Surrey resident Sarwan Singh achieved a feat, which every Sikh is going to be proud of. He set a new Guinness Book of World Record by having the longest beard. Singh’s beard was measured at 2.36 meters or 7.7 3/4 ft, at a jam packed, Akal Academy in Surrey BC. Over 200 people came out in support of the Akal Academy Music Teacher and his attempt at breaking the world record.

The previous record was held by Shamsher Singh of Punjab, India, with a beard last measured at 1.83 metres in 1977.

“This is history in the making,” said Dr. Pargat Singh Bhurji, the principal and president of Akal Academy Surrey, where Singh is a popular and respected music teacher.

“Mr. Sarwan Singh is a devout, humble, spiritual man and his beard is considered as a divine gift. He’s blessed, he’s gifted. Hair is a divine gift. So this is a divine gift from God,” said Dr. Bhurji.

Singh stood on a stool while his beard was dipped in water, brushed and then measured three times on a flat surface with a measuring tape as the judges and media and over 200 other witnesses looked on.

As he posed for pictures with his wife and two children, Singh’s beard hung from his chin to the floor.

“I have a feeling of divine happiness and I am thankful that God has chosen me for the gift of the longest beard,” said Sarwan Singh, 42. The measurement was presided over by Surrey-Newton MLA Harry Singh Bains, Surrey RCMP Sgt. Baltej Singh Dhillon and lawyer Sukhjinder Singh Grewal.

Sarwan Singh’s family told CBC News they were exceptionally proud of his achievement. “Not only to me, he’s inspiring to the Sikh community,” said his young son Bikram Singh, sporting a tuft of hair on his chin that may one day set another record.

As a devoted Sikh, Singh does not cut or trim his hair, not just his beard, as uncut hair is one of the five objects (Five K’s) or symbols of faith of the Sikhs who have taken the vows of the Khalsa, as outlined by the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh. “Whatever God gives us, it is just our job to take care of that. Don’t cut it or don’t do anything to it,” Singh’s daughter Gursimran Kaur told CBC News.

In addition to the Guinness World record, the event started with the students of Akal Academy performing Dhadhi Varan, a Sikh musical composition, explaining Sikh history taught to them by Sarwan Singh and other Akal Academy teachers. This was followed by talks on the importance and significance of hair from both a scientific and religious viewpoint as reflected in the teachings of the Sikh religion.

The cutely crafted models take us back to days of our childhood & play times, if feels great to realize that these Rural Kids too are enjoying through days of childhood, having fun, the way we all did, the way every child deserves. Kids from Classes Nursery to 2^nd participated.

SADA favorite hai Akashdeep Singh’s Da “Chakala Velna”!  What’s your Favorite?

Pics from a clay modeling competition held on 6^th Sept at Akal Academy in Village Mander Dona, Punjab.

Through this Initiative Rural students get benefit of ultra filtered drinking water

The Workshop, as a part of lessons on Ecology Restoration, intents to induce constructive character & creative abilities among little kids, at the time when their mind is under its natural development process of acquiring abilities skills.

Akal Academy Kajri, Niranjanpur, UP celebrated Teachers’ Day with lot of zest & fun activities. Dressed to the occasion, Specially attired Teachers and Staff of the school were welcomed by the students with flowers & bouquets. The children were eager and energetic to have some frolic moments with their Teachers.

Principal Mrs. Simran Kaur Thind alongside Teachers, paid floral tribute to Dr. Saravpalli S Radhakrishnan. Whilst several students showcased, beautifully designed placards in & outside the classrooms to make the occasion graceful, the senior wing of the school gave away title tags, amid cheerful ovation.

To add spark to the celebrations, certain students presented mimicry of their favorite Teachers that sent the Teachers into convulsive laughter. This light-hearted banter brought the creative elements into action. Later, an entertaining “Teachers’ Special” quiz between the ladies and the gents team kept the event ablaze.

Lastly, it was the ‘Tug of war’ organized between senior boys & gents teachers giving some fun-filled combat actions to everyone especially when the gents teachers towed the budding boys to the ground.

