person who had requested to gauge the difficulty/ease of the ‘Average Canadian University.’ Anyway, this was on the backburner for a while now, it had been sitting there in my inbox until this week when a search for something totally unrelated turned it up. I was pleasantly surprised. We all are, after encountering relics from the distant past, stuff that doesn’t surface for a long duration, when it does, we look at it and reflect with bewilderment. How this could be, then it all makes sense once it has been put into context.

While reading the first few paragraphs, it took me back to the most stressful time of the semester when it was submitted, in the wee months of 2008, I came to realize that history is indeed something that you should look back and often. Since most often, in it are hidden huge chunks of wisdom. This is why I have a great deal of respect for historians of all stripes be they genuine or agenda driven. And even more so for the ones that put two and to together and come up with five.

In that essay, I basically argued using all the evidence collected in the course of a semester from lectures and the text on every known civilization that ‘The American Empire Will Not Fall,’ no matter what happens in the future.

Little did we know that a crisis would befall the world and have us all panicking like a bunch of chickens under the shadow of the wolf. Yes, most of us common folk are still scared out of our wits, there is now serious doubts about ‘The American Dream’ and our middle class designations are seemingly escaping our grip.

Let me just copy and paste some sections, since this class is still being taught I will not put up an extensive amount of text.

“Khubilai Khan, the heir and successor to Chianggis Khan, controlled Northern China and sought to unify all of China under his control. He led a successful campaign against the Song dynasty of Southern China; his forces took the capital in 1276 and three years later the last resistors of the Song fell and Khubilai Khan crowned himself the supreme emperor of China thus ushering in the era of the Yuan dynasty.”

In addition to this instance from the East and seemingly long time ago, the fate of another Empire also ended with a sudden and tragic demise:

“Less than a century later, Francisco Pizarro set out to repeat [a similar feat] in South Central America; with about 600 soldiers they had marched into the heartland of the Incas and secured control of their capital in less than three years. Diseases such as smallpox crippled Inca society and infighting between competing factions ensured the swift collapse of their civilization.”

Lest we remain in denial, the resulting global implications if the ‘American Empire’ were to come to a swift demise, are a concern to us all, especially with the looming debt ceiling crisis. This though is not the topic I had in mind for this evening.

The obvious surprise is that even more firmly established empires have been rooted out like a badly cavitied brown tooth in front of a dentist. History again provides us with ample proof that circumstances often tally up quite nicely to lead to a swift demise of even the most powerful of entities.

“Hernán Cortés, seized the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan with only 450 soldiers in 1521. Cortés and his men with the aid of horses and simple firearms laid siege and eventually starved the inhabitants into surrender. The population of the Aztec empire was around 13 million; as the Spanish conquest progressed, epidemic diseases rapidly raced through the empire. Smallpox alone exterminated a vast numbers of population that society soon ceased to function.”

Enough with the past. Let me end tonight with what I in my ‘undergraduate wisdom’ and naivety hypnotised about the ‘Future American Empire’ and its possible lasting ‘Influences.’ Well, Jonathan Swift did say it best: “There are lies, Damn Lies and there are Statics” This may seem to apply to history too to a certain extent, there is always the other story, one that is unkind to you for you hadn’t the opportunity to write it. An infinite number of scholars on an infinite number of workstations for an infinite number of hours may do a subject to death, but there will still come along another genius who will one day shine light on some obscure, previously overlooked evidence and prove others unwise. So today as I see the Great Canadian Loony kick the wind out of the longly powerful green now way backed stuff I today urge myself to not lose faith in studying history or even causally reflecting where it can lead to. Hindsight 20/20 was something I learned in Psychology 1200 and it just hit me earlier this week that the {(Bread and Butter) or (Guns)} choice with respect to the USSR (Russian Folk during the Cold War) and the more contemporized US situation has significant parallels, it may well be way more neatly tidied up, ultimately is starkly similar. Quoting the Father of the Modern Tea Party Movement and the 2008 US Presidential hopeful Ron Paul(R-Texas) from his great book:* "With a presence in some ~118 countries no wonder they hate us" this has finally taken a toll and by factoring this into the equation we cannot discount putting together two and two may infact give us five:

“[Most of] human history has been marked by patterns of growth and decline among civilizations due to unavoidable internal factors and external threats. Virtually all ancient and more recent civilizations have been prone to this systemic feature. However, Western civilization (United States) in its various incarnations with the firm aid of entrenched institutions, contemporary technological advancements and global geo-political dynamics in its favour appears to prove immunity from the aforementioned cycle of rise and fall and the American Empire will endure the currents of history for a long into the future.”

The Punjab Solution: Manpreet Singh Badal

2011-02-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਵੋਟਰਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਬਾਕੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਅਪੀਲ: ਮਨਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੂੰ ਇੱਕ ਮੌਕਾ ਦੇ ਕੇ ਦੇਖਲੋ, ਨਹੀਂ ਤਾਂ ਅਗਲੀਆਂ ਵੋਟਾਂ ਫਿਰ ਵੱਟ ਤੇ ਹੀ ਪਂਙਾਂ। ਪਿਛਲੀਆਂ ਸਰਕਾਰਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਨਯੀਤੀਆਂ ਨਾਲੋਂ ਤਾ ਮਾੜੀ ਹਾਲਤ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੋ ਸਕਦੀ। Let's not screw ourselves over again. It's time for change.

For those of us who think the congress is the savior of Punjab, let us not kid ourselves again folks. Check out what our 'Maharaja' sahib pulled off back in the day(right after 1984):

"When the government persisted and commissioned Budha Dal chief Santa Singh (a close confidant of Giani Zail

Singh and Buta Singh) to carry out the job, Captain Amarinder Singh, son of the last Maharaja of Patiala,

echoed the feeling of the Sikhs by declaring “If no one else pulls down this thing, then I will ..." (Jaijee P. 95 of the PDF version, check link below in this post)

The one thing that no ones had the guts to get at is the only solution to the Punjab Cancer: Tax chori. Tax enforcement! It may bar him from being elected, but it's quite the gutsy move. It is what's going to lead Punjab and indeed India into a slow and painful death, tax evasion. Much respect to him for coming out and saying it. Walter Mondale and the Democrats in the 1984 US Presidential election paid harshly for saying this publicly, let's set the course right this time and elect Mr Manpreet Singh Badal. We owe it to ourselves to give him a chance. I doubt the media in Punjab is going to support him, so let's see the light and offer him our unconditional support for the greater good. It'll sure be a new day in Punjab the likes of which we have not seen.

Let's bring in Manpreet Singh Badal! Lets bring in Peace, Progress, and Prosperity!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This post is dedicated to Manpreet Singh Badal. And is driven by Rajinderpal Singh Gill a University Professor killed by the Punjab Police who declaredand on this day, February 15 1989 the Professor as another terrorist killed in a 'Police encounter' through a press conference. I have never endorsed anyone in Punjabi politics. If one has gone on to university or college, like Manpreet Singh Badal, they cannot bear to read this paragraph mentioning the killing of someone, a respected law-abiding citizen and above all, an academic beyond reproach, Professor Gill Sahib free of emotion.

The agenda setting media here in town, especially the ones who may have even been in touch with Professor Sahib back in Punjab when they were in school around that time and now have the microphones in front of their mouths and beam in radio signals into Canada from American transmitters free of CRTC scrutiny are completely silent about him. People see Bhagat Singh as a God and worship him year after year, that too fraudulently since if they were sincere at all they would not have let things sink so much into the gutter.

So the question I ask myself is a professor who thought to educate kids about agriculture of all things more relevant to Punjabis of today or Bhagat Singh about a centaury ago I doubt anyone even knows about him anymore. In terms of real change and influence and the impact to the Punjab of today shouldn’t someone who studied like crazy for years and then taught the kids of Punjab in higher learning and was driving a tractor as a mode of transportation when caught. The blame lies on the community as a while. In its entirely I think Mrs. Puja not Bhagat Singh is worshipped. Have a listen to the local radio stations. It’s a shame that my mechanic jokingly told me that my car will not be fixed until I stick a Ms. Puja CD in the slot. It’s a quite a sickening scene, you have the local media starting round two of the 1998 era crap all over again, going at each others’ throats over a bunch of useless lies. This is for another rant, another post, another time.

Moving forward, and staying on topic once again:

This time, the above endorsement to Manpreet Singh Badal is being put out since the story is different for a number of personal reasons. Chiefly, that research while writing an academic paper on the recent history of Punjab has lead me to a more holistic personal understanding of the things in the Punjab of today and a backgrounder on the thrashing the people of Pakistan have experienced post-independence has aided to this a great deal.

In this regard, just listening to Manpreet Singh Badal’s voice-only interview on the issue of rotting wheat in state granaries in English about a year ago (Spring of 2010) made me realize that this guy is very different in all respects. His command of the English language verbally alone is something that almost every Indian Politician lacks, perhaps not P Chandarabham so much(The fella who ducked Jarnail Singh’s shoe at a press conference a couple of years ago). Further he seems to be genuine in all respects. Someone who has an understanding of things and more importantly can be a part of the solution not being in bed with the problem like all of his opponents.

The last and only time I supported a politician on the Blog was Sukh Dhaliwal who since then is my local MP here in my riding. I have been very pleased at his performance and the kind of things he has done for this riding and the community in general. Come on people! We ought to give him a chance at it. Things in Punjab need a fixing right now, just go there and have a look for yourselves, or read about what is going on there. Surely, it’s comparable to what went down in Egypt recently in terms of the state structure and problems that the electorate has to deal with, and he from the looks of it appears to be the right individual to do this the right way for once. We owe it to ourselves to offer him our support.

I now see a glimmer of hope for not just the traditional farming Akali electrode who need help most at this time, but having read some of the most marvelous books on the subject over the past months, books and texts on the subject that no one I know and respect have ever heard of; the most educated of people that I thought would know had no clue. This is classic, being ignorant and not doing personal research on thing when there's an ocean of knowledge around us and acting dumb while being academically literate. No wonder the community gets herded like sheep and are left to regret in the end when getting screwed over.

Keeping all this mind I think that Manpreet Singh Badal is the one person who can fix things. And in light of the present state of Punjab, is the best fit individual to govern and usher in an era of peace, prosperity and progress. He is the messiah that Punjab has been waiting for and needs, not Baba Bhindranaala. Check out the literature made available to you. Let’s not hate, but educate ourselves and others about the things that happened and why today we are at a crossroads and have a chance to make it right for once.

Formerly, I did not see any hope at all regarding a political solution that would deal justice and lead to fair play for the average Punajbi. After periodically going through the literature of the past Punjab, stuff that was available here through the normal channels it lead to a feeling of utter helplessness because the situation would be next to impossible to fix given the culture of politics and power and the systemic collapse of the bureaucracy due to corruption and political interference. The scope was very limited and most of the stuff that I read was not ‘scholarly’ at all and missed out huge chunks of the puzzle and so the complete picture could not be comprehended.

The last few weeks have been different. And anyone that reads up on the stuff I have would never dare say that history is boring. The material I read up on made me realize the enormous complexity of the present situation that the people of Punjab face. So, up until now I really didn’t see there could be any effective response and that things would never improve. The preliminary platform of Manpreet Singh Badal looks very promising looking at comparable stuff that has come out of previous elections in both the US and Canada over the years there are very promising indicators that lead me to believe that if elected with a majority Sardar Sahib would change things for the better for a long time to come.

Having seen what has been happening on the world political stage in Washington, the Canadian Parliament proceedings at Ottawa and the CBC radio reporting about the Egypt ‘Crisis’ one thing is certain: times have changed even in the Middle East of all places! For the better! Perhaps this is something that may finally wake the people of India, specifically the Punjabis. The rest of India is getting screwed over too, even more so at some places but the situation of Punjab to me is more relevant.

All this is mind, there are a few things that have made me more educated about this subject. The most effective in this regard I think is Professor ShinderPal Singh Purewals text Sikh Ethnonationalism and the political Economy of Punjab based on his PhD thesis from 2000. This book offered something to me that no other book had ever done, it put things in a totally different light and made re realize that in order to be a scholar you need to be objective and not take sides at all and understand and present a balanced and fair picture of history. Although not a historical work, I think this is the one book everyone ought to read.

The second is Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon’s White Paper on 1984. The third is the Politics of Genocide written by Inderjit Singh JaiJee which mentions the things behind the politics behind and writing, marketing and sale of the aforementioned White Paper by the SGPC.

Check the links:

1)Here

2)Here

3)Here.

So coming back to the beginning of this post, without which it would be utterly useless and incomplete the following two essentials are directly quoted below. First is from the 1984 White Paper, second from the Politics of Genocide. Both of these books are available in searchable PDF format. My stuff ends here and the quotes are:

“1984 saw a replay with troops of the Indian Army in the role of Abdali. After the Darbar Sahib was captured, the Army refused to hand it back to the SGPC without imposing certain conditions. Sikh opinion was divided.

Most of them wanted the Darbar Sahib back without conditions and delay in handing back the complex to the Sikhs was working out to be a unifying factor in the community. The Army realised it and worked to reach an agreement with the SGPC. The SGPC’s nominated jathedars met the Army generals and the Jathedars accepted the conditions.

These conditions were:
i. The complex road dividing Ram Das Sarai from the Golden Temple was to be made a public thoroughfare.
ii. Pickets would be placed on either side of this road.
iii. No firearms were to go inside the complex.
iv. Police were given the liberty to search the complex.
v. A secret condition was the SGPC was not to challenge the official White Paper and was to obliterate all tell tale marks of the war on the Golden Temple and other Gurdwaras forthwith.

SGPC president G.S. Tohra, faithfully implemented these conditions, and true to his word to the government and in spite of repeated demands from the community, stalled all efforts to bring out an independent White Paper on the
1984 events. Twelve years later, under extreme pressure, he agreed to commission a Sikh historian to bring out a White Paper on Operation Bluestar.

That was for public consumption. What he actually commissioned the Sikh historian to bring out was a “White Paper on the Sikh Problem.” This obviously diluted the focus on Operation Bluestar. It is amazing that where thousands were killed, 74 gurdwaras attacked, property worth thousands of crores destroyed, the SGPC could only spare Rupees 40,000 to the professor for his research into a period spanning 500 years. A clear attempt was made to dilute focus on operation Bluestar. Professor G.S. Dhillon returned the money in disgust and frustration. He was later to accuse Tohra for deliberately restricting the sale of his book through the SGPC.”

“Teachers draw security from their very powerful labour union. Professors, not having all-state unions, were easier to hit. Some were killed as militants or killed and made to appear as militants’ victims. It was only at the later stages when the police had become all-powerful and resistance to it had broken down at all levels that arrest of teachers and
professors started. It is interesting to observe that most of the leaders of the militant movement were highly qualified academically.

Some professors became “ideologues” but by and large the universities remained quiet.
One major reason for this is that vice chancellors of Indian universities are hand-picked by the government with little consideration for their academic merit; secondly 95 per
cent of the staff of Panjab University is non-Sikh. This university has never had a Sikh vice chancellor in 50 years of independent India. Where this was not so, notably the
Agricultural University, Ludhiana, or Punjabi University, Patiala, one did hear persistent protest.

On February 6, 1989, Rajinder Kaur, wife of Rajinder Paul Singh Gill, Assistant Professor in the Punjab Agricultural University’s Department of Horticulture, filed a habeas corpus petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court averring that her husband had come to Chandigarh on January 25 to meet his daughter who was studying in Panjab University. The Ludhiana police had picked him up in Sector 15, on that day.

She said that she learned that the Ludhiana SSP had interrogated him but when she met the SSP and asked to be allowed to meet her husband, he threatened her with dire consequences. She feared that her husband would be, or already had been, killed in a fake encounter and mentioned the encounter listed in FIR 45 of the Ludhiana Police in which the identity of the slain terrorists had not been disclosed.

On February 15, 1989, the Ludhiana SSP, S.S. Saini, announced at a press conference that Rajinder Paul Singh Gill, assistant professor in the Punjab Agricultural University’s Department of Horticulture, was among three terrorists killed in an encounter on the night of January 26 near village Khehra Bet, district Ludhiana. He claimed that Gill was the leader of the gang responsible for the murder of state BJP president Hit Abhilashi and Major General B.N. Kumar, chairman of the Bhakra-Beas Management Board, and that he had planned the attack on United Akali Dal president Jagdev Singh Talwandi.

The PHRO investigated the case. Witnesses said that Sant Kumar, SHO of Payal police station district Ludhiana led the party that arrested Gill around noon in Sector 15, and
impounded the tractor on which he was travelling. An advocate, Major Singh Mangat, who had gone to the Ludhiana police station around 10 p.m. on January 20, saw the tractor parked at the station and overheard the SHO reprimanding his juniors for bringing the tractor there when it was supposed to be taken to Ladhowal near Ludhiana. (Ladhowal is very near the place where the “encounter” supposedly took place.)

At 10:30 p.m. on January 25, Gill and some others were brought to the CIA head office in Ludhiana. Harpreet Singh, a close relative of a United Akali Dal leader, saw him there at 9 a.m. on January 26. Gill, a resident of village Juggiana, district Ludhiana, was a member of the United Akali Dal advisory board.

Following the robbery of Rs 5.7 crore from a Ludhiana bank (February, 1987) he had been kept in custody for three days and since then had been underground to avoid police harassment. Another reason why Gill and his wife, Rajinder Kaur, were suspect was that the marriage of Rajinder Kaur’s brother’s daughter had been arranged with Charanjit Singh Channi, a wanted terrorist.

5 Smells

2009-10-30T13:22:00.001-07:00

So one ‘yay’ comment for the last post so far; it seems

there are people still interested in this Blog. By the way, I think I know who
the person who posted that comment is ;-[] Even though this post is long overdue
especially since I wrote that there will be more frequent postings. Still this
is not as bad as in times past.

Smell is one of the most obvious of senses. Babies use smell as in ID tool to identify people around them before their sense of sight is developed enough to do so. For me a few smells stick out: the smell of cinnamon flavoured gum being chewed by classmates during a field trip ride on the Khalsa School Bus, getting off at the Dehli Airport and taking in the morning air, khakkaria at the khet at our pind, the smell of a brand new Toyota, any lab with more than 20 computers, downtown Vancouver, Surrey’s Boundary Lake, a bus/railway station in india etc. The list could and should go on, but there are 5 smells that tower above all others.

1) Sarbloh: Sarb-loh literally translates into all iron. Most disciplined gursikhs eat out of Sarbloah. For the longest time I thought that it was because of the excellent taste and the out of this world smell. I cannot forget the smell of Dhal put into a Sarbloh bata and just savoring it for the longest time. The best smell in the world is when you cook something in a sarbloh pot and let the smell waft through the room. This smell is especially prevalent at Raensbayees across India, not so much here in the West. The smell is mostly of lentil dhal and cooked rice. I almost forgot about garamjal or non addictive-tea that is served with the preceding. The bottom-line is that Sarbloh is like magic and anything that is cooked in there gives one the gratifying smell of heaven.

2) Soil covered ground after a light rainfall: to experience this to the fullest you need to go to a Khet in Punjab and go for a stroll to the outskirts and without any effort you will encounter smell number two. I have asked many what makes that smell. Most people who I have talked to recall it. Outside of Punjab that smell does not exist, I have been to a few farms right after rainfall in Richmond and even grassy patches, but that smell could not be found. It must be something the in dirt there; it lasts only for a short while. The last time I smelt it was in January 2003 a few days before I left Punjab. A part of the house we were staying in had an open space and the wind had carried some soil into the courtyard during the night, clouds must have moved in as a result and there were a few light showers by morning.

3) IKEA: You cannot beat the ingenious designs of IKEA products, the smell is hard to beat as well. I want to thank Bhai Tejinderpal Singh Toronto for introducing me to the ‘Sastaa Sunder & Takayooh’ formula of his and taking me to IKEA for the first time in 1996. By the way the three letters here translate to value, beauty and longevity. I have been there many times since then with Bhai Jagjeet Singh. When we went there in the winter of 2006 they had a warmed up Swedish drink near the checkout counters and Jagjeet Singh could not have enough of it. The smell was just amazing it was a mixture of cinnamon and garamjal mixed with a honey smell. It was so good in fact that he took a few gulps before we headed off to the checkout.

Generally speaking the smell that you pick up walking intothe store is quite fresh. I know in certain buildings for freshness’ sake they mop the floors with a certain scent. I always wonder what makes that smell last all day.

Who knows, maybe it’s a coating of some sort on the actual products since some of the sample perfume strip things on some magazines last for a long long time. I am pretty sure that the smell is intentional and there to make the customer at home during their stay at the store. Still the smell is alike in the warehouse area of the store and does not end until you leave.

4) UBC libraries: We have always had books around the house and one of the most cherished among smells for me has been the smell of paper. Not the kind of paper that you get on your front steps or the paper you put in your printer and binders, but the paper that is bound up and in book form. There is just something mesmerizing about the paper smell that directs one to act on an impulse. The smell of the interior of Irving and Koerner libraries at the University of British Columbia are such that they make one want to study. I don’t know if it’s the massive number of volumes of books or just the general atmosphere.

The books they have at Koerner, Kwantlen University and Surrey Public Library and for that matter Vancouver and Richmond Public Libraries are roughly the same mean age. So, it’s not a matter of a lot of old books there so much as it is the sheer number of them. I was thinking it might be the architecture of the buildings but Koerner is quite recent, opened in
1995-96. It might be something else, but the anand that one gets from studying
at the UBC libraries is unique and powerful. I have tried to sit and study at
the Education Library at UBC but it isn’t the same. So overall the sense of
smell is overcome and it enables one to act in ways one would not in any other
situation: to pick up a book and read.

5)Home Depot: Even though I hate to shop at American owned stores, I still look forward to going to the Home Depot just for the sheer pleasure of smell. For one thing, all the merchandise is manly in nature and it’s almost as much fun as going to Fry’s Electronics in the States. The smell one should experience is where bulk pieces of timber. Massive piles of plywood, ties, 2X4s, sheets and others are like pine or cedar. For some reason there is freshness all throughout the store, it’s not the freshness of IKEA or Chapters or anything else. It’s the freshness of a newly purchased car mixed in with a freshly cut piece of cedar wood, added to it the smell of brand new power tools and cypress leaves mowed over by a lawnmower. To get an idea of how great it is,one just needs to pay a visit to your local Home Depot.

There are other smells that have made me feel good about living life among them: Chapters bookstores, the smell in our kitchen after freshly baked bread is taken out of the oven, just after pizza is made, the very first time I got inside my new car in 2004, Mud Bay, Lynn Canyon, and opening new computer components for the first few minutes.

New Era: Self Promotion ਦਿਨਸ-ਰਾਤ

2009-10-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in a previous post, most may come to conclude that this Blog has run its course and will remain inactive. However, things are looking up and it appears there is a definite hope that there will be regular posting in the near and distant future. So again, this blog is NOT dead. There are some good excuses why I have been posting once every few months. It appears things have a way of turning into something completely different than what their creators had envisioned. This blog is just that sort: unexpected and different.

Around 2002 a group of Singhs got together and discussed how the recitation of Gurbani would be improved and pronunciation corrected. It was just after the Saturday morning Asa Ki Vaar Kirtan at Khalsa School and in attendance were powerhouses such as Dr Davinder Singh UK, Giani Amolak Singh Jee UK, Bhai Jasbir Singh Jee Tapoban and Bibi Harsharan kaur Jee Mithapur (Colonel-nee). At the end of our time together I realized that something needed to be done so that people who sing Kirtan could be made aware that there are lapses in thought when singing Kirtan or reciting Gurbani Paath.

One thing that directly came out of that meeting was weekend Santhayia. There used to be around 20 of us and it was a complete eye-opening experience for me. I was corrected on many occasions and still remember vividly where I went wrong and what the corrected pronunciation was.

The funniest thing of these days came early. The Sandhu Triplets were sitting there in the main hall reading Japjee Sahib and the baniaan before Shri Rag. He was flying past pauree after pauree, shabad after shabad. He did Japjee Sahib from a Larivaar pothi in less than 7 minutes. As soon as he was done he hit the Shri Raag page like a brick wall. All eyes peered at him intently. Bhai Balbir Singh Jee let out a huge sigh of laughter. That was our sign, that we were all granted the freedom to laugh as a sangat. We all laughed for a long time. Mandeep Singh laughed with us too. It was after that the serious Santhayia began. It is still one of the most memorable events of all time.

So that was that. The other thing that we did was post Gurbani Related things on Yahoo E-Groups and the old AKJ site. A short while after the Tapoban.org forum was established and many threads were posted relating to Gurbani and pronunciation. The most memorable was perhaps this one which had close to 250 posts under just this one thread. Most of them got deleted because of a server issue but many of them have survived. It all sprang from an E-Groups email I had sent out.

So where does this Blog come from. It was such a chore to write Gurmukhi before the Unicode system for windows came out that was the main reason; people just didn’t have the proper fonts.

Once the blog was set up I totally got carried away with it and ended up being majorly sidetracked. I have to leave it at just this and continue on later. But this blog has now officially come out of hibernation! Rejoice one and all.

Bhai Manjot Singh

2009-04-21T11:47:00.002-07:00

ਮ:੧॥ਸਾਮਕਹੈਸੇਤੰਬਰੁਸੁਆਮੀਸਚਮਹਿਆਛੈਸਾਚਿਰਹੇ॥ਸਭੁਕੋਸਚਿਸਮਾਵੈ॥ਰਿਗੁਕਹੈਰਹਿਆਭਰਪੂਰਿ॥
ਰਾਮਨਾਮੁਦੇਵਾਮਹਿਸੂਰੁ॥ਨਾਇਲਇਐਪਰਾਛਤਜਾਹਿ॥ਨਾਨਕਤਉਮੋਖੰਤਰੁਪਾਹਿ॥
ਜੁਜਮਹਿਜੋਰਿਛਲੀਚੰਦ੍ਰਾਵਲਿਕਾਨ੍‍ਕ੍ਰਿਸਨੁਜਾਦਮੁਭਇਆ॥ਪਾਰਜਾਤੁਗੋਪੀਲੈਆਇਆਬਿੰਦ੍ਰਾਬਨਮਹਿਰੰਗੁਕੀਆ॥
ਕਲਿਮਹਿਬੇਦੁਅਥਰਬਣੁਹੂਆਨਾਉਖੁਦਾਈਅਲਹੁਭਇਆ॥ਨੀਲਬਸਤ੍ਰਲੇਕਪੜੇਪਹਿਰੇਤੁਰਕਪਠਾਣੀਅਮਲੁਕੀਆ॥
ਚਾਰੇਵੇਦਹੋਏਸਚਿਆਰ॥ਪੜਹਿਗੁਣਹਿਤਿਨ੍‍ਚਾਰਵੀਚਾਰ॥ਭਾਉਭਗਤਿਕਰਿਨੀਚੁਸਦਾਏ॥ਤਉਨਾਨਕਮੋਖੰਤਰੁਪਾਏ॥੨॥

Most may come to believe that this Blog is dead like some so many others which popped up during or after I started this in 2004. I came to see and accept this one as being dead too. But as it turns out things have a way of turning into something unexpected entities. So I hope to catch up on old 'Blog post ideas' that have come to mind since the last time I posted. I have been saving post ideas as drafts in hopes of filling them later. It’s a shame that some of the most vibrant and insightful sites listed on the left pane are no longer active. I thought writing today might inspire others to do the same in the near future while looking back to see the amazing posts they wrote in the past.

A few things to mention before I go further. Bhai Manjot Singh California Wale has closed down his blog for now. I hope he brings it back soon, it's a shame that it is gone. I just checked it for the first time in many months, it was in fact such a long time that I had even forgotten my e-mail account that this Blog is associated with. Anyway, this is just to urge Manjot Singh to rethink and reconsider this action. If you know MKhalsa, please urge him to keep on blogging.

I guess I have to step aside and let the rest of the thoughts stay embanked for the time being… I just have a few minutes to get to class I thought I should get something kalambanded that just might be remembered a few decades from now.

I want to share something that I will remember for the rest of my life. That was meeting Manjot Singh online on MSN in the year 2000. There was a big thing that happened that fall, and it sent shockwaves through the community worldwide, especially Sikhs of Vancouver, and Surrey in particular. If you are old enough you will remember what it was, anyway even before then he used to have a blog, all made from Microsoft Notepad .txt coded files. I would say Bhai Manjot Singh is the Grandfather of the modern Blog. The kinds of innovative things he implemented during those 7-8 months were years ahead of their time. You have to remember that Google, Wordpress typepad Blogger etc never existed for many years after those months of innovation. Manjot Singh’s approach to creating a working blog was truly visionary. His big thing back then was Shashters. Bhai Manjot Singh has been constructing and deploying waves of different variation on everything that has been cutting edge since I have been online. It boggles my mind that it really has been that long! I have to get to class, will post more later. :-D

Baba Gurmeet Ram Raheem and his Chelai strike yet again!

2008-07-18T06:29:00.004-07:00

You gotta love the greatest democracy in the world! Most of the western world would totally fall apart if things like this start to happen here.....

It doesnt look like this 'Baba' Ram Raheem thing is going away anytime soon. I hope this terrorist is charged with something soon... notice the similarities between the events of the past year with the events of 1978... anyway here is the video

A singh uploaded this from a TV channel i think IBN in india. IBN is a CNN affiliate in India and is generally biased towards anything related to Sikhism. I was happy to see that reporter in SIkhi saroop. Things sure have come along a long way in India since just 2 TV stations there about 15 years ago. I never imagined there would be a live 24 hours news network. In fact the last time i checked there were like 4 full time news stations there. The good thing for us Canadians and Americans is that they have them as free viewable streams online I lost the link but theres the IBN site where you can view live happenings in the homeland....

So if you're reading this... know that I will be posting much more frequently and about really interesting things in the near future. I also updated my flickr and facebook accounts for those that know where to look, feel free to browse them I have a lot more to put up to stay tuned...

MahaBir the Great!

2008-05-25T23:55:00.000-07:00

Why I (don't) Blog?

2008-05-25T22:29:00.003-07:00

The main reason why I got started on Blogger was to keep a journal of the happenings of everyday life. I have succeeded in this respect to some extent, but I am not fully satisfied on the progress of this blog overall and over the past 2 years in particular.

The reason is that I don’t have time anymore. It’s not exactly that, however making time for the important things in life remains the priority for me. Well its just been one thing that has been occupying me: School.

So I took 3 classes: [War in the modern world, Psychology: Intro, Sociology: Intro] in the summer 2007 semester, [Math 11(yes MATQ 1099), Psychology: Basic processes, English 1202, Introduction to Earth Science and Canada since 1867] in the spring 2008 semester I took [English literature 1, English literature 2, History of civilizations, MATH 1099 and Introduction to drawing I] So as it stands now, after thousands of hours readings, analysis, and essays I have an overall GPA of 3.08 which makes me very happy.

So I have a good reason for not updating this thing.

But I have grand plans for www.Davindersingh.ca for this summer. Oh and right now I’m taking a Psychology class called Aging, a History class on the History of the Samurai, and an American Literature class; so this will give me the time required to make the necessary updates here.

Its good to have friends like Prabhdev Singh (SonOfGuruGobindSinghJi) and Karam Singh who know way more about the web and programming for it, in case my desi knowledge and workarounds dont work I always ask them and they have always come through fabulously. They promise to do so in the future.

So to start things off I’ll post a few pictures now To download the entire directory please click here :

A sitting success

2008-02-09T05:15:00.000-08:00

Last night the Food for the Soul event was great, and I measure greatness from the way I tend to sit through the Kirtan or other program. Sitting for however long and not knowing that you are sitting makes one focus more on what is going on around oneself.

In class time flies and I don't even have to look at the clock and wonder when the lecture will be over. I can sit through kirtan but my legs don't always cooperate with my mind and thus begins the slow but steady process of twisting and turning of the lower body to opt for a new sitting posture.

I haven't been able to sit through all night the last three Raensbayees I have attended and during these events most of the time I have to change my leg position half an hour in. Its pretty sad but its true....

However last night was different, I came to New West Gurdvara Sahib at around 4:45 and Kirtan began at around 5:15 and went on until around 11:00pm. Bhai Harinaam Singh Khalsa did amazing, down to earth Katha-lecture in between a kirtan slot.

His style of doing katha is unique and powerful, no wonder the guys on TV. He has a homourous site to him as well, he keeps the sangat well entertained, not like Hardev Singh Looloo, but in a more sensible manner. He has a powerful personality which isn't overpowering. He has the same Bhai Jeevan Singh like glow on his face.

It was my first time seeing him in person and I was impressed. I bet you will be too; here is his program schedule in BC:

SATURDAY, FEB 9
-----------------------
10:40 - 11:40am - Gurdwara Sahib Canadian Singh Sabha, 132 Street, Surrey

7:00pm - Nihaal 2008, Massey Theatre, New Westminster

SUNDAY, FEB 10
---------------------
10:30 - 11:15am - Gurmat Center, Abbotsford

11:30 - 12:15am - Gurdwara Sahib Kalgidhar Darbar, Blueridge Way, Abbotsford

7:30 - 8:30pm - Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar, 128th Street, Surrey

MONDAY, FEB 11
----------------------
10:00 - 2:00pm - Dasmesh Punjabi School, Abbotsford

7:00 - 8:00pm - Gurdwara Sahib Khalsa Darbar, Vancouver

Food for the Soul

2008-01-25T19:00:00.000-08:00

"Do you ever get the feeling that you are all alone in this world?
Do you feel that you are doing something your mind does not agree with?
Are you sometimes confused about the way things happen?
These are all questions and concerns that are connected with the soul.
Come join us for an evening of uplifting devotional Kirtan, meditation, and discussions on the soul and its spiritual needs; followed by complimentary dinner and desserts.

This event is for everyone and anyone who wishes to explore the deep secrets of the soul.

Please come out bring your family and friends, and also do not miss this opportunity to meet and mingle with all of the other youth in the lower mainland. The event will take place as follows:

Time: Friday February 8th 7-9pm

Location: Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar 347 Wood Street, New Westminister

Dastaar King

2007-12-15T23:12:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-10T21:52:00.000-08:00

Culture Crawl: This Weekend!

