From the Writer’s Desk – Harmeet Kaur scripts her own chartbusters

I recall the time that seems not so distant, the time when I first joined Akal Academy Baru Sahib; I was pathetically weak at academics and I remember scoring an embarrassing 36% in my class 6th examinations. As I burst into tears, I kept weeping for days in front of my mother, unaware of a […]

I recall the time that seems not so distant, the time when I first joined Akal Academy Baru Sahib; I was pathetically weak at academics and I remember scoring an embarrassing 36% in my class 6th examinations. As I burst into tears, I kept weeping for days in front of my mother, unaware of a upcoming, pleasantly surprising bouquet of almighty’s blessings in my life, that broke all my shackles to exalt me into a different realm, that changed my life altogether, ever since after that episode.

I passed out my 10th from Akal Academy Baru Sahib in 2001.and the five years I spent there, gave a turning point to my life, from a below average student I then transformed into a super charged person, a person charged to change at mind; and change all what may comes across; willing to learn more, do more…all the time!

All my achievements so far, both in the world outside & my inner-self, are the result of the Academic and Spiritual Education that I received at the Academy and blessings of Honourable Babaji and God Almighty.

Beyond Baru Sahib, life was quite challenging as I found the world very indifferent and insensitive. The protective cocoon provided by the Academy had vanished and I was in face to face with the outside world. As a result of my immense interest in literature, which I had cultivated at Baru Sahib’s Library and poetry competitions, I took admission in English (Hons) at the Delhi University,

When I was in second year when I penned a book named ‘Immortal Thoughts’ and started writing a novel called “Tragedy of an Orphan”. My book of “Immortal Thoughts” got published in Jan 2007 by Dreamland Publications and the novel is under consideration with one of the reputed publishers currently.

I remember when last year some of my classmates remarked that they idolize me….that whole night my mind took me to the journey I had covered so far. I could recollect all the support and guidance I was provided at Baru Sahib. That was when I remembered that how it transformed me and my overall performance, be it in debates, poetry or other similar competitions; even the performance in academics had gone remarkably high to 81.4% at the time I left Baru Sahib; after that, never again by Grace of God, I ever disappointed my parents or teachers with my performance. I am indebted to Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib for this.

Right now I am Pursuing MBA in International Business from ICFAI. Hope in future also I will continue to get support and Guidance from Akal Academy & Baru Sahib.

Gur-Fateh!

Regards,
Harmeet Kaur Sekhon (Sonia)

Baba Iqbal Singh Ji honoured at the ‘Samagam’ organized by Baba Deep Singh Welfare Society

Ludhiana, 5th March: Baba Deep Singh Welfare Society organized a Gurmat ‘Samagam’ at Gurdwara Kalgidhar Singh Sabha to celebrate the birth anniversary of Martyr Baba Deep Singh Ji & in the loving memory of Sant Attar Singh Ji Mastuane wale. During the event, Baba Iqbal Singh Ji of Baru Sahib was honoured by the for […]

Ludhiana, 5th March: Baba Deep Singh Welfare Society organized a Gurmat ‘Samagam’ at Gurdwara Kalgidhar Singh Sabha to celebrate the birth anniversary of Martyr Baba Deep Singh Ji & in the loving memory of Sant Attar Singh Ji Mastuane wale.

During the event, Baba Iqbal Singh Ji of Baru Sahib was honoured by the for his contribution towards social, religious & educational fronts by the Gurdwara Committee President Gurmeet Singh, Baba Ajit Singh, Satnam Singh Babbu Khalsa, Santokh Singh Khurana and Maninder Singh Ahuja.

Prior to the aforementioned ceremony, during the event, Giani Jaswant Singh Parwana of Akal Academy Baru Sahib, ‘Khalsa Akal Purakh Ki Fauj’ and Bhai Manpreet Singh Kanpuri sensitized the holy congregation through ‘Katha-Kirtan’.

Baba Iqbal Singh Ji motivated everyone to be a ‘Gurmukh’ by connecting oneself to Naam & Baani. During this occasion, Baba Kundan Singh Bhalai Trust’s leader Mata Vipanpreet Kaur was honored. Mr. Jatinder Singh Ghilotra, President of Gurdwara Singh Sabha Model Gram was honoured.

Other guests present during the event were Advocate H.S. Phoolka, Dr. Khem Singh Gill, Darshan Singh, Jarnail Singh, Bhupinderpal Singh, Gurminder Singh Batra,  Jasbir Shah Singh, Rajvinder Singh, Amanpreet Singh Aman, Harpreet Singh Tickoo, Bhupinderpal Singh Dhawan, Happy Kalra.

