What 'Sangat' does...

ਠਕ ਠਕ variations

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'

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!

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?

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...