2007-11-16T22:11:00.000-08:00

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

2007-09-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-09T04:50:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-21T23:28:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-20T23:04:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-02-26T06:13:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-06T20:39:00.000-08:00

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.

Khalsa Credit Union Calendar: V2

2006-12-16T05:20:00.000-08:00

Khalsa Credit Union, dubbed as 'ਸਿੱਖਾਂ ਦਾ ਸਰਵੋਤਮ ਫ਼ਾਇਨੈਂਨਸ਼ਲ ਅਦਾਰਾ'(leading Sikh financial institution) and a ‘Symbol of Economic Progress of Sikhs in BC’ has been celebrating 20 years of existence this year. It opened up in 1986 and has seen considerable growth since then.

Most of us have been used to seeing their famous line of calendars, the one for the upcoming year is due for release anytime now. For a while I’ve wanted to post on the September 2006 graphic they included in the current calendar:

This is a picture of a guy and his family on what looks like the rooftop of Darbar Sahib(Amritsar). There’s nothing out of place with the picture itself, seems just like your average devoted family…… that is until you look up at the line from Gurbani from the top right. The last 2 lines of a shabad from Ang 172 make it very hard not to make the connection with the text and the pilgrimaging family:
ਹਮਅਪਰਾਧਪਾਪਬਹੁਕੀਨੇਕਰਿਦੁਸਟੀਚੋਰਚੁਰਾਇਆ॥
ਅਬਨਾਨਕਸਰਣਾਗਤਿਆਏਹਰਿਰਾਖਹੁਲਾਜਹਰਿਭਾਇਆ॥੪॥

which translate into

“I am a sinner, I have committed so many sins; I am a villainous, thieving thief. Now, Nanak has come to the Lord's Sanctuary; preserve my honor as it pleases Your Will.”

I wonder what the guy will think if he ever comes across the calendar. Using lines from Gurbani out of context obviously isn’t new. But it’s beginning to make a huge presence felt on the roads of Surrey. Although it’s hard to spot a bus or truck windshield free of assuring-feel-good quotes from Gurbani in Punjab. You almost forgot it ever existed here. First the shiny CDs, then the chrome Khanda hanging from the rearview mirrors and more recently the ever increasing number of construction vans and trucks with ਤੂੰਮੇਰਾਰਾਖਾਸਭਨੀਥਾਈ॥, ਤੂਦਾਤਾਦਾਤਾਰੁਤੇਰਾਦਿਤਾਖਾਵਣਾ॥ etc. on the front windshields bring Surry that much closer to the GT road culture of Punjab.

Just as the October came to an end, the page turned and another surprise was in store for November:

Nice obesity Poll

2006-11-12T22:07:00.000-08:00

Should Americans do more to prevent childhood obesity?

[1]Yes, there should be mandatory testing and counseling at school

[2]Yes, more optional education for children should be available

[3]It is a problem, but it will hurt kids’ feelings to dwell on their weight

[4]No, it is not a big deal

---------------------------
(from a small US newspaper site)

Multiple choice questions on exams are most enjoyable for me, not necessarily because they’re easy to figure out or even because if you don’t have a clue you still have a 20-25% chance of getting your ‘educated guess’ beign declared correct.

No, not because there isn’t much writing involved. In fact this type of question would almost be a disaster for the marginally confused. Well with the host of choices provided it would make them confused a 100% and lead to panic. That’s why short answer type doesn’t prove to be such a huge bai-izzati inciting threat, leaving it blank doesn’t automatically mean that you didn’t know the answer (it could be that you meant to do it at the end of the exam, but you forgot, among other perfectly acceptable terms) This is not the case on multiple choice. There is a 75-80% chance that the laystudent will prove how big of a fool he/she is…

Anyway, it seems that more and more literacy based evaluations include multiple choice questions these days. A huge chunk of Government high school exams have for years been mostly this type. This is the exact reason why most wonder how they barely escaped the F when they got above 80% for the class mark.

And so it’s working well, actually better than any educator might have expected it to. The invention of Scantron marking systems, and widespread application of the same have made the marking process that much more streamlined for the teacher and ‘piece of cake’ seeming for the ever confident student.

However it is not as simple as it seems. Usually in a question that gives you 4 possible choices, two are usually pretty closely related to the question; what separates the ‘correct’ answer from the one you ‘think’ is the right answer is almost non-existent. Barely recognizable at best to infinitely interchangeable time and time again in most cases.

The best thing about any multiple choice exam (assuming it’s done right): the remainder of the rest. This is what I enjoy the most! These are the remaining 2 or 3 questions that you make yourself believe are true. Most do get fooled into doing so and end up losing a mark. This is where the bei-izati points really start to add up.

Precisely because of this reason I really look forward to multiple choice exams. They are much fun to go over, especially if it’s done right. Some of these possible answers get trapped in your long term memory and linger there for many days and bring many a spontaneous smile…

Actually the latter 2(or more) are the really ‘way out there’ ones which make no sense whatsoever and yet they confuse the overwhelming majority. Why even have these as a selection in the first place? They simply work as intended!

And now you know exactly how they work!

So it brings us to the poll at hand, since it relates to this subject so well:

Using the information provided above, Can you classify the 4 choices above into first the 2 logical categories then chose the CORRECT answer?

Should Americans do more to prevent childhood obesity?

[1]Yes, there should be mandatory testing and counseling at school

[2]Yes, more optional education for children should be available

[3]It is a problem, but it will hurt kids’ feelings to dwell on their weight

[4]No, it is not a big deal

Lion's Roar

2006-11-04T22:45:00.000-08:00

THis is another verse again from Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh's ਦਰਸ਼ਨ ਝਲਕਾਂ anthology (poem# 15) about Guru Nanak Dev Jee's Parkash:

ਪ੍ਰਗਟੇ ਜੋਤੀਸ਼ ਗੁਰੁ ਚਾਨਣੁ ਜਗਤਿ ਭਇਆ,
ਮਿਟ ਗਈ ਧੁੰਦ ਅੰਧਕਾਰ ਬਿਨਸਾਏ ਹੈਂ।
ਜੈਸੇ ਦਿਨਕਾਰ ਉਦੇ ਹੋਤ ਉਡਗਨਿ ਛਪਹਿ,
ਧਰਤਿ ਅਕਾਸ਼ ਉਜਿਆਰ ਉਜਰਾਏ ਹੈਂ।
ਮ੍ਰਿਗ-ਰਾਜ ਬੁਕੇ ਮਿਰਗਾਵਲੀ ਪਲਾਇ ਜਾਤ,
ਇਕ ਛਿਨ ਪਲ ਭਰ ਧੀਰ ਨ ਧਰਾਏ ਹੈਂ।
ਧੀਰਨ ਧੀਰਾਨ ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰਨ ਪੀਰਾਨ ਗੁਰ,
ਕਲਜੁਗ ਮਹਿ ਅਵਤਾਰ ਧਾਰ ਆਏ ਹੈਂ।੧੫।

This stanza expands on Bhai Gurdass Jee’s famous Pauree:
ਸਤਿਗੁਰਨਾਨਕਪ੍ਰਗਟਿਆਮਿਟੀਧੁੰਧਜਗਚਾਨਣਹੋਆ॥
ਜਿਉਂਕਰਸੂਰਜਨਿਕਲਿਆਤਾਰੇਛਪੇਅੰਧੇਰਪਲੋਆ॥
ਸਿੰਘਬੁਕੇਮਿਰਗਾਵਲੀਭੰਨੀਜਾਏਨਧੀਰਧਰੋਆ॥
ਜਿਥੈਬਾਬਾਪੈਰਧਰੈਪੂਜਾਆਸਣਥਾਪਣਸੋਆ॥
ਸਿਧਆਸਣਸਭਜਗਤਦੇਨਾਨਕਆਦਮਤੇਜੇਕੋਆ॥
ਘਰਘਰਅੰਦਰਧਰਮਸਾਲਹੋਵੈਕੀਰਤਨਸਦਾਵਿਸੋਆ॥
ਬਾਬੇਤਾਰੇਚਾਰਚਕਨੌਖੰਡਪ੍ਰਿਥਮੀਸਚਾਢੋਆ॥
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਕਲਿਵਿਚਪਰਗਟਹੋਆ॥੨੭॥

The Kabit meter and general flow of stresses is based on Bhai Gurdass' Kabit: '...ਸੁਪਨਚਰਿਤ੍ਰਚਿਤ੍ਰਬਾਨਕਬਨੇਬਚਿਤ੍ਰਪਾਵਨਪਵਿਤ੍ਰਮਿਤ੍ਰਆਜਮੇਰੈਆਏਹੈ॥..."
Lose translation:

Light fills the universe as Guru Sahib is revealed, the fogs of darkness vanish.
As the stars of the night sky disappear at dawn, earth and sky are illuminated.
The ‘Lion-King’ roars and herds of deer flee, in an instant.
Ever peaceful Guru- the greatest saint, has revealed himself in the dark age.

Ever-glowing Lamp

2006-11-03T13:40:00.000-08:00

From ਦਰਸ਼ਨ ਝਲਕਾਂ by Bhai Sahib Bhai Randhir Singh Jee
From: poem #15 'ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦਰਸ ਹੁਲਾਸੜੀਆਂ'

...ਪੂਰਨ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਪੂਰਾ ਪੁੰਨਿਓਂ ਅਕਾਸਿ ਚੰਦ, ਘਟਿ ਜੋਤਿ ਦੀਵਟੀ ਸਦੀਵ ਹੀ ਜਗਾਏ ਹੈਂ।
ਦੀਪਕ ਜਗਾਇ ਖਟਿ ਆਰਤੀ ਉਤਰਵਾਇ, ਆਪਣੀ ਹੀ ਆਪਿ ਗੁਰੂ ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਵਾਏ ਹੈਂ।
ਸਦ ਨੌ ਬਹਾਰ ਸਸਿ-ਭਾਨ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਰੁਤਿ, ਕਾਰਤਕ ਮਾਸ ਗੁਰ ਪੁੰਮਨ ਮਨਾਏ ਹੈਂ।
ਕਾਰਤਕ ਮਾਸ ਗੁਰ ਪੁੰਮਨ ਸਦੀਵ ਤਾ ਕੈ, ਜਾ ਕੈ ਗੁਰ ਨਾਨਕ ਜੋਤਸ਼ਿ ਪ੍ਰਗਟਾਏ ਹੈਂ।੧੪।...

Inseperable Form

2006-11-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

The Bhai Randhir Singh whom most associate with is the great freedom fighter, a revolutionary, someone who sacrificed decades sitting behind bars engrossed in Naam and Bani. Some see him as the one who inspired Bhagat Singh and countless others, even today. He’s remembered as the premier scholar, the golden bird of the Panth, the athority on practical Gurmat through hsi own experiences explained through Gurbani. He was all this and a lot more.

But to truly understand Bhai Sahib, the best way is to rely on his two volumes of poetry- first hand, direct, untouched, unaltered just the way he witnessed everything. Only through his poetic works one realizes the full force of Bhai sahib’s experiences. There really isn’t anything else out there that can even remotely match up with Joyt Vigass. It’s unfortunate it has very limited mainstream exposure. I too didn't realize this until a few years ago until i read Joyt Vigass and actually understood parts of it.
-----------------------------------
Bhai Randheer Singh Jee wrote this poem on November 2, 1933 for Guru Nanak Dev Jee’s Parkash celebratins. Each time there was a major Smagam coinciding with a historic day he would write a poem and send it out as an invitation. 24 such masterpieces are compiled in the anthology known as 'Darshan Jhalkaa(n){ਦਰਸ਼ਨ ਝਲਕਾਂ}

Bhai Sahib uses a wide range of stylistic measures for the different poems. The image of Guru Sahibs and Akhal Purkh is depicted very vividly across all the works in this collection. His poetry is very deep compared to many other Punjabi poets, mostly because the lines embody deep spirituality within them, the way he felt it. Reading his poetry leads one to experiences a source of bliss that no other poem even comes close. Listening to this poetry has a stange calming effect, but if one understands what he wrote it suddenly becomes clear what Bhai Sahib was about.

The Gurmat-based approach to word choice is strikingly unique compared to any other modern poet becuase he embodies only words used in Shri Guru Granth Sahib Jee. There hasn’t been anyone else who’s been able to freely use Gurbani termnology in verse flawlessly with surprising frequency. It's with this recurrent use which shows his clear understanding of GUrbani resulting in the captivating effect it has on the reader.

Bhai Sahib employs the Kabit meter throughout this whole poem, similar in poetic measure to Bhai Gurdass Jee’s Kabit Swayeeai. These are the last 2 of 7 verses from poem 3 titled

'ਟਕਸਾਲ ਵਾਲੇ ਮੋਦੀਆ':

ਨਰਦ ਨਿਹਾਰ ਨਿਸਤਾਰਿਆ ਜਗਤ ਸਾਰਾ,
ਭਗਤਿ ਵਿਥਾਰ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਕਰਤਾਰ ਦੀ।
ਨਾਮ ਪਰਸਿੱਧ ਤੇਰਾ ਨਾਨਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰੀ,
ਮੂਰਤ ਪ੍ਰਤਖ ਤੂੰ ਅਲੱਖ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਦੀ।
ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਕਾਲ ਨੂਰ ਤੇਜਸੀ ਜਲਾਲ ਕ੍ਰਾਂਤ,
ਸਾਂਤਕੀ ਕਮਾਲ ਕਣੀ ਜਲਵ ਜੋਤਾਰ ਦੀ।
ਜਲਵ ਜੋਤਾਰ ਝਲਕਾਰ ਦੀ ਅਮਿੱਤ ਗੱਤਿ,
ਮਹਿਮਾ ਅਪਾਰ ਤੇਰੇ ਦਿੱਬ ਦਰਸਾਰ ਦੀ।੬।

ਦਿਬ ਦਰਸਾਰੀ ਦਿਬ ਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟ ਨਿਗਾਰੀ ਜਨ,
ਲੱਖਨ ਪਿਖਨ ਤੇਰੀ ਤੱਤ ਜੋਤਿ ਮੂਰਤੀ।
ਮੂਰਤੀ ਅਨੂਪ ਰੂਪ ਬਿਸਮ ਸਰੂਪ ਇਕ,
ਜੋਤਿ ਆਭਾ ਅਨਿਕ ਉਦੋਤ ਤੇਰੀ ਮੂਰਤੀ।
ਅਨਿਕ ਉਦੋਤ ਆਭਾ ਅਛਿਤ ਅਛੋਤ, ਦਸ,
ਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਯ ਇਕ ਜੋਤਿ ਓਤ ਪੋਤ ਤੇਰੀ ਮੂਰਤੀ।
ਅਨੰਗ ਤੇ ਅਭੰਗ ਤੂੰ ਅਭੇਦ ਹਰਿ ਸੰਗ,
ੲਕ ਮਿੱਕ ਗੁਰ ਨਾਨਕ ਅਦੋਤ ਤੇਰੀ ਮੂਰਤੀ।੭।

Although it’s impossible to even attempt to accurately decipher this into English and nothing except the original can do justice to the verse, a rough translation of the two quatrains is given below anyway:

With one glance the Guru liberated humanity, through the Creator’s Name.
Your name is famous savior, your Godly image clearly visible, yet unseen.
The timeless image radiates bright with force, light of peaceful splendor.
The glittering flash sparkles abound, your image radiates with infinite greatness.(6)

Glimpses of your piercing eyes, I see and understand the true light.
Your unequaled image is astonishing, brings luminosity shining.
Immeasurable radiance blossoms forth-complete, 1 is in all 10 forms.
Gorgeous, indestructible, inseparable, one with God is Guru Nanak.(7)

Very 'Colorful' Language indeed!

2006-11-01T22:37:00.000-08:00

Many consider Ernest Hemingway, an American, to be one of the best writers of all time. Undoubtedly his anti-war themed novels are among the most famous and widely read. Even today, in most Canadian high schools his WWI inspired novel A Farewell to Arms is one of the required reads in the English curriculum.

I recently picked up his other war novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. This one is based on the events of the Spanish Civil War, where Hemingway fought for the Republicans. The most enjoyable thing in the book apart from all the other things is the way he displays the guerilla fighters’ character through their spoken language.

Even though the usage of profanity isn’t revealed explicitly, still it has a really strong effect because of the why it’s used. Most of the time the way they say things seems hilarious anyway, even without the swearing. Some of the subtle cussing-like words are left in Spanish as is, but other stronger ones are translated into loose English which obviously funny, seem to stick with you for a long time.

When our English 10 teacher started the unit on Shakespeare most of the students hated it. In an attempt to make things exciting she made us do an exercise on combinations of interchangeable swearwords used in the play, with just that it got everyone involved. The class was divided up into two groups and one side had to come up with a creative ‘compliment’ which the other would counter it with one of their own. By the end of class everyone had a clear advantage over everyone else in school: we had mastered the art of swearing in Shakespearean! It carried on for a few weeks but eventually didn’t catch on and died down.

I may be wrong, but it looks like the whole ‘!@#$%’ might have been invented by Hemmingway where the ‘un-nameable’ shows up again and again in For Whom the Bell Tolls:

“Where the un-nameable is this vileness that I am to guard?”

The word ‘obscenity’ is very effective because of the way it’s used, and yet still being readable. There are multiple variations of this throughout the book, each one more 'colorful' than the last:

“And I am tired of thy obscenity.”

This one’s a favorite of the poor/uneducated Guerilla fighters on the Republican side:

“I obscenity in the milk of thy tiredness!”

There are a lot of variations of the “I obscenity in the milk of thy_______” ending with something different after the thy.

“Then go and befoul thyself,” and others like it are also common.

When I read “Thy mother!” I just couldn’t stop laughing. This one really hit home because of its extensive use by Punjabis, for most it just seems to come out on impulse. Images of students from high school came popping up; a few of them just went around saying this, seemingly without even realizing it.

It's fairly long, but a good read nonetheless and more enjoyable than most others like it.

ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਸਰੂਪ

2006-10-29T17:12:00.000-08:00

ਇੱਕ ਵਾਰ ਦੀ ਗੱਲ ਆ ਕਿ ਇੱਕ ਬਹੁਤ ਹੀ ਮੰਨਿਆਂ ਪ੍ਰਮੰਨਿਆਂ ਯੋਗੀ ਆਪਣੇ ਚੇਲਿਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਥਾਂ ਥਾਂ ਤੇ ਜਾ ਕੇ ਆਸਣ ਲਾਇਆ ਕਰਦਾ ਸੀ। ਉਹਦੇ ਚੇਲੇ ਜਿੱਥੇ ਵੀ ਜਾਇਆ ਕਰਦਾ ਸੀ ਉਥੇ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਬੜਾ ਪ੍ਰਚਾਰ ਕਰਦੇ ਅਤੇ ਥੋੜੇ ਸਮੇਂ ਵਿਚ ਹੀ ਅੰਧਵਸ਼ਾਸ਼ੀ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਵਹੀਰਾਂ ਘੱਤ ਦਿੰਦੇ।

ਏਸ ਯੋਗੀ ਦਾ ਨਾਂ ਸੀ ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਸਰੂਪ। ਜਿਸ ਥਾਂ ਤੇ ਇਹ ਆਪਣਾ ਡੇਰਾ ਲਾਉਂਦੇ ਉਥੇ ਇਸ ਦੇ ਚੇਲੇ ਇੱਕ ਵੱਡੀ ਥੂਣੀ ਬਾਲ ਦਿੰਦੇ ਅਤੇ ਤਪ ਕਰਨ ਲੱਗ ਜੰਦੇ।

ਇਹ ਦੇਖ ਕੇ ਕਾਫੀ ਭੀੜ ਇਕੱਠੀ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਅਤੇ ਛੇਤੀ ਹੇ ਲੋਕ ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਸਰੂਪ ਨੂੰ ਮਹਿੰਗਾ ਸਮਾਨ ਲਿਆ ਕੇ ਭੇਟ ਕਰ ਦਿੰਦੇ। ਨੋਟਾਂ ਦਾ ਢੇਰ ਲੱਗ ਜੰਦਾ ਅਤੇ ਭੋਲੇ ਭਾਲੇ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਇਹ ਅਸ਼ੀਰਵਾਦ ਦੇ ਕੇ ਨਿਹਾਲ ਕਰ ਦਿੰਦਾ।

ਇਕ ਮਹਾਂ ਪ੍ਰਉਪਕਾਰੀ ਜੱਟ ਤੁਰਿਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਸੀ ਤੇ ਇਹ ਪਖੰਡ ਦੇਖ ਕੇ ਉਸ ਦਾ ਮਨ ਬੜਾ ਦੁਖੀ ਹੋਇਆ। ਲੋਕ ਤਾ ਮਸਾਂ ਸਖ਼ਤ ਮਿਹਨਤ ਕਰਕੇ ਚਾਰ ਦਮੜੇ ਜੋੜਦੇ ਸਨ ਤੇ ਇਹ ਬੇਈਮਾਨ ਸੱਨੇ ਸੱਨ ਨਿਜੈਜ ਈ ਪੈਸਾ ਬਟੋਰਨ ਨੂੰ ਹੀ ਧੰਦਾ ਬਣਾਈ ਫਿਰਦੇ ਨੇ।

ਜੱਟ ਜੀ ਬੜੇ ਸਚੱਜੇ ਸਨ, ਹਰ ਵੇਲੇ ਦਿਮਾਗ ਤੋਂ ਕੰਮ ਲੈਂਦੇ ਸਨ; ਉਹਨਾਂ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਤੇ ਤਰਸ ਕੀਤਾ ਤੇ ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਸਰੂਪ ਨੂੰ ਸੂਤ ਕਰਨ ਦਾ ਮਨ ਬਣਾ ਲਿਆ।

ਇਹ ਯੋਗੀ ਅੱਖਾਂ ਮੀਚੀ ਆਵਦੇ ਚੇਲਿਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਅੱਗ ਦੇ ਦਵਾਲੇ ਗੋਲ ਚੱਕਰ ਬਣਾਈ ਬੈਠਾ ਸੀ ਤੇ ਲੋਕ ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਰਸਦਾ ਬਸਦਾ ਭੈਟਾ ਕਰੀ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਸਨ।

ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਸਰੂਪ ਜੀ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਮੀਟੀਆਂ ਅੱਖਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਹੀ ਹੱਥ ਦੇ ਇਸ਼ਾਰੇ ਨਾਲ ਅਸ਼ੀਰਵਾਦਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਨਿਹਾਲ ਕਰੀ ਜਾ ਰਿਹੇ ਸਨ। ਅਪਣੇ ਜੱਟ ਜੀ ਹੌਲੀ ਦਿਨੇ ਯੋਗੀ ਦੇ ਇਕ ਪਾਸੇ ਥੋੜੀ ਦੂਰ ਬੈਠ ਗਏ। ਨਲੇ ਵੇਖੀ ਜਾਣ ਕਿ ਇਹਦਾ ਕੰਮ ਕਿਨਾਂ ਚੰਗਾ ਚੱਲ ਰਿਹਾ ਸੀ।

ਠੀਕ ਸਮਾਂ ਵਾਚ ਕੇ ਜੱਟ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਪੁੱਛਿਆ, "ਆਪ ਦਾ ਨਾਂ ਕੀ ਹੈ ਯੋਗੀ ਜੀ?"

"ਮੇਰਾ ਨਾਂ ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਸਰੂਪ ਹੈ।" ਯੋਗੀ ਨੇ ਭੜੀ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਭਰੀ ਅਵਾਜ ਵਿੱਚ ਉਤਰ ਦਿੱਤਾ। ਏਨੇ ਨੂੰ ਹੋਰ ਲੋਕ ਸਮਾਨ ਭੇਟਾ ਲਈ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਆ ਗਏ ਤੇ ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਸਰੂਪ ਜੀ ਫਿਰ ਲੱਗੇ ਅਸੀਸਾਂ ਦੇਣ।

ਜੱਟ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਮੌਕਾ ਦੇਖ ਕੇ ਇੱਕ ਵਾਰ ਫੇਰ ਓਹੀ ਸਵਾਲ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਦੁਰਾਹਿਆ। ਯੋਗੀ ਨੇ ਫੇਰ ਕਹਿ ਤੇ ਕਿ ਮੈਂ ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਸਰੂਪ ਆਂ।
ਹੋਰ ਲੋਕ ਆਈ ਗਏ ਤੇ ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਸਰੂਪ ਦੇ ਮੂਹਰੇ ਸਮਾਨ ਦਾ ਥੱਬਾ ਕਾਫੀ ਵੱਡਾ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ। ਪੈਸਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਢੇਰ ਵੀ ਕਾਫੀ ਵਥ ਰਿਹਾ ਸੀ।

ਜੱਟ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਫੈਂਸਲਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਕਿ ਇਸ ਅਨੱਰਥ ਦਾ ਅੰਤ ਐਥੇ ਹੀ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਣਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ। ਤੇ ਇਕ ਵਾਰ ਫੇਰ ਪੁੱਛਿਆ ਕਿ ਯੋਗੀ ਤੇਰਾ ਨਾਂ ਕੀ ਆ?

ਹੁਣ ਯੋਗੀ ਦੀ ਅਵਾਜ਼ ਵਿੱਚ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਵਰਗੀ ਮਿਠਸ ਗਇਬ ਹੋ ਗਈ ਸੀ, ਪਰ ਫੇਰ ਵੀ ਚੱਜ ਨਾਲ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਆਲਾ ਜੁਆਬ ਦੇ ਤਾ। ਇਕ ਵਾਰ ਫੇਰ ਜੱਟ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਓਹੀ ਸੁਆਲ ਪੁੱਛ ਲਿਆ।

ਹੁਣ ਤਾਂ ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਦਾ ਸਰੂਪ ਕਾਫ਼ੀ ਹੱਦ ਤੱਕ ਗਇਬ ਹੋ ਚੁੱਕਾ ਸੀ ਤੇ ਪਤਾ ਲੱਗ ਗਿਆ ਕਿ ਇੱਕ ਬੰਦਾ ਹੀ ਇਹੀ ਵਾਰੀ ਵਾਰੀ ਪੁੱਛੀ ਜਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਸੀ।

ਆਸੇ ਪਾਸੇ ਬੈਠੇ ਉਸ ਦੇ ਚੇਲੇ ਤੇ ਆਮ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੇ ਅਨੋਖੀ ਚੁੱਪ ਵੱਟ ਲਈ ਤੇ ਧਿਆਨ ਨਾਲ ਜੱਟ ਜੀ ਵੱਲੀਂ, ਕਦੇ ਯੋਗੀ ਵੱਲ ਦੇਖਦੇ ਰਹੇ। ਭੀੜ ਦਾ ਹੋਰ ਵਾਧ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ ਤੇ ਜੱਟ ਜੀ ਥੋੜੇ ਸਮੇਂ ਬਾਆਦ ਫਿਰ ਓਹੀ ਸੁਆਲ ਉਸ ਤੋਂ ਪੁੱਛਿਆ ਕਰਨ।

ਅੰਤ ਨੂੰ ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਸਰੂਪ ਜੱਟ ਜੀ ਤੋਂ ਕਾਫੀ ਠਿੱਠ ਹੋ ਗਿਏ ਸਨ ਤੇ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਚੁੱਪ ਛਾ ਗਈ ਸੀ। ਯੋਗੀ ਦਾ ਬੋਲ ਬਹੁਤ ਹੀ ਦੁਖੀ ਅਤੇ ਔਖਾ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ ਸੀ ਕਿ ਜੱਟ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਜੁਆਪ ਮਿਲਣ ਸਾਰ ਹੀ ਇੱਕ ਵਾਰੀ ਹੋਰ ਪੁੱਛਿਆ ਤੇ ਨਾਲ ਦੀ ਨਾਲ ਹੀ ਖੜ੍ਹੇ ਹੋ ਗਏ।

ਜਦੋਂ ਸਿਰ ਤਾਂਹ ਚੱਕ ਕੇ ਵੇਖਿਅ ਤੇ ਛੇਤੀ ਹੀ ਆਪਣੇ ਆਪ ਨੂੰ ਬਲਦੇ ਅੰਞਾਰ ਦੀ ਲੱਕੜ ਦੇ ਰਾਹ ਤੋ ਬੋਚ ਲਿਆ ਜੋ ਕਿ ਕਿ ਸਿਰ ਦੇ ਇਕ ਪਾਸ ਦੀ ਟੱਪ ਗਈ। ਜੱਟ ਜੀ ਥੜਾ ਜ੍ਹਾ ਪਿਛਾਂਹ ਰਿਸਕ ਗਏ ਅਤੇ ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਸਰੂਪ ਹੁਣ ਹੱਥ ਵਿੱਚ ਬਲਦੀ ਭੁੱਬਲ ਦੀ ਲੱਕੜ ਧੂਣੀ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਚੱਕ ਲਈ ਸੀ ਅਤੇ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਵੱਲ ਛੇਤੀ ਵਧ ਰਿਹਾ ਸੀ। ਓਸ ਦੀਆਂ ਅੱਖਾਂ ਲਾਲ ਸੁਰਖ ਸਨ ਅਤੇ ਚਿਹਰੇ ਤੇ ਹੁਣ ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਦਾ ਨਾਂ ਨਿਸ਼ਾਨ ਹੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਸੀ।

ਜੱਟ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਹੱਥ ਅੱਗੇ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਕਿਹਾ, "ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਸਰੂਪ!!" ਤੇ ਕਿਹਾ ਵੀ ਓਵੇਂ, ਜਿਵੇਂ ਹਿੰਦੀ ਮੂਵੀਆਂ 'ਚ ਬੜੀ ਗਰਜਮੀਂ ਅਵਾਜ਼ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਹਿਦੇ ਹੁੰਦੇ ਆ।

"ਯੋਗੀ ਜੀ ਆਪ ਦੀ ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਹੋਣ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਆ? ਬੱਸ ਇਹ ਹੀ ਦੇਖਣਾ ਸੀ।" ਐਸੀ ਮਿੱਠੀ, ਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਭਰਪੂਰ ਅਵਾਜ਼ ਸੁਣ ਕੇ ਯੋਗੀ ਠਠੰਬਰ ਗਿਆ ਤੇ ਹੱਥ 'ਚ ਫੜੀ ਬਲਦੀ ਸੋਟੀ ਕੜਾਕ ਦਿਨੇ ਭੰਙੇਂ ਡਿੱਗ ਪੀ....
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Shanti Saroop

There was once a great yogi, his name was Shanti Saroop. Shanti means peace and Saroop means image. So his name meant the 'image of calmness.' So him and his followers were sitting around a big fire and random people were bringing him offerings. With his outstreatchd hand he was blessing them.

A guy had heard a lot about this Shanti Saroop and since he had a few minutes to spare he decided to pay him a visit because he was in the area near where the Yogi and his followers had made camp.

So our guy takes a seat around the fire and sees that a lot of people are coming to pay their respects to him. The offerings keep pouring and and more people get blessed; they walk off feeling happy. Pretty soon the stack of material goods and money given to the yogi grows to a huge pile.

"Swami jee what is your name?" the guy asks.

"My name is Shanti Saroop" says the yogi extending his hand out to bless our guy. So after a few minutes he again asks the yogi what his name was.

The yogi says to him, "I'm known as Shanti Saroop."

A few minutes go by and a number of people recieve his blessing and consider themselves lucky. As the rush of flocking visitors eases a little our guy askes him again, "yogi jee what is your name?"

In the same content voice he answers guy but with a little unease in his tone realizing that it was the same guy who had asked a third time from the voice and location.

So the guy keeps asking him what his name was again and again after evey few minutes. The yogi's followers witness this but too try to display their 'Shanti Saroop,' now the yogi's voice at each interval beomes more and more harsh.

Finally at about the 10th time the content yogi's had enough. He opens his eyes, they're red with the blood vessels almost about to pop. Seeing this our guy unrelenting again askes him what his name was, thinking he'll get a better responce now.

At this the yogi was beyond angry. Tension filled everyone who encircled the fire. In a fit of bitter rage he unleashed his fury at the guy, who now full well understood what was coming to him.

Just as he had managed to get to his feet, our guy ducked as a peice of wood with glowing embers was hurled across, almost hitting his head. As he raised his head he saw that yogi jee held another peice of wood with one end burning bright letting out a streak of black smoke as the Yogi's fast motion brought him closer.

Realizing he would be doomed if he didn't make a move he stuck to his calculated plan. Now that the yogi would be upon him in another instant our guy quite dramatically yells out(like in one of those Hindi movies), "SHANTI SAROOP!" He could listen to the wave of muffled gasp as it escaped from the gathered crowd in unison. In a softer voice the guy reminds him, "Yogi Jee, where is this Shanti of yours now?" The yogi stops in his tracks and just looks at him, then around at the crowd and the stick from his hand fell on teh floor with a loud bang......

Doctors vs. Guns

2006-10-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

This should bring a smile, if even only for a few minutes . . ..
a. The number of physicians in the US is 700,000.
b. Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year is 120,000.
c. Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171. (US Dept. of Health & Human Services)

Then think about this:

a. The number of gun owners in the US is about 80,000,000.
b. The number of accidental gun deaths per year (all age groups) is 1,500.
c. The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is .0000188.

Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.

FACT: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR.

Please alert your friends to this alarming threat. We must ban doctors before this gets out of hand. As a public health measure I have withheld the statistics on lawyers for fear that the shock could cause people to seek medical attention.

Maclean's University Rankings

2006-10-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

Maclean’s is a very popular Canadian news magazine. Every year in a special issue they rank Canadian universities by different things like sports program, class size and other things. This issue is the most read. For many years I went out of my way to get a copy of the rankings issue. Every year it’s big news and makes people discuss post secondary education.

I was on the University of Alberta’s site and they have opted out of the Maclean’s rankings until further notice. Initially not only U of A but 10 of the other big universities including UBC, SFU, Mcmaster and University of Toronto have decided not to participate in the rankings. But “The revolt against Maclean's university rankings has grown to include 22 schools, casting doubt on the magazine's claim it'll be able to produce a credible ranking by its November publication date.”

It’ll be interesting to see how they come up with the rankings when the 22 major schools aren’t going to give Macleans the data they need to compile the standings.