~ Ramandeep Singh
~ New Delhi, 6th March ’14

UCO Bank contributes Two Ambulances in backward district of Sirmaur

UCO Bank (A Govt. of India Undertaking) sanctioned two Ambulances to The Kalgidhar Society for the Akal Charitable Hospital under their CSR Initiative. The Presentation Ceremony was held at the hospital venue and presided over by Mr. B.Venkat Ramana, General Manager & Circle Head New Delhi. Mr. Rameshwar Sharma, Chief Manger, UCO Bank Circle office […]

UCO Bank (A Govt. of India Undertaking) sanctioned two Ambulances to The Kalgidhar Society for the Akal Charitable Hospital under their CSR Initiative. The Presentation Ceremony was held at the hospital venue and presided over by Mr. B.Venkat Ramana, General Manager & Circle Head New Delhi. Mr. Rameshwar Sharma, Chief Manger, UCO Bank Circle office New Delhi, Mr. Thakur Bhagat Negi, Zonal Head, UCO Bank, Solan and Mr.Rakesh Verma Lead District Manager, at Lead Bank Office Nahan, District Sirmaur were also present in the function.

Dr. Davinder Singh, Secretary The Kalgidhar Society & Hospital Incharge welcomed the Guests and thanked UCO Bank for their support as the Hospital badly needed these Ambulances and the same shall help to serve the patient from remote areas and also would help to shift the serious patients to Chandigarh or Shimla in case of emergency.

Mr. B Venkat Ramana, G.M and Circle Head said “this is a small effort by us for this most backward area and UCO Bank shall make efforts for the growth of this area by opening an ATM or Branch office at Baru Sahib, H.P.”

Mr. Ramana presented the Bank Draft of CSR funding to Dr. Davinder Singh and handed over the keys of two Force Ambulances.

Dr. Davinder Singh later informed “the Kalgidhar Society runs a 280-bed Charitable Hospital in the backward district of Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh. More than 30,000 poor underprivileged patients annually are attended to with primary healthcare and emergency interventions. Four Free Medical camps are held in Sirmaur every year wherein free expensive surgeries are provided to poor beneficiaries by Doctors from India and abroad.”

In addition to the routine medical and surgical services, emergencies of all kinds are also attended. Akal Charitable Hospital is the only hospital in the region attending to the patients of snake-bite for which expensive antivenin is given.

The patients and their attendants travel to Akal Charitable Hospital from as far as 100 kms away, by bus, horse or on foot, undertaking quite long and arduous journey on difficult terrains to get rid of deadly diseases completely free of cost.

~ Deeksha Singh
~ New Delhi, 28th Feb 14

Kabir – A Financial Consultant with KPMG looks back

Through the medium of this letter, I, Kabir Nanda wish to pay my homage to my school at Baru Sahib – the Akal Academy, where I spent the most crucial years of my schooling whilst receiving my 10th & 12th grade education. To quickly introduce myself – I belong to Chandigarh and I am currently […]

Through the medium of this letter, I, Kabir Nanda wish to pay my homage to my school at Baru Sahib – the Akal Academy, where I spent the most crucial years of my schooling whilst receiving my 10th & 12th grade education.

To quickly introduce myself – I belong to Chandigarh and I am currently working with KPMG in the IT advisory as a consultant with the responsibility of looking after company audits; I cleared my 12th in 2009 from Baru Sahib with a score of 85% before completing my Engineering in Computer Science from Chitkara University in Badi.

My father is into computer education business running a publishing house while my mother contributes to the business through her writing; ever since I was a child(in 5th standard) my father would often visit Baru Sahib for promotion of books & ever since then we had a desire for sending myself to Baru Sahib Akal Academy for Schooling – but this couldn’t happen until my 9th grade schooling due to feasibility issues. Fortunately, even though for a couple of years, I was finally admitted there for my 10th grade schooling.

At Baru Sahib, the experience was sensitizing; the environment was free of distractions, it helped students develop immense focus & with focus came the discipline; I still remember how it affected my performance, I scored a record breaking 92 in Hindi during my 10th board examination, which still remains a record supposedly. I could easily sense & compare the difference, the difference between all those years of city schooling to what I was getting now at Baru Sahib – just about everything was contributing towards quality of education at Baru Sahib, be it the distraction free environment; the spirituality factor; or the carefully mastered routines that students are made to follow.

Besides all of the above, I still remember No Pocket-Money Concept – I know it sounds a bit awkward, but if you ask any of the students including myself, it was a blessing in disguise, it too helped us to be focused & disciplined; the concept would only allow us to shop once every month with an assigned budget during a picnic that was organized by the academy; no random buying was allowed otherwise.

Another reason for me writing this letter has been some amount of criticism that I too have come across on certain occasions; more often than usual, people do show their negative concerns about disciplined regime followed at the Academy, so to all fellow students & anyone who wishes to know the real fact – the truth is that anyone who has been or is at the academy loves being there, there’s absolutely no parallel to the environment being offered there for the students. I would recommend it to everyone & would tell everyone there to enjoy the exclusivity which they really going to miss once they pass out.

