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#TUHIKHARGHDHARA 🔺️ਕਿਸਾਨ ਅੰਦੋਲਨ ਵਿੱਚ 26 ਤੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਹੋ ਜਾਣਾ ਸੀ ਵੱਡਾ ਧਮਾਕਾ। #TUHIKHARGHDHARA

MR Peter Bone

Avtar Singh Sanghera - Shaheedi Smagam UK - Shaheed Jathedar Bhai Sukhde...

Sant Harcharan Singh | Longowal | AKJ Smagam 1984 | Darbar Sahib

Bibi Harpreet Kaur (Van) Local Rainsabhai Kirtan March 2013

Dismissing Wrongs

The blog from thus forth is on.

You may remember a few posts down my comments why I wanted to sever my relationship with Google.

I have slightly rethought the process of choosing online services. 

The key issues with Google were first and foremost privacy related. The other more annoying thing about Blogger, this service which allows me to mange and publish the blog, ended FTP support. Long story short; FTP supported older generational web tools, which I hate have been forced lost.

Anyhow, I have come to terms with both issues and look forward to posting more often.

I want to thank everyone for the support and uplifting encouragement over the years. This blog has led me to come in contact with a wonderful group of individuals. 

Remember, back in the day, we go way back, way way back. Most of the YouTUBE talent was not even born. From Yahoo Groups, to Vicinities and MSN, HOTMAIL, there were no VLOGS, Twitter, TumBlr, FLIKR... was nowhere to be seen. As a fellow BLOGGER coined the term, Blogbrity, we were simply considered the GrandFatherOfTheBLOG.

Thank you to all, for everything. 
______________________________

High School Blues

This post is about mistakes been made. 

I tell folks younger than I, that I was there age, at one time. For the elders, I choose not to judge much. Unless it's something blatant and obvious. But for matters of judgement, most of us my age, and elders in general have a fairly good idea of what younger people have going inside their heads.

Unbeknown to most of us, as you leave secondary school behind, you become almost psychologist like and this ability I have found gets better and better with each passing season. In some, the shared experiences of work life and post secondary education brings about profound maturity and with it the ability to forgive in people who realize that there are better things than to hold on to the wrongs of others: it is so high school.

High school for me was especially tough. Those that had been through it with me know it and those that did not know me, let me explain:

Grade 8 for my brother and I was in Punjab. It was 1995. Getting torn from Canada, from everything familiar and leaving it to start anew in a different country was a challenge. That too was doable, but the larger challenge was the weather and losing all the Canadian amenities we take for granted, no hot water, no heat, no insulated home, crappy transportation, the horrible smell, and a multitude of things that others experience when they head to the pind(village) even today. The Hindi Punjabi instruction system was tough as well. There was the advanced Math and Science curricula but the masculine aspects of high school teens in a highly macho society had

Why Gurbani Viakaran (Grammar) is Essential?

ਕਈ ਵੀਰ ਭੈਣਾਂ, ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਦੇ ਲਗ-ਮਾਤ੍ਰੀ ਨੇਮਾਂ ਬਾਰੇ ਕੋਈ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਨਹੀਂ, ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸ਼ਬਦਾਂ ਦੇ ਅੰਤਲੇ ਅੱਖਰਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਲੱਗੀਆਂ ਕਾਰਕੀ ਲਗਾਂ ਮਾਤ੍ਰਾਂ (ਔਂਕੜ ਅਤੇ ਸਿਹਾਰੀ ਆਦਿ) ਬੇ-ਲੋੜਵੀਆਂ ਜਾਪਦੀਆਂ ਹਨ। ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਦੇ ਅੱਜ ਤੱਕ ਕੀਤੇ ਗਏ ਟੀਕਿਆਂ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਬਹੁਤ ਥੋੜ੍ਹੇ ਅਜਿਹੇ ਟੀਕੇ ਹਨ, ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਇਹਨਾਂ ਲਗਾਂ ਮਾਤ੍ਰਾਂ ਦਾ ਪੂਰਾ ਪੂਰਾ ਧਿਆਨ ਰੱਖ ਕੇ ਅਰਥ ਕੀਤੇ ਗਏ ਹਨ। ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਦੇ ਵਿਆਖਿਆਕਾਰਾਂ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਵੀ ਗੇਣਵੇਂ ਹੀ ਅਜਿਹੇ ਸੱਜਣ ਹਨ, ਜਿਹੜੇ ਲਗਾਂ ਮਾਤ੍ਰਾਂ ਦੇ ਨੇਮਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਜਾਣੂ ਹਨ ਅਤੇ ਇਹਨਾਂ ਨੇਮਾਂ ਦੀ ਅਗਵਾਈ ਵਿਚ ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਦੀ ਵਿਆਖਿਆ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ।