Finally Principal Mrs. Simran Kaur Thind, gave away tokens of appreciation lauding the Teachers for their hard work & dedication. She exhorted “Both Teachers & students should strive to preserve the cultural values pertaining to the traditional Guru-Shishya, Teacher-student relationship. I thank them for making the occasion memorable.”

~ Ramandeep Singh
~ New Delhi, 16th Sep ’13

Pics from recently held ‘Fancy Dress’ event held at Akal Academy, Rataolan where young little kids painted an ideal picture of original countryside ( i.e. Rural regions ). Their dresses & the thoughts behind represented the real charm of the village life that dark shadow of urbanization is draining out of them like a slow poison, killing quietly & softly, leaving the youth crippled at the hands of alcohol & drug abuse.
Through the eyes of these little, we briefly lived through the simple yet rich life of villages, the way the countrymen dreamt about it, the way it was originally meant to be.

~ Deeksha Singh
~ New delhi, 16th Sep ’13

ISBTI together with Akal Academy,village Ellenabad, located in district Sirsa, Haryana, recently organized a Blood Donation Camp at the village wherein several of the staff members alongside volunteers from The Kalgidhar Trust, worked together to collect blood from donors.

These camps powered by ISBTI, a National organization on Blood Transfusion Medicine & Blood Banking, also play a pivotal role in motivating donors alongside educating them about measures to take up in case of emergencies, especially in rural/village regions. Sirsa, being a backward district, often faces the challenges of shortage of blood, hence Akal Academy and ISBTI tied hands together to motivate locals and their own members to donate blood.

Blood donation is observed as an essential & critical element of serving humanity, by The Kalgidhar Trust; such Blood donation camps are regularly organized at Akal Academy campuses of all 129 rural schools located in far-flung villages like Ellenabad across North India.

“Every year our nation requires about 4 crore units of blood, out of which only a meager 40 Lakh units of blood is available.” Kalgidhar Trust does its bit. Do you?

~ Karanpreet Singh
~ New Delhi, 12th Sep ’13

At age as young as 4, little rural kids of small village Ghugg in Jalandhar district demonstrated their English spelling abilityat try-outs held within the school.

In a spelling contest named ‘Spell-bee’, teams were setup into 4 houses i.e.  Ajay, Abhay, Amul & Atul House, two kids were paired in each house;they  were thrown a volley of words where the first one to correctly spell the given word would gain a point.

Team Abhay Houses weep the board in round one for Spell-Bee with a splendid 45 point score followed by Amul, Atulat 2^nd& 3^rd  with  decent 42 & 40 whilst Ajay House took the weak spot with only 30.

Round 2 saw an incredible comeback by Ajay House, moving 2 steps up from its last position to becoming the 2^nd fastest Spell-beewith final score of 44, whilst House Amul won the title of be the Fastest Spell-bee of the Academy by maintaining its consistent scoring through the second round where House Abhay took all the bashing, crashing all the way from top to finish the last as House Atul managed to retain its 3^rd position of round one by being quickest at the final two questions.

The winners alongside the participants were presented with different prizes; the event witnessed a great sportsmanship coming forth from these young rural kids who looked perfect future challengers for mainstream competitions.

~ Ramandeep Singh,
~ New Delhi, 11th Sep ’13

Reports about massive celebrations across different Akal Academies on the occasion of Pratham Prakash Utsav of  Sri Guru Granth Sahib kept coming in all through the last week.

Akal Academy, Village Ellenabad, celebrated this day with full gusto, where young students coming from classes 2^nd to 5^th devoutly prepared and performed Kirtan, Kavitas, Dharmic Choreography, Dharmic Geets to contribute towards the celebrations at the school. Fifteen Akhand Path Sahibs were observed at the Academy and its Samapti Bhog happened on the same day. It’s incredible to find so much enthusiasm prevailing among the young rural kids of villages, which was unimaginable, thanks to the efforts of Principal Sukhjeet Kaur who was personally looking after all details.

Reverence for these young kids & their serene spirit!

~ Deeksha Singh,
~ New Delhi, 10th Sep ’13