From their press release:

‘In various ways and for some years, many institutional spokespersons have expressed considerable reservations about the methodology used in the Maclean’s university survey and the validity of some of the measures used. Thus far, these serious concerns have gone largely unaddressed, and there is still no evidence that Maclean’s intends to respond to them.

…it is truly hard for us to justify the investment of public funds required to generate customized data for your survey when those data are compiled in ways that we regard as over-simplified and arbitrary.

…The variables selected by Maclean’s also fail to capture the breadth of experiences students say are important in their university education such as, for example, extra-curricular activities or the opportunity for rich and diverse interactions with peers and faculty outside the classroom.

…We are also concerned by Maclean’s recent attempt to draw comparisons of student experience across incomparable surveys of student engagement, and Maclean's reliance on survey data with low response rates and all the associated response biases that arise from skewed profiles of respondents. The responsible compilation and comparison of data is a core tenet of academic research. Several universities already show student survey data, in context, on their own web sites and question Maclean's decision to pull different kinds of data out of context and compare “apples and oranges”. Maclean’s treatment of these survey data, in our view, fails to give appropriate notice to these methodological limitations.

….We remain open to the possibility of collaborating with Maclean’s at some future date, particularly if we can agree on means to ensure that the data will be valid and the analyses truly informative. Meanwhile, we will continue to publish data on our websites to facilitate informed student and family choice.'

Dr. Amrik S Sidhu

2006-09-30T11:18:00.001-07:00

After last year’s December Smagam because of many hours of sitting down in Kirtan and handling heavy things(even with picking up using the proper technique and not bending the back) somehow by the end of the week my back was hit with constant excruciating pain. I couldn’t sit stand or do anything without a throbbing soreness that stung a lot.

I had a collection of few little handouts from over the years that supposedly would help correct back pain. None of these small exercises ‘designed to relieve back pain’ made any difference. Then I tried to use a mediball and tried to walk.

As a last desperate attempt I hung from the stairs hoping the tension on the back would ease. With a week of doing these and with total bed rest it seemed to get worse. It seemed to go on for so long that I thought it had became a permanent condition.

Then I realized there was this book lying somewhere with the title ‘Your Doctor’s wish: Lasting relief for aching backs’ by Dr. Amrik Singh Sidhu. I had seen it so many times but never bothered to have a look inside.

After some searching I found it. It turned out this guy Amrik Singh was no ordinary doctor but someone with extensive real life experience in the subject and much more. From reading the few pages of the testimonials it seemed that this guy knew what he was doing and all the people who he had treated were really bad cases of long term varied back problems- accident victims to big time CEO’s and everyone in between.

Just reading the first few pages made it look like results actually could be achieved by anyone with just 10 minutes twice a day.

Just out of curiosity doing to search on him uncovered just one article from the UBC student paper. The other more interesting find was the actual book, published in 1982 lists the price at $5.25Cndn but someone on amazon.com was selling a used copy for $68.00US plus shipping!

This guy was really someone who knew what he was talking about because he had professional experience with Olympians, CFL and NHL players.

So doing the exercises he illustrated in the book three times a day for 3 days greatly reduced the pain of the lower back significantly. By the end of the week it was completely gone!

His whole approach to back pain recovery has to do with:
1) Good diet: giving up coffee, pop, tea and anything that has a lot of fat and caffeine
2) Exercise done with simple Breathing techniques
3) Posture: assuming a correct posture while doing things leads to pain prevention and even recovery
4) Stress reduction: stress intensifies back pain and muscle tension and if reduced back pain is also reduced.

It seems he’s just gone underground. It would be great if he could publish a second edition of that book, it’d change a lot of peoples' lives.

Too bad UBC didn’t realize his greatness and what he would have brought to their athletic program. Here is the article on him:

Frustrated Sidhu Quits

By ALAN DOREE

A man who could make any pro team in North America has just quit UBC.

Amrik Sidhu isn't a coach or athlete but a sports scientist. The only man on this continent with his qualifications, he's worked with teams in the National Football League, Canadian Football l League, National Hockey League e and World Hockey Association. He turned down contracts with some of these teams, although serving them as a consultant, to work here in the school of physical education.

"I wanted to teach students to handle fitness programs after they graduate. To recognize each person's needs differ and conditioning must be based on those needs," he said.

Sidhu, a doctor of sports science and former member of India’s Olympic team, said he feels the traditional university approach to physical education is to produce graduates, not skills. "It's a cycle. Everyone completes the same requirements for their degree, but few realize their potential." Graduates then perpetuate this process in their own fitness s programs. He calls it a trial and error process which subjects everyone to the same tests and exercises.

You either quit or, "You harm yourself struggling through a fitness program not designed for your needs, thinking you're staying in shape. People think exercise means exhaustion, sweating a lot, but that's wrong. A proper program enables you to develop without killing yourself. "

Part of the reason Sidhu left UBC is because he couldn't implement such programs. "I couldn't do this here. I was stagnating. I couldn’t get money to expand facilities."

Sidhu worked in the War Memorial gym's basement physiology lab. "People supported my ideas in my lectures, but not in application. As a scientist I'm not interested in just producing better athletes, but in raising the genera l level of fitness among those interested."

Sidhu feels this is not typical of North America's approach to sports and fitness.

"Sports is so commercialized here, people, want packaged solutions. Again, with the intention of applying them to everyone. In Europe this isn't done. Russia n hockey, for example, is nothing magical. They condition people according to their needs an d abilities, then on this foundation build the skills necessary to play the game. Here, people want only the skills, as quickly as possible. They try to learn the game before they know their potential."

Sidhu attended the Central Scientific Institute of Sports and Physical Culture in the USSR, where he became the first foreign student to write and defend his dissertation in Russian.

The day after...

2006-06-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁਮਹਲਾ੧॥ਲੇਖੈਬੋਲਣੁਬੋਲਣਾਲੇਖੈਖਾਣਾਖਾਉ॥
ਲੇਖੈਵਾਟਚਲਾਈਆਲੇਖੈਸੁਣਿਵੇਖਾਉ॥
ਲੇਖੈਸਾਹਲਵਾਈਅਹਿਪੜੇਕਿਪੁਛਣਜਾਉ॥੧॥
ਬਾਬਾਮਾਇਆਰਚਨਾਧੋਹੁ॥
ਅੰਧੈਨਾਮੁਵਿਸਾਰਿਆਨਾਤਿਸੁਏਹਨਓਹੁ॥੧॥ਰਹਾਉ॥
ਜੀਵਣਮਰਣਾਜਾਇਕੈਏਥੈਖਾਜੈਕਾਲਿ॥
ਜਿਥੈਬਹਿਸਮਝਾਈਐਤਿਥੈਕੋਇਨਚਲਿਓਨਾਲਿ॥
ਰੋਵਣਵਾਲੇਜੇਤੜੇਸਭਿਬੰਨਹਿਪੰਡਪਰਾਲਿ॥੨॥
ਸਭੁਕੋਆਖੈਬਹੁਤੁਬਹੁਤੁਘਟਿਨਆਖੈਕੋਇ॥
ਕੀਮਤਿਕਿਨੈਨਪਾਈਆਕਹਣਿਨਵਡਾਹੋਇ॥
ਸਾਚਾਸਾਹਬੁਏਕੁਤੂਹੋਰਿਜੀਆਕੇਤੇਲੋਅ॥੩॥
ਨੀਚਾਅੰਦਰਿਨੀਚਜਾਤਿਨੀਚੀਹੂਅਤਿਨੀਚੁ॥
ਨਾਨਕੁਤਿਨਕੈਸੰਗਿਸਾਥਿਵਡਿਆਸਿਉਕਿਆਰੀਸ॥
ਜਿਥੈਨੀਚਸਮਾਲੀਅਨਿਤਿਥੈਨਦਰਿਤੇਰੀਬਖਸੀਸ॥੪॥੩॥

ਸਾਡਾ ਪਿੰਡ

2006-05-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

ਸਾਡਾ ਪਿੰਡ ਬੇਸ਼ੱਕ ਬਾਕੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਤਰਾਂ ਬੜਾ ਡਾਢ੍ਹਾ ਤੇ ਸ਼ਾਨਦਾਰ ਨਹੀਂ ਗਿਣਿਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਪਰ ਫਿਰ ਵੀ ਇਹ ਸਾਡਾ ਪਿੰਡ ਹੈ। ਅਤਿਅੰਤ ਸੁਹਾਵਣਾ ਹੈ ਇਹ ਪਿੰਡ ਜ੍ਹਿਦੀਆਂ ਪਹੀਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਬੁੱਢੇ ਠੇਰੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਛਤਰੀਆਂ ਹੱਥ ਧੁੱਪ ਸੇਕਦੇ ਨੇ। ਇਸ ਪਿੰਡ ਦੀ ਹੀ ਬਖ਼ਸ਼ਿਸ਼ ਸਦਕਾ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਭਾਈ ਜਗਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਦੀ ਸੰਗਤ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਹੋਈ। ਇਸ ਪਿੰਡ ਨੇ ਹੀ ਮੇਰੇ ਨਾਲਦਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਸਭ ਕੁਝ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਅਤੇ ਬਨਣ ਦਾ ਡਾਢਾ ਮੌਕਾ ਝੋਲੀਂ ਪਾਇਆ। ਸਭ ਤੋ ਕਮਾਲ ਦੀ ਗੱਲ ਇਹ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਸਾਡੇ ਪਿੰਡ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ਸਕੂਲ ਆਇਆ, ਅਤੇ ਚੱਲਿਆ ਅਜੇ ਵੀ ਚੱਲ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਸਦੀਵੀ ਚੱਲਦਾ ਰਹੇਗਾ!

ਜਦੋਂ ਕਿਤੇ ਬਾਹਰੋਂ ਕੋਈ ਸਿੰਘ ਆਉਦਾ ਹੈ ਤਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਜਗਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਪਿੰਡ ਦੇ ਆਸੇ ਪਾਸੇ ਤੇ ਅੰਦਰ ਬਾਹਰ ਦੇ ਰੌਣਕ ਮੇਲੇ ਦੇ ਨਜ਼ਾਰੇ ਪ੍ਰਤੀਤ ਕਰਵਾਉਦੇ ਹਨ। ਜਿਹੜਾ ਵੀ ਹੁਣ ਤੱਕ ਕੋਈ ਆਇਆ ਬੱਸ ਬਲਹਾਰ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਹੀ ਗਿਆ! ਬਲਿਹਾਰ ਜਾਈਏ ਭਾਈ ਜਗਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਦੇ। ਐਸ ਮਹੀਨੇ ਸਾਲਾਨਾ ਵੈਨਕੂਵਰ ਸਮਾਗਮ ਸੀ ਅਤੇ ਕੈਲੀਫੋਰਨੀਆਂ ਤੋਂ ਦੋ ਪੁਰਾਣੇ ਗੁਰਮੁੱਖ, ਡਾ: ਬਲਜਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਅਤੇ ਭਾਈ ਵੀ.ਜੇ. ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਆਏ।

ਸਮਾਗਮ ਦਾ ਅਨੰਦ ਮਾਣਨ ਤੋ ਪਿੱਛੋਂ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਆਸੇ ਪਾਸੇ ਦੇ ਰੰਗ ਢੰਗ ਦਿਖਾਏ। ਪਿੰਡ ਦੇ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਵਾਸਤੇ ਫਰੂਟੀਕੈਨਾ ਬਹੁਤ ਹੀ ਮਹੱਤਵਪੂਰਨ ਸੰਸਥਾ ਹੈ ਜਿੱਥੇ ਹਰ ਤਰਾਂ ਦੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਬੋਲਦੇ ਲੋਕ ਨਜ਼ਰ ਆਉਦੇ ਹਨ। ਬਾਹਰਲਾ ਬੰਦਾ ਇਸ ਹੱਟੀ ਦਾ ਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼ ਦੇਖਣਸਾਰ ਹੀ ਦੰਗ ਰਹਿ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ। ਹੇਠਾਂ ਇੱਕ ਬਾਬਾ ਜੀ ਦਿਖਾਈ ਦੇ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ, ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਪਿੱਛੇ ਖੂਹ ਚੋਂ ਪਾਣੀ ਕੱਢਦੇ ਜੱਟ ਦੀ ਮੂਰਤ ਹੈ।

ਸੇਵ ਔਨ ਫੂਡਸ ਵੀ ਪੰਜਾਬੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਐਣ ਗੜ ‘ਚ ਇੱਕ ਹੱਟ ਹੈ। ਇਹ ਤਸਵੀਰ ਦਵਾਈਆਂ ਵਾਲੀ ਕੰਮਪੋਡਰੀ ਤੇ ਮਨੇਜਰ ਸਰਦਾਰ ਇਕਬਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਦੀ ਹੈ, ਜੋ ਇੱਕ ਬਹੁਤ ਅੱਛੇ ਇਨਸਾਨ ਹਨ। ਬਾਹਰਲੇ ਪਿੰਡਾਂ ਦੇ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਵਾਸਤੇ ਅਜਿਹੀਆਂ ਚੀਜ਼ਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਤਾਂ ਕਦੇ ਸੁਪਨੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਵੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਦਿਸਦੀਆਂ।

ਆਹ ਫੱਟਾ ਵੀ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਲੱਗਾ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ। ਅਜੀਬੋ ਗ਼ਰੀਬ ਖੇਡ!

ਡਾਕਟਰ ਸਹਿਬ ਜੀ ਹੁਰਾਂ ਦੀ ਇਸ ਫੇਰੀ ਦਾ ਸਭ ਤੋ ਸਿਰਮੋਰ ਨਜ਼ਾਰਾ ਓਦੋ ਹੋਇਆ ਜਦੋਂ ਰਿਚਮੰਡ ਦੇ ਆਈਕੀਆ ਸਮਾਨ ਲੈਣ ਗਏ। ਇਹ ਵਰਤਾਂਤ ਤਾ ਬਿਲਕੁੱਲ ਆਪਣੀ ਮਿਸਾਲ ਆਪ ਹੀ ਸੀ ਅਤੇ ਏਥੇ ਵਰਨਣ ਤੋਂ ਅਸਮਰੱਥ ਹਾਂ।

੧੬੯੯{ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ} ੭ years later:

2006-05-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

ਆਸਾਮਹਲਾ੧ਚਉਪਦੇ॥
ਵਿਦਿਆਵੀਚਾਰੀਤਾਂਪਰਉਪਕਾਰੀ॥
ਜਾਂਪੰਚਰਾਸੀਤਾਂਤੀਰਥਵਾਸੀ॥੧॥
ਘੁੰਘਰੂਵਾਜੈਜੇਮਨੁਲਾਗੈ॥
ਤਉਜਮੁਕਹਾਕਰੇਮੋਸਿਉਆਗੈ॥੧॥ਰਹਾਉ॥
ਆਸਨਿਰਾਸੀਤਉਸੰਨਿਆਸੀ॥
ਜਾਂਜਤੁਜੋਗੀਤਾਂਕਾਇਆਭੋਗੀ॥੨॥
ਦਇਆਦਿਗੰਬਰੁਦੇਹਬੀਚਾਰੀ॥
ਆਪਿਮਰੈਅਵਰਾਨਹਮਾਰੀ॥੩॥
ਏਕੁਤੂਹੋਰਿਵੇਸਬਹੁਤੇਰੇ॥
ਨਾਨਕੁਜਾਣੈਚੋਜਨਤੇਰੇ॥੪॥੨੫॥
-------------------

Poem Analysis

2006-04-28T06:24:00.000-07:00

Click below to enlarge:

---------------------------------
The Haw Lantern

The wintry haw is burning out of season,
crab of the thorn, a small light for small people,
wanting no more from them but that they keep
the wick of self-respect from dying out,
not having to blind them with illumination.

But sometimes when your breath plumes in the frost
it takes the roaming shape of Diogenes
with his lantern, seeking one just man;
so you end up scrutinized from behind the haw
he holds up at eye-level on its twig,
and you flinch before its bonded pith and stone,
its blood-prick that you wish would test and clear you,
its pecked-at ripeness that scans you, then moves on.

By Seamus Heaney
From "The Haw Lantern", 1987
--------------------------------
The Haw Lantern: In Celtic mythology the hawthorn tree, which bears a fruit called a haw is associated with faeries and the faery realm. However the Catholic Church , in trying to obliterate Celtic mythology, linked the hawthorn to bad lick and witches.

"...it takes the roaming shape of Diogenes": There is a story that Diogens of Sinope (forth Centuary BCE), a cynic and a man who believed in self-sufficiency, wandered Greece looking for an honost man.

From: The Nelson Introduction to Literature(Second Edition)- Al Valleau & Jack Finnbogason
--------------------------------
This is a page I used to plan out a comparison of the two poems mentioned in the notes. It’s from an English 1100 exam at Kwantlen. This was one of the best courses I’ve ever took. The professor, Al Valleau was what made the class so engaging. The book from where this poem was from was compiled by him, and he did a very good job at it. The foot-notes are from his book as well (very useful indeed)

The Haw Lantern is pretty intelligently written: thought with the guy’s heart and felt through his brain. To really understand this one must know a little Irish history which can be learnt at Kwantlen.

The real reason why I’m posting this is because of this post and the following comment: “What a bogus bunch of crap blog. Seriously...”

1=X

2006-04-28T04:49:00.000-07:00

1=2=3=4=5=6=7=8=9=0=(ੴ)

ਏਸਕ ਬਿਨ:

2006-04-28T04:46:00.000-07:00

ਸਾਰਗਮਹਲਾ੫॥ਮਾਈਰੀਮਾਤੀਚਰਣਸਮੂਹ॥
ਏਕਸੁਬਿਨੁਹਉਆਨਨਜਾਨਉਦੁਤੀਆਭਾਉਸਭਲੂਹ॥੧॥ਰਹਾਉ॥
ਤਿਆਗਿਗੁੋਪਾਲਅਵਰਜੋਕਰਣਾਤੇਬਿਖਿਆਕੇਖੂਹ॥
ਦਰਸਪਿਆਸਮੇਰਾਮਨੁਮੋਹਿਓਕਾਢੀਨਰਕਤੇਧੂਹ॥੧॥
ਸੰਤਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿਮਿਲਿਓਸੁਖਦਾਤਾਬਿਨਸੀਹਉਮੈਹੂਹ॥
ਰਾਮਰੰਗਿਰਾਤੇਦਾਸਨਾਨਕਮਉਲਿਓਮਨੁਤਨੁਜੂਹ॥੨॥੯੫॥੧੧੮॥
ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁਮਹਲਾ੫॥ਸੰਚਿਹਰਿਧਨੁਪੂਜਿਸਤਿਗੁਰੁਛੋਡਿਸਗਲਵਿਕਾਰ॥
ਜਿਨਿਤੂੰਸਾਜਿਸਵਾਰਿਆਹਰਿਸਿਮਰਿਹੋਇਉਧਾਰੁ॥੧॥
ਜਪਿਮਨਨਾਮੁਏਕੁਅਪਾਰੁ॥ਪ੍ਰਾਨਮਨੁਤਨੁਜਿਨਹਿਦੀਆਰਿਦੇਕਾਆਧਾਰੁ॥੧॥ਰਹਾਉ॥
ਕਾਮਿਕ੍ਰੋਧਿਅਹੰਕਾਰਿਮਾਤੇਵਿਆਪਿਆਸੰਸਾਰੁ॥
ਪਉਸੰਤਸਰਣੀਲਾਗੁਚਰਣੀਮਿਟੈਦੂਖੁਅੰਧਾਰੁ॥੨॥
ਸਤੁਸੰਤੋਖੁਦਇਆਕਮਾਵੈਏਹਕਰਣੀਸਾਰ॥
ਆਪੁਛੋਡਿਸਭਹੋਇਰੇਣਾਜਿਸੁਦੇਇਪ੍ਰਭੁਨਿਰੰਕਾਰੁ॥੩॥
ਜੋਦੀਸੈਸੋਸਗਲਤੂੰਹੈਪਸਰਿਆਪਾਸਾਰੁ॥
ਕਹੁਨਾਨਕਗੁਰਿਭਰਮੁਕਾਟਿਆਸਗਲਬ੍ਰਹਮਬੀਚਾਰੁ॥੪॥੨੫॥੯੫॥
ੴਸਤਿਗੁਰਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥ਰਾਗੁਗਉੜੀਬੈਰਾਗਣਿਮਹਲਾ੩॥ਸਤਿਗੁਰਤੇਜੋਮੁਹਫੇਰੇਤੇਵੇਮੁਖਬੁਰੇਦਿਸੰਨਿ॥
ਅਨਦਿਨੁਬਧੇਮਾਰੀਅਨਿਫਿਰਿਵੇਲਾਨਾਲਹੰਨਿ॥੧॥
ਹਰਿਹਰਿਰਾਖਹੁਕ੍ਰਿਪਾਧਾਰਿ॥ਸਤਸੰਗਤਿਮੇਲਾਇਪ੍ਰਭਹਰਿਹਿਰਦੈਹਰਿਗੁਣਸਾਰਿ॥੧॥ਰਹਾਉ॥
ਸੇਭਗਤਹਰਿਭਾਵਦੇਜੋਗੁਰਮੁਖਿਭਾਇਚਲੰਨਿ॥ਆਪੁਛੋਡਿਸੇਵਾਕਰਨਿਜੀਵਤਮੁਏਰਹੰਨਿ॥੨॥
ਜਿਸਦਾਪਿੰਡੁਪਰਾਣਹੈਤਿਸਕੀਸਿਰਿਕਾਰ॥ਓਹੁਕਿਉਮਨਹੁਵਿਸਾਰੀਐਹਰਿਰਖੀਐਹਿਰਦੈਧਾਰਿ॥੩॥
ਨਾਮਿਮਿਲਿਐਪਤਿਪਾਈਐਨਾਮਿਮੰਨਿਐਸੁਖੁਹੋਇ॥ਸਤਿਗੁਰਤੇਨਾਮੁਪਾਈਐਕਰਮਿਮਿਲੈਪ੍ਰਭੁਸੋਇ॥੪॥
ਸਤਿਗੁਰਤੇਜੋਮੁਹੁਫੇਰੇਓਇਭ੍ਰਮਦੇਨਾਟਿਕੰਨਿ॥ਧਰਤਿਅਸਮਾਨੁਨਝਲਈਵਿਚਿਵਿਸਟਾਪਏਪਚੰਨਿ॥੫॥
ਇਹੁਜਗੁਭਰਮਿਭੁਲਾਇਆਮੋਹਠਗਉਲੀਪਾਇ॥ਜਿਨਾਸਤਿਗੁਰੁਭੇਟਿਆਤਿਨਨੇੜਿਨਭਿਟੈਮਾਇ॥੬॥
ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁਸੇਵਨਿਸੋਸੋਹਣੇਹਉਮੈਮੈਲੁਗਵਾਇ॥ਸਬਦਿਰਤੇਸੇਨਿਰਮਲੇਚਲਹਿਸਤਿਗੁਰਭਾਇ॥੭॥
ਹਰਿਪ੍ਰਭਦਾਤਾਏਕੁਤੂੰਤੂੰਆਪੇਬਖਸਿਮਿਲਾਇ॥ਜਨੁਨਾਨਕੁਸਰਣਾਗਤੀਜਿਉਭਾਵੈਤਿਵੈਛਡਾਇ॥੮॥੧॥੯॥
ੴਸਤਿਗੁਰਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥ਆਸਾਮਹਲਾ੩ਛੰਤਘਰੁ੩॥ਸਾਜਨਮੇਰੇਪ੍ਰੀਤਮਹੁਤੁਮਸਹਕੀਭਗਤਿਕਰੇਹੋ॥
ਗੁਰੁਸੇਵਹੁਸਦਾਆਪਣਾਨਾਮੁਪਦਾਰਥੁਲੇਹੋ॥ਭਗਤਿਕਰਹੁਤੁਮਸਹੈਕੇਰੀਜੋਸਹਪਿਆਰੇਭਾਵਏ॥
ਆਪਣਾਭਾਣਾਤੁਮਕਰਹੁਤਾਫਿਰਿਸਹਖੁਸੀਨਆਵਏ॥ਭਗਤਿਭਾਵਇਹੁਮਾਰਗੁਬਿਖੜਾਗੁਰਦੁਆਰੈਕੋਪਾਵਏ॥
ਕਹੈਨਾਨਕੁਜਿਸੁਕਰੇਕਿਰਪਾਸੋਹਰਿਭਗਤੀਚਿਤੁਲਾਵਏ॥੧॥
ਮੇਰੇਮਨਬੈਰਾਗੀਆਤੂੰਬੈਰਾਗੁਕਰਿਕਿਸੁਦਿਖਾਵਹਿ॥ਹਰਿਸੋਹਿਲਾਤਿਨ੍‍ਸਦਸਦਾਜੋਹਰਿਗੁਣਗਾਵਹਿ॥
ਕਰਿਬੈਰਾਗੁਤੂੰਛੋਡਿਪਾਖੰਡੁਸੋਸਹੁਸਭੁਕਿਛੁਜਾਣਏ॥ਜਲਿਥਲਿਮਹੀਅਲਿਏਕੋਸੋਈਗੁਰਮੁਖਿਹੁਕਮੁਪਛਾਣਏ॥
ਜਿਨਿਹੁਕਮੁਪਛਾਤਾਹਰੀਕੇਰਾਸੋਈਸਰਬਸੁਖਪਾਵਏ॥ਇਵਕਹੈਨਾਨਕੁਸੋਬੈਰਾਗੀਅਨਦਿਨੁਹਰਿਲਿਵਲਾਵਏ॥੨॥
ਜਹਜਹਮਨਤੂੰਧਾਵਦਾਤਹਤਹਹਰਿਤੇਰੈਨਾਲੇ॥ਮਨਸਿਆਣਪਛੋਡੀਐਗੁਰਕਾਸਬਦੁਸਮਾਲੇ॥
ਸਾਥਿਤੇਰੈਸੋਸਹੁਸਦਾਹੈਇਕੁਖਿਨੁਹਰਿਨਾਮੁਸਮਾਲਹੇ॥ਜਨਮਜਨਮਕੇਤੇਰੇਪਾਪਕਟੇਅੰਤਿਪਰਮਪਦੁਪਾਵਹੇ॥
ਸਾਚੇਨਾਲਿਤੇਰਾਗੰਢੁਲਾਗੈਗੁਰਮੁਖਿਸਦਾਸਮਾਲੇ॥ਇਉਕਹੈਨਾਨਕੁਜਹਮਨਤੂੰਧਾਵਦਾਤਹਹਰਿਤੇਰੈਸਦਾਨਾਲੇ॥੩॥
ਸਤਿਗੁਰਮਿਲਿਐਧਾਵਤੁਥੰਮ੍‍ਆਿਨਿਜਘਰਿਵਸਿਆਆਏ॥ਨਾਮੁਵਿਹਾਝੇਨਾਮੁਲਏਨਾਮਿਰਹੇਸਮਾਏ॥
ਧਾਵਤੁਥੰਮ੍‍ਆਿਸਤਿਗੁਰਿਮਿਲਿਐਦਸਵਾਦੁਆਰੁਪਾਇਆ॥ਤਿਥੈਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਭੋਜਨੁਸਹਜਧੁਨਿਉਪਜੈਜਿਤੁਸਬਦਿਜਗਤੁਥੰਮ੍‍ਰਿਹਾਇਆ॥
ਤਹਅਨੇਕਵਾਜੇਸਦਾਅਨਦੁਹੈਸਚੇਰਹਿਆਸਮਾਏ॥ਇਉਕਹੈਨਾਨਕੁਸਤਿਗੁਰਿਮਿਲਿਐਧਾਵਤੁਥੰਮ੍‍ਆਿਨਿਜਘਰਿਵਸਿਆਆਏ॥੪॥
ਮਨਤੂੰਜੋਤਿਸਰੂਪੁਹੈਆਪਣਾਮੂਲੁਪਛਾਣੁ॥ਮਨਹਰਿਜੀਤੇਰੈਨਾਲਿਹੈਗੁਰਮਤੀਰੰਗੁਮਾਣੁ॥
ਮੂਲੁਪਛਾਣਹਿਤਾਂਸਹੁਜਾਣਹਿਮਰਣਜੀਵਣਕੀਸੋਝੀਹੋਈ॥ਗੁਰਪਰਸਾਦੀਏਕੋਜਾਣਹਿਤਾਂਦੂਜਾਭਾਉਨਹੋਈ॥
ਮਨਿਸਾਂਤਿਆਈਵਜੀਵਧਾਈਤਾਹੋਆਪਰਵਾਣੁ॥ਇਉਕਹੈਨਾਨਕੁਮਨਤੂੰਜੋਤਿਸਰੂਪੁਹੈਅਪਣਾਮੂਲੁਪਛਾਣੁ॥੫॥
ਮਨਤੂੰਗਾਰਬਿਅਟਿਆਗਾਰਬਿਲਦਿਆਜਾਹਿ॥ਮਾਇਆਮੋਹਣੀਮੋਹਿਆਫਿਰਿਫਿਰਿਜੂਨੀਭਵਾਹਿ॥
ਗਾਰਬਿਲਾਗਾਜਾਹਿਮੁਗਧਮਨਅੰਤਿਗਇਆਪਛੁਤਾਵਹੇ॥ਅਹੰਕਾਰੁਤਿਸਨਾਰੋਗੁਲਗਾਬਿਰਥਾਜਨਮੁਗਵਾਵਹੇ॥
ਮਨਮੁਖਮੁਗਧਚੇਤਹਿਨਾਹੀਅਗੈਗਇਆਪਛੁਤਾਵਹੇ॥ਇਉਕਹੈਨਾਨਕੁਮਨਤੂੰਗਾਰਬਿਅਟਿਆਗਾਰਬਿਲਦਿਆਜਾਵਹੇ॥੬॥
ਮਨਤੂੰਮਤਮਾਣੁਕਰਹਿਜਿਹਉਕਿਛੁਜਾਣਦਾਗੁਰਮੁਖਿਨਿਮਾਣਾਹੋਹੁ॥ਅੰਤਰਿਅਗਿਆਨੁਹਉਬੁਧਿਹੈਸਚਿਸਬਦਿਮਲੁਖੋਹੁ॥
ਹੋਹੁਨਿਮਾਣਾਸਤਿਗੁਰੂਅਗੈਮਤਕਿਛੁਆਪੁਲਖਾਵਹੇ॥ਆਪਣੈਅਹੰਕਾਰਿਜਗਤੁਜਲਿਆਮਤਤੂੰਆਪਣਾਆਪੁਗਵਾਵਹੇ॥
ਸਤਿਗੁਰਕੈਭਾਣੈਕਰਹਿਕਾਰਸਤਿਗੁਰਕੈਭਾਣੈਲਾਗਿਰਹੁ॥ਇਉਕਹੈਨਾਨਕੁਆਪੁਛਡਿਸੁਖਪਾਵਹਿਮਨਨਿਮਾਣਾਹੋਇਰਹੁ॥੭॥
ਧੰਨੁਸੁਵੇਲਾਜਿਤੁਮੈਸਤਿਗੁਰੁਮਿਲਿਆਸੋਸਹੁਚਿਤਿਆਇਆ॥ਮਹਾਅਨੰਦੁਸਹਜੁਭਇਆਮਨਿਤਨਿਸੁਖੁਪਾਇਆ॥
ਸੋਸਹੁਚਿਤਿਆਇਆਮੰਨਿਵਸਾਇਆਅਵਗਣਸਭਿਵਿਸਾਰੇ॥ਜਾਤਿਸੁਭਾਣਾਗੁਣਪਰਗਟਹੋਏਸਤਿਗੁਰਆਪਿਸਵਾਰੇ॥
ਸੇਜਨਪਰਵਾਣੁਹੋਏਜਿਨ੍‍ੀਇਕੁਨਾਮੁਦਿੜਿਆਦੁਤੀਆਭਾਉਚੁਕਾਇਆ॥ਇਉਕਹੈਨਾਨਕੁਧੰਨੁਸੁਵੇਲਾਜਿਤੁਮੈਸਤਿਗੁਰੁਮਿਲਿਆਸੋਸਹੁਚਿਤਿਆਇਆ॥੮॥
ਇਕਿਜੰਤਭਰਮਿਭੁਲੇਤਿਨਿਸਹਿਆਪਿਭੁਲਾਏ॥ਦੂਜੈਭਾਇਫਿਰਹਿਹਉਮੈਕਰਮਕਮਾਏ॥
ਤਿਨਿਸਹਿਆਪਿਭੁਲਾਏਕੁਮਾਰਗਿਪਾਏਤਿਨਕਾਕਿਛੁਨਵਸਾਈ॥ਤਿਨਕੀਗਤਿਅਵਗਤਿਤੂੰਹੈਜਾਣਹਿਜਿਨਿਇਹਰਚਨਰਚਾਈ॥
ਹੁਕਮੁਤੇਰਾਖਰਾਭਾਰਾਗੁਰਮੁਖਿਕਿਸੈਬੁਝਾਏ॥ਇਉਕਹੈਨਾਨਕੁਕਿਆਜੰਤਵਿਚਾਰੇਜਾਤੁਧੁਭਰਮਿਭੁਲਾਏ॥੯॥
ਸਚੇਮੇਰੇਸਾਹਿਬਾਸਚੀਤੇਰੀਵਡਿਆਈ॥ਤੂੰਪਾਰਬ੍ਰਹਮੁਬੇਅੰਤੁਸੁਆਮੀਤੇਰੀਕੁਦਰਤਿਕਹਣੁਨਜਾਈ॥
ਸਚੀਤੇਰੀਵਡਿਆਈਜਾਕਉਤੁਧੁਮੰਨਿਵਸਾਈਸਦਾਤੇਰੇਗੁਣਗਾਵਹੇ॥ਤੇਰੇਗੁਣਗਾਵਹਿਜਾਤੁਧੁਭਾਵਹਿਸਚੇਸਿਉਚਿਤੁਲਾਵਹੇ॥
ਜਿਸਨੋਤੂੰਆਪੇਮੇਲਹਿਸੁਗੁਰਮੁਖਿਰਹੈਸਮਾਈ॥ਇਉਕਹੈਨਾਨਕੁਸਚੇਮੇਰੇਸਾਹਿਬਾਸਚੀਤੇਰੀਵਡਿਆਈ॥੧੦॥੨॥੭॥੫॥੨॥੭॥
ਆਸਾ॥ਜੋਗੀਜਤੀਤਪੀਸੰਨਿਆਸੀਬਹੁਤੀਰਥਭ੍ਰਮਨਾ॥ਲੁੰਜਿਤਮੁੰਜਿਤਮੋਨਿਜਟਾਧਰਅੰਤਿਤਊਮਰਨਾ॥੧॥
ਤਾਤੇਸੇਵੀਅਲੇਰਾਮਨਾ॥ਰਸਨਾਰਾਮਨਾਮਹਿਤੁਜਾਕੈਕਹਾਕਰੈਜਮਨਾ॥੧॥ਰਹਾਉ॥
ਆਗਮਨਿਰਗਮਜੋਤਿਕਜਾਨਹਿਬਹੁਬਹੁਬਿਆਕਰਨਾ॥ਤੰਤਮੰਤ੍ਰਸਭਅਉਖਧਜਾਨਹਿਅੰਤਿਤਊਮਰਨਾ॥੨॥
ਰਾਜਭੋਗਅਰੁਛਤ੍ਰਸਿੰਘਾਸਨਬਹੁਸੁੰਦਰਿਰਮਨਾ॥ਪਾਨਕਪੂਰਸੁਬਾਸਕਚੰਦਨਅੰਤਿਤਊਮਰਨਾ॥੩॥
ਬੇਦਪੁਰਾਨਸਿੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਿਸਭਖੋਜੇਕਹੂਨਊਬਰਨਾ॥ਕਹੁਕਬੀਰਇਉਰਾਮਹਿਜੰਪਉਮੇਟਿਜਨਮਮਰਨਾ॥੪॥੫॥
ਵਡਹੰਸੁਮਹਲਾ੩ਮਹਲਾਤੀਜਾੴਸਤਿਗੁਰਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥ਪ੍ਰਭੁਸਚੜਾਹਰਿਸਾਲਾਹੀਐਕਾਰਜੁਸਭੁਕਿਛੁਕਰਣੈਜੋਗੁ॥
ਸਾਧਨਰੰਡਨਕਬਹੂਬੈਸਈਨਾਕਦੇਹੋਵੈਸੋਗੁ॥ਨਾਕਦੇਹੋਵੈਸੋਗੁਅਨਦਿਨੁਰਸਭੋਗਸਾਧਨਮਹਲਿਸਮਾਣੀ॥
ਜਿਨਿਪ੍ਰਿਉਜਾਤਾਕਰਮਬਿਧਾਤਾਬੋਲੇਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਬਾਣੀ॥ਗੁਣਵੰਤੀਆਗੁਣਸਾਰਹਿਅਪਣੇਕੰਤਸਮਾਲਹਿਨਾਕਦੇਲਗੈਵਿਜੋਗੋ॥
ਸਚੜਾਪਿਰੁਸਾਲਾਹੀਐਸਭੁਕਿਛੁਕਰਣੈਜੋਗੋ॥੧॥ਸਚੜਾਸਾਹਿਬੁਸਬਦਿਪਛਾਣੀਐਆਪੇਲਏਮਿਲਾਏ॥
ਸਾਧਨਪ੍ਰਿਅਕੈਰੰਗਿਰਤੀਵਿਚਹੁਆਪੁਗਵਾਏ॥ਵਿਚਹੁਆਪੁਗਵਾਏਫਿਰਿਕਾਲੁਨਖਾਏਗੁਰਮੁਖਿਏਕੋਜਾਤਾ॥
ਕਾਮਣਿਇਛਪੁੰਨੀਅੰਤਰਿਭਿੰਨੀਮਿਲਿਆਜਗਜੀਵਨੁਦਾਤਾ॥ਸਬਦਰੰਗਿਰਾਤੀਜੋਬਨਿਮਾਤੀਪਿਰਕੈਅੰਕਿਸਮਾਏ॥
ਸਚੜਾਸਾਹਿਬੁਸਬਦਿਪਛਾਣੀਐਆਪੇਲਏਮਿਲਾਏ॥੨॥ਜਿਨੀਆਪਣਾਕੰਤੁਪਛਾਣਿਆਹਉਤਿਨਪੂਛਉਸੰਤਾਜਾਏ॥
ਆਪੁਛੋਡਿਸੇਵਾਕਰੀਪਿਰੁਸਚੜਾਮਿਲੈਸਹਜਿਸੁਭਾਏ॥ਪਿਰੁਸਚਾਮਿਲੈਆਏਸਾਚੁਕਮਾਏਸਾਚਿਸਬਦਿਧਨਰਾਤੀ॥
ਕਦੇਨਰਾਂਡਸਦਾਸੋਹਾਗਣਿਅੰਤਰਿਸਹਜਸਮਾਧੀ॥ਪਿਰੁਰਹਿਆਭਰਪੂਰੇਵੇਖੁਹਦੂਰੇਰੰਗੁਮਾਣੇਸਹਜਿਸੁਭਾਏ॥
ਜਿਨੀਆਪਣਾਕੰਤੁਪਛਾਣਿਆਹਉਤਿਨਪੂਛਉਸੰਤਾਜਾਏ॥੩॥ਪਿਰਹੁਵਿਛੁੰਨੀਆਭੀਮਿਲਹਜੇਸਤਿਗੁਰਲਾਗਹਸਾਚੇਪਾਏ॥
ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁਸਦਾਦਇਆਲੁਹੈਅਵਗੁਣਸਬਦਿਜਲਾਏ॥ਅਉਗੁਣਸਬਦਿਜਲਾਏਦੂਜਾਭਾਉਗਵਾਏਸਚੇਹੀਸਚਿਰਾਤੀ॥
ਸਚੈਸਬਦਿਸਦਾਸੁਖੁਪਾਇਆਹਉਮੈਗਈਭਰਾਤੀ॥ਪਿਰੁਨਿਰਮਾਇਲੁਸਦਾਸੁਖਦਾਤਾਨਾਨਕਸਬਦਿਮਿਲਾਏ॥
ਪਿਰਹੁਵਿਛੁੰਨੀਆਭੀਮਿਲਹਜੇਸਤਿਗੁਰਲਾਗਹਸਾਚੇਪਾਏ॥੪॥੧॥
ਵਡਹੰਸੁਮਹਲਾ੩ਮਹਲਾਤੀਜਾੴਸਤਿਗੁਰਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥ਪ੍ਰਭੁਸਚੜਾਹਰਿਸਾਲਾਹੀਐਕਾਰਜੁਸਭੁਕਿਛੁਕਰਣੈਜੋਗੁ॥
ਸਾਧਨਰੰਡਨਕਬਹੂਬੈਸਈਨਾਕਦੇਹੋਵੈਸੋਗੁ॥ਨਾਕਦੇਹੋਵੈਸੋਗੁਅਨਦਿਨੁਰਸਭੋਗਸਾਧਨਮਹਲਿਸਮਾਣੀ॥
ਜਿਨਿਪ੍ਰਿਉਜਾਤਾਕਰਮਬਿਧਾਤਾਬੋਲੇਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਬਾਣੀ॥ਗੁਣਵੰਤੀਆਗੁਣਸਾਰਹਿਅਪਣੇਕੰਤਸਮਾਲਹਿਨਾਕਦੇਲਗੈਵਿਜੋਗੋ॥
ਸਚੜਾਪਿਰੁਸਾਲਾਹੀਐਸਭੁਕਿਛੁਕਰਣੈਜੋਗੋ॥੧॥ਸਚੜਾਸਾਹਿਬੁਸਬਦਿਪਛਾਣੀਐਆਪੇਲਏਮਿਲਾਏ॥
ਸਾਧਨਪ੍ਰਿਅਕੈਰੰਗਿਰਤੀਵਿਚਹੁਆਪੁਗਵਾਏ॥ਵਿਚਹੁਆਪੁਗਵਾਏਫਿਰਿਕਾਲੁਨਖਾਏਗੁਰਮੁਖਿਏਕੋਜਾਤਾ॥
ਕਾਮਣਿਇਛਪੁੰਨੀਅੰਤਰਿਭਿੰਨੀਮਿਲਿਆਜਗਜੀਵਨੁਦਾਤਾ॥ਸਬਦਰੰਗਿਰਾਤੀਜੋਬਨਿਮਾਤੀਪਿਰਕੈਅੰਕਿਸਮਾਏ॥
ਸਚੜਾਸਾਹਿਬੁਸਬਦਿਪਛਾਣੀਐਆਪੇਲਏਮਿਲਾਏ॥੨॥ਜਿਨੀਆਪਣਾਕੰਤੁਪਛਾਣਿਆਹਉਤਿਨਪੂਛਉਸੰਤਾਜਾਏ॥
ਆਪੁਛੋਡਿਸੇਵਾਕਰੀਪਿਰੁਸਚੜਾਮਿਲੈਸਹਜਿਸੁਭਾਏ॥ਪਿਰੁਸਚਾਮਿਲੈਆਏਸਾਚੁਕਮਾਏਸਾਚਿਸਬਦਿਧਨਰਾਤੀ॥
ਕਦੇਨਰਾਂਡਸਦਾਸੋਹਾਗਣਿਅੰਤਰਿਸਹਜਸਮਾਧੀ॥ਪਿਰੁਰਹਿਆਭਰਪੂਰੇਵੇਖੁਹਦੂਰੇਰੰਗੁਮਾਣੇਸਹਜਿਸੁਭਾਏ॥
ਜਿਨੀਆਪਣਾਕੰਤੁਪਛਾਣਿਆਹਉਤਿਨਪੂਛਉਸੰਤਾਜਾਏ॥੩॥ਪਿਰਹੁਵਿਛੁੰਨੀਆਭੀਮਿਲਹਜੇਸਤਿਗੁਰਲਾਗਹਸਾਚੇਪਾਏ॥
ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁਸਦਾਦਇਆਲੁਹੈਅਵਗੁਣਸਬਦਿਜਲਾਏ॥ਅਉਗੁਣਸਬਦਿਜਲਾਏਦੂਜਾਭਾਉਗਵਾਏਸਚੇਹੀਸਚਿਰਾਤੀ॥
ਸਚੈਸਬਦਿਸਦਾਸੁਖੁਪਾਇਆਹਉਮੈਗਈਭਰਾਤੀ॥ਪਿਰੁਨਿਰਮਾਇਲੁਸਦਾਸੁਖਦਾਤਾਨਾਨਕਸਬਦਿਮਿਲਾਏ॥
ਪਿਰਹੁਵਿਛੁੰਨੀਆਭੀਮਿਲਹਜੇਸਤਿਗੁਰਲਾਗਹਸਾਚੇਪਾਏ॥੪॥੧॥
ਧਨਾਸਰੀਮਹਲਾ੧ਘਰੁ੧ਚਉਪਦੇੴਸਤਿਨਾਮੁਕਰਤਾਪੁਰਖੁਨਿਰਭਉਨਿਰਵੈਰੁਅਕਾਲਮੂਰਤਿਅਜੂਨੀਸੈਭੰਗੁਰਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥
ਜੀਉਡਰਤੁਹੈਆਪਣਾਕੈਸਿਉਕਰੀਪੁਕਾਰ॥ਦੂਖਵਿਸਾਰਣੁਸੇਵਿਆਸਦਾਸਦਾਦਾਤਾਰੁ॥੧॥
ਸਾਹਿਬੁਮੇਰਾਨੀਤਨਵਾਸਦਾਸਦਾਦਾਤਾਰੁ॥੧॥ਰਹਾਉ॥ਅਨਦਿਨੁਸਾਹਿਬੁਸੇਵੀਐਅੰਤਿਛਡਾਏਸੋਇ॥
ਸੁਣਿਸੁਣਿਮੇਰੀਕਾਮਣੀਪਾਰਿਉਤਾਰਾਹੋਇ॥੨॥ਦਇਆਲਤੇਰੈਨਾਮਿਤਰਾ॥ਸਦਕੁਰਬਾਣੈਜਾਉ॥੧॥ਰਹਾਉ॥
ਸਰਬੰਸਾਚਾਏਕੁਹੈਦੂਜਾਨਾਹੀਕੋਇ॥ਤਾਕੀਸੇਵਾਸੋਕਰੇਜਾਕਉਨਦਰਿਕਰੇ॥੩॥ਤੁਧੁਬਾਝੁਪਿਆਰੇਕੇਵਰਹਾ॥
ਸਾਵਡਿਆਈਦੇਹਿਜਿਤੁਨਾਮਿਤੇਰੇਲਾਗਿਰਹਾਂ॥ਦੂਜਾਨਾਹੀਕੋਇਜਿਸੁਆਗੈਪਿਆਰੇਜਾਇਕਹਾ॥੧॥ਰਹਾਉ॥
ਸੇਵੀਸਾਹਿਬੁਆਪਣਾਅਵਰੁਨਜਾਚੰਉਕੋਇ॥ਨਾਨਕੁਤਾਕਾਦਾਸੁਹੈਬਿੰਦਬਿੰਦਚੁਖਚੁਖਹੋਇ॥੪॥
ਸਾਹਿਬਤੇਰੇਨਾਮਵਿਟਹੁਬਿੰਦਬਿੰਦਚੁਖਚੁਖਹੋਇ॥੧॥ਰਹਾਉ॥੪॥੧॥
ਧਨਾਸਰੀਮਹਲਾ੩॥ਨਾਵੈਕੀਕੀਮਤਿਮਿਤਿਕਹੀਨਜਾਇ॥ਸੇਜਨਧੰਨੁਜਿਨਇਕਨਾਮਿਲਿਵਲਾਇ॥
ਗੁਰਮਤਿਸਾਚੀਸਾਚਾਵੀਚਾਰੁ॥ਆਪੇਬਖਸੇਦੇਵੀਚਾਰੁ॥੧॥ਹਰਿਨਾਮੁਅਚਰਜੁਪ੍ਰਭੁਆਪਿਸੁਣਾਏ॥ਕਲੀਕਾਲਵਿਚਿਗੁਰਮੁਖਿਪਾਏ॥੧॥ਰਹਾਉ॥
ਹਮਮੂਰਖਮੂਰਖਮਨਮਾਹਿ॥ਹਉਮੈਵਿਚਿਸਭਕਾਰਕਮਾਹਿ॥ਗੁਰਪਰਸਾਦੀਹੰਉਮੈਜਾਇ॥ਆਪੇਬਖਸੇਲਏਮਿਲਾਇ॥੨॥
ਬਿਖਿਆਕਾਧਨੁਬਹੁਤੁਅਭਿਮਾਨੁ॥ਅਹੰਕਾਰਿਡੂਬੈਨਪਾਵੈਮਾਨੁ॥ਆਪੁਛੋਡਿਸਦਾਸੁਖੁਹੋਈ॥ਗੁਰਮਤਿਸਾਲਾਹੀਸਚੁਸੋਈ॥੩॥
ਆਪੇਸਾਜੇਕਰਤਾਸੋਇ॥ਤਿਸੁਬਿਨੁਦੂਜਾਅਵਰੁਨਕੋਇ॥ਜਿਸੁਸਚਿਲਾਏਸੋਈਲਾਗੈ॥ਨਾਨਕਨਾਮਿਸਦਾਸੁਖੁਆਗੈ॥੪॥੮॥
ਰਾਮਕਲੀਮਹਲਾ੫॥ਬਿਰਥਾਭਰਵਾਸਾਲੋਕ॥ਠਾਕੁਰਪ੍ਰਭਤੇਰੀਟੇਕ॥ਅਵਰਛੂਟੀਸਭਆਸ॥ਅਚਿੰਤਠਾਕੁਰਭੇਟੇਗੁਣਤਾਸ॥੧॥
ਏਕੋਨਾਮੁਧਿਆਇਮਨਮੇਰੇ॥ਕਾਰਜੁਤੇਰਾਹੋਵੈਪੂਰਾਹਰਿਹਰਿਹਰਿਗੁਣਗਾਇਮਨਮੇਰੇ॥੧॥ਰਹਾਉ॥
ਤੁਮਹੀਕਾਰਨਕਰਨ॥ਚਰਨਕਮਲਹਰਿਸਰਨ॥ਮਨਿਤਨਿਹਰਿਓਹੀਧਿਆਇਆ॥ਆਨੰਦਹਰਿਰੂਪਦਿਖਾਇਆ॥੨॥
ਤਿਸਹੀਕੀਓਟਸਦੀਵ॥ਜਾਕੇਕੀਨੇਹੈਜੀਵ॥ਸਿਮਰਤਹਰਿਕਰਤਨਿਧਾਨ॥ਰਾਖਨਹਾਰਨਿਦਾਨ॥੩॥
ਸਰਬਕੀਰੇਣਹੋਵੀਜੈ॥ਆਪੁਮਿਟਾਇਮਿਲੀਜੈ॥ਅਨਦਿਨੁਧਿਆਈਐਨਾਮੁ॥ਸਫਲਨਾਨਕਇਹੁਕਾਮੁ॥੪॥੩੩॥੪੪॥

ੴ

2006-04-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

ਰਾਮਕਲੀਮਹਲਾ੫॥ਰੁਣਝੁਣੋਸਬਦੁਅਨਾਹਦੁਨਿਤਉਠਿਗਾਈਐਸੰਤਨਕੈ॥ਕਿਲਵਿਖਸਭਿਦੋਖਬਿਨਾਸਨੁਹਰਿਨਾਮੁਜਪੀਐਗੁਰਮੰਤਨਕੈ॥
ਹਰਿਨਾਮੁਲੀਜੈਅਮਿਉਪੀਜੈਰੈਣਿਦਿਨਸੁਅਰਾਧੀਐ॥ਜੋਗਦਾਨਅਨੇਕਕਿਰਿਆਲਗਿਚਰਣਕਮਲਹਸਾਧੀਐ॥
ਭਾਉਭਗਤਿਦਇਆਲਮੋਹਨਦੂਖਸਗਲੇਪਰਹਰੈ॥ਬਿਨਵੰਤਿਨਾਨਕਤਰੈਸਾਗਰੁਧਿਆਇਸੁਆਮੀਨਰਹਰੈ॥੧॥
ਸੁਖਸਾਗਰਗੋਬਿੰਦਸਿਮਰਣੁਭਗਤਗਾਵਹਿਗੁਣਤੇਰੇਰਾਮ॥ਅਨਦਮੰਗਲਗੁਰਚਰਣੀਲਾਗੇਪਾਏਸੂਖਘਨੇਰੇਰਾਮ॥
ਸੁਖਨਿਧਾਨੁਮਿਲਿਆਦੂਖਹਰਿਆਕ੍ਰਿਪਾਕਰਿਪ੍ਰਭਿਰਾਖਿਆ॥ਹਰਿਚਰਣਲਾਗਾਭ੍ਰਮੁਭਉਭਾਗਾਹਰਿਨਾਮੁਰਸਨਾਭਾਖਿਆ॥
ਹਰਿਏਕੁਚਿਤਵੈਪ੍ਰਭੁਏਕੁਗਾਵੈਹਰਿਏਕੁਦ੍ਰਿਸਟੀਆਇਆ॥ਬਿਨਵੰਤਿਨਾਨਕਪ੍ਰਭਿਕਰੀਕਿਰਪਾਪੂਰਾਸਤਿਗੁਰੁਪਾਇਆ॥੨॥
ਮਿਲਿਰਹੀਐਪ੍ਰਭਸਾਧਜਨਾਮਿਲਿਹਰਿਕੀਰਤਨੁਸੁਨੀਐਰਾਮ॥ਦਇਆਲਪ੍ਰਭੂਦਾਮੋਦਰਮਾਧੋਅੰਤੁਨਪਾਈਐਗੁਨੀਐਰਾਮ॥
ਦਇਆਲਦੁਖਹਰਸਰਣਿਦਾਤਾਸਗਲਦੋਖਨਿਵਾਰਣੋ॥ਮੋਹਸੋਗਵਿਕਾਰਬਿਖੜੇਜਪਤਨਾਮਉਧਾਰਣੋ॥
ਸਭਿਜੀਅਤੇਰੇਪ੍ਰਭੂਮੇਰੇਕਰਿਕਿਰਪਾਸਭਰੇਣਥੀਵਾ॥ਬਿਨਵੰਤਿਨਾਨਕਪ੍ਰਭਮਇਆਕੀਜੈਨਾਮੁਤੇਰਾਜਪਿਜੀਵਾ॥੩॥
ਰਾਖਿਲੀਏਪ੍ਰਭਿਭਗਤਜਨਾਅਪਣੀਚਰਣੀਲਾਏਰਾਮ॥ਆਠਪਹਰਅਪਨਾਪ੍ਰਭੁਸਿਮਰਹਏਕੋਨਾਮੁਧਿਆਏਰਾਮ॥
ਧਿਆਇਸੋਪ੍ਰਭੁਤਰੇਭਵਜਲਰਹੇਆਵਣਜਾਣਾ॥ਸਦਾਸੁਖੁਕਲਿਆਣਕੀਰਤਨੁਪ੍ਰਭਲਗਾਮੀਠਾਭਾਣਾ॥
ਸਭਇਛਪੁੰਨੀਆਸਪੂਰੀਮਿਲੇਸਤਿਗੁਰਪੂਰਿਆ॥ਬਿਨਵੰਤਿਨਾਨਕਪ੍ਰਭਿਆਪਿਮੇਲੇਫਿਰਿਨਾਹੀਦੂਖਵਿਸੂਰਿਆ॥੪॥੩॥

________

2006-04-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

http://www.davindersingh.ca/2005/11/remembering.html

Bhai Baaj Singh Jee: Governor of Sirhind

2006-04-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

**Link**

Sardar Baaj Singh - Governor of Sirhind

When Banda Singh Bahadur heard about the shahidis of Sahibzadas at Sirhind, he
became very upset. He went over to Guru Gobind Singh jee and asked his permission to
punish the tyrants who did this inhuman act. Guru Sahib readily gave him this permissionand dispatched him to Punjab along with 5 Singhs.

Banda Singh because of his experience with meditation, very soon became a Sikh of highspiritual stages. Such was his Kamayee that whoever looked at him bowed to him. Banda Singh was very humble person and he called everyone by the prefix "Singh", whether Sikh, Hindu or Moslem. He went up to the present day Haryana and sent letters and hukamnamas to all the Sikhs around to come and see him wearing 5 weapons.

Soon he had a substantial amount of people as his army. His army consisted of three kind of people. Firstly true Sikhs who wanted to do sewa of Panth and estabilish Sikh Raaj. Secondly salaried employees and thirdly oppressed peasantry and dacoits who joined him for the sole purpose of looting, taking revenge and making money. Most of the atrocities and plunders of the towns he conquered were done by this third category. Banda Singh was aware of this category but he needed as many
people as possible to fulfill his aim of punishing the tyrants.

Anyway after conquering and punishing several towns like Samana, Sadhaura, Banda
Singh now turned to conquer Sirhind and punish it's governer Wazir Khan. After the
powerful attack from Wazir Khan on the advancing Sikh armies, the second and the third category fled the battlefield. The Sikhs held ground for sometime but they started to move back as they were greatly outnumbered. At this moment Banda Singh himself came in the battlefield and fell upon the enemy. The Sikhs eventually conquered Sirhind.

When Sirhind was conquered Banda Singh appointed Sardar Baaj Singh as the governor of
Sirhind. Bhai Baaj Singh was a very strong and brave Sikh. His bravery and fighting skills were famous far and wide. So much was his name that even the king of India had heard about him. He defeated the most strong and skilled Pathaans and Moslems in one-on-one fights in the battlefields.

When Bhai Baaj Singh was caught and brought to Delhi, he remained in high spirits and
could be heard singing Gurbani loudly and saying Vaheguru Vaheguru all the time.
The following conversation and incident has recorded in the writings of Moslem and
English writers who eye-witnessed the incident that took place.

1NAAMDRIDH

2006-04-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

swrgmhlw5]mweIrImwqIcrxsmUh]eyksuibnuhauAwnnjwnauduqIAwBwausBlUh]1]rhwau]iqAwigguopwlAvrjokrxwqyibiKAwkyKUh]drsipAwsmyrwmnumoihEkwFInrkqyDUh]1]sMqpRswidimilEsuKdwqwibnsIhaumYhUh]rwmrMigrwqydwsnwnkmauilEmnuqnujUh]2]95]118]

L

2006-04-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

1WAHEGURU1

ਸੱਚ ਹੋਏ ਨਾਮ ਦਾਰੂ

2006-04-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

-*<(0=x=1=Dhan Shri Guru Granth Sahib Jee)>*-
AkhandKirtanGurbani
http://www.davindersingh.ca/2005_01_01_davindersingh_archive.html

ਕਿਹੜਾ ਬੂਟਾ?!?!?

2006-04-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

-ਭਾਈ ਕੁਲਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ, ਵੈਨਕੂਵਰ (ਪੋਥੀ: ਸਿੱਖੀ ਹਲੂਣਾ, ਅਪ੍ਰੈਲ ੧੯੯੯)

Singh Sabha: Lost & Found

2006-04-10T22:03:00.000-07:00

Bhai Hardeep Singh Jee was at Singh Sabha Surrey one morning for Aasa Dee Vaar Kirtan. He called me and asked if I was the one who corrected the spellings mistakes on this notice in the men's shoe area.

It wasn’t me who corrected them, but it’s nice to know some among us actually know how to spell and aren't afraid to make the necessary corrections where needed.

Proven once again: It’s a good idea to learn Punjabi properly...

The '1' shot solution:

2006-04-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

Illustration credit:www.straightdope.com

Hasda Punjab?

2006-04-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

Santokh Singh Gill once the owner of Guilford Furniture was made a celebrity overnight when the Hukamnamma to rid tables and chairs from Gurdwara eating areas was issued.

What propelled him into superstardom was Hasdha Punjab his free for all talk show on Amrit Bani Radio. Santokh Singh was ‘the MAN’ for a long time afterwards; he used to have a Jatehdar-like status during jalooses(processions). He deservingly earned every bit of respect. It was his approach and distinct broadcasting standards that made him so successful. Most memorable though were the ads he did. No dodgy music or any electronic sound effects, not even the fake drama they pull off these days, just his annai-16 voice.

I specifically remember one caller telling Santokh Singh he should rename the show to roanda punajb(crying Punjab, instead of Hasdha Punjab: laughing Punjab) had they read this from an egroups posting of a few weeks ago they’ll agree it should have been renamed right then. Maybe it would have brought about some awareness about the issues facing the homeland. From the AKJ e-Groups:

“The Signs of fall of Punjab are visible: The state which was once first in India in literacy rate is now 22nd in India, whose per capita income in India was highest is now 7th, its more than 50,000 industries have closed down in last 7-8 years, per capita drug (psychotronic drugs) consumption is highest in India: so much so 1/3 of the total revenue of Punjab Govt is from liquor etc., its waters have been taken away to other states, its agricultural future is bleak, its farmers are committing suicides.”

Guru Sahib in Baghdad

2006-04-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

GURU NANAK’S VISIT TO BAGHDAD: MCLEOD’S
BASELESS SCEPTICISM
We quote verbatim from Prof. Verma’s article which was read in Punjab History Conference Fifth Session and published in Proceedings of Punjab History Conference March 1970, Punjabi University. Prof. Verma first pinpoints Hew McLeod’s distorted statements and then comments on them. We will give a resume of both in their own words:
1. Hew McLeod says that most of the events recorded by Bhai Gurdas about Nanak’s travels outside his province are products of his imagination. “He calls them an unsubstantiated possibility, a remote possibility.” Prof. Verma says “Bhai Gurdas was born a few years after Guru Nanak’s death and his work is semi-contemporary if not contemporary and his works are considered key to Guru Granth. “McLeod seems to be conscious of the unique position of Bhai Gurdas and semi-apologetically qualifies his lack of belief by saying that “he does not suggest that Bhai Gurdas has related a deliberate falsehood.”
2. Professor Verma gives evidence of the Turkish influence on the language of Baghdad Arabic. As the Turks held dominant sway even before their final occupation in 1534 A.D.
3. The quatrain has been rightly translated as given in plate No. 8 of the Sikh Review. Guru Nanak Birth Quincentenary Vol. 3 reproduced below: “Behold, a wish has been fulfilled by Holy and high Providence: that the building of Baba Nanak has been newly built up with the help of seven walis (saints). The blessed disciple (of Baba Nanak) has started a fountain of grace issuing new water in the land. 917 Hijri (equivalent 1511 A.D).

The writing is the result of carving in stone. The figures reading 917 are quite clear. here is a place for a fourth digit which is occupied by the dot of ‘Noon’, the letter forming part of the word san, standing for the year. In any case the figure of two could not be overcarved as the nine as suggested by McLeod. According to Abjad the various alphabets have the following values:
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
20,30,40,50,60,70,80,90,100
100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900,
and 900 and 1000
27, 59, 204, 216, 13, 254, 144
Totalling 917

This value viz. 917 clearly carved, embossed in the inscription is also clear pointer to the correctness of the letters constituting the chronogram-which, therefore, does not warrant any change in wording. To conclude, the language of the inscription is (Persianized) Ottoman Turkish, bearing public influences, the metre also is a standard Persian Turkish Form, allowing the word Baba Nanak with permissible poetic, because of shortening a long vao in a proper noun and the chronogram correctly conforms to the year inscribed.

The proof provided by the inscription establishes the fact of Guru Nanak’s visit to Baghdad beyond any reasonable grounds of skepticism and incredibility.”l8 In my Biography of Guru Nanak, I have given the inscriptions and their translations all in Turkish Persian form.

Prof Verma agreed with me that the date could also be 927 Hijri that is December 1520-21, which is historically correct. On the same pattern Hew McLeod tried to refute the evidence of Guru Nanak’s visit to Sri Lanka (Ceylon). He tried to prove by negative suggestions and discursive criticism that Guru Nanak never went to Sri Lanka and the historical events narrated in Janam Sakhis and other documents are pure myths. The author of this book in his Biography of Guru Nanak published in 1970, has given irrefutable evidence of Guru Nanak’s visit to Sri Lanka, based on a stone Inscription, and references to the disciples of Guru Nanak and their children and grand children Mayadune and Krishna Raja who built their Capital Sitawaka and emerged as the most powerful rulers of Sri Lanka. A disciple of Guru Arjun who visited the city described the devotion of these rulers to Guru Nanak and the manner they developed the Sikh institution of Langar. Fearing that these powerful devotees of Baba Nanak may re-emerge as a power, the Portuguese razed the whole grand city of Sitawaka to the ground.

I am firmly of the opnion that further / search for older manuscripts of janam Sakhis of sixteenth and seventeenth century, particularly manuscripts which were written either during the life-time of Guru Arjun or earlier, will throw considerable light on the original janam Sakhi. If any such old manuscript has any resemblance to older janam Sakhi it will be closer to the oldest copy of Paida Mokha janam Sakhi and it will refute till the false and fabulous misconstructions of Meharban’s and Handalya’s janam Sakhis which Sikh scholars have been condemning and ignoring throughout the centuries. Bala will emerge as a remarkable historical figure like Mardana along with a few other companions of Guru Nanak, though he may not appear in so many Sakhis to which his name is added. In later, corrupted versions Bala is added even in Sakhis where he plays no role.

Sant Das Chibber in his Biography makes it clear that it was Paida Mokha who acted as a scribe because he was one of the very few Sikhs who not only knew Gurmukhi script introduced by Guru Nanak during the last two decades of his life, but he also was well-versed in Takari and Sharda in which Guru Nanak’s janam Patri and earlier documents were written. Bala was one of the few surviving companions of early life of Guru Nanak, particularly his Master’s life in Talwandi, Sultan pur and his first Udasi.

The two surviving Bani Pothis of Baba Mohan are writtten in old Gurmukhi Script in a very fool-proof calligraphicstyle with 13 words in each line and 13 lines on each page. On one of the pages, Guru Ram Das has added two Shabads in his own hands and signed his name as “Ghulam Mastan jeth Chand”. One of the Pothis has 300 pages and the other has 224 pages. In every Pothi first Bani of the Gurus is recorded followed by Bhagat Bani.”

Seeing that some short-sighted University historians, and misguided research scholars, working under them, have eliminated Bhai Bala, Hew McLeod has used all his ingenuity,
in destroying the whole China-shop of janam Sakhis by a ruthless and savage use of his horns of arrogant ingrained prejudices, carrying to the extreme his motivated,
demeaning attacks. The findings of the so-called B 40 (IOL) janam Sakhi,could be completely nullified by the publication of an equally important B 41 janam Sakhi and the janam Sakhis in Baba Prem Singh Hoti’s library. That day is not far when all the dark
falsehood constructed by Hew McLeod will disappear like an autumn cloud in the light of truth, and correct and unprejudiced analysis of authentic janam Sakhis of the sixteenth, seventeenth and early eighteenth century.

Fritz Mauthner began his four-volume history of atheism in the West with the statement: “God has died. The time has come to write His history.” Hew McLeod begins his works by saying, “I have demolished the fragile structure of janam Sakhis, the source of historical Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak of history is dead. Guru Nanak of faith exists as a shadow in the name of some sentimental Sikhs. With these premises I have written Sikh history. All who dislike or demean Sikhism should read my books.” Perhaps the type of like-minded readers whom he is addressing enjoy his books. Just as every clown in a circus and every villain in a film story, has his fans who are thrilled at what they do, every book written to hurt, humiliate and run down the Sikhs, their history and religion has its admirers.

But Guru Nanak who lives in his works in Guru Granth is as immortal as eternal Light. Sikh ism and all its doctrines, which scholars have studied and saints have practised, will
remain unshakable like a rock and blaze the trail of a new era in world history when it shines in the hearts of those seekers of Truth who live and practice Sikhism. Lack of honest and sincere leadership, lack of dedicated and selfless religious and cultural organization, and lack of social and political freedom after 1947 have pushed the Sikhs and Sikhism into the pit of persecution, political slavery and cultural tyranny. Out of this they will certainly come out and the sacrifices, the passion for freedom among the Sikhs will attract the attention of world leaders in every field, and by the grace of God, Sikhs will usher a new era not only in Punjab but on the world-stage.