ਕੋਈ ਸਮਾਂ ਸੀ ਜਦੋਂ ਸਨਾਤਨ-ਪ੍ਰਭਾਵੀ ਕਥਾਕਾਰ ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਦੀ ਕਥਾ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਆਪਣੀ ਪੰਡਤਾਈ ਜਤਲਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਇਕ ਇਕ ਤੁਕ ਸੇ ਕਈ ਕਈ ਅਰਥ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਸ੍ਰੋਤਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਭੰਭਲ-ਭੂਸਿਆਂ ਵਿਚ ਪਾਉਂਦੇ ਰਹੇ। ਇਸ ਪਰਿਪਾਟੀ ਨਾਲ ਕਾਫ਼ੀ ਰੋਲ-ਘਚੋਲਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਅਤੇ ਹਾਨੀ ਹੋਈ। ਗੁਰਮਤਿ ਦੀ ਸੋਝੀ ਰੱਖਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਸੱਜਣ ਮਨ-ਮਤੀ ਅਰਥ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ ਕਥਾਕਾਰਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਬਹੁਤ ਦੁਖੀ ਸਨ, ਇਸ ਲਈ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੇ ਘੋਖਵੀਂ ਬਿਬੇਕ ਬੁੱਧੀ ਨਾਲ ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਦਾ ਡੂੰਘਾ ਅਧਿਐਨ ਕੀਤਾ। ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਵਿਚ ਸ਼ਬਦਾਂ ਦੇ ਅੰਤਲੇ ਅੱਖਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਲੱਗੀਆਂ ਲਗਾਂ-ਮਾਤਰਾਂ ਨੇ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਦੀ ਅਗਵਾਈ ਕੀਤੀ। ਕਰੜੀ ਘਾਲਣਾ ਕਰ ਕੇ, ਸਮੱਗਰ ਬਾਣੀ ਦੇ ਕਈ ਕਈ ਅਰਥ ਕੀਤੇ ਜਾਣ ਦੀ ਪਰਿਪਾਟੀ ਨੂੰ ਗ਼ਲਤ ਸਿੱਧ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਇਸ ਦੇ ਵਿਰੱਧ ਤਕੜੀ ਅਵਾਜ਼ ਉਠਾਈ। ਸ਼ੁਕਰ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਇਸ ਪਰਿਪਾਟੀ ਨੂੰ ਹੁਣ ਕੁਝ ਠਲ੍ਹ ਪੈ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ।

ਪਰ, ਲਗ-ਮਤ੍ਰੀ ਨੇਮਾਂ ਦਾ ਸਰਲ ਰੂਪ ਵਿਚ, ਬਣਾ ਸਵਾਰ ਕੇ ਅਜੇ ਤਕ ਪ੍ਰਚਾਰ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੋਇਆ, ਜਿਸ ਦੇ ਫਲਸਰੂਪ ਮਨ-ਮਤੀਏ ਗਿਆਨੀ ਅਜੇ ਵੀ ਆਪਣੇ ਪਰਪੰਚ-ਲੀਲ੍ਹਾ ਦੀ ਪੁਸ਼ਟੀ ਲਈ ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਦੇ ਮਨ-ਮਰਜ਼ੀ ਅਨੁਸਾਰ ਅਰਥ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਸਾਦ-ਮੁਰਾਦੇ ਜਗਿਆਸੂਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਭੁਚਲਾਉਣ ਵਿਚ ਸਫਲ ਹੋ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ। ਇਹ ਠੱਗ ਬਾਜ਼ੀ ਛੋਟੇ ਪੱਧਰ 'ਤੇ ਵੀ ਹੋ ਰਿਹੀ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਵੱਡੇ ਪੱਧਰ ਤੇ ਵੀ। ਪਤਾ ਲੱਗਾ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਰੂਸ ਵਰਗੇ ਨਾਸਤਕ ਦੇਸ਼ ਵਿਚ ਵੀ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ ਦਾ ਸੰਪੂਰਨ ਟੀਕਾ ਕਰਵਾਉਣ ਦੀ ਉਪਰਾਲਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ। ਭਾਵੇਂ, ਅਜੇ ਤਕ ਸਪੱਸ਼ਟ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਇਸ ਸੰਬੰਧ ਵਿਚ ਕੁਝ ਸਾਹਮਣੇ ਨਹੀਂ ਆਇਆ, ਪਰ ਅੰਦੇਸ਼ਾ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਇਸ ਉਪਰਾਲੇ ਦੇ ਪਿੱਛੇ ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਨੂੰ ਮਾਰਕਸਵਾਦੀ ਸਿਧਾਂਤ ਦੀ ਪੁਸ਼ਟੀ ਲਈ ਹੱਥ ਠੋਕਾ ਬਣਾ ਕੇ ਵਰਤੇ ਜਾਣ ਦੀ ਭਾਵਣਾ ਕੰਮ ਕਰ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ। ਕੁਝ ਵੀ ਹੋਵੇ, ਅਸਲੀਅਤ ਨੂੰ ਪਛਾਣਨ ਅਤੇ ਪ੍ਰਚਾਰਨ ਦੀ ਅਤਿਅੰਤ ਲੋੜ ਹੈ। ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਦੇ ਸਹੀ ਅਤੇ ਸ਼ੁਧ ਆਸ਼ੇ ਨੂੰ ਸਮਝਣ ਅਤੇ ਪ੍ਰਚਾਰਨ ਲਈ ਜ਼ਰੂਰੀ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਸ਼ਬਦਾਂਤਿਕ ਲਗ-ਮਾਤ੍ਰੀ ਨੇਮਾਂ ਬਾਰੇ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਸਰਲ ਅਤੇ ਸਪੱਸ਼ਟ ਸ਼ਬਦਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਛਾਪ ਕੇ ਸਮੂਹ ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ-ਪ੍ਰੇਮੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਸੁਲੱਭ ਕੀਤੀ ਜਾਵੇ ਅਤੇ ਅਜਿਹਾ ਉਪਰਾਲਾ ਪੰਥਕ ਪੱਧਰ 'ਤੇ ਕੀਤੇ ਜਾਣ ਦੀ ਲੋੜ ਹੈ। ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਮਿਹਰ ਕਰਨ! ਪੰਥ ਦੇ ਮੁਹਾਣਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਇਸ ਪੱਖ ਵੱਲ ਧਿਆਨ ਆਵੇ!