As of now, I am planning to do my masters from abroad after gaining some work experience for a while. In the distant future, I am inspired from Baru Sahib to open up an old age home for neglected parents because I feel with the growing urbanization & modernization this problem has been increasing manifolds.

~Love & Regards Kabir Nanda.

Akal Nursing College Baru Sahib adds M.Sc Nursing program to its portfolio

Cheema Mandi, 27th February : The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, in the year 2008 commenced Eternal University, Baru Sahib’s Akal Nursing College, which was the first to offer B.Sc. Nursing Program in Himachal Pradesh. In the program, the undergraduate nurses are imparted value based scientific education so that they can become dedicated nurses and universal citizens serving humanity.

Now, the college has also initiated offering M.Sc. & M.Ph Programs; Akal nursing college stays in a constant relationship with America’s Drexel University, the faculty members of which keep visiting Akal Nursing college from time to time to train the students and to familiarize them with information on the latest world trends in the field of Nursing.

Dr.Neelam Kaur, Dean Faculty of Health Sciences, informed that the students, after completing their B.Sc. nursing from the college, are providing their services in reputed hospitals of Delhi like Columbia and Medanta; Max Hospital, Himachal Govt. & A.N.C., etc. whereas several nurses have gone abroad to countries like Canada & Australia for Higher Education. She also told that the ‘Indian Nursing Council’ has granted 20 Seats in Himachal Pradesh to the college for M.Sc. in Nursing program which is first in Himachal; amongst the 20 seats 10 are for Medical Surgical Nursing, 5 for Pediatric Nursing and 5 are for Child Health Care Nursing.

To celebrate this achievement, Akal Nursing College will be observing a simulation related workshop from 6th to 11th April where nursing colleges from Himachal Pradesh and several cities of Northern India will participate. This workshop will be organized by Assistant Clinical Professor & Assistant Dean Simulation, Clinical & Technology Academic Operations, Drexel University, America’s Dr. Liland J. Rockstrai.

Hail the efforts! Support us in this wind of Rural Transformation here.

~ Ramandeep Singh
~ New Delhi, 27th Feb ’14

Letters of Inspiration – Harjinder Singh Khalsa writes his Heart Out about Baru Sahib and Babaji!

“I went to Baru Sahib and I learnt Gurmukhi (Punjabi) in 5 days and I did not even know an ounce of Punjabi and I’m born and brought up in the UK. It is with Babjis’ Kirpa and due to Baba Iqbal Singh Ji. Baru sahib is such a Sacred and Blessed place, it should […]

“I went to Baru Sahib and I learnt Gurmukhi (Punjabi) in 5 days and I did not even know an ounce of Punjabi and I’m born and brought up in the UK. It is with Babjis’ Kirpa and due to Baba Iqbal Singh Ji. Baru sahib is such a Sacred and Blessed place, it should be where one must go at least once in their life time; trust me, it is truely amazing!

I am so lucky I received Amrit at this place with Gurus Kirpa and my mentor my sabyachar (role model) Mahapursh Sant Baba Iqbal Singh Ji. Anyway just to let everyone know Baru Sahib is the best holiday I have ever had and believe me I’ve been blessed by Guruji and have been to a lot of worldwide holidays but this one to Himachal Pradesh (the foothills of Himalayas) Baru Sahib beats them all long way!!!.

Can I just say that with the blessing of Guruji you have to see this place to believe me. Don’t just take my word for it!

Contact me when you come back I’d love to know about your stay at BARU SAHIB. WJKK WJKF FROM HARJINDER SINGH SEHMBI, now known as HARJINDER SINGH KHALSA with Guruji’s Kirpa!

PEACE AND LOVE TO EVERYONE.

Blazing the trail – Entrepreneur Tripti Dutta

I, am Tripti Dutta from Ghaziabad, I am an Akal Academy Baru Sahib’s Alumni from 2009 batch. Tough it has been almost 5 years since I left the school, but I keep in constant touch with the updates & happenings at the academy through Facebook & Alumni group there; the motivation behind my testimonial comes […]

I, am Tripti Dutta from Ghaziabad, I am an Akal Academy Baru Sahib’s Alumni from 2009 batch. Tough it has been almost 5 years since I left the school, but I keep in constant touch with the updates & happenings at the academy through Facebook & Alumni group there; the motivation behind my testimonial comes from various stories & pictures that I come across regularly.

Through this letter I would like to share some of my most beautiful memories & experiences that I had with blessings of The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib. I belong to a Hindu Family & have 2 siblings and our family, including my parents & myself feel both lucky & proud that we (all 3 siblings) received the blessing of having received our education at Akal Academy Baru Sahib it’s probably the best childhood a child can have or be provided.

