News & Update

Most people eagerly await the weekend as the chance to forget the stresses of the working week. But for one Sikh man, he has dedicated every Saturday for more than a year to helping feed the city’s homeless.

Amerpreet Singh Khalsa cooks and then serves the food to anyone who asks for a meal – and refuses to accept a penny in donations.

The father-of-four, 39, says his Sikh religion demands followers devote their efforts and earnings to those less fortunate than themselves.

And he has taken that teaching to heart, preparing meals from about 8am every Saturday – after prayers – alongside his wife Manpreet Kaur, before serving them at the bottom end of Newport Road outside Greggs and Coffee#1 from about 3pm.

‘It takes a bit of time, but we know it’s going to a good cause’

He is often helped by members of Cardiff University’s Sikh Society, and, while he doesn’t take money from wellwishers or those who enjoy what is on offer, he does accept food donations so he can continue to provide the meals.

Amerpreet, from Adamsdown, began feeding the city’s homeless in August last year and usually dishes out the food to about 80 people in the hour or so he is in place. Last Saturday was his busiest to date, with 106 meals served.

Everything he cooks is vegetarian to ensure there are no issues such as those concerning halal food, and a typical menu could include chick peas, cauliflower curry, pasta-based dishes, naan breads and onion bhajis.

“It’s not quick, it takes a bit of time, but we know it’s going to a good cause,” he said.