Some people who don't have any knowledge of rules pertaining to Gurbani grammar feel that Sihari and Unkar vowels on some words' last letters are written there without any need. From the many Gurbani commentaries (Teikai) written thus far, there are very few which have done proper meanings while also having paid full attention to Gurbani grammer and the reasons for presence of such end vowels. When it comes to expositors (Kathakars/Vikhayaiakars) of Gurbani, there are only a rare number who know the rules of Gurbani grammar and use these as guiding principles to exposit Gurbani.

There was a time when Gurbani expositors under the influence of Snatanism while doing Katha would show off their knowledge by giving multiple meanings for a single line of Gurbani. Doing so they needlessly mislead the listening Sangat. There was a lot of confusion and it caused a lot of damage. Gursikhs who had knowledge of Gurbani soon became sick and tired of Snatanist Kathavachaks who did multiple meanings contrary to Gurmat. Gursikhs applied themselves in hard scholastic labour and used their wisdom (Bibeak Budh) to study Gurbani. During this time the vowels on the end of words' last letters guided them in their pursuit. Their hard work paid off and the fashion of expositing multiple meanings was exposed as wrong and this practice soon waned. Thankfully this practice has been considerably impeded.

However, as the rules of Gurbani Grammar have not been properly presented and preached widely, self willed expositors are still engaged in their efforts to self aggrandize themselves by deciphering Gurbani in their own misguided ways. In the process, innocent listeners are puzzled and mislead. This fraud is being committed on a large and small scale at the same time. It has come to light that even an agnostic nation such as Russia is in the process of translating Shri Guru Granth Saib Jee with meanings. Even though their intentions are not fully known, it may be that this effort is an attempt to use Gurbani to prove Marxist ideology. Whatever the case, it is imperative that the real ideals of Gurbani grammar be learnt and preached correctly. This effort needs to be conducted at a Panthic level and ought to provide knowledge about Gurbani grammar in a clear and user friendly manner. May Vaheguru bless us! May we turn our attention toward this cause!       

-From Bhai Joginder Singh Talwara Jee's aforementioned book's introduction; it was published around 2004.

Inspired by Bhai Joginder Singh Talwara

The blog has come alive yet again. And I am sticking with Google since this is where I started out. People, you have to be loyal...

So, last month there was a program to commemorate Bhai Joginder Singh Talwara through Kirtan at Khalsa Schol. You may do a web search to find more information about him. He passed away in 2004. Here is a clip of him doing Kirtan, I was there to witness this live back in the day:

A few years ago we got his book and my father read it, I asked him how it was and he said that you should read it after I am done... It sat at his bedside for a bit and then ended up in one of the bookshelves.