ਸਿੱਖਾ! ਅੰਗਰੇਜ਼ੀ ਸਿੱਖ!

2006-04-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

About this post, from an e-mail:
-----------------------------------
****** has sent you a link to a weblog:

I love the shoes there hot.Looks like Jagjeet Singh must really have a sence of
style
-----------------------------------
Corrected text:
'I love the shoes; they're hot! Looks like Jagjeet Singh must really have a sence of style'
-----------------------------------

Basic rule: It's nice to know how to write proper english correctly...

ਅਸਲ਼ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾਈ ਮੋਰਚੇ

2006-03-27T09:39:00.000-08:00

ਖੜਗਪੁਰ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਤੇ ਸੰਗਤਾਂ ਦੇ ਮੇਲੇ ਤੇ ਅਨੰਦ ਕੁਲਾਹਾਲ

ਇਤਨੇ ਨੂੰ ਖੜਗਪੁਰ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਆ ਗਿਆ। ਏਥੇ ਆ ਕੇ ਤਾਂ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਸੰਗਤ ਦਾ ਸਮੁੰਦਰ ਹੀ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨਤੇ ਆ ਕੇ ਠਾਠਾਂ ਮਾਰਨ ਲਗ ਪਿਆ। ਇਸ ਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਖੜਗਪੁਰ ਵਿਖੇ ਰੇਲਵੇ ਦੀ ਬੜੀ ਭਾਰੀ ਵਰਕਸ਼ਾਪ ਹੈ। ਪੰਜ ਛੇ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਕਿਰਤੀ ਸਿੱਖ ਏਥੇ ਕੰਮ ਕਰਦੇ ਸਨ, ਸਾਰੇ ਦੇ ਸਾਰੇ ਹੀ ਸਣ-ਟਬਰੇ ਉਲਟ ਕੇ ਆ
ਪਏ। ਸਬੱਬ ਨਾਲ ਉਥੇ ਇਕ ਤਕੜੀ ਪੁਲੀਟੀਕਲ ਮੀਟਿੰਗ ਭੀ ਹੈਸੀ। ਸਿੰਘਾਂ ਮੀਟਿੰਗ ਵਿਚ ਸਾਡੇ ਆਉਣ ਦਾ ਜ਼ਿਕਰ ਕਰ ਦਿਤਾ। ਫੇਰ ਕੀ ਸੀ ਪੰਦਰਾਂ ਬੀਸ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਦਾ ਇਕੱਠ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ਸਿੰਘਾਂ ਦਾ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ। ਉਹਨੀਂ ਦਿਨੀਂ ਇਤਫ਼ਾਕ ਦੀ ਬੜੀ ਲਹਿਰ ਬਹਿਰ ਸੀ। ਮੀਟਿੰਗ ਬਰਖ਼ਾਸਤ ਕਰਕੇ ਸਾਰੇ
ਇਕੱਠੇ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਪਲੇਟ ਫਾਰਮ ਉਤੇ ਪੁਜ ਗਏ। ਪਲੇਟ ਫਾਰਮ ਉਤੇ ਤਿਲ ਸਿਟਣ ਨੂੰ ਥਾਉਂ ਨਾ ਮਿਲੇ। ਸਿੰਘ ਸੰਗਤਾਂ ਦੇ ਉਤਸ਼ਾਹ ਉਮਾਹ ਦਾ ਤਾਂ ਅੰਤ ਹੀ ਕੋਈ ਨਾ ਰਿਹਾ। ਅਸੀਂ ਸਾਰੇ ਹੀ ਗੱਡੀ ਤੋਂ ਉਤਰ ਕੇ ਉਸ ਠਾਠਾਂ ਮਾਰ ਰਹੇ ਸੰਗਤ ਸਰੋਵਰ ਵਿਚ ਰਲ਼ ਕੇ ਘਿਉ ਖਿਚੜੀ ਹੋ ਗਏ। ਮਿਸ਼ਨਰੀ
ਇੰਨਸਪੈਕਟਰ ਨੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਪਾਸ ਆ ਕੇ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ‘ਆਪ ਨੇ ਮੇਰੀ ਪੈਜ ਰਖਣੀ ਹੈ, ਮੈਨੂੰ ਕੁਛ ਪਛਾਣ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਿ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਆਦਮੀ ਕਿਹੜੇ ਕਿਹੜੇ ਅਤੇ ਕਿਥੇ ਕਿਥੇ ਹਨ। ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਹੱਥ ਮੇਰੀ ਪੱਤ ਹੈ। ਮੇਰਾ ਇੰਤਜ਼ਾਮ ਏਥੇ ਕੁਛ ਨਹੀਂ, ਚਾਹੇ ਸਾਰੇ ਹੀ ਗੁੰਮ ਹੋ ਜਾਣ ਚਾਹੇ ਭੱਜ ਜਾਣ, ਰਬ ਆਸਰੇ ਡੋਰੀ ਹੈ।’ ਦਾਸ ਨੇ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ
ਨਿਸਚਾ ਦਿਵਾਇਆ ਕਿ ‘ਦਿਲ ਠਿਕਾਣੇ ਰਖੋ, ਤੁਹਾਡੀ ਸ਼ਰਾਫਤ ਨੂੰ ਸਭ ਸ਼ਰੀਫ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਵਰਤਣਗੇ। ਰਤਾ ਫਿਕਰ ਨਾ ਕਰੋ, ਰੱਬ ਆਸਰੇ ਸ਼ਾਕਰ ਹੋ ਰਹੋ।’

ਇਕ ਆਨ ਵਿਚ ਹੀ ਖੜਗਪੁਰੀ ਸਿੰਘਾਂ ਨੇ ਨਾਨਾ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਰੀ ਭੋਜਨ ਬਿੰਜਨ ਆਣ ਮੌਜੂਦ ਕੀਤੇ ਅਤੇ ਖ਼ਾਲਸੇ ਦੀਆਂ ਪੰਗਤਾਂ ਲਗ ਗਈਆਂ। ਰੱਜ ਰੱਜ ਭੋਜਨ ਭੁੰਝੇ। ਸਿਪਾਹੀਆਂ ਅਤੇ ਦੋਹਾਂ ਦੇਸੀ ਤੇ ਗੋਰੇ ਇੰਨਸਪੈਕਟਰਾਂ ਦੇ ਭੀ ਫਾਕੇ ਕੜਾਕੇ ਟੁੱਟੇ। ਜਿਉਂ ਧੁਰ ਹਜ਼ਾਰੀ ਬਾਗ਼ੋਂ ਤੁਰੇ ਸਾਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਆਦਮੀ ਨੂੰ ਕਿਸੇ ਥਾਉਂ ਕੱਖ ਭੀ ਖਾਣ ਨੂੰ ਨਹੀਂ ਸੀ ਮਿਲਿਆ ਸੀ। ਕੋਈ ਹਲਵਾਈ ਛਾਬੜੀ ਵਾਲਾ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਫਲ ਡਬਲਰੋਟੀ, ਚਾਹ ਦੁਧ ਦੇਵੇ ਹੀ ਨਾ। ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਆਦਮੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਨੇੜੇ ਹੀ ਨਾ ਆਵਣ ਅਤੇ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਆਦਮੀ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਛੱਡ ਕੇ ਸੌਦਾ ਖਰੀਦਣ ਜਾਣ ਵੀ ਨਾ। ਸਭ ਭੁੱਖਣ ਭਾਣੇ ਹੀ ਢਿੱਡ ਵਿਚ ਮੁੱਕੀਆਂ ਦੇਈ ਫਿਰਨ। ਸਭ ਦੀਆਂ ਆਂਦਰਾਂ ਕੁਲ ਹੀ ਵਿੱਲਾ ਪੜ੍ਹਨਿ। ਸਾਨੂੰ ਛਡ ਕੇ ਰੇਲਵੇ ਰੀਫਰੈਸ਼ਮੈਂਟ ਰੂਮ ਵਿਚ ਜਾ ਨਾ ਸਕਣ ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਡਿਊਟੀ ਤੋਂ ਵੇਹਲ ਨਹੀਂ ਸੀ। ਮੁਲਕ ਵਿਚ ਲਹਿਰ ਤੇ ਜੋਸ਼ ਦੇ ਕਾਰਣ ਛਾਬੜੀ ਵਾਲੇ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸੌਦਾ ਨਾ ਦੇਣ। ਲੰਗਰ ਵਰਤਦਾ ਵੇਖ ਕੇ ਗੋਰਾ ਇੰਨਸਪੈਕਟਰ ਮੇਰੇ ਪਾਸ ਕਾਲਜਾ ਥੰਮੀ ਭਜਿਆ ਆਇਆ। ਆਪਣੀ ਅਤੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਅਮਲੇ ਦੀ ਭੁੱਖ ਦੋਖੀ ਵਾਲੀ ਸਭ ਵਿਥਿਆ ਸੁਣਾਈ ਤਾਂ ਅਸੀਂ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਪੰਗਤਾਂ ਵੀ ਲਵਾ ਦਿਤੀਆਂ ਅਤੇ ਗੋਰੇ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਨੂੰ ਡਬਲ ਰੋਟੀ, ਫਲ, ਚਾਹ ਦਿਵਾ ਦਿਤੀ। ਫੇਰ ਤਾਂ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਬੜੀਆਂ ਹੀ ਅਸੀਸਾਂ ਦੇਣ। ਏਥੇ ਕਈ ਘੰਟੇ ਗੱਡੀ ਖੜ੍ਹਨੀ ਸੀ, ਸੋ ਰੱਜ ਕੇ ਦਰਸ਼ਨ ਹੋਏ। ਕਾਂਗਰਸੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਰੇਲਵੇ ਪਲੇਟ ਫਾਰਮ ਪਰ ਭੀ ਲੈਕਚਰ ਹੋਣੇ ਆਰੰਭ ਹੋਏ। ਬੜੇ ਬੜੇ ਉੱਘੇ ਹਿੰਦੁਸਤਾਨੀ ਲੀਡਰ ਲੈਕਚਰਾਰ ਆਏ ਹੋਏ ਸਨ। ਸਾਰਾ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਹਜ਼ਾਰਾਂ ਹੀ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਘਿਰਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਸੀ ਅਤੇ ਵਿਚਾਲੇ ਅਸੀਂ ਇਕ ਮਿਕ ਹੋਏ ਵੇ ਸੀ।

ਸਾਡਾ ਰਹਿਰਾਸ ਦਾ ਸਮਾਂ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ। ਓਧਰ ਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਦੇ ਉੱਘੇ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਅਫ਼ਸਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਪਤੇ ਜਾ ਹੋਏ। ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੇ ਬੜਾ ਖ਼ਤਰਾ ਪ੍ਰਤੀਤ ਕੀਤਾ, ਫੌਰਨ ਸਪੈਸ਼ਲ ਇੰਜਨ ਲਾ ਕੇ ਸਾਡੀ ਗੱਡੀ ਤੋਰ ਦਿਤੀ ਅਤੇ ਗਜਦਿਆਂ ਜੈਕਾਰਿਆਂ ਵਿਚ ਤਿਆਰੇ ਹੋ ਗਏ। ਜਦ ਸਾਰੀਆਂ ਤੇਈ ਦੀਆਂ ਤੇਈ ਲੱਖ ਫ਼ੌਜਾਂ ਡੱਬੇ ਵਿਚ
ਆਣ ਜਮ੍ਹਾਂ ਹੋਈਆਂ ਤਾਂ ਗੋਰੇ ਇੰਨਸਪੈਕਟਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਨੂੰ ਮੈਂ ਬੁਲਾ ਕੇ ਆਖਿਆ ਕਿ ‘ਲਓ ਆਪਣੀ ਗਿਣਤੀ ਪੂਰੀ ਕਰ ਲਵੋ।’ ਉਹ ਤੌਰੇ ਭੋਰੇ ਹੋਇਆ ਫਿਰੇ। ਐਸਾ ਘਬਰਾਇਆ ਕਿ ਉਸ ਪਾਸੋਂ ਗਿਣਤੀ ਹੀ ਪੂਰੀ ਨਾ ਹੋਵੇ। ਕਦੇ ਬਾਈ (੨੨) ਹੋ ਜਾਣ ਕਦੇ ਚੌਬੀ (੨੪) ਕਦੇ ਤੇਈ ਭੀ। ਤਿੰਨ ਚਾਰ ਵਾਰ ਜਦ
ਐਸਾ ਹੋਇਆ ਤਾਂ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਆਖਣ ਲੱਗਾ, ‘ਮੈਥੋਂ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਖ਼ਾਲਸੇ ਦੀ ਗਿਣਤੀ ਹੀ ਪੂਰੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੁੰਦੀ।’ ਮੈਂ ਆਖਿਆ, ‘ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ਗਿਣਤੀ ਮਿਣਤੀ ਵਿਚ ਨਹੀਂ ਆਉਂਦਾ। ਲੈ ਆਪਣੇ ਚਲਾਣ ਵਾਲੀ ਵਰੰਟ ਲਿਸਟ ਅਤੇ ਨਾਂਅ ਬੋਲੀ ਜਾਹ, ਅਸੀਂ ਇਕ ਇਕ ਕਰਕੇ ਬਾਹਰੋਂ ਅੰਦਰ (ਡੱਬੇ ਵਿਚ) ਹੋਈ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਾਂ।’ ਅਸੀਂ
ਡੱਬਿਓਂ ਉਤਰ ਕੇ ਏਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਉਸ ਦਾ ਘਰ ਪੂਰਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਤਾਂ ਉਸ ਵਿਚਾਰੇ ਦੀ ਜਾਨ ਵਿਚ ਜਾਨ ਆਈ। ਗੱਜਦੇ ਜੈਕਾਰਿਆਂ ਵਿਚ ਪਿਆਨੇ ਹੋਏ। ਗੱਡੀ ਵਿਚ ਬੈਠ ਕੇ ਰਹਿਰਾਸ ਦਾ ਪਾਠ ਹੋਇਆ। ਫ਼ੌਜਾਂ ਕੀਰਤਨ ਸੋਹਿਲਾ ਪੜ੍ਹ ਕੇ ਥਾਉਂ ਥਾਈਂ ਆਸਣ ਜਮਾ ਬੈਠੀਆਂ। ਰਾਤੋ-ਰਾਤ ਸਾਰਾ ਬੰਗਾਲ ਦਾ ਇਲਾਕਾ ਲੰਘ ਗਏ
ਅਤੇ ਦਿਨ ਚੜ੍ਹਦੇ ਕਰਦੇ ਹੀ ਵਾਲਟੇਅਰ ਪਹੁੰਚ ਗਏ। ਏਥੇ ਮਦਰਾਸ ਹਾਤੇ ਦਾ ਇਲਾਕਾ ਆ ਗਿਆ।

ਮਦਰਾਸ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਦੇ ਚਾਰਜ ਵਿਚ

ਵਾਲਟੇਅਰ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਉਤੇ ਮਦਰਾਸ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਸਾਡਾ ਚਾਰਜ ਲੈਣ ਲਈ ਖੜੀ ਸੀ। ਇਸ ਦਾ ਹੈਡ ਅਫ਼ਸਰ ਇਕ ਅਜਿਹਾ ਖੁਰਾਂਟ ਗੋਰਾ ਇੰਨਸਪੈਕਟਰ ਸੀ ਕਿ ਇਸ ਨੇ ਚਾਰਜ ਲੈਂਦੇ ਸਾਰ ਹੀ ਆਪਣਾ ਖੁਰਾਂਟਪੁਣਾ ਖਿਲਾਰਨਾ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਕਰ ਦਿਤਾ। ਵਾਲਟੇਅਰ ਤੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਮਿਸ਼ਨਰੀ ਗੋਰੇ ਨਾਲ ਭੀ ਝੜਪ ਹੋ ਗਈ ਸੀ, ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਇਕ ਬੜਾ ਮਾਨਨੀਕ ਖੱਦਰ ਪੋਸ਼ ਕਾਂਗਰਸੀ ਦੇਸ਼ ਭਗਤ ਫਲ ਫਲੋਹਾਰ ਆਦਿਕ ਭੇਟਾ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਸੰਗਤ ਵਲ ਨੂੰ ਵਧਿਆ ਤਾਂ ਇਸ ਨੇ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਧੱਕਾ ਮਾਰਿਆ। ਇਸ ਦੇ ਧੱਕਾ ਮਾਰਨ ਦੀ ਦੇਰ ਹੀ ਸੀ ਕਿ ਅਸੀਂ ਸਾਰੇ ਜਣੇ ਭਬਕ ਕੇ ਪਏ ਤਾਂ ਘਾਬਰ ਗਿਆ। ਪਰ ਉਸ ਦੀ ਕਿਸਮਤ ਨੂੰ ਓਥੇ ਅੰਗਰੇਜ਼ੀ ‘ਹਿੰਦੂ’ ਅਖ਼ਬਾਰ ਦਾ ਐਡੀਟਰ ਮਿਸਟਰ ਟੀ. ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ਮ ਆ ਕੇ ਵਿਚ ਪੈ ਗਿਆ। ਮਸਾਂ ਮਸਾਂ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਰਫ਼ਾ ਦਫ਼ੀ ਕਰਾਈ ਅਤੇ ਓਹੋ ਫਲ ਫਲੋਹਾਰਨੀ ਭੇਟਾ ਕਰਵਾ ਦਿਤੀ। ਨਾਲੇ ਗੱਲੀਂ ਬਾਤੀਂ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਖੂਬ ਤਾੜਿਆ ਅਤੇ ਸ਼ਰਮਿੰਦਾ ਕੀਤਾ। ਖਾਸ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਜਦੋਂ ਮਿਸਟਰ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ਮ ਨੇ ਉਸ ਦੇਸ਼ ਭਗਤ ਦੀ ਹੈਸੀਅਤ (ਦੁਨਿਆਵੀ ਪੋਜ਼ੀਸ਼ਨ) ਦੱਸੀ ਤਾਂ ਸੁਣ ਕੇ ਗੋਰੇ ਨੂੰ ਭੀ ਹੋਸ਼ ਆ ਗਈ।

ਟੱਟੀ ਪਿਸ਼ਾਬ ਸਬੰਧੀ ਤਕਲੀਫ਼

ਹੁਣ ਅਸੀਂ ਏਸ ਖੁਰਾਂਟ ਗੋਰੇ ਦੇ ਵਸ ਪਏ ਤਾਂ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਟੱਟੀ ਪਿਸ਼ਾਬ ਲਈ ਗੱਡੀ ਤੋਂ ਉਤਰਨ ਦੀ ਸਖ਼ਤ ਮਨਾਹੀ ਕਰ ਦਿਤੀ। ਸਾਡੇ ਡੱਬੇ ਨੂੰ ਜਿੰਦਰੇ ਲਗਵਾ ਦਿਤੇ, ਫੇਰ ਕਿਸੇ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ’ਤੇ ਨਾ ਖੋਲ੍ਹਣ ਦਿਤੇ। ਹਰੇਕ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਪਰ ਆਪ ਬਾਹਰ ਨਿਕਲ ਕੇ ਖੜਾ ਹੋ ਜਾਵੇ, ਪਰ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਨਿਕਲਣ ਨਾ ਦੇਵੇ। ਸਾਥੋਂ ਅਲੱਗ ਇਕ ਖਾਨੇ ਵਿਚ ਜਾ ਬੈਠਿਆ ਕਰੇ ਜੋ ਸਾਡੇ ਡੱਬੇ ਦੇ ਲਾਗੇ ਹੀ ਸੀ। ਪਾਪੀ ਹਿਰਦੇ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਣਾ ਪਾਪ ਆਪ ਹੀ ਮਾਰ ਦਿੰਦਾ ਹੈ। ਕਈ ਵਾਰ ਸਾਡੇ ਜਬਰਜੰਗ ਥੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਇਹ ਸਲਾਹ ਹੋਈ ਕਿ ਉਸ ਤੋਂ ਚਾਬੀ ਖੋਹ ਲਈਏ ਪਰ ਉਹ ਭੀ ਮਹਾਂ ਖੁਰਾਂਟ ਸੀ, ਸਾਡੇ ਡੱਬੇ ਦੇ ਨੇੜੇ ਹੀ ਨਾ ਆਵੇ, ਖ਼ਬਰੇ ਸਾਡੇ ਸਾਥੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਅੱਖ ਪਛਾਣ ਗਿਆ। ਸਵੇਰ ਤੋਂ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਸ਼ਾਮ ਤਾਈਂ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਅਜਿਹੀ ਕੁੜਿੱਕੀ ਵਿਚ ਰਖਿਆ ਕਿ ਬਹੁਤ ਸਾਰੇ ਸੱਜਣ ਟੱਟੀ ਪਿਸ਼ਾਬ ਕਰਨ ਖੁਣੋਂ ਤੰਗ ਆ ਗਏ। ਸੈਂਟਰੀ ਦੇ ਬੀਮਾਰਾਂ ਦਾ ਤਾਂ ਬਹੁਤ ਹੀ ਬੁਰਾ ਹਾਲ ਹੋਇਆ। ਸਾਰਾ ਦਿਨ ਪਿਸ਼ਾਬ ਬੰਦ ਰਖਣਾ ਕੋਈ ਥੋੜੀ ਔਖ ਵਾਲੀ ਗੱਲ ਹੈ? ਇਸ ਕਾਰਨ ਅਸੀਂ ਛਕਣਾ ਛਕਾਉਣਾ ਅਤੇ ਜਲ ਪਾਨ ਕਰਨਾ ਭੀ ਛੱਡ ਦਿਤਾ, ਨਹੀਂ ਤਾਂ ਬਹੁਤ ਹੀ ਔਖੇ ਹੁੰਦੇ। ਦਿਨ ਛਿਪੇ ਰਹਿਰਾਸ ਦੇ ਪਾਠ ਤੋਂ ਪਿਛੋਂ ਚਲੀ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਗੱਡੀ ਵਿਚ ਸਾਰੇ ਜਣੇ ਸਲਾਹ ਕਰਨ ਲੱਗੇ ਕਿ ਇਸ ਪਾਮਰ ਨੂੰ ਜ਼ਰੂਰ ਹੱਥ ਦਿਖਾਉਣੇ ਚਾਹੀਦੇ ਹਨ ਤਾਂ ਕਿ ਅੱਗੇ ਵਾਸਤੇ ਸਬਕ ਸਿਖ ਜਾਵੇ ਅਤੇ ਅੱਗੇ ਨੂੰ ਨਾ-ਵਾਜਬ ਤਕਲੀਫ ਕਿਸੇ ਨੂੰ ਦੇਣ ਸੰਬੰਧੀ ਕੰਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਹੱਥ ਲਾ ਲਵੇ। ਦਾਸ ਨੇ ਇਕ ਐਸਾ ਨੁਕਤਾ ਸੁਝਾਇਆ ਜੋ ਸਾਰਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਪਸੰਦ ਆ ਗਿਆ। ਉਹ ਇਹ ਸੀ ਕਿ ‘ਹੁਣ ਰਾਤ ਨੂੰ ਨੌਂ ਬਜੇ ਵੱਖੋ ਵੱਖ
ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨਾਂ ਤੇ ਸਾਡੇ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਵੱਖੋ ਵੱਖ ਜੱਥਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਨੀਯਤ ਕੀਤੀ ਵੰਡ ਅਨੁਸਾਰ ਵੱਖੋ ਵੱਖ ਜੇਲ੍ਹਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਲੈ ਜਾਣ ਲਈ ਉਤਾਰਨਗੇ ਤਾਂ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਉਤਰਨੋਂ ਆਕੀ ਹੋ ਜਾਓ, ਉਹ ਕਿਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ? ਬਸ, ਜਦੋਂ ਵੀ ਸਾਡੇ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਨੂੰ ਉਤਾਰਨ ਲਈ ਜਿਸ ਕਿਸੇ ਦਾ ਨਾਂ ਪੁਕਾਰੇ, ਉਹ ਪੁਕਾਰ ਦਾ ਕੋਈ ਉਤਰ ਨਾ ਦੇਵੇ, ਸਭ ਮਸਤ ਹੋ ਰਹੋ। ਆਪੇ ਹੀ ਬੋਲ ਬੋਲ ਕੇ ਹੰਭ ਜਾਵੇਗਾ। ਨਾਉਂ ਤਾਂ ਸਾਡਾ ਉਹ ਕਿਸੇ ਦਾ ਵੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਜਾਣਦਾ, ਨਾ ਹੀ ਮਦਰਾਸ ਦੇ ਪੁਲਿਸੀਏ ਹੀ ਜਾਣਦੇ ਹਨ। ਹਜ਼ਾਰੀ ਬਾਗ਼ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਦੇ ਵਾਕਫ਼ ਕੇਵਲ ਦੋ ਹੀ ਸਿਪਾਹੀ ਸਾਡੇ ਨਾਲ ਹਨ, ਉਹ ਨਵੇਂ ਹੀ ਹਨ, ਉਹਨਾਂ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਭੀ ਕਿਸੇ ਨੂੰ ਪਤਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਿ ਸਾਡੇ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਦਾ ਕੀ
ਨਾਉਂ ਹੈ।’ ਇਹ ਮੰਤ੍ਰ ਸਾਰਿਆਂ ਨੇ ਹੀ ਪੱਕ ਪਕਾ ਲਿਆ ਅਤੇ ਸਾਥ ਹੀ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਨੰਬਰੀ ਕੱਪੜੇ ਵੀ ਵਟਾ ਦਿਤੇ, ਭਾਵ ਹਰ ਇਕ ਕੱਪੜਾ ਅੱਡੋ ਅੱਡ ਨੰਬਰਾਂ ਦਾ ਇਕ ਦੂਜੇ ਤੀਜੇ ਚੌਥੇ ਤੋਂ ਵਟਾ ਕੇ ਪਾ ਲਿਆ।

ਰਾਜ ਮੰਦਰੀ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਤੇ ਨਿਰਾਲਾ ਮੋਰਚਾ
ਰਾਤ ਦੇ ਨੌਂ ਬਜੇ ਦੇ ਕਰੀਬ ਰਾਜਮੰਦਰੀ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਆ ਗਿਆ। ਅਸੀਂ ਪੰਜਾਂ ਸਿੰਘਾਂ ਨੇ ਉਥੇ ਉਤਰਨਾ ਸੀ। ਗੱਡੀ ਖੜ੍ਹਦੀ ਸਾਰ ਹੀ ਰਾਜਮੰਦਰੀ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਇੰਨਸਪੈਕਟਰ ਗੋਰਾ ਅਤੇ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਅਫ਼ਸਰ ਸਾਡੇ ਡੱਬੇ ਪਾਸ ਪਹੁੰਚ ਗਏ। ਏਧਰੋਂ ਸਾਡੇ ਇੰਚਾਰਜ ਇੰਨਸਪੈਕਟਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਭੀ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਜਾ ਮਿਲੇ। ਆਪਸ ਵਿਚ ਹੀ ਕਾਗਜ਼ ਪੱਤਰ ਵੇਖ ਚਾਖ ਕੇ ਇਕ ਗੋਰਾ ਅਫ਼ਸਰ ਵਾਰੋ ਵਾਰੀ ਸਾਡੇ ਪੰਜਾਂ ਸਿੰਘਾਂ ਦੇ ਨਾਂ ਪੁਕਾਰਨ ਲੱਗਾ ਅਤੇ ਹੁਕਮ ਦਿਤਾ ਕਿ ਜਿਸ ਦਾ ਨਾਂ ਪੁਕਾਰਿਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ, ਉਹ ਗੱਡੀ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਹਰ ਆ ਜਾਵੇ। ਪਰ ਆਵੇ ਕੌਣ, ਸਾਡੇ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਤਾਂ ਕੋਈ ਕੁਸਕੇ ਹੀ ਨਾ, ਪਏ ਬਾਹਰ ਇਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਖੜ੍ਹੇ ਪੁਕਾਰਨ:-

ਰੰਣਧਰ ਸਿੰਘ- ਚੁਪ। ਕਰਟਰ ਸਿੰਘ- ਚੁਪ। ਗੈਂਡਾ ਸਿੰਘ- ਚੁਪ। ਹਰਨਾਮ ਸਿੰਘ- ਚੁਪ। ਅਜਨ ਸਿੰਘ- ਚੁਪ। ਚੁਪ ਹੀ ਚੁਪ। ਬਸ ਇਉਂ ਪ੍ਰਤੀਤ ਹੋਵੇ ਕਿ ਸਾਡੇ ਡੱਬੇ ਵਿਚ ਬੁੱਤ ਹੀ ਬੁੱਤ ਧਰੇ ਹੋਏ ਸਨ। ਜਦ ਸਾਡਾ ਖੁਰਾਂਟ ਇੰਨਸਪੈਕਟਰ ਗੋਰਾ ਉੱਚੀ ਉੱਚੀ ਤਲੱਫਜ਼ ਕਈ ਤਰੀਕਿਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਬਣਾ ਬਣਾ ਕੇ ਬੋਲ
ਬੋਲ ਥੱਕ ਗਿਆ ਅਤੇ ਸਾਡੇ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਚੁੱਪ ਤੋਂ ਬਿਨਾਂ ਕੋਈ ਉੱਤਰ ਨਾ ਮਿਲਿਆ ਤਾਂ ਰਾਜਮੰਦਰੀ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਦਾ ਗੋਰਾ ਇੰਨਸਪੈਕਟਰ ਜੋ ਪਹਿਲੇ ਨਾਲੋਂ ਕੁਛ ਚੰਗੀ ਹਿੰਦੁਸਤਾਨੀ ਬੋਲ ਸਕਦਾ ਸੀ, ਵਧਿਆ ਅਤੇ ਸਾਡੀ ਲਿਸਟ ਹੱਥ ਵਿਚ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਜਾਣੇ ਠੀਕ ਠੀਕ ਨਾਮ ਪੁਕਾਰਨ ਲੱਗਾ। ਉਸ ਤੋਂ ਭੀ ਸ਼ੁਧ ਨਾਮ ਨਾ
ਪੁਕਾਰੇ ਜਾਣ। ਗੱਲ ਕੀ ਤਲੱਫਜ਼ ਹੀ ਠੀਕ ਨਾ ਉਚਾਰ ਸਕੇ ਜੈਸਾ ਕਿ ਰਣਧੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੂੰ ਕਦੇ ਰੰਢਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਕਦੇ ਰਣਢੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬੋਲੇ, ਕਰਤਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੂੰ ਕਦੇ ਕਰਟਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਕਦੇ ਕਾਰਟਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬੋਲੇ। ਏਸੇ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਰ ਵਿਚਾਰਾ ਮੂੰਹ ਪਾੜ ਪਾੜ ਥੱਕ ਰਿਹਾ। ਅਸੀਂ ਗੱਡੀਓਂ ਹੇਠਾਂ ਤਾਂ ਕੀ ਉਤਰਨਾ ਸੀ, ਸਾਡੇ ਵਿਚੋਂ
ਕੋਈ ਆਵਾਜ਼ ਹੀ ਨਾ ਦੇਵੇ। ਸਾਰੇ ਗੋਰੇ ਅਫ਼ਸਰ ਦੋਹਾਂ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਸਿਪਾਹੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਉਦਾਲੇ ਹੋਏ ਕਿ ਹੁਣ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਇਹਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਨਾਮ ਦੱਸੋ ਅਤੇ ਰਾਜਮੰਦਰੀ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਵਿਚ ਜਾਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਪੰਜਾਂ ਸਿੱਖਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਛਾਂਟ ਕੇ ਡੱਬੇ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਕੱਢੋ ਜਾਂ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਹੱਥ ਹੀ ਲਾ ਲਾ ਕੇ ਦੱਸੋ। ਉਹ ਆਪ ਹੀ ਕੰਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਹੱਥ ਲਾਉਣ ਲੱਗੇ ਕਿ ‘ਅਸੀਂ ਇਹਨਾਂ ਦੇ
ਨਾਮ ਨਹੀਂ ਜਾਣਦੇ ਪਰ ਦਾਸ ਨੂੰ ਫੜ ਕੇ ਕਹਿਣ ਲੱਗੇ ਕਿ ਅਸੀਂ ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ਜਾਣਦੇ ਹਾਂ, ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ਸਾਧੂ ਜੀ! ਸਾਧੂ ਜੀ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਵਿਚ ਸਾਰੇ ਅਫ਼ਸਰ ਅਤੇ ਸਿਪਾਹੀ ਲੋਗ ਬੁਲਾਇਆ ਕਰਦੇ ਸੀ, ਹੋਰ ਅਸੀਂ ਨਾਮ ਇਸ ਦਾ ਭੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਜਾਣਦੇ।’