My family, though hindu, was very supportive & always respected the things we were taught at the academy, be it ‘Path’ or other spiritual values. My mother and father feel blessed to be a part of the academy, even though I am no longer officially there now.

If I recall the days of my school life, life was pretty smooth on our family’s end, the only tough parts were being away from the family – which was equally tough for my parents too, but they managed, for they knew its worth managing; the second challenge, or the real challenge came across after school – in real life…everything was a challenge to begin with be it time management, strength, knowledge everything had to be put to test & proved, but then, this is what we were prepared for at the Academy, where our overall development was kept in focus at all times; I remember the routinely 1 hour play time schedule, which focused to develop our strength, meditative power, naam simran, which made us learn to how to stay calm during the times of turbulence. The best of education & values were imparted through dedicated teachers who were devoted to lead us by example & not just theoretically.

If am asked to tell about my favorite teachers! I would say at Akal Academy Baru Sahib every teacher was special for me; be it care takers, behenjis or the teaching staff, everyone gave & did the best in their capacities for/to the students; I look up to them to learn to lead a simple life, a life of selfless service – asking for nothing in return; they were no less than the saints. I am still in touch with many – my first class teacher, Ms. Julie Ma’am, we often chat online.

After school, I joined a company called ‘Leaderz Walk Life Skills Education’ as an Assistant Manager – it’s a company which provides soft skills and behavioral training to students & other individuals requiring it; I am currently involved into my family business dealing in Electronics Stuff, Gadgets, etc with my father wherein I take care of overall operations. In upcoming times, I am looking forward to have even stronger grip onto the business itself as I feel it’s one filed wherein I can dynamically apply all that I learned from Baru Sahib.

For whatever & wherever I am today, I credit Baru Sahib for it – I now a happy & confident individual, I often think that going to Baru Sahib is the best things that had happened with me as a child; it feels proud when people in our family & parents’ circle often give our example to their children not only for our behavior or academic performance but also for our simplistic lifestyle.

My message for fellow Students – Guys you are in heaven at Baru Sahib, spending the most precious time of your life, live each moments with joy as you will be later cherishing these your entire lifetime. For the parents – it takes a lot of courage & blessings of almighty to raise a child surrounded with saints where best of Gurmat Vidya & scientific education alongside overall development activities is provided, hence if you get the opportunity while you can, do send your children to Baru Sahib, it’s the best you can gift them. Gur-Fateh!

Akal Academy Balbehra wins Sant Attar Singh Ji Knowledge Quest – Muktsar’s Sukhman Kaur 1st in Speech Competition

15 Feb 2014~Chandigarh: The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib organized a seminar on the subject of “Re-Kinetising Education” at Baba Makhan Shah Lubhana Auditorium during which ‘Sant Attar Singh Ji Knowledge Quest’ Finals were held. Akal Academy Balbehra students won after going through 30 rounds of selection amongst 250 participants coming from Punjab, Haryana & Rajasthan […]

15 Feb 2014~Chandigarh: The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib organized a seminar on the subject of “Re-Kinetising Education” at Baba Makhan Shah Lubhana Auditorium during which ‘Sant Attar Singh Ji Knowledge Quest’ Finals were held. Akal Academy Balbehra students won after going through 30 rounds of selection amongst 250 participants coming from Punjab, Haryana & Rajasthan making their way into the finals.

In the competition, Akal Academy ReethKheri got 2nd position; Govt. Senior Secondary School (Samrala) won 3rd position while Alpine School participants were honored with award of appreciation. Also during the event, in the speech competition, Akal Academy Muktsar’s student Sukhman Kaur won the 1st position & Aasra-Baraarh won 2nd position; the participating students, especially the winners received blessings from Trust’s chairman Baba Iqbal Singh Ji.

 

Special Guest Dr. Khem Singh Gill (Ex Vice-Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana) & Vice-President, The Kalgidhar Society presented the awards. On the occasion, it was announced that the students who choose to continue their studies with Eternal University or Akal Academy shall receive discounts in form of scholarships & tuition fees. The organizers also expressed that the main objective of the initiative is to curb the increasing social evil of drugs addiction & to free the social environment through the medium of Anti-Addiction rallies & other strategic ways to create awareness amongst people.

At present, the Kalgidhar Trust, under its Rural Education Transformation initiative, is running 129 schools across 5 states from which 33 districts including 6450 villages are being benefitted; besides, the Trust is also running Eternal University, Akal Institute of Teacher Training & an acclaimed IB world school at Baru Sahib. The Trust is also coming up with its second university named Akal University “Guru-Ki-Kashi” at Damdama Sahib Talwandi Sabo, where the construction work is currently in full swing.