So about a year ago, I woke up at night to eat and it caught my eye. Reminded of his advice, I picked it up and had placed his last book, Gurbani The Saral Vikaran Boadh (Grammar of the Sikh Scripture), on my bedside as a part of a pile that I read before going to bed. Apart from school stuff, I read a lot of other books since then.

I finally got my hands on this book last night... I really wish I had gotten to it earlier, I had more time to spare in the last year but anyhow this I think is as good a time as any.

So at the end of the program at Khalsa School last month, Bhai Kulvinder Singh Jee mic in hand challenged us all sitting there to not just celebrate Bhai Joginder Singh Talwara's life through doing Kirtan, eating Langar, and going home and then forgetting about the guy in whose memory everyone had come. He said that Talwara Jee had given us a treasure in this book and that we should all do us a favour and have it read. He told us that it is available from Satnam Trust and that if you don't understand what is in there, since some of it is a little daunting, you should come for help and help will be provided free of charge. Here is the clip:

I am not sure why I waited so long. But I am glad that I started to read the book.

Coincidently this week, Darshan Singh, a childhood friend, messaged me about a Youtube video he had stumbled upon. It was a Dhunni-free track of Bhai Joginder Singh Talwara from Darbar Sahib Shri Amritsar Sahib from the 1984 Vaisakhi Smagam. The back and forth started and he kept asking me more and more information about him. I told him all I knew and it wasn't very much. Reading the book's introduction provided many insights. This is the famous video Darshan Singh sent:  

The introduction of this book is eye opening and gives a glimpse of how much hard work Bhai Sahib did for the Panth and it gives me a much greater appreciation of how great his sewa was. Before, I saw him only as a distant figure who I saw do Kirtan live 3-4 times, but now reading just a short bit into the book makes me really see how much of a personal hero he has become. This book is in a league of its own. It is accessible so far and everything actually makes sense, but the technical part is still coming.

Like so many other tragedies, this is a major one, while he was alive no one, or very few valued him for how big of a scholar he was. I think 2004 marked the end of an era with Bhai Sahib Jee's passing. We no longer have the luxury of having someone as devoted and capable as him with us today. Flipping through a few examples from the book makes this apparent. He put in a lot of work into book and everything he researched since 1972 till his failing health near the end of 2003 he published in this two part work. Sadly we lost him before he could write more parts to this series of just two books.

In the coming days I hope to share some of the great things in the book. Bhai Sahib is very frank, open, and humble about his views on grammar.

His first words in the beginning of the book are cautionary, and really... well, honest. He writes that grammar is a very rough and dry subject and that a few minutes of grammar makes your head hurt and makes even the most astute and eagerly studious of students yawn like there is no tomorrow. Lucky for me I did not yawn and my head did not hurt.  

A BIG THANK YOU to Bhai Sahib Joginder Singh Jee Talwara which I could never pay him when I saw him the last time in November 2002. Folks: Do yourself a favour and get this book; I am certain it'll do wonders, we all benefit from better grammar usage, especially in Gurbani and Kirtan.

Delhi Smagam

Giani Amolak Singh Jee Ross Street Vancouver 1997 (+playlist)

Bhai Mohinder Singh Ji SDO Southbend Rainsbhai September 30 1985

Slanderers

ਸਲੋਕੁਮਃ੫॥ਰਹਦੇਖੁਹਦੇਨਿੰਦਕਮਾਰਿਅਨੁਕਰਿਆਪੇਆਹਰੁ॥ਸੰਤਸਹਾਈਨਾਨਕਾਵਰਤੈਸਭ
ਜਾਹਰੁ॥੧॥ਮਃ੫॥ਮੁੰਢਹੁਭੁਲੇਮੁੰਢਤੇਕਿਥੈਪਾਇਨਿਹਥੁ॥ਤਿੰਨੈਮਾਰੇਨਾਨਕਾਜਿਕਰਣਕਾਰਣਸਮਰਥੁ
॥੨॥ਪਉੜੀ੫॥ਲੈਫਾਹੇਰਾਤੀਤੁਰਹਿਪ੍ਰਭੁਜਾਣੈਪ੍ਰਾਣੀ॥ਤਕਹਿਨਾਰਿਪਰਾਈਆਲੁਕਿਅੰਦਰਿਠਾਣੀ॥
ਸੰਨ੍‍ੀਦੇਨ੍‍ਵਿਖੰਮਥਾਇਮਿਠਾਮਦੁਮਾਣੀ॥ਕਰਮੀਆਪੋਆਪਣੀਆਪੇਪਛੁਤਾਣੀ॥ਅਜਰਾਈਲੁਫਰੇਸਤਾ
ਤਿਲਪੀੜੇਘਾਣੀ॥੨੭॥

Operation: Lasting Influence

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

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

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

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

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!

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...