ਦੋਹਾਂ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਸਿਪਾਹੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਉਤਰ ਸੁਣ ਕੇ ਸਭ ਅਫ਼ਸਰਾਂ ਦੇ ਛੱਕੇ ਛੁੱਟ ਗਏ ਅਤੇ ਬੜੇ ਹੀ ਨਿਰਾਸ ਨਿਮੋਝਾਣੇ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਸਾਡੇ ਅੱਗੇ ਮਿੰਨਤਾਂ ਕਰਨ ਲੱਗੇ ਕਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਕਰਕੇ ਆਪੋਂ ਹੀ ਪੰਜ ਜਣੇ ਹੇਠਾਂ ਉਤਰ ਆਵੋ। ਪਲੇਟ ਫਾਰਮ ਉਤੇ ਤਕੜਾ ਇਕੱਠ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ। ਤਮਾਸ਼ਬੀਨ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੇ ਸਾਡੇ ਡੱਬੇ ਦੇ ਸਾਹਮਣੇ
ਅਫ਼ਸਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਘੇਰਾ ਪਾ ਲਿਆ ਜਿਹਨਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਰਾਜਮੰਦਰੀ ਦੇ ਕਾਂਗਰਸੀ ਲੀਡਰ ਭੀ ਸ਼ਾਮਲ ਸਨ ਜੋ ਕਿ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਹੀ ਉਤਰਦਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਵੇਖਣ ਆਏ ਸੀ। ਜਦੋਂ ਪੂਰਾ ਇਕੱਠ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ ਤਾਂ ਡੱਬੇ ਦੇ ਅੰਦਰੋਂ ਬਾਰੀ ਵਿਚ ਹੀ ਪਲੇਟਫਾਰਮ ਤੇ ਖੜੇ ਸਾਰੇ ਸਰੋਤਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਸਨਮੁਖ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਵੀਰ ਕਰਤਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੇ ਅੰਗਰੇਜ਼ੀ ਵਿਚ
ਰਸਤੇ ਦੇ ਸਾਰੇ ਅਤਿਆਚਾਰ ਅਤੇ ਬਦਸਲੂਕੀਆਂ ਜੋ ਜੋ ਉਸ ਖੁਰਾਂਟ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਨੇ ਕੀਤੀਆਂ ਸਨ, ਸਭ ਡੱਕੋ ਡੱਕਾ ਉਘੇੜੀਆਂ ਤੇ ਸਾਡੀ ਚੁੱਪ ਦਾ ਕਾਰਣ ਸਾਰਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਸਮਝਾਇਆ ਗਿਆ। ਇੰਨਸਪੈਕਟਰ ਨੂੰ ਚਾਰ ਚੁਫੇਰਿਓਂ ਫਿਟਕਾਰਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਸ਼ੇਮ ਸ਼ੇਮ ਦੀ ਬੁਛਾੜ ਪੈਣ ਲੱਗੀ ਅਤੇ ਗੋਰੇ ਦੀ ਰੰਗਤ ਸ਼ਰਮ ਦੇ ਮਾਰੇ ਪੀਲੀ ਭੂਕ ਹੋ ਗਈ।

ਰਾਜਮੰਦਰੀ ਤੋਂ ਆਏ ਜ਼ੁੰਮੇਂਵਾਰ ਅਫ਼ਸਰਾਂ ਨੇ ਆਪਣੀ ਜ਼ੁੰਮੇਂਵਾਰੀ ਉਤੇ ਫੌਰਨ ਡੱਬੇ ਦੇ ਤਾਲੇ ਖੁਲ੍ਹਾ ਕੇ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਟੱਟੀ ਪਿਸ਼ਾਬ ਦੀ ਖੁਲ੍ਹ ਦਿਤੀ। ਸਭ ਨੇ ਯਥਾਸ਼ਕਤ ਹਾਜਤ-ਰਫਾਈ ਕੀਤੀ। ਕਈਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਤਾਂ ਕਬਜ਼ੀਆਂ ਹੀ ਹੋ ਗਈਆਂ। ਕਈਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਸਿਰ ਦਰਦੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਸ਼ਕਾਇਤ ਹੋ ਗਈ। ਅਸੀਂ ਮਿੰਟਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਹੀ ਫਾਰਗ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਸਾਰੇ ਦੇ ਸਾਰੇ ਫੇਰ ਡੱਬੇ ਵਿਚ ਹੀ ਆ ਵੜੇ। ਉਹ ਪੰਜਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਨਿਰਾਲੇ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਲੇਲ੍ਹੜੀਆਂ ਕੱਢਣ, ਅਸੀਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਦੀ ਸੁਣੀਏ ਹੀ ਨਾ। ਰਾਜਮੰਦਰੀ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਕਰਮਚਾਰੀਆਂ ਜੋ ਓਥੇ ਆਏ ਹੋਏ ਸਨ ਉਹ ਭੀ ਅਤੇ ਹੋਰ ਜ਼ੁੰਮੇਂਵਾਰ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਅਫ਼ਸਰ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਬਥੇਰਾ ਯਕੀਨ ਦਿਵਾਉਣ ਕਿ ਹੁਣ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਨਾਲ ਬਦਸਲੂਕੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੋਵੇਗੀ, ਪਰ ਅਸੀਂ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਇਹੋ ਆਖੀਏ ਕਿ “ਅਬਤੁਮਰੀਪਰਤੀਤਿਨਹੋਈ॥"(ਆਸਾਕਬੀਰਜੀਉਕੇਦੁਪਦੇ; ੪੮੪) ਉਹ ਸਾਰੇ ਜਣੇ ਉਸ ਇੰਨਸਪੈਕਟਰ ਨੂੰ ਲਾਅਨਤਾਂ ਪਾਉਣ। ਉਹ ਭੀ ਹੁਣ ਹੀਣਾ ਝੀਣਾ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਮਿੰਨਤਾਂ ਤਰਲੇ ਲਵੇ ਅਤੇ ਵਾਸਤੇ ਕੱਢੇ ਕਿ ‘ਰੱਬ ਦੇ ਵਾਸਤੇ ਹੁਣ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਉੱਤਰ ਪਵੋ।’ ਅਸੀਂ ਆਖਿਆ ‘ਹੁਣ ਆਪਣਾ ਆਰਡਰ ਪੂਰਾ ਹੀ ਰਖੋ। ਦਿਨ ਦਿਹਾੜੇ ਤਾਂ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਗੱਡੀਓਂ ਹੇਠਾਂ ਪੈਰ ਨਹੀਂ ਪਾਉਣ ਦਿਤਾ,ਹੁਣ ਤਾਂ ਰਾਤ ਪਈ ਹੋਈ ਹੈ, ਕਿਉਂ ਆਪਣਾ ਆਰਡਰ ਆਪ ਹੀ ਤੋੜਦੇ ਹੋ। ਆਪਣੇ ਆਰਡਰ ਦੀ ਪੂਛ ਘੁਟ ਕੇ ਫੜੀ ਰਖੋ, ਅਸੀਂ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਆਰਡਰ ਉਤੇ ਪੱਕੇ ਹੀ ਰਹਿਣਾ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਇਸ ਆਰਡਰ ਦੇ ਮਜ਼ੇ
ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਚਖਾਉਣੇ ਹਨ।’ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਇਸ ਬਿਧ ਲੋਹੇ ਦੀ ਲੱਠ ਹੋਏ ਵੇਖ ਕੇ ਸਭ ਨਿਰਾਸ ਹੋ ਗਏ ਕਿ ਹੁਣ ਇਹ ਨਹੀਂ ਉਤਰਣਗੇ। ਗੱਡੀ ਇਸ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਉਤੇ ਖੜੀ ਨੂੰ ਭੀ ਪੌਣਾ ਘੰਟਾ ਹੋ ਚੁਕਿਆ ਸੀ, ਹਾਲਾਂ ਕਿ ਉਥੇ ਦਸ ਪੰਦਰਾਂ ਮਿੰਟ ਹੀ ਠਹਿਰਨੀ ਸੀ। ਹਾਰ ਹੰਭ ਕੇ ਮਜਬੂਰਨ ਗੱਡੀ ਤੋਰਨੀ ਹੀ ਪਈ ਅਤੇ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ਜੈਕਾਰੇ ਗਜਾਉਂਦਾ ਤੇ ਭੂਤਨੀ ਤੇ ਖੜਾ ਚੜ੍ਹਾ ਭੂਤਨੀ ਸਵਾਰ ਹੀ ਰਿਹਾ, ਕੋਈ ਭੀ ਨਾ ਉਤਰਿਆ। ਤੇਈ ਦੀਆਂ ਤੇਈ ਲੱਖ ਫ਼ੌਜਾਂ ਗਜਦੀਆਂ ਵਜਦੀਆਂ ਧੁਰ ਮਦਰਾਸ ਜਾ ਉਤਰੀਆਂ।

ਸਾਰੇ ਤਾਰਾਂ ਫਿਰ ਗਈਆਂ ਕਿ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਸਿੱਖ ਇਸ ਬਿਧ ਆਕੀ ਹੋ ਗਏ। ਓਧਰ ਆਂਧਰਾ ਪ੍ਰਾਂਤ ਦੇ ਦੇਸ਼ ਭਗਤਾਂ ਨੇ ਭੀ ਸਾਰੇ ਖ਼ਬਰਾਂ ਧੁਮਾ ਦਿਤੀਆਂ ਕਿ ਭੈੜੇ ਸਲੂਕ ਤੇ ਜ਼ਬਰ ਜ਼ੋਰਾਂ ਦੇ ਕਾਰਣ ੧੯੧੪-੧੫ ਵਾਲੇ ਸਿੱਖ ਪੁਲੀਟੀਕਲ ਕੈਂਦੀਆਂ ਨੇ ਨਿਰਾਲੀ ਨਾਨ ਕੋ-ਓਪਰੇਸ਼ਨ (ਨਾ-ਮਿਲਵਰਤਨ ਸਤਿਆਗ੍ਰਹ) ਕਰ
ਦਿਖਾਈ ਅਤੇ ਜਰਵਾਣਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਸਬਕ ਸਿਖਣੀ ਸਜ਼ਾ ਦਿਤੀ।

ਮਦਰਾਸ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਤੇ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ

ਮਦਰਾਸ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਉਤੇ ਭੀ ਅਸੀਂ ਆਪੋਂ ਨਾ ਉਤਰਦੇ ਪਰ ਉਥੇ ਜਾ ਕੇ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਸਾਡਾ ਡੱਬਾ ਹੀ ਟਰੇਨਨਾਲੋਂ ਕੱਟ ਦਿਤਾ ਅਤੇ ਬਾਹਰ ਪਲੇਟਫਾਰਮ ਉਤੇ ਦਰੀਆਂ ਐਉਂ ਵਿਛ ਗਈਆਂ ਜਿਵੇਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਜਨੇਤ ਦੀ ਆਗਤ ਭਾਗਤ ਕਰਨੀ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਹੈ। ਮਦਰਾਸ ਦੇ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਕਰਮਚਾਰੀ ਸਿਆਣਿਆਂ ਨੇ ਇਹ ਪ੍ਰਬੰਧ ਕੀਤਾ ਸੀ। ਅਸੀਂ ਦਰੀਆਂ ਉਤੇ ਸਜ ਗਏ। ਪਈਆਂ ਖਾਤਰਾਂ ਹੋਣ ਲੱਗੀਆਂ ਪਰ ਸਭ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਕਰਮਚਾਰੀ ਹੀ ਦਿਸਣ ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਦੇਵਨੇਤ ਐਸੀ ਹੋਈ ਕਿ ਉਸ ਸਮੇਂ ਮਦਰਾਸ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਉਤੇ ਕੋਈ ਭੀ ਦੇਸ਼ ਭਗਤ ਨਾ ਦਿਸੇ। ਖ਼ੱਦਰਪੋਸ਼ੀ ਦਾ ਕਿਤੇ ਨਾਮ ਨਿਸ਼ਾਨ ਭੀ ਨਾ ਦਿਸੇ। ਸਭ ਥਾਈਂ ਬਦੇਸ਼ੀ ਸਾੜ੍ਹੀਆਂ ਵਾਲੇ ਐਧਰ ਉਧਰ ਮੂੰਹ ਚੁੱਕੀ ਫਿਰਨ, ਹਾਲਾਂਕਿ ਪਿਛਲੇ ਸਭ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨਾਂ ਉਤੇ ਖੱਦਰਪੋਸ਼ ਭਗਤਾਂ ਦੀ ਇਤਨੀ ਭਰਮਾਰ ਰਹਿੰਦੀ ਸੀ ਕਿ ਸਾਡੀ ਗੱਡੀ ਉਤੇ ਤਮਾਸ਼ਬੀਨਾਂ ਦੀ ਘਟਾ ਛਾ ਜਾਂਦੀ।
ਖਾਸ ਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਮਦਰਾਸ ਦਾ ਇਹ ਹਾਲ ਦਿੱਸੇ ਕਿ ਮਾਨੋ ਉਥੇ ਦੇਸ਼ ਭਗਤੀ ਦਾ ਮੁਸ਼ਕ ਭੀ ਨਹੀਂ। ਸਾਨੂੰ ਜਿਸ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਰ ਪਲੋਸ ਪਲਾਸ ਕੇ ਅਤੇ ਮਿੰਨਤ ਸਮਾਜਤ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਸੈਂਟਰਲ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਮਦਰਾਸ ਵਿਚ ਲੈ ਗਏ, ਸੋ ਬੜੀ ਵਿਸਥਾਰਕ ਕਥਾ ਹੈ। ਜਿਸ ਦੇ ਦੱਸਣ ਤੋਂ ਪੁਸਤਕ ਦਾ ਆਕਾਰ ਵਧਣ ਦਾ ਡਰ ਹੈ। ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਵਿਚ ਲੈ ਜਾ ਕੇ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਇਕ ਖੁਲ੍ਹੇ ਦਾਲਾਨ ਵਿਚ ਉਤਾਰ ਦਿਤਾ। ਬੜੀਆਂ ਖਾਤਰਾਂ ਤੇ ਨਿਉਣੀਆਂ ਛਿਉਣੀਆਂ ਕਰਨ ਲੱਗੇ। ਅਸੀਂ ਸਵੇਰ ਤੋਂ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਤੀਜੇ ਪਹਿਰ ਤਕ ਉਥੇ ਹੀ ਬਿਰਾਜੇ। ਉਥੋਂ ਦਾ ਜੇਲ੍ਹਰ ਜੋ ਕਿ ਗੋਰਾ ਹੀ ਸੀ, ਬੜੀ ਹੀ ਖੁਸ਼ ਖੁਲਕੀ ਅਤੇ ਸ਼ਰਾਫ਼ਤ ਨਾਲ ਪੇਸ਼ ਆਇਆ। ਉਸ ਨੇ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਕਿ ‘ਜਿਸ ਇੰਨਸਪੈਕਟਰ ਨੇ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਨਾਜਾਇਜ਼ ਤਕਲੀਫ਼ ਦਿਤੀ ਹੈ ਉਸ ਦੀ ਕਰਨੀ ਦਾ ਫਲ ਅੱਜ ਹੀ ਮਿਲ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ। ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਇਕ ਦਮ ਉਤਾਰੂ (ਦੲਗਰੳਦੲ) ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਰਾਜਮੰਦਰੀ ਤੋਂ ਐਥੇ ਤਕ ਸਾਰਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਲਿਆਉਣ ਦਾ ਤੇ ਮੁੜ ਉਥੇ ਲੈ ਜਾਣ ਦਾ ਸਮੇਤ ਗਾਰਦ ਦੇ ਖਰਚ ਭੀ ਉਸ ਜੁੰਮੇ ਮੜ੍ਹਿਆ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ। ਹੁਣ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਖਾਸੀ ਸਜ਼ਾ ਮਿਲ ਚੁੱਕੀ ਹੈ। ਮੇਰੀ ਹਾਲਤ ਅਤੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਸਿਰ ਪੈਣ ਵਾਲੀਆਂ ਮੁਸੀਬਤਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਮੁਖ ਰਖ ਕੇ ਮਿਹਰਬਾਨੀ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਆਪੇ ਹੀ ਆਪੋ ਆਪਣੇ ਜਥਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਨਾਂ ਦਸ ਦੇਵੋ, ਤਾਂ ਕਿ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਥਾਉਂ ਥਾਈਂ ਅਮਨ ਨਾਲ ਪਹੁੰਚਾਇਆ ਜਾਵੇ।’ ਸਾਡੀ ਦਲੀਲ ਸੀ ਕਿ ਹਜ਼ਾਰੀ ਬਾਗ਼ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਦੇ ਜੇਲ੍ਹਰ ਮੀਕ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਨੂੰ ਭੀ ਕੁਛ ਸੇਕ ਲੱਗੇ ਜਿਸ ਨੇ ਇਹ ਕੋਝਾ ਇੰਤਜ਼ਾਮ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਇਤਨੀ ਤਕਲੀਫ਼ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਦਿਤੀ, ਭਾਵ ਪਿਸ਼ਾਬ ਟੱਟੀ ਬਿਹੂਣ ਡੱਬਾ ਸਾਡੇ ਲਈ ਲਾ ਕੇ ਇਹ ਤਕਲੀਫ਼ ਦਿਤੀ, ਪਰ ਮਦਰਾਸ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਦੇ ਗੋਰੇ ਅਫ਼ਸਰਾਂ ਨੇ ਸਾਡੇ ਨਾਲ ਸ਼ਰਾਫਤ ਭਰੇ ਸਲੂਕ ਦਾ ਵਰਤਾਉ ਕਰਕੇ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਠੰਡੇ ਕਰ ਲਿਆ। ਬੜੀ ਹੀ ਠੰਡੀ ਪਾਲਸੀ ਵਰਤੀ। ਸਾਡੀ ਖੁਸ਼ਨੂਦੀ ਲੈਣ ਖਾਤਰ ਸਾਡੇ ਕਾਲੇ ਪਾਣੀਓਂ ਵਾਪਸ ਆਏ ਚਿਰੀਂ ਵਿਛੁੰਨੇ ਭਰਾਵਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਸਾਡਾ ਖੁਲ੍ਹਮ-ਖੁਲ੍ਹਾ ਮੇਲ ਕਰਾ ਦਿਤਾ। ਅਸੀਂ ਖੂਬ ਪਰਸਪਰ ਬਰਸਾਂ ਬੱਧੀ ਵਿਛੋੜਿਆਂ ਪਿਛੋਂ ਗਲ਼ ਮਿਲ ਕੇ ਬੁਖਾਰ ਕੱਢੇ ਅਤੇ ਖੂਬ ਗਹਿਰੇ ਗਫਿਆਂ ਵਾਲੀਆਂ ਦੇਗਾਂ ਸਜੀਆਂ। ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਛਾਂਦਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਲਹਿਰ ਬਹਿਰ ਸਵਾ ਪਹਿਰ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਰਹੀ।
ਭਾਣੇ ਅੰਦਰ ਕਰਤਾਰ ਨੇ ਇਹ ਮੇਲੇ ਕਰਾਉਣੇ ਸਨ, ਭਾਣੇ ਅੰਦਰ ਹੀ ਸਤਿਆ ਗ੍ਰਹਿ ਸੁਝੀ, ਜਿਸ ਦੇ ਤੁਫੈਲ ਮਦਰਾਸ ਆ ਕੇ ਉਤਾਰੇ ਹੋਏ ਅਤੇ ਭਾਣੇ ਅੰਦਰ ਹੀ ਰਾਸਕੁਮਾਰੀ ਦੇ ਕੁਰਬੋ ਜੁਆਰ ਵੇਖਣ ਵਾਲਾ ਸੁਪਨ ਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟਾਂਤ ਪੂਰਾ ਹੋਣਾ ਸੀ, ਜੋ ਵੀਰ ਕਰਤਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਯਾਦ ਕਰਾਇਆ ਕਿ ਹਜ਼ਾਰੀ ਬਾਗ਼
੧੯੨੦ ਤੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਅਤਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਜੋ ਸੰਜੋਗੀ-ਸਾਥੀਅੜੇ ਨੇ ਜਦੋਂ ਪੁਛਿਆ ਕਿ ‘ਭਾਈ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ ਝਬਦੇ ਹੀ ਬੰਦ ਖਲਾਸੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟਾਂਤ ਦਿਸਦੇ ਹਨ’, ਤਿਸ ਪਰ ਅਸਾਂ ਆਖਿਆ ਕਿ ‘ਵੀਰ ਜੀ! ਤੁਸਾਡੇ ਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟਾਂਤ ਭੀ ਸਹੀ ਹਨ, ਤੁਸੀਂ ਜ਼ਰੂਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੋ ਜਾਣਾ ਹੈ, ਪਰ ਅਸੀਂ ਤਾਂ ਅਜੇ ਰਾਸ-ਕੁਮਾਰੀ ਦੇ ਪਾਸੇ ਦੀ ਸੈਰ ਕਰਨੀ ਹੈ। ਸਾਨੂੰ ਤਾਂ ਇਉਂ ਹੀ ਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟਾਂਤ ਦਿਖਾਈ ਦੇ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ।’ ਸੋ ਵੀਰ ਅਤਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਤਾਂ ੧੯੨੦ ਦੀ ਖੁਲ੍ਹੀ ਛੋਟ (ਗੲਨੲਰੳਲ ਚਲੲਮੲਨਚੇ) ਵਿਚ ਹੀ ਛੁੱਟ ਗਏ ਅਤੇ ਸਾਡਾ ਰਾਸ ਕੁਮਾਰੀ ਦੇ ਪਾਸੇ ਵਾਲਾ ਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟਾਂਤ ਹੁਣ ਸੁਤੇ ਸਿਧ ਹੀ ਆਪਣੀ ਪੂਰਤੀ ਉਪਰ ਆ ਗਿਆ। ਸਚਮੁਚ ਦਾਸ ਨੂੰ ਯਾਦ ਭੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਸੀ। ਵੀਰ ਅਤਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਨਾਲ ਹੋਏ ਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟਾਂਤ ਸਬੰਧੀ ਬਚਨ ਬਿਲਾਸ ਸਭ ਵਿਸਰ ਗਏ ਸਨ ਜੋ ਹੁਣ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਭਾਈ ਕਰਤਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਸਹਿਤ ਗੋਸ਼ਟ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਯਾਦ ਆਏ। ਸੋ ਉਕਤ ਰਾਜਮੰਦਰੀ ਉਤਰਨੋਂ ਆਕੀ ਹੋਣ ਦਾ ਸਤਿਆਗ੍ਰਹਿ ਮਤਾਂਤ ਭਾਣੇ ਅੰਦਰ ਸੁਤੇ ਸੁਫੁਰ ਹੀ ਸੀ। ਮਿਣਿਆ ਮਿਥਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਨਹੀਂ ਸੀ। ਸੋ ਇਹ ਸਭ ਕੁਛ ਭਾਣੇ ਅੰਦਰ ਹੀ ਹੋਣਾ ਸੀ। ਨਾ ਹੀ ਸਾਡੇ ਅੰਦਰ ਕਿਸੇ ਤੋਂ ਬਦਲਾ ਲੈਣ ਦੀ ਸਪਿਰਟ ਵਾਲੀ ਅੰਧ-ਨੀਅਤੀ ਗੰਢ ਹੀ ਸੀ। ਅਸੀਂ ਤਾਂ ਕੇਵਲ ਭੂਸਰੇ ਹੋਏ ਪਾਮਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸੋਧਾ ਚਾੜ੍ਹਨਾ, ਸਬਕ ਦੇ ਕੇ ਸੁਮੱਤੇ ਲਾਉਣਾ ਹੀ ਲੋੜਦੇ ਸੀ। ਸਿਪਾਹੀਆਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਬੰਦੂਕਾਂ ਕਾਬੂ ਕਰਨੀਆਂ ਤੇ ਵਾਪਸ ਦੇਣੀਆਂ ਬਦਲਾ ਲੈਣਾ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਤਾਂ ਅਸੀਂ ਰਾਹ ਵਿਚ ਹੀ ਬਥੇਰੇ ਪਿੱਸੂ ਪਾ ਦਿੰਦੇ ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਜਦੋਂ ਗੱਡੀ ਵਿਚ ਆਉਂਦਿਆਂ ਰਾਤ ਨੂੰ ਸਾਰੇ ਸਿਪਾਹੀ ਸਾਰਜੰਟ ਆਦਿਕ ਸੁਸਰੀ ਵਾਂਗੂੰ ਸਉਂ ਗਏ ਸਨ ਅਤੇ ‘ਸ੍ਰੀਮਾਨ ਜੀ’ ਦੇ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਈ ਖਿਤਾਬ ਵਾਲੇ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਭਾਈ ਗੁੱਜਰ ਸਿੰਘ, ਨਿਹੰਗ ਗੰਡਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਆਦਿਕ ਵੀਰਾਂ ਨੇ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਪਾਸੋਂ ਸਾਰੀਆਂ ਸੰਗੀਨਾਂ ਸੰਞੁਕਤੀ ਭਰੀਆਂ ਭਰਾਤੀਆਂ ਰਫ਼ਲਾਂ (ਬੰਦੂਕਾਂ) ਗੋਲੀ ਗਠੇ ਸਮੇਤ ਖਿਸਕਾ ਕੇ ਇਕੱਠੀਆਂ ਆਪਣੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਖਾਨੇ ਵਿਚ ਕਾਬੂ ਕਰਕੇ ਦਾਸ ਨੂੰ ਦਿਖਾ ਦਿਤੀਆਂ ਸਨ ਅਤੇ ਹਰਨ ਹੋਣ ਦਾ ਇਸ਼ਾਰਾ ਹੀ ਭਾਲਦੇ ਸਨ, ਪਰੰਤੂ ਦਾਸ ਨੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਪਾਸ ਬੇਨਤੀ ਕੀਤੀ ਸੀ ਕਿ ‘ਅਸੀਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਤੋਂ ਬਦਲਾ ਇਸ ਭਾਂਤੇ ਨਹੀਂ ਲੈਣਾ। ਇਹ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਈ ਸਪਿਰਟ ਨਹੀਂ। ਇਸ ਸਮੇਂ ਸਾਰਾ ਦੇਸ ਤਾਂ ਘਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਛਡ ਕੇ ਜੇਲ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਧਾਈ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ, ਅਸੀਂ ਹੁਣ ਦੇਸ ਦੇਸਾਂਤਰੀ ਜੇਲ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਛੱਡ ਕੇ ਘਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਨਸਣ ਭਜਣ ਲਈ ਯਤਨ ਕਰੀਏ, ਇਹ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਈ ਸ਼ਾਨ ਦੇ ਸ਼ਾਇਆਂ ਨਹੀਂ। ਸਾਡੇ ਇਹਨਾਂ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਰਾਖੇ ਰਖਵਾਲਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ
ਇਤਨੀ ਸ਼ਰਮਿੰਦਗੀ ਬਥੇਰੀ ਹੈ। ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਇਕ ਇਕ ਨੂੰ ਜਗਾ ਕੇ ਹਰੇਕ ਦਾ ਆਪੋ ਆਪਣਾ ਰਫ਼ਲ ਗੋਲੀ ਗੱਠਾ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸੌਂਪ ਦੇਵੋ।’ ਸੋ ਐਸਾ ਹੀ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਸੀ, ਜਿਸ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਈ ਦਿਲਾਵਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਦੇਖ ਕੇ ਉਹ ਦੰਗ ਰਹਿ ਗਏ ਸਨ। ਸੋ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਈ ਦਿਲਾਵਰੀ ਸਹਿਨਸ਼ੀਲਤਾ ਵਾਲੀ ਸੂਰਮਗਤੀ ਵਿਚ ਵਧੀਕ ਹੈ, ਬਦਲਾ ਲਾਊ ਪਾਲਿਸੀ ਵਿਚ ਨਹੀਂ। ਇਸ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਰ ਦੀਆਂ ਵਿਚਾਰਾਂ ਵਿਚਾਰ ਕੇ ਅਸੀਂ ਮਦਰਾਸ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਅਤੇ ਆਂਧਰਾ ਸੂਬੇ ਦੇ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਅਫ਼ਸਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੇ ਨਾਮ ਦਸਣ ਲਈ ਸਹਿਮਤ ਹੋ ਗਏ।

ਉਹਨਾਂ ਅਫ਼ਸਰਾਂ ਨੇ ਭੀ ਸਾਰਾ ਮਾਮਲਾ ਖ਼ਾਲਸੇ ਦੇ ਰਹਿਮ ਉਤੇ ਹੀ ਛਡ ਦਿਤਾ। ਜਦੋਂ ਐਸੀ ਹੋ ਗਈ ਤਾਂ ਅਸਾਂ ਨੇ ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਖਾਸ ਮਦਰਾਸ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਦੀ ਵੰਡ ਵਿਚ ਆਏ ਤਿੰਨੇ ਸਾਥੀਅੜੇ ਓਹਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਪੁਰਦ ਕਰ ਦਿਤੇ ਅਤੇ ਸਾਡੇ ਸਾਹਮਣੇ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੇ ਬੜੀ ਭਲਮਣਸਊ ਨਾਲ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸੰਭਾਲਿਆ ਅਤੇ ਪੁਲੀਟੀਕਲ ਕੈਦੀਆਂ ਵਾਲੇ ਸਾਰ ਹਕੂਕ ਦੇ ਦਿਤੇ। ਬਸਤਰ ਆਦਿ ਖਾਧ ਖ਼ੁਰਾਕ ਦੇ ਸਾਰੇ ਸਾਮਾਨ ਸਾਡੇ ਸਾਹਮਣੇ ਮੁਹੱਈਆ ਕਰ ਦਿਤੇ ਤਾਂ ਫੇਰ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ਭੀ ਪੰਘਰ ਪਿਆ, ਧੜਾ ਧੜ ਆਪੋ ਆਪਣੇ ਨਾਉਂ ਪੁਕਾਰਨੇ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਕਰ ਦਿਤੇ। ਨਾਵਾਂ ਦੀ ਪੁਕਾਰ ਸ਼ੁਮਾਰ ਹੁੰਦੇ ਸਾਰ ਵੱਖੋ ਵੱਖ ਨੀਯਤ ਜੇਲ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਨੀਯਤ ਕੀਤੇ
ਜਥੇ ਤੋਰ ਦਿਤੇ ਗਏ।

kidnapping

2006-03-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

IN FOCUS WITH RATTAN
#1. Kidnap charges against Jethinder Narwal go direct to trial

Crown this week announced that JETHINDER SINGH NARWAL of Surrey they had approved a direct indictment on three separate but similar kidnap incidents in January, April and May. He is remanded at North Fraser.

However, there was a preliminary hearing for the three others allegedly involved in the January incident at Surrey provincial court. The three are SARPREET JOHAL, remanded at North Fraser, HARPREET NARWAL, on bail reporting to Delta Probation, and RANDY NAICKER on bail reporting to Burnaby Probation. The group face a number of charges that include kidnapping, unlawful confinement, threats, assault and possession of a weapon in a Surrey incident.

The victim was HARPREET SINGH, a former associate of Jethinder Narwal. He had been charged in a September, 2004 robbery along with Narwal and others, but the charges against him were stayed.

Police sources said that they had an operational plan in place during the three-day preliminary hearing because of Jethinder Narwal's association with violence and known involvement with organized crime groups.

Another incident in which Narwal was involved was a complaint of an assault in the area of 80th Avenue and 132nd Street on April 26 in Surrey. The victim in this case was KHARK GREWAL of Abbotsford.

In May, Surrey RCMP announced that their investigation led to six men being charged: 1) ATWAL, BOBBY HARMINDER, 25, (Surrey): one count each of extortion, assault, assault causing bodily harm, and kidnapping with intent to confine. 2) BAINS, JASRAJ SINGH, 25, (Surrey): two counts each of unlawful confinement or imprisonment and kidnapping with intent to confine, one count each of did use an imitation firearm, assault with a weapon, extortion, assault and assault causing bodily harm. 3) CHEEMA, HARKAMAL SINGH, 25, (Surrey): One count each of assault, unlawful confinement or imprisonment, extortion, assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, and kidnapping with intent to confine. 4) JOHAL, MANDEAP SINGH, 24, (Surrey): one count each of extortion, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, assault and assault causing bodily harm, and two counts of extortion. 5) NARWAL, JETHINDER RAMAN, 30, (Surrey): two counts of unlawful confinement or imprisonment and one count of each of kidnapping with intent to confine, did use an imitation firearm, assault with a weapon, extortion, assault, and assault causing bodily harm 6) SIDHU, GURDIP SINGH, 23, (Surrey): one count of unlawful confinement or imprisonment.

In the third incident, that took place in May, eight Indo-Canadians - including two females and two guys just 18 and 19 years old - were arrested in what Abbotsford police described as "gang-style kidnapping" involving pot smuggling.

Abbotsford police spokesperson SHINDER KIRK said at the time that the eight were allegedly involved in the kidnapping of a 29-year-old Abbotsford resident from a Coquitlam business in the early hours of May 2. He was later identified as HARJIT SINGH TOOR of Abbotsford.

He said: "Charges have been now been sworn against six men and two women after detectives from the Abbotsford Police Department with the invaluable assistance of the BC Integrated Gang Task Force (BCIGTF), Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU), Delta Police Department, Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team (IMPACT), Municipal Integrated Emergency Response Team (MIERT), New Westminster Police Department, RCMP ERT, South Fraser Integrated Probe Team and Surrey RCMP concluded an intense investigation spanning several Lower Mainland municipalities."

He said the incident began about 1 a.m. on May 2 (Monday) when the victim was kidnapped as he was leaving his place of employment. He was taken around to several locations throughout the Lower Mainland in what is believed to be a case involving the exportation of marijuana to the United States.

All eight suspects were arrested at a residence in New Westminster shortly after investigators secured the release of the victim on the evening of May 4 (Wednesday). They were later remanded in custody and then charged with one count each of kidnapping, unlawful confinement, threatening, assault causing bodily harm and possession of a weapon.

They were identified as: JASVINDER SINGH MANGAT, 26, of Burnaby, SURPREET SINGH JOHAL, 26, and JETHINDER SINGH NARWAL, 30, of Surrey, DAVINDER SINGH JOHAL, 19, of Vancouver, HARJIT SINGH DEO, 21, HIRINDER KAUR DEO, 24, SURJIT KAUR DEO, 33, and GARINDER SINGH DEO, 18, all of New Westminster.

The four Deos are brothers and sisters and their family are prominent moderate Sikh leaders. On the other hand, Narwal comes from a prominent Babbar Khalsa family.

Narwal and Surpreet Johal were actually out on bail in another abduction case. The two were arrested back in January.

ਅਸੂਲ # ੪: ਸਾਦੀ 'ਰਿੰਗਟੋਨ'(ringtone)

2006-01-24T15:13:00.000-08:00

"ਹੱਥ ਆਲੇ ਫੋਨ ਤੇ ਭੰਗੜੇ ਆਲੀ ਰਿੰਗਟੋਨ ਸਦਕਾ ਅੱਜ ਤੱਕ ਕੋਈ ਹੀਰੋ ਨਹੀਂ ਬਣਦਾ ਦੇਖਿਆ, ਬੇਇੱਜ਼ਤੀ ਜ਼ਰੂਰ ਹੋ ਸਕਦੀ ਆ ..."
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I don’t think there’s ever been a more engaging craze than the current ring tone we’re experiencing. I thought it was a huge deal back in Punjab when I went in 2002-03 I guess it’s been launched into a bigger phase with the more powerful phones out there these days.

Sure your phone should sound different than the person next to you many times I’ve seen people scramble to check if it’s their phone that just went off. This is reasonable enough but a lot of people go way overboard. If you are among the tone-obsessed do yourself and others a favor and just set it to a simple ‘ring-ring’ provided with your phone. The theory that a supposedly cool sounding phone makes you popular hasn’t been proven yet; stick to the basics till more convincing research comes out.

Giani?

2006-01-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

The term Giani’s become really common nowadays. I don’t think it’s used this much even in Punjab. They usually call someone with a dastaar a sardaar there.

Usually people make a big deal when something (especially names) isn’t ‘politically correct’ not only this isn’t contextually correct it doesn’t even fit the intended meaning. Black people don’t like being called the N word even though it was a part of normal to usage just a few decades ago. Same thing in India, the people at the lower end of the social pyramid are no longer called what they always have been in the recent past. Just found out recently even the traditional name of their area in villages has been changed into colonies.

It seems everyone’s getting things done except only the ‘Gianis’ but getting called a giani is expected these days especially since many have even accepted the label. A lot of people have the word ‘giani’ in their email addresses.

Actually it’s most disrespectful when people refer to a Granthi Singh as a giani. It’s even more irritating than someone calling a normal person because of the attached connotation- and the way they say it. The other reason is because not many are gianis in a true sense:

ਮਹਾਮੁਗਧਤੇਕੀਆਗਿਆਨੀ॥
ਗੁਰਪੂਰੇਕੀਅਕਥਕਹਾਨੀ॥
ਪਾਰਬ੍ਰਹਮਨਾਨਕਗੁਰਦੇਵ॥
ਵਡੈਭਾਗਿਪਾਈਐਹਰਿਸੇਵ॥੪॥੩॥

{ਪ੍ਰਭਾਤੀਮਹਲਾ੫॥-ਅੰਗ ੧੩੩੮}

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ਮੁਗਧ-ਮੂਰਖ।

ਗਿਆਨੀ-ਸਿਆਣਾ, ਗਿਆਨਵਾਨ, ਆਤਮਕ ਜੀਵਨ ਦੀ ਸੂਝ ਵਾਲਾ।

Shaib Singh translates giani as someone knowledgeable and wise when it comes to spirituality.

Do you know of a giani like this? I know very few..

Good feeling...

2006-01-23T14:54:00.000-08:00

Reporter: “Did you feel anything when you shot an Iraqi?”
American Soldier: “recoil”

Helping out is COOL?

2006-01-22T15:14:00.000-08:00

I’ve had a little colorful children’s book published by an organization called Volunteer Canada for some time now. Its titled: “helping out is cool” just ran that through a search and to my surprise it indeed found the exact link! Usually stuff like this just passes by without anyone noticing it (because most of the time it’s a stunt that had to be done and not a genuine effort) The Volunteer Canada logo is actually a quite popular one to see at random places.

Click here to download the improved flash version of the book I had. It’s a good read for anyone.

It's a little a little hard to believe that : The Canadian voluntary and nonprofit sector is made up of more than 161,000 organizations, 6.5 million volunteers and 2 million paid staff.

THAT'S ABOUT 1/5 CANADIANS!!!!

Volunteering is a good way to avoid wasting time and helps one learn valuable skills like teamwork, time management, people skills etc. makes you responsible and more mature all in one go. This is what it is supposed to happen, not sure if it actually plays out this well in real life.

Schools have tried to promote this through the CAPP program here in BC. But getting the 30 hours of ‘work experience’ on an actual job is one huge fraud:

I really don’t think volunteering in the traditional sense is the way to go because of some bad experiences I’ve had over the years. And as with anything some still don’t end up learning no matter how good the education.

People usually take you for granted, their eyes light up when they hear ‘volunteers’ are offering their help.

This is pretty much true across the board; Punajbis aren’t the only ones waiting to exploit poor defenseless teens as many think. Our Grade 10 CAPP class did a one day job shadow program where each student followed a person of choice working on site and later submit a report based on what they observed.

The majority were forced into actually helping out with things even though it wasn’t a hands on work experience assignment which was made clear in a signed contract. After that discussion most of the class was clearly disgusted and didn’t want anything to do the mandatory 30 hours of work experience requited to complete the course.

I’m sure there are good volunteer groups out there that live up to what’s expected. But many think some of the better known ones out there are useless.

The transition into the workforce is really tough these days. I don’t think anyone’s addressed this issue well enough yet. Could this be another reason why so many are turning to other illegal methods to earn a living? It’s more academically demanding to find the same jobs that were easy to find a few years ago. And this route becoming harder and harder doesn’t help the situation at all.

Sure there will always be volunteers easily indoctrinated into thinking how good this noble deed is. This should be kept up too I think but to really make this into a win-win situation people on the receiving end of the volunteering equation should take the initiative to actually make it a fairer experience.

I don’t think there’s a bigger paap then thugging little kids/others with a genuine want to do free service.

Dragonfly

2006-01-21T20:35:00.000-08:00

On a bright sunny afternoon this past summer there was something sitting on the clothesline in our back yard. I took my video camera and zoomed in
from the deck... it was a dragonfly! One of the best small flying things out there.

Surprisingly a dragonfly doesn't have a proper name in Punjabi. In the dictionary it just says 'ਇੱਕ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੀ ਮੱਖੀ' (a kind of fly) But you'd see these things in Punjab all the time. I remember they call it a helicopter, because of the way it flies.

Now that I think about it: was the helicopter another nature inspired invention? The flight mechanism appears pretty similar in both and the basic structure looks alike.

More information here. Never knew this: Dragonflies are the world's fastest insects, capable of reaching speeds of up to 60 mph. The Common Green Darner dragonfly (Anax junius) is nicknamed "Darning Needle" because of its body shape. It is one of the biggest and fastest-flying dragonflies, able to reach speeds of 85 km/h (53 mph).

ਅਸੂਲ # ੭: 'ਗੁਰੂ ਸਹਿਬ' usage

2006-01-20T15:13:00.000-08:00

ਗੁਰੂ: ਗੁਰੂ ਸਹਿਬਾਨ(the Guru)
ਸਾਹਿਬ: ਸਤਿਕਾਰਯੋਗ ਸ਼ਬਦ(Word used to show respect)
So 'ਗੁਰੂ ਸਾਹਿਬ'are two words combine to mean ‘The Respected Guru’ used in this form instead of writing in full: 'ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ'
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Bhai Kulbir Singh from Brampton Ontario, Canada is a great Scholar-Gurmukh who is is a regular contributor to the ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਤਪੋਬਨ ਸਾਹਿਬ (Gurdwara Tapoban Sahib) message board. I kept up with all the posts from the time it started until about a year ago when free time became scarce. Now with a less demanding schedule I’ve been spending time reading older archived posts which everyone should read.

Going through this Sakhi again reminded me of how Bhai Sahib uses the term ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ (Shri Guru Jee) instead of the normally used term explained above. Even though it’s a correct way to write as well, the only issue I have with it is that it really sounds odd. A few years ago there was a kathakaar who came here and he used the same term. It became so annoying that it made me permanently allergic to it.

ਗੁਰੂ ਸਾਹਿਬ_______ਭਾਈ ਸਾਹਿਬ

ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ _______ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਭਾਈ ਜੀ

Seeing how Bhai Sahib is similar to Guru Sahib, it doesn’t sound proper saying ‘Shri Bhai Jee’ like Shri Guru Jee. I think I talked to him about this the last time and I’m glad to know he’s changed it since then.

Trendy Foot-Fashion

2006-01-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

If you know me chances are you also know Jagjeet Singh, personally or from older blog posts. I’ve known him for a very long time. He regularly amazes me with his sense of ‘style’ here’s an example:

He took this picture if his shoes on a recent trip to Vancouver. The yellow arrow points to these new socks everyone’s wearing these days.

It seems as if everyone just woke up one morning and felt the sudden urge to go buy them. I never thought I’d say this about anything but: they look GAY! Theres no other way to describe these. Why wear socks at all if you like wearing these things? Another good example of the classic ਭੇਡ-ਚਾਲ syndrome. Since we began playing hockey the last time it was weird asking people in shock they were playing without any socks. It was weirder still knowing they really wore socks.

I once overheard someone say: the less material used for an article of clothing, the popular it becomes, and pricier it sells.

I wont even try to pass judgment on the shoes, they speak for themselves.

TOUGH Nokia phones

2006-01-18T20:42:00.000-08:00

Some people-companies really do make products better than the rest. When it comes to cellular phones no ones makes them quite like Nokia. Compact phones became more popular about a decade ago and even then most had a Nokia. I remember in May 1997 we were going to Ross St. Gurdwara and a Singh said that the Nokia he held in his hand was the best phone ever made. Back then I never thought I’d have any use for something like that.

I really didn’t too much about care until I got my very first phone in late 2003. That phone was given to me; I didn’t want it even then. That was a 3590 model. Even the previous generation of these was really good. The menu interface was a lot more easier to use and the phone itself very reliable with decent battery life.

One little bump and most electronic things tend to go bang that instant, usually for the final time. But the best thing about Nokias is that they’re the toughest phones out there.

I was talking to someone who recently visited India and told of how the Nokia brand is the phone of choice of everyone there from rickshaw drivers to jutts in the khet(farmers). Technology as complicated as phones doesn’t tend to last very long in places like India, usually it’s a problem to get electronics properly working in the first place. He told me of how his phone was accidentally thrown in a pool of water and it worked fine after the water was dried.

Besides these phones being super tough, they also have the best buttons which never lock up or get mis-pressed. A nokia usually doenst have an antenna sticking out like your usual phone. That’s good news because on most phones the antenna’s fragile and breaks off with ease and that’s the end of your phone right there. The Motorola/LG as with other flip phones are notorious for this.

The other great thing is the nokia menu system design which is straightforward and super easy to use. All the selections are logical and easy to access, not confusing like other phones. It’s the one interface that can truly be considered user-friendly because it’s more customizable than anything I’ve seen.

The 3590 is one tough phone I had this one for over 20 months until the old plan came to and end and the company offered to give a new one for free. I’ve lost count of how many times this phone’s endured freefalls as high as 2 meters onto hard cement floors at work. I’m sure it ranges in the high hundreds. It hasn’t turned off from a plunge even one time.

The reception on this thing is better than most on field tests. Two times from Vancouver to California. A few times to Victoria on the Island and once to Prince George a few months ago. And It out preformed all others. Hardeep Singh’s Trio($100+plan) stopped working pretty much north of Harrison Hotsprings I don’t think mine lost reception the whole way there and back. Same story on the California trips.

The best thing about it is you can easily call any number without actually looking at the keypad and display when dialing. This comes in hady in certain situations as you can imagine. You can’t do that with any phones these days. I really didn’t mind the size it was compact yet large enough to be handled as a cordless phone. It’s quite light as well. I never realized it had voice dialing till today when I looked at the site.

^The 3590 on the left and 3120 on the right

Last summer upon renewing the plan Rogers gave me the smaller 3120 version. This one has a color screen with a host of other improvements on the already decent features the older/much bigger brother. The only thing is it has sometimes fallen apart due to a comparatively less stronger locking mechanism its predecessor had. But the amazing thing was the battery was still intact and the display lit!

This one comes with an improved calculator and a great stopwatch function. Both this and the old one had an excellent calendar with a reminder/alarm option. But this has a color display. For anyone who likes to play games its no secret nokia includes the best games on earth.

See your dealer today and get your hands on one of these.

The Best Kirtan Ever!!

2006-01-17T13:12:00.000-08:00

In a response to recording thread on the akj.org forum someone mentioned that nothing can compare to one of those single round shaped old school microphones and the blaring horn type speakers that woke you up in a pind. Recoding expert Mandheer Singh/ਉਰਫ Netnihung was obviously upset at the comment. But I think that person really knew what he was talking about. And today I too know what he meant by that.

After many years I’ve had the chance to view a Raensbayee video from 1991 at small pind in the Malwa region. The last time I saw it was well over 8 years ago. I don’t think most of us in the west can even comprehend the notion that a fannism-free Raensbayee can ever be possible. It’s hard to remember the last time when there was a kirtan without flashy tunes and major fannist presence.

Kirtan really can seem different and enjoyable when done without the ever-present superficial voice and the need to conduct the whole routine purely to please and maintain ones fan base.

Most of the shabads done back in Punjab are different and in simple ‘lehs’ easy to sing anolng with. It was really something else seeing the whole pind flock to the Gurdwara Sahib to take in kirtan.

Amrit Singh said it best: “It’s not kirtan, unless it’s straight from the hirdha”

I’ll try to upload it for everyone to see later when I find time

Nothing like Tintin

2006-01-16T16:45:00.000-08:00

Cartoons out there today are simply worse than trash compared to the ones I grew up watching. Sometimes I feel sorry for the kids watching YTV nowadays, other instances I’m simply amaze at how well they’re able to handle stuff like spongebob and sailor moon/pokemon/digimon and others.

All this cheap Japanese animation's potent enough to drive you to the brink of death by boredom in just a few short minutes. But ‘Dhaan’ are the kids of today can endure putting up with this stuff day in and day out and surprisingly enduring little negative impact. This stuff wouldn’t have any chance of being broadcast in the past decade. But i guess it's ecpexted in the 2000’s, stranger things seem to happen everyday.

After seeing what kids’ve been watching for the past few years, the downfall of great cartoons is evident. It seems the best thing left to watch is Sesame Street. Even with huge advances across the board there’s still nothing out there today that can compare with Tintin. It’s one of the most memorable ones ever. I got to know Tintin through the TV show made over 15 years ago based on the many decades old original in French. I was really excited when one day I saw our public library had the same comics.

And I don’t think I’m the only person who thinks highly of Tintin. I’ve often come across Tintin memorabilia in the past. The one time I remember most vividly is when I saw Japnaam Singh of all people wearing a Tintin shirt! I didn’t say anything at the time for some reason but it brought back good memories and felt good knowing he must have watched Tintin too.

Tintin used to come on the weekends. I think it’s still one of the best real life based adventure cartoons ever created. With natural environmental design and believable characters it was something that you could easily relate too. Each and every story was more gripping than the next and took you right into the action. The other good thing was it actually addressed major issues and world events like the fascination with space exploration people have had:

Quote of the moment

2006-01-15T21:18:00.000-08:00

Time: ~4:05pm
Date: Sunday January 15 2006
Place: Student Union Building, UBC

As the 2006 Sikh Students Association conference is about to come to an end the guy at the podium looks towards his left and signals for someone to come up and give a short speech. In the dimly lit ballroom about 200 people are seated and about 7-8 are standing against the right wall where I stand.

The 6 foot figure makes his way to the stage area from among us. Hard to phantom he, the quiet frail little grade 2 kid I saw over 13 years ago on a Richmond farm, had turned into a man! Not just any man, someone who can really talk. Seizing the mic he asks: everyone fold your hands and say fateh. The response is weak with a feww scattered voices replying from the floor. With a look of disappointment taunting the gathering he again asks everyone to give a proper response to fateh. This time the response is thunderous, the figure in white seems pleased. He addresses the gathering confidently with charm like a seasoned leader.

Everything moves on form one theme to the next point smoothly for about 10 minuets. He then switches to the topic of bad sangat. Determined to push through this thought into everyone’s heads he proclaims: "ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਕਹਿੰਦੀ ਆ ਕਿ ਜੈਸੀ ਸੰਗਤ ਤੈਸੀ ਰੰਗਤ" (Gurbani says: jaisee Sangat taisee rangat/ you become like the people you hang out with) As his head turns around the hall making eye-contact from right to left, I catch a glimpse of Japnaam Singh’s blank face standing to my right. I turn around and look back at the man in the white hooded shirt, he too pauses and sees Japnaam Singh’s confused look. He looks back at me and seeing this I swing my head from left to right again and again. There’s a pause... with only the hum of the overhead lights he comes to the sudden realization and says: "no no its not gurbani, gurbani doesn’t say that, its just made up... it’s a... it’s a, it's just a saying”

I glance back at Japnaam Singh, unable to control his laughter he has slipped down against the red brick wall. Hidden from view behind the rows of chairs he struggles to contain himself. From there the wave of laugher spreads throughout the crowd..........

"GOOD DAY"

2006-01-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

From: "Markus Umeh" [ markus_umeh900@msn.com ]
Subject: GOOD DAY
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 11:34:25 +0000

NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION
FROM THE DESK OF DR.MARKUS UMEH
10B IN UNIPETROL ESTATE,VICTORIA ISLAND.
LAGOS - NIGERIA
Email : [ markus_umeh1978@yahoo.co.in ]

Dear Sir/Madam,

It is with trust and confidence that l write to make this urgent and important business proposal to you. I am a Senior Accountant with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) here in Lagos, Nigeria.

The purpose of this letter is to seek for your urgent assistance in securing the worth of an already executed remunerated contract number NNPC/PED/1140/LAGREF/99, executed to the NNPC by foreign contractors and the contract sum was deliberately over invoiced (inflated contract values) to the tune of Fifteen Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (US$15,500,000.00) only. The original contractors have been paid following the completion and commissioning of the various contract and they are unaware of the over invoicing.

Presently this fund has been approved for payment but still floating in Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) suspense account awaiting activation. However since the initial contracts were executed by foreign firms,only a foreign firm can also make claims or act as a beneficiary for the purpose of transferring this money out of Nigeria, l and my colleagues agreed together to contact you for urgent assistance, we are in control of all the procedures and we have the capability to manipulate any kind of difficulty we may come across during the transaction. Your assistance will be needed for two main reasons: -

1) As senior government employees, We are not permitted by the Nigeria law to operate foreign accounts.
2) You will assist us to arrange on investment potentials and prospects in your country. I and my colleagues also has agreed unanimously to compensate you with 30% of the total sum if you assist us to transfer this money in your nominated bank account 10% will be set aside to offset incidental expenses that might be incurred by either of us in the course of the project.

The remaining 60% shall be our due share. All necessary arrangement required for a speedy conclusion of this transaction have been put in place with top officials of the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria to enable us conclude the whole transaction within 14 working days.

What is required from you is as follows: -

a) Your bank details to be used in obtaining payment approval.
b) The name of the account to be used as beneficiary
c) Your private phone and fax numbers for easy communication.

The nature of your company’s business is irrelevant to this transaction. It is also very important to inform you that this transaction and information shall be handled with absolute secrecy and confidentiality, because this deal involves some high ranking Nigerian government officials who would not want to be involved/mentioned in any form of scandal, should this deal be made open/exposed.

i shall appreciate your acceptance to assist us to conclude this transaction in no distant time.

Endeavor to contact me through my email address.[
markus_umeh1978@yahoo.co.in ]

i am urgently waiting to hear from you.

My best regard and God bless

DR. MARKUS UMEH. esq

4 blessings...

2006-01-13T11:31:00.000-08:00

ਚਾਰਿਪਦਾਰਥਆਖੀਅਨਿਸਤਿਗੁਰਦੇਇਨਗੁਰਸਿਖੁਮੰਗੈ॥
ਅਠਸਿਧੀਨਿਧੀਨਵੈਰਿਧਿਨਗੁਰੁਸਿਖੁਢਾਕੈਟੰਗੈ॥
ਕਾਮਧੇਣੁਲਖਲਖਮੀਪਹੁੰਚਨਹੰਘੈਢੰਗਿਸੁਢੰਗੈ॥
ਲਖਪਾਰਸਲਖਪਾਰਿਜਾਤਹਥਿਨਛੁਹਦਾਫਲਨਅਭੰਗੈ॥
ਤੰਤਮੰਤਪਾਖੰਡਲਖਬਾਜੀਗਰਬਾਜਾਰੀਨੰਗੈ॥
ਪੀਰਮੁਰੀਦੀਗਾਖੜੀਇਕਸਅੰਗਿਨਅੰਗਣਿਅੰਗੈ॥
ਗੁਰਸਿਖੁਦੂਜੇਭਾਵਹੁਸੰਗੈ॥

Know your role

2006-01-12T15:15:00.000-08:00

UBC SSA Conference

2006-01-11T23:04:00.000-08:00

The UBC Conference is fast approaching. Last years conference was one of the best ever! Bhai Santbir Singh and Bibi Gurminder Kaaur’s speeches were unforgettable.

This year they changed the format to more discussion based for better interaction, than just all lecture like the previous years.

Email the SSA to register for free, there’s still time left. Click here for the poster.

Politicians Helped ‘Terrorist’!

2006-01-11T20:45:00.000-08:00

Click here for a real audio clip(5:00-16:00), URL

Transcript from the CBC website:

It seems unlikely in these times ... Canadian politicians coming to the defence of a convicted Sikh terrorist. But that's just what's happening in the case of Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar.

He was convicted in a 1993 bombing that killed 9 people in New Delhi. He's been sentenced to death.

Now, because his wife is Canadian, his cause has been taken up by several politicians here. Natural Resources minister Herb Dhaliwal sent a letter to the Indian president condemning the sentence. Secretary of State for Asia Pacific David Kilgour sent an assistant to India to meet with officials. NDP M-P Svend Robinson has also raised the Bhullar case during question period.

Gurpreet Singh has been following the story of Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar. He hosts a radio show with Radio India in Vancouver ... and has talked to members of the city's Indo-Canadian community about Mr. Bhullar. He was in Vancouver this morning.

ਅਸੂਲ # ੬: Use Windows Update

2006-01-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

The one annoying technology downside is most complicated things need to be kept current in order to function properly. That’s digital stuff, which everything is these days. Even the once passive things like TVs will need updating. CD/DVD/mp3 players usually have newer firmware updates that can improve performance. More than anything it’s the not so user friendly computer equipment that needs most frequent updating. Updating your system really does make life easier in the long run and keeps the computer repair guy away for good.

The good news is these updates aren’t overly complicated and are provided by manufacturers free of charge. Over 95% of the people who visit this site use a version of the Microsoft Windows operating system and over 80% use the Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser. Both of these require updating of one sort or the other to keep them functioning properly and problem free.

The best way to do is to go to the windows update homepage and download the updates(usually released once a month) Even Windows 98 needs updates the last time i checked. Microsoft requires you to use their Internet Explorer browser to get these updates.

The install procedure is straightforward and takes only a few minutes on a broadband connection. If you got a new PC chances are it needs updating too. Installing all the post updates in this case may take a while.

Windows XP and others versions also have an automatic updates application which downloads and installs updates right when they’re released.

Maya's World

2006-01-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

Most people I know spend a lot of time playing online games. Not multiplayer games like counterstrike or Quake but smaller ones on websites. I’ve never been a fan of these, even when I did play games. They have too many pop-ups and the usual price you pay in turn for playing 'for free' is them installing malicious software on your machine without your knowledge.

I came across a game today that seems less intrusive than other mainstream ones. And it appears to be unique. The ‘hero’ is actually a patka wearing kid! Too bad it hides his eyes too… This could be the start of something interesting if others follow suit. There are a lot of ‘Singh’ software programmers out there but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of any game designer/programmer. I really wished I had Sikhi based games to play when I was growing up.

This ones pretty basic you need to avoid the bubble basher things and get the ‘Chaibars’ (interesting!) But it’s still better than having nothing. If you’re going to kill time why not kill time being a kid with a patka?

Click here to play

2nd Class Citizenry

2006-01-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

For a long time now I’ve been hearing people around me talk about how unfairly we, the Punjabis get treated even right here in virtual Nova Punjabia-Surrey. People give many supporting examples to back up their assertions. Sadly it looks like they indeed have a valid case here.

A few years ago someone decided to move far far away from the Punjabi dominated area of Newton to another mostly ‘white’ area of Surrey. When asked why he was leaving he said the establishment has made circumstances so severe for Punajbis living in the Punjabi quarter that they’ll continue to be as ‘backward’ as they are now for a many years to come, it’ll never change for the better and the only way to progress is to get away from all this.

Having thought about this a few times over it’s actually beginning to make sense now. Someone I know who lived in the Boundary Park area for a few years told of how the roads there were cleared ‘even before any snow falls’ but the area north of the 64th never gets cleared no matter how much it snows there.

So last month when it snowed I decided to investigate. After a day of snow none of the Boundary Park streets were cleared by city crews. They were the same as any other area, maybe even worse because there’s less traffic there. The only thing that was salted down and without snow were the sidewalks in front of most houses in that area- Gora inhabited ones from the looks of it. During the winter snows it’s impossible to walk on Nova Punjabia sidewalks without slipping over the uncleared ice/snow. I really feel for the kids who have paper routes and have to risk breaking a leg or two because of people being so careless.

Even though things should be fare for all, I still think things are good the way they are. One should defiantly get what one deserves. I hadn’t thought of this before, but couldn’t it be possible that we’re facing this because we deserve it?

Before complaining about anything we should take one look at how things are done in Punjab and find comfort in knowing it’s still ਰਿਸ਼ਵਤਖੋਰੀ(bribe)-free here. And regardless of what people say they have to go through at plaecs like city hall, things usually do get done fast.

If things went our way everywhere, all the time life wouldn’t be exciting at all. Struggling to get things done is fun. This is what makes you stronger. Good to know second class citizenry provides just this...

'No-Bath' excuse

2006-01-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

ਆਸਾ ਦੀ ਵਾਰ ਅੰਗ ੪੭੨ (ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਮੁੱਖਵਾਕ ਪਾਤਸ਼ਾਹੀ ਪਹਿਲੀ ਧੰਨ ਧੰਨ ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇਵ ਜੀਓ):
ਸੂਚੇਏਹਿਨਆਖੀਅਹਿਬਹਨਿਜਿਪਿੰਡਾਧੋਇ॥
ਸੂਚੇਸੇਈਨਾਨਕਾਜਿਨਮਨਿਵਸਿਆਸੋਇ॥੨॥

They are not called pure, who sit down after merely washing their bodies.
Only they are pure, O Nanak, within whose minds the Lord abides. 2
------------------------------------------
You now know what to say to someone who asks you to take a bath

Punjabi-Cheenai?

2006-01-06T16:28:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I went to get an X-ray done at the local clinic on Scott Road. When I got called in there was this Chinese lady there who thought I didn’t know English and started giving instructions in Punjabi. I was shocked! Wasn’t sure if I was really hearing what I was hearing. It was pretty close to ‘paindoo boli.’ So I kept talking to her in Punajbi and finally asked how much she really knew. She said: ਥੋੜੀ ਥੋੜੀ ਆਉਦੀ ਆ।(Just a little bit)

The look of confusion, mistrust and awe on the faces of old Punjabi ladies when they hear the Cheeni talk to them in Punjabi is priceless.

I went again yesterday and there was this other Cheena guy who looked just like Dr Nik from the Simpsons. It was hard not to laugh at him- the why he looked and the why he talked. This guy too knew some basic Punjabi.

Instead of teaching these guys Punjabi when it isn’t their mother tongue why not just hire someone who actually ‘knows’ Punjabi well. The times I’ve gone there I don’t think there was ever a single Chinese person going in to get an X-ray done. I sure there are a lot of certified Punajbi speaking X-ray technicians out there. Who knows maybe the Xray chain’s owned by a rich cheena from Hong-Kong who has a no-hindu hiring policy.

Dastaardhari Liberals

2006-01-05T17:33:00.000-08:00

The federal elections were inevitable right from the get go. It was only a matter of when not if they’d be happening. We’ll be going to the polls on the 23rd of this month.

I was going through the list of liberal candidates on the website and I don’t think there’s ever been a team as diverse as this. A lot of Punjabis are running liberal this time. It appears a big chunk of the liberal candidates are ‘non-white’ even more than in the pervious campaigns. Quite a lot of women candidates this time around as well.

Now most liberal-haters will tell you this is a political scheme, but even if this is the case it’s still a reflection of what the liberal party stands for. Doesn’t every party want to reflect mainstreamness and give the appearance they’re tolerant especially in a place like Canada?

Besides Gurbax Singh Malhi and Navdeep Singh Bains who are already in parliament, there are three other candidates who tie a dastaar. Jaswinder Singh Johal from Calgary Northeast, Amarjeet Singh Grewal from Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont and Parmjeet Singh Gill from Winnipeg North.

Whether they’ll be able to win or not, it’s still good to know they’re at least running, and running liberal.

What 'Sangat' does...

2006-01-04T15:13:00.000-08:00

ਠਕ ਠਕ variations

2006-01-03T16:36:00.000-08:00

Isn't it good to know the knock counterpart in Punjabi isn't limited to just ਠਕ ਠਕ? Check out the full arsenal below:

ਠਕਠਕਾਉਣਾ [ThukThukauna] To produce ਠਕ ਠਕ sound, knock, tap

ਠੋਹਲਾ [Thoola]/ਠੰਗੂਰਾ [Thungoora] {Masculine noun} Same as ਠੂੰਗਾ, tap with knuckles.

ਠੰਗੂਰ [Thungoor] Imperative of ਠੰਗੂਰਨਾ, knock with knuckles

FYI: ਠੁੱਕ-ਠੁੱਕ is sometimes used for a carpenter ==> The Thuk Thuk sound a hammer produces when hitting nails.

'ਠਕ-ਠਕ'

2006-01-03T16:26:00.000-08:00

I like Punjabi for a lot of reasons. It allows one to express themself far better than any other language. Among countless other reasons it's one of the most easiest languages to master and use. It just sounds 'hardcore' as in its written form. But One of the most intriguing aspects is the ability to reproduce common sounds into written language. Nothing else can compare to Punjabi in this respect.

for example the when someone taps on the door the common way to write this out in English is: 'knock-knock'

now this is really boring and dull, doesn't evoke any sort of emotion. If you say it out loud and actually 'knock' on something it jus doesn't fit the actual sound given off by the knocking.

Good thing we have Punjabi. The Punjabi dictionary's my most reliable friend when it comes to questions about words. Improving any language starts from the dictionary and is usually the most productive way to kill time... the other day I was flipping through it and found:

'ਠਕ ਠਕ'[thuuk-thuuk]{feminine noun} Sound of knocking(as on a door), knock, tap; sound of striking on wooden objects
~ਕਰਨਾ {conjunct verb} to knock, strike, tap

Normally no one really cares about the gender of a word when spoken. I fail to notice it being used becuse it's just become a natural instinct and everyone takes it for granted. It took a moment to actually realize that ਠਕ ਠਕ is indeed a feminine noun. With a word like this it's hard to know what it is just by looking at it unitl it's actually put in a sentence and read:
ਠਕ ਠਕ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਸੀ।
~~ਠਕ ਠਕ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਸੀ।~~
Its good to know even someone who's never heard Punjabi before can tell what ਠਕ ਠਕ might mean. Now, who else can make such a claim? I'm not sure if the international language of 'knock' can...

6 die... over a buffalo!

2006-01-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

I don’t go on the Ajit website at all. It’s the most read Punajbi newspaper in the world. Majority of the older Punajbis who grew up reading the paper there use the internet solely for reading news from their website.

The main news was from Bihar state where a family was locked in a room and 6 members were burnt to death. Why? Over a buffalo! A buffalo is the cow equivalent in India, a source of milk. While it may sound like it’s no big deal, for most poor families it’s a prized possession, they’re pretty expensive too. But this?:

A guy named Vajinder Mahati accused Jagat Rai of stealing his milk buffalo and had him arrested. Rai asked Mahati to withdraw the charges against him otherwise he’d have to pay.

And pay he did. Rai had just got out on bail and at 1:00am he led a group of armed men to Mahati’s residence and set the place ablaze locking the doors from the outside. His wife and 5 young children died while Mahati’s in serious condition fighting for his life.

If this is any indication about how people in Bihar think and just general conditions there even thinking about going to India seems scary. I didn’t think anyone would do something like this in any circumstance. And for something so small. Another reason to think once, twice better yet thrice before doing something.

The general impression Punjabi’s have about people from poor states in India is all they care about is money; even a small amount, they’d kill someone over even 50rupees(that’s about $1 dollar) it doesn’t seem that farfetched anymore.

What did anyone get out of this? One guys whole family’s destroyed, the others on the loose trying to avoid capture. He might die too, they still have the death penalty there.

Click here for the story it's in Punajbi.

Happy New Year?

2006-01-01T00:14:00.000-08:00

So finally the new year is here! But after all these years this is the first time I have actually thought about what the big deal is even about. When midnight struck people started to honk their horns, this was followed by playing of the dholl and yelling out BURRRRRRAH with loud music in the background. I’m sure they have their own reasons to do what they’re doing. Because there’s always a reason behind everything isn’t there?

It looks like it's just another ਭੇਡ ਚਾਲ. But is there something really worth celebrating? Beneath all this hype there’s really doesn't seem much to celebrate. Maybe it’s just a false hope like when someone starts out writing and sees a blank new sheet of paper, looks inviting clear and clean and full of possibilities. But slowly after a few seconds neat writing gets messier and messier until halfway down the page it becomes illegible mess of scribbles.

There’s actually a lot to worry about for an earthling then just another 12:00am. People have bombs flying over their heads and don’t know if they’ll survive through the night. Cold metal bars separate millions of innocents from freedom; many waiting or the next round of torture. Someone must have died of starvation, or aids this minute. A homeless person might have just suffered frostbite in a dark alley. Someone somewhere might have been struck by a drunk driver in celebration-mode. Not to mention the ones who must have lose a finger, a limb, an eye to a firecracker prematurely gone BANG! Now would they have anything to celebrate?

The idea of concocting New Year’s resolutions and seeing the whole 12 months full of opportunity laying there like the white blank page must seem promising. It still doesn’t demand millions of dollars wasted just to 'welcome' the New Year.

Gurdwarai should stop this madness. New Years has traditionally been one of the three days when people head out to their local gurdwara without fail, even the ones who go only when they get a wedding card. For the past few years gurdwara managements have put on a fireworks spectacle as a guaranteed golak filler.

And all those who were wished a text- messaged ‘HAPPY New Year’ good luck with that too! Has anyone ever had a happy year? If this really worked there would never be a sad person alive with many ‘happy *****days’ wished every month.

But for me New Year’s is still a few months away. Now celebration on Vasakhi eve, the real beginning of the New Year and the day of the Khalsa revelation does have great meaning behind it and is a day perfectly fine to go crazy on because that gift to the world in 1699 really does justify a big celebration...

'New years' eve 2005

2005-12-31T22:15:00.000-08:00

Exactly a year ago tonight something happened that I’ll never forget. I wanted to go for a walk tonight too but i guess it wont be happening.

.....it started off like any other walk with Jagjeet Singh at around 10:00pm. The first noteworthy thing happened just a few seconds after we left my house; a few houses down some guys were having a party, drinking in the driveway wearing gloves in the cold. And these were old grown Punjabi men all over 45-50. The smell of some poor animal’s maas smoking on a propane grill was too strong and vicious. It made us walk faster and cover our noses even through the garage door half closed. The discussion turned to why people can still eat meat when it smells this bad.

We had only gone a few more blocks when Jagjeet Singh told me the guy coming toward us was drunk. The only drunk people I’d ever seen were in his presence and he’s always the one who points them out. ‘notice how he cant walk straight’ and when he said that the drunk guy rolled to the right and almost hit a parked car.

As the guy came near us, Jagjeet Singh closed folded his hands and said ਸ਼ਾਸ਼ੀ-ਕਾਲ(ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ, ਸ਼ਹਿਰੀਆਂ ਵਾਂਙੂੰ). This was middle aged baba at least 60 years old wearing a thick coat and a messed up pug. He looked a little bit like an ammali. He was a little surprised and managed to mutter out ਸਾਸਰੀਕਾਲ ਕਾਕਾ in a low voice. His eyes were red and seemed to be 100% "ਟੱਲੀ" Jagjeet Singh said ਚੰਗਾ ਫੇਰ, ਸ਼ਾਸ਼ੀਕਾਲ!!

They guy smiled said something and turned to leave. Just then Jagjeet Singh held him by the arm and gave him a good hard slap him on his back! "ਥੋੜੀ ਜੀ ਘੱਟ ਪੀਆ ਕਰ ਚੰਗਾ" he said to the baba who turned around and just stood there for a while trying to figure out what had just happened. We than walked away, I guess he was a taken aback and displayed a surprised look not wanting to mess with the two of us 4 times his size combined.

No Jageet Singh isn’t crazy, he’s just his courageous nature that springs to life in situations like these. He tends to go with first instincts more often. He said there isnt any need to fear drunk babai because they cant fight back in that state anyway.

We walked on and when we turned west on Boundry Drive we could hear loud chatter coming from a dense crowd of at least 60-80 youth in front of Boundry Park Elementry. Majority of the people living in that part of town are Caucasian. All these were white kids too. As we walked past the patch of trees and came to view few by few their eyes looked up at us and the ones that did just stopped talking and we could feel their stares gazing on us.

I don’t think stuff like this ever happens in real life, just staged and acted out in movies. Anyone that caught sight of us stopped talking and fell silent. We kept our conversation going and didn’t bother looking at them. We reached near the last of the log fence sections and the 7-8 kids sitting there too stopped talking and looked up at us as we passed. Jagjeet Singh said a quick ‘hello’ and they all responded in unison a little taken aback.

There are a lot of different possible scenarios that could have played out that night. But I never would have thought this would be one of them. I doubt something like this would ever happen again. The worse thing that could have happened: they could all have attacked us right there and that certainly would have been the end without any traces left at all. The ratio of us vs. them was more 1:30+.

Considering that Nirmal Gill the caretaker at Surrey-Delta Gurdwara was beaten by 5 guys and killed; that too inside Gurdwara property in the heart of Punjabi dominated area. Them not making even a single remark while being under the influence speaks volume as to how far things have improved the past few years.

Most of them were drunk too. Anything could have happened. But I think it was the ‘roop’ that did the trick. Maybe they were just astonished to see us in those parts...

ਕੂੜ:Khalsa Credit Union Calendar

2005-12-30T17:17:00.000-08:00

ਕੂੜ [Kur] {noun masculine, Dialectical usage} Same as ਕੂੜਾ, false

ਕੂੜਾ [kurra] {noun masculine} Sweepings, garbage, refuse, waste, rubbish, litter trash; also ਕੂੜਾ ਕਚਰਾ and ਕੂੜਾ ਕਰਕਟ
-------------------------------------
Khalsa Credit Union is a BC bank run by Punajbis. Founded by Bhai Jeevan Singh Jee some 20 years ago it’s quite well known around the world, a search uncovers 550+ results.

‘The mission of Khalsa Credit Union is to provide a range of quality financial services to our members; promote Sikh educational, cultural, economic and relgious upliftment of members in the Khalsa spirit.’

If this mission was carried out properly the face of the BC Punjabi community would really have been something for Sikhs all over the world to look up to. Everything else aside, if this institution provided even some degree of ‘religious upliftment through the Khalsa Spirit’ things wouldn’t be where they are today.

Doing this should begin with a calendar. It’s not practical to reach out to so many people so many times over a year any other way, its certain someone will look at a calendar hanging rather than physically go to something done by a bank. A calendar should have something about the issuing authority and what they stand for: whether it’s a school, a business, sports team, or even a bank. This doesn’t include those that cheap publishers have pre-printed Punjabi culture/Sikh history themes and just stamp on the business information on the bottom.

A calendar issued by the Canucks will have everything about the team and players, a high school agenda will have detailed information about the school; last year GM Canada released a pretty good calendar that had information on their new 2005 vehicle lineup and scenic roads to drive on all across the country. This calendar showcased Canada in order to appeal to canadian buyers, even though GM is an American company. If a bank with Khalsa in its same can't do the same something's wrong.

How hard could it be for Khalsa Credit Union to display Sikh values and insight on a calendar? But it seems like its getting harder and harder every year.

We’ve had the Khalsa Cerdit Union Calendars for many years now. And the selection of the main display pictures for each month has been decent(if the manmade portraits of the Guru’s are ignored) Most of the historical pictures have been helpful reminders about different aspects about Punjab and its history. There were some things I saw on these for the first time and was amazed.

It’s a also a good thing they accepted and implemented the Nanakshahi Calendar right when it was passed. Shows they’re indeed inline with panthic thought.

This is something I just noticed: In recent years they’ve started to put the dates in Gurmukhi(੧,੨,੩) letters in a larger bold type face than the roman(1,2,3) ones. This might never have been done anywhere else. It’s most needed now when adults from even Punjab can’t decipher these ‘weird’ looking numbers. But if they look at the calendar enough times there’s a good chance they’ll lean them by the end of the year with matching the roman with the gurmukhi version of a numeral.

This year they’ve released the calendar to commemorate 20 years being in business. Yes, it is special, this upcoming year is. But this is also where things get a little disturbing. They do have all the usual inspiring pictures. But what’s missing is the descriptions in both Punajbi and English at the bottom.

What they put in instead of depicting the greatness of Harmandar Sahib are cheap reminders of ‘services’ offered by the Credit Union. Things like RRSP/RESPs when the bank stays open and other things. These things are common knowledge and don’t need to sacrifice something as inspiring and important as captions explaining the pictures.

Besides asking people to use the bank's services like this doesn’t show that the bank’s in ‘Chardi Kala’ at all. It seems more like a sign of desperation and a cheap attempt to get more business.

They’ve also included verses from Gurbani. I don’t think there really was any need for this. They’re taken out of context anyway. Even If they did the pictures arnt the same they were just a few years ago let alone when the bani was revealed. But the format they chose to display these in is unacceptable. Gurbani should always be displayed in the original continues format, not the manmade gurbani cut to pieces by some manmukh book sellers. If they start following the proper format for Gurbani on this calendar it could serve as an example for others and hopefully will put an end to this manmutt through inspiration. This one act is responsible for panthic downfall we’re witnessing today.

The main reason to get a calendar for me is to look at dates. But another reason also as important is to be inspired by the meaning behind the actual pictures. Over the years at the turn of the new month, with it a new calendar page, discussions were sparked just from the captions. And that wont happen anymore.

Having Gurbani displayed in front of you in the real unaltered state is a bonus.

If the Khalsa Credit Union calendar can’t do this, what’s the difference between this and any other calendars if all im going to get is the date and some ads promoting a business.

.....it’ll then be classified as just any other ਕੂੜ.....

George Bush: Another Perspective

2005-12-29T16:58:00.000-08:00

Sure there are all the negatives of having the likes of George W. running the most powerful nations on the planet. Yeah a few people might die here and there because of this new vision to democratize the entire world and freeing it from tyrants. Many do face hardships because of changes since 2001. A lot’s changed, it’s not quite the same as it used to be security-wise especially in the US. But the best thing that seems to have some out of all this is the display of never before seen creative talent:

I remember in a Law class there was a discussion a few days after the twin towers fell that “late night TV really sucks because everything is so damn serious and no one dares to poke fun at anyone.” Fast forward to today and it seems 'it' was the one incident that got most of today's comedy started. It takes nothing short of genius thinking to come up with stuff like this:

It’s incredible! I don’t think there’s a single leader or newsworthy figure who's managed to escape the creative ink of political cartoonists. This is the only reason why I open up the local Surrey newspapers. That’s the only thing worth looking at. Its plain and simple, you get the message right away and I don’t know if many 1000's of words could succeed in evoking the same emotion and sending the message as clearly as that one single graphic in just a second or two.

ਅਸੂਲ # ੫: Get a Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer

2005-12-28T07:21:00.000-08:00

I’ll never forget the excitement when I got a computer that had a mouse. Because in the early 90’s most IBM/PC compatible computers only had a keyboard and that’s all one needed to get by.

No one knew what the internet was, and the computer games around in those days seemed like they were from the homo-erectus era. So there really wasn’t a reason why anyone would need a mouse. And everyone back then used ‘MS Dos’ but it was the new Windows OS that made the mouse into a necessity.

I found the first mouse I ever got today after so many years. It was a serial Dexxa M-27, perhaps one of the best mice ever created. Bundled in the driver disk was what could be argued as the best graphics program at the time, amazingly it fit on a 1 meg floppy disk and ran on Dos!

When the Pentiums came out they introduced the PS/2 connector for mice and we got a new Logitech 3-button mouse which was really cool because everyone just used a two-button mouse. The middle button could be programmed as any keyboard or program command.

The next big jump came in the year 2000 when scroll wheels became the next big thing. The mouseball was replaced by LED-optical sensors with no moving parts and promised to be maintenance free.

That’s when I got the USB IntelliMouse Explorer 1.0 it had the 3 buttons, the scroll wheel and two additional programmable buttons on the left had side. This was one of the best things about the new mouse it could navigate backwards or forward in a webpage/window with the push of a button. The scroll wheel with the two navigation buttons, and the large size made this the perfect mouse.

Two years ago I got the newer 4.0 version of the same InteliMouse model. I this one has a horizontal scroll as well and everything the 1.0 had with an improved feel and a more comfortable grip. The scroll wheel has a new horizontal scroll function embedded in tho to wheel. This lets you scroll down and up like other mice as well as from side to side.

A better mouse => a happier computer user: when the pointer does exactly what you want it to and the motion mechanism doesn’t clog up with dust and jam. When it’s less tiring over longer use with a better physical design. When more programmed buttons are there to use and the scroll wheel makes it faster to do things you’re more productive. This may sound like Dave chalk talk but it’s true.

Most people do hate Bill Gates and claim Microsoft Corp. is evil(which they have every right to) but until someone else makes a better mouse judgment should be reserved. Now if they really were ‘evil’ would they want this mouse to be compatible with Linux or Mac? It does work! So consider buying one today, and all thy redent problems shall forever pass!

Quote of the Moment

2005-12-27T14:44:00.000-08:00

Bhai Jagjeet Singh has just informed me that during the anand Karaj on Sunday at Khalsa School some lady sitting in sangat said to the lady sitting next to her ਇਹ ਹੁਣ ਰੈਣ ਸਬਾਈ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਹੋ ਗਈ????(they’re starting the raensbayee now????) when Dhunni(Waheguru Waheguru) began during the lavvan.

*** A Raensbayee doesnt have to have Dhunni ***
*** Dhunni doesn't automatically mean it's a Raensbayee ***

Khalsa Camp 2005

2005-12-26T16:33:00.000-08:00

It’s been a few days since I got the Khalsa Camp UK 2005 DVDs. I took a look at them today for the first time. The DVD covers weren’t desi looking; the DVD boxes are professionaly designed and the videos are even better. But the actual content in the DVDs is many more times inspiring.

I quickly went through the first DVD. It was GOOD! Having just skimmed throught the videos and without attending the actual event I don't think there is any other camp like this anywhere today.

Please click here to support Khalsa Camp by buying this DVD set/donating.
This will be daswandh well spent.

Raensbayee Broadcast

2005-12-25T17:44:00.000-08:00

Broadcasting all Night Tonight:

Live Broadcast

2005-12-24T13:32:00.000-08:00

For those who may not already know Bhai Hardeep Singh and Bibi Gurminder Kaur's Anand Karaj Will be broadcast tomorrow. Starting with Asa De Vaar Kirtan at 6:00am PST and anand karaj at 10:00am.

The Raensbayee will follow all night tomorrow from 6:00pm-6:00amPST

Click here for the broadcast page.

Urgent Letter

2005-12-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

From: "prince ahmed" [ princeahmed_s2000@yahoo.com ]
Subject: urgent letter
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2005 00:26:43 -0800 (PST)

6B RIVONIA ROAD
SANDTON CITY
JOHANNSSBURG,SOUTH AFRICA
TEL: +27-73-1866 415
princeahmed_s2000@yahoo.com

ATTN: THE PRESIDENT / DIRECTOR

I am PRINCE AHMED SEISO, the son of late KING MOHATO SEISO of Lesotho. I am 29yreas old and a final year student of medicine in the "Wits Medical School" here in Gauteng, South Africa where I am presently writing my final exam.

Reagrds to detailed information and recommendation of your person and company profile through South African Chambers of Commerce and Industry, I wish to commence this confidential business with you, involving the transfer of USD$8,000.000.00 (eight million United State Dollars Only) into your personal or company's account for safe keeping untill my arrival to your country.

this money was given to me as a portion of inheritance from my father during his sick days, as I was his favourite son, this is due to my general conduct, attitude and my career in eduction. And never disclosed to anyone in the family except my two sisters, due to the polygamous battle for the struggle for birth right and who becomes my father's successor to the Lesotho Dynasty. The problem amongst other things to the family apart my dear life was at stake for the pursuit of these goals. I then deposited the money in a Security Company here in Gauteng, South Africa, to avoid the jeopardizing of the fund.

Now, I would like you to come down to South Africa and assist me to get the fund from the Security Company and open an investment account where the money will be deposited before immediate transfer into your acocunt. Infact, I have made all the neccessary arrangements regarding the transfer with a bank director who also promised to effect it as soon as I am ready with a foreign partner, who will assist me.

I have set aside the mode of sharing at 70% for myself, 25%for your assistance, and 5% set aside for any expenses that may incurred both locally and internationally in the process of this transaction.

If there is any form of assistance you can render both finacial and otherwise, kindly reach me through the numbers above 27 73 1866 415

endeavor to keep this business strictly confidential to avoid tarnishing my "ROYALTY"

God bless you

PRINCE AHMED SEISO(ROYAL PALACE LESOTHO)
-------------------------------------------

Wow! Even I didn’t know I had such powerful connections.

In case you still haven’t figured out... this e-mail is one big THUGGI. I’ve been getting so many of these every month for quite a while now, somehow even with checking off each as ‘junk mail’ and deleting them the odd one still ends up in the inbox. I don’t know why people even attempt sending stuff like this, maybe it does work sometimes.

I just did a Google search and its clear there is no "KING MOHATO SEISO", the only thing that comes up is a Scam e-mail listing.

It’s funny how the guy thinks I’m a ‘president/director’. I really wish someone from the kill all the spammers forum catchs one of these guys and literally carry out what they’re claiming to do, that too halal style. Note the thousands of different variations of e-mails similar to this, and the number of people who these might have been sent to over the years.

Dr. Amarjeet Singh

2005-12-22T21:26:00.000-08:00

About 10 years ago Giani Nahar Singh Jee went on a parchaar tour around the US east coast. They came back and brought with him a tape of someone named Amarjeet Singh, talking about Punjab and what happened to Sikhs and Punjabis in Punjab and around India after the creation of Punjab State.

Click to listen to that tape here

The speech was given out on a tape by the International Sikh Youth Federation, which someone gave to giani jee to on his visit there. It was Amarjeet Singh’s response to comments Kuldip Nayer had made at the very same stage at that Chicago gurdwara some time earlier about forgetting the past and being friends with hindu India once again.

above:Him sitting far left

What he said in that tape is still one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard. The talks about politics dating back to Guru Sahib’s times quoting from the Zafarnama, then to the sikh missals and maharaja Ranjeet Singh’s rule. About the character of the Sikhs and the spirit of sarbat da bhala. About contributions made by Sikhs and how ungrateful and deceitful the ‘bhramanical hindu machinery’ turned out to be.

All that was fine and dandy and deserved to be said, BUT I don’t know what he actually accomplished by speaking after it was already too long too late. And making it public just shows what kind of failure people who control guru’s panthic stages really were back then, which I think was a good reason to distribute it.

One day while flipping though the chardi kala weekly paper (which I rarely did) I saw a column written by him. What he had written was pretty interesting and well researched; it really made me think what was going on in the world’s largest democracy.

He was later called to the annual UBC SSA conference(’97 or ’98 not sure) to speak on human rights violations and Sikh sovereignty. I had a chance to talk to him for a bit afterwards and he indeed seemed like a truly panthic person who actually knew what he was talking about and where he stood on the issues he talked about.

Him and his group also run a website exposing how minorities are suppressed in India. His Khalistan calling articles are interesting to read, but I’m not sure how many people he actually gets across to. They even have old editions of this column online here in the archives section.

Over the years most people have said they don’t trust him and dismiss him as a Pakistani or US agent. I really dont know what to say, you be the judge...

ਅਸੂਲ #੪: Don't be a HERO!

2005-12-21T14:59:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I was coming back to Surrey from Richmond. I waited on Hwy 91 for the light to turn green at 72 Ave. There werent any cars in front of me in my lane and just then a 1-ton truck stopped beside me in the right lane. The light turned green and the traffic stated to move.

As I looked through the right mirror I saw a guy about 4 cars behind in my lane pull into the right lane in front of the truck and started to accelerate faster and faster. I was going at about 65 but he must have been doing at least over a 100. This guy had a red ford mustang(and we all know what kind of people drive mustangs) When he passed me he just missed hitting the dividing pylons that separate the right turning lane from 72ave.

What happened next was certainly an act of instant justice delivered straight from Waheguru! As he went past me there was a police officer who had been waiting to turn left from Westview Dr. When I saw the cruiser the lights were on even before the mustang had past him. The mustang driver really must have been obsessed at wanting to be the first to get to the next lights that he even failed to notice the police car there waiting for him in plain view.

Luckily the driver came to his senses and stopped right away and let the police deal with him.

It felt really good to seeing the guy get caught. Not because I had anything against him for passing me like that. But because it was totally unnecessary and could easily have resulted in an accident and potentially loss of innocent life.

This isn’t the only time it’s happened. The same sort of thing has happened at least 4 times where police catch drivers like this guy within seconds of them displaying their world class driving skills. It makes me laugh at their stupidity.

I bet it happens a lot. If you try to be a superstar like that, who knows you too might be able to live the experience of a hero life. Driving over the speed limit really doesn’t get you to your destination all that much faster anyway. And it isn’t good for the vehicle either. Rough use over time leads to major problems and lowers performance. Think about it, the set speed limit is there for a reason, and its meant to be followed.

The next time you feel the urge to show off your heroic passing abilities, just remember this post and what the guy in the red mastang must have been feeling...

DEC 20th

2005-12-20T20:53:00.000-08:00

Three very significant things happened today:
December 20, 1520: Guru Nanak Dev Jee went to Baghdad to preach gurmat
December 20, 1704: Guru Guru Gobind Singh Ji left Anadpur Sahib.
December 20, 1920: The panth took back control of Gurudwara Sri Panja Sahib(now in Pakistan)
-----------------------------
Bhai Gurdass Jee in the 35th Pauree of the 1st Vaar writes:
ਬਾਬਾਗਿਆਬਗਦਾਦਨੂੰਬਾਹਰਜਾਇਕੀਆਅਸਥਾਨਾ॥
ਇਕਬਾਬਾਅਕਾਲਰੂਪਦੂਜਾਰਬਾਬੀਮਰਦਾਨਾ॥
ਦਿਤੀਬਾਂਗਨਿਮਾਜ਼ਕਰਸੁੰਨਸਮਾਨਹੋਯਾਜਹਾਨਾ॥
ਸੁੰਨਮੁੰਨਨਗਰੀਭਈਦੇਖਪੀਰਭਇਆਹੈਰਾਨਾ॥
ਵੇਖੈਧਿਆਨਲਗਾਇਕਰਇਕਫਕੀਰਵਡਾਮਸਤਾਨਾ॥
ਪੁਛਿਆਫਿਰਕੇਦਸਤਗੀਰਕੌਨਫਕੀਰਕਿਸਕਾਘਰਾਨਾ॥
ਨਾਨਕਕਲਿਵਿਚਆਇਆਰਬਫਕੀਰਇਕਪਹਿਚਾਨਾ॥
ਧਰਤਅਕਾਸ਼ਚਹੂੰਦਿਸਜਾਨਾ॥੩੫॥
After Guru Sahib left Mecca they reached Baghdad. As they reached the outskirts of the city Guru Sahib- the image of Akalpurkh and Bhai Mardana- the Rabbab player sat down.

After meditating for a while Guru Sahib loudly said “Satnaam” in a sweet piercing voice. The whole town heard this; everyone was so awe struck that they instantly froze and were paralyzed with naam. No one moved. The city become still all of a sudden silence took over.

The head Muslim Pir, Dastgeer became worried and didn’t know what had just happened. He started to meditate and saw that a ‘fakir’ with a glowing face was sitting outside the city in a deep trance.

Dastgeer couldn’t resist, he was drawn to Guru Sahib so much that he immediately ran to guru Sahib. He asked Bhai Mardana about the the man sitting with him and which family of fakirs he belonged to. Bhai Mardana said: This is Guru Nanak Dev Jee who’s Akhalpurkh’s fakir and has come to save everyone in kalyug. Think of him as the being of God, there’s no difference between him and God. Guru Nanak Dev Jee is worshipped in the entire universe.
--------------------------------
The siege of Anandpur Sahib itself and every single event that followed it holds a unique place in history world history. Because there aren’t any examples that can even remotely match up to what happened for the next few weeks and really up till even now.

And the struggle to get control of Gurdwarri back under panthic control was long bloody and painful no less intriguing than the events of the 1700’s. Unfortunately not many know of this in detail. Mostly because of not knowing, the same has happened to many of the Gurdwarai once more: they're at the very pre 1920's state all over agin. The fight to get them back under panthic again seems far fetched, sometimes even impossible as the ‘panth’ sinks deeper and deeper into disunity by the day.

Gary Larson's Dodge City

2005-12-19T16:29:00.000-08:00

No one makes comics better than Gary Larson. It was many years ago I saw one of the far side collections on a book return cart at the Newton branch of the Surrey public library. It caught my attention and I immediately picked it up. Went through it many times over, renewed it time and time again and finally bought it later.

Wikipedia has a section on him here.

I never knew Dodge City was a real town until today, here’s the official city website. Only a genius of Larson's caliber
can come up with something as obvious and practical about the origins of the town’s name.

(The caption reads: It was a tough frontier town; but later, after the arrival of the Earp brothers, things calmed down, and the town’s name was shortened to simply Dodge City.)

Liteon LVW-5005

2005-12-18T15:13:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I bought the Liteon LVW-5005XS on sale from A&B Sound. Liteon isn’t a really well known company, but they’ve been making the best DVD/CD drives for computers for quite some time now. I’ve tested out all the different features and so far I’m very impressed.

I don’t think there’s anything like this on the market today. This one writes to basically every format, just not DVD-RAM, but that’s not a big deal not many players support it anyway. Here are the formats it can record to:
1) DVD+R (Video)
2) DVD+RW (Video)
3) DVD-R (Video)
4) DVD-RW (Video)
5) CD-R SVCD
6) CD-R VCD
7) CD-R Audio CD
8) CD-RW VCD
9) CD-RW SVCD
6) CD-RW Audio CD

It can directly capture Video straight from a DV camera through a firewire/iLink port. It has component video/digital SPDIF audio out. It’s very easy to use as well. It has an easy to use menu interface. I was thinking of buying the Panasonic DMR-ES20. Everything between the Liteon and the ES20 was almost the same except that Liteon supported more recording formats and was a lot cheaper than the Panasonic.

Specifications for this unit can be found here. The manual lists everything in detail. Also found a complete review which might be useful.

If searching for a decent DVD recorder you should consider buying this one.

Buying a DVD recorder

2005-12-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

Good news for people addicted to watching too much TV. Yes! Even for the avid TV watcher who has 2 VCRs recording shows most of the time; there’s a DVD recorder for you too. You can now get duel-tuner DVD recorders and record from 2 inputs at the same time.

Most of the newer units have cable input and allow for timed recordings much like the VCRs. Some have the VCR+ and commercial skip functions too.

Like VCRs the quality/time options are there as well but with better playback quality even at lower settings. Usually there are the 1-2-4-6 hour modes 1 being the best quality and 6 hour meaning the longer time but at reduced picture quality. Some units even support up to 12 hours recording.

As with everything electronic it’s a good idea to conduct your own research and see which one has everything you need. I don’t think it’s wise to go to Future Shop or Best Buy and rely on their salesperson to help you decide what the best unit might be for you. Most of the time they convince you to buy what they want to sell.

There are a few things that might seem confusing but really aren’t.

First there are the different formats:
1) ‘Write Once’ DVD-R / DVD+R: these formats are similar to the compact disc(CD) so once you write something to them it cant be altered or erased. Most DVD players will be able to play these even the ones that are a few years old. There really isn’t much difference between these two, once data is written they’re basically the same. If you want to play these discs on other DVD players the data must be first ‘finalized’ or closed so it becomes compatible just like any commercial DVD sold in stores.

2) ‘Re-writable’ DVD-RW / DVD+RW: both of these formats can be written to the same way as the –R/+R but can be erased recorded and rerecorded many times over just like VHS tapes but with one advantage: the disc itself doesn’t deteriorate qualitywise as with all tape media. The disc will be as good the first time it’s written to or the 1000th write. Most newer DVD players do support these discs.

3) DVD-RAM is another re-writable format usually on Panasonic models. It gives you more choice than other formats. It allows you to playback what has already been written to the disc while it’s still recording. But only a limited number of DVD players support this format. So recording in this format limits the number of people who can watch stuff recorded in this format. But the DVD recorders that record in DVD RAM can also record in other formats, usually DVD-R/DVD-RW.

Deciding whether to buy a unit that is both a VHS and DVD recorder or just a DVD recorder is usually not a big deal. But having the two separate is better because it gives you the flexibility so the 2 things aren’t tied up when one is being used. Normally the standalone units have more features and the ‘combo’ units with DVD/VHS are easier to use with simpler features.

Some of the more expensive units have built in hard drives from 80 to now over 300+Giggs of storage capacity. The hard drive acts like the hard drives in computers where the stored information can be erased if not needed. This allows the user to store much much more programming than a DVD disc and pick what they want to burn to discs for permanent keeping. What’s not needed can be erased and more can be added many times over.

There really isn’t a huge difference between the different companies that make these. All the components are almost the exact same under the case usually with a different software interface. But each company offers something that’s a little different from the competition.

Some of the not so well known brands are actually pretty good at what they offer. But I wouldn’t buy something from the less credible ‘desi’ companies out there. The thing to look for is reliable tech support offered and what kind of warranty the store/manufacturer give.

It’s a good idea to get a service plan from the retailer at a little extra cost. Getting extra warranty from the store is a good thing if something goes wrong after the manufacturer warranty expires. If this happens they replace your unit with a comparable current model.

Choosing which model to buy comes down to what the unit will be used for. If stuff will be recorded from TV then the unit must have a cableTV tuner for cable input, but if you have a satellite then there wont be any need for a tuner.

If long uninterrupted recording is needed then the unit should have a large enough hard disk to store everything at high quality settings.

For people with a DV camera a unit with a firewire/iLink interface will be a dream come true. The cost of DVD media is nothing compared to miniDV tapes. In a situation where the camera sits still during a raensbayee or a conference the camera can just feed the DVD recorder straight with a firewire cable with the best possible picture quality. The really good thing about this is the unit and the DV camera actually communicate with each other both ways. So when recording from a DV camera a person can control both the camera and the DVD recorder from just the DVD recorder remote.

Finally when you narrow down which model you like go to the manufacturer website and read the manual for that particular model to make sure everything is what you need. Other companies’ models should be looked at too in case they have more features.

Shopping online can save you a lot of money, usually online retailers in the US have free shipping most of the time on big items such as this and don’t charge any tax on items shipped to a state other than the originating one.

For best possible results when playing back DVDs component video and digital audio should be used with a compatible TV that supports these.

Here are some companies that make reputable DVD recorders:

SONY
LiteOn
LG
Panasonic
Pioneer

DVD Recorders

2005-12-16T18:46:00.000-08:00

I’ve been looking for a DVD recorder for some time now. Over the past year prices have come down quite a bit, even for some of the better units. The features list has grown quite a bit even for the low end units. Now’s a good time to buy one especially with all the sales coming up.

For those who might not know what a DVD recorder is: it’s the same as a VCR but uses DVD discs instead of the almost obsolete VHS tapes. It looks like any DVD player, same size but can playback as well as record DVDs on the fly.

Anyone who has a large VHS collection it might be a good idea to get a DVD recording unit to transfer them to DVD discs. The advantages of using the DVD disc instead of the tape are many.

The ability to easily copy them for much cheaper than VHS and up to 16times fast and faster seekability during play not to mention way higher video quality are just some of them. The other thing is the DVD disc itself has a very long physical life and the precautions needed to ensure it doesn’t get damaged are a few compared to VHS tapes where humidity and magnetic fields can ruin them permanently. Any magnetic media(floppy discs/cassette tapes) gets damaged over time due to oxidization in a normal home/office environment.

This is the most practical way to go. Although it’s possible to use a computer to do this, it just might be too hard for most computer users. You need a considerably powerful computer system and the time required to encode one DVD disc can span from a few hours to as long as a whole night depending on the encoding codec used. During this time the computer is tied up and doing anything else on it is impossible.

The standalone DVD recorders were made because of this; to simplify DVD recording. These units are just like the standard VCR. The recording takes place in real time. The recording quality and other options are easy to select and are actually pretty good compared to DVDs made on a PC.

Child development calendar

2005-12-15T22:02:00.000-08:00

Most calendars usually just tell the date and have nice pictures. Very rarely do calendars have other useful information. Sure most might have lunar phases- full moon half moon etc. I’ve never understood why anyone would need to know when the next full moon will be, apart from most Sikhs who still follow bharamnical karam-kaandh.

Today I got hold of the most interesting and unique colander ever created. It’s especially useful for anyone who has younger kids.

It's called the ਬਾਲ ਵਿਕਾਸ ਕੈਲਿੰਡਰ: ਬੱਚੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਆਪ ਨਹੀਂ ਪਲਦੇ! Child development calendar: Kids don’t grow up themselves(most might disagree with the second part becasue they're living proof that it can be done) The calendar’s free for anyone who has young kids enrolled in most pre-schools, I know Khalsa Pre School does. Having this up for a school year will change your life no matter what. It'll constantly remind one to do things in order to properly raise children.

It lists resources families can use- government and otherwise. It has a sort of timeline to properly self diagnose a child’s progress at different age levels. There a lot of useful to the point information and little tips on things at random days in a given month.

The main theme throughout it is: ‘Kids don’t grow up themselves.’ It’s about time people realized this. This calendar could be the beginning to Surrey’s better future.

The best thing about this is that it’s all in punjabi. This is a first for any calendar I've seen. If the publishers keep this up every year it’ll definitely do wonders for Punjabi.

Most of the calendars out there are usually garbage. It’s good to see something creative and useful finally come out. The really small credit card sized ones that many shops get printed with the Guru’s supposed portraits are a complete waste. Having the whole year like that isn’t practical at all. The numbers are so small they’re hardy readable and most just end up in the sun screen visors in cars as decoration pieces.

The same format could maybe be used to make other variations of this calendar for different groups of people. Obviously one on Sikh history and tradition is long overdue but ones covering health, cars, running a business, fitness or computers will really help people too.

It doesn’t say where you can get one, I'd guess one of the preschools would have some or one of the Sponsors might know:

VIRSA: (604) 951-8363

OPTIONS Society: (604) 596-4321

Surrey Delta Immigrant services Society : (604) 597-0205

ਸੁਤੰਤਰ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ

2005-12-14T21:59:00.000-08:00

The poem:
--------------------------------------------
The Khalsa Will Be Forever Free!

Khalsa was created for all,
Let us answer the Guru's Call.
Guru Hargobind gave us power,
And strength in the darkest hour.

Our goal is to be God's true friend,
And serve him till the end.
Guru Amar Das, who taught by his humble example.
Guru Ram Das, who gave us the Golden Temple.

Guru Gobind Singh, Guru Gobind Singh.
Kneels but to one True King.
That is the King of Kings.
The goal is peace.
Then only is our soul released.

Let us learn a lesson from,
Guru Gobind Singh's four courageous Sons.
And remember the Five Beloved Ones.
Bless those who were cut limb to limb.
And gave their lives to only Him.

Women who offered no cry of complaint.
Who remembered those brave saints.
Bhai Fauja Singh had taken eleven bullets in the body.
And still said "Waheguru" and some asked how could thee?

We felt pain,
Again and Again.
But we will never forgive and forget,
Because it can't be forgotten in the rain.

Waheguru can travel through time and space.
From this place to that place.
May the Khalsa light the way for the whole human race.

Let the voice of Satguru,
Teach us how to get to Waheguru.
And we will reach our goals,
That is to clean our souls.

God has traveled all the lands.
Has blessed them with His hands.
But with grace our Takhats will stand.

If confidence is kept in thee.
The Khalsa will be forever free.

-Bhai Daljit Singh Grade 10 (1999)
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The man behind the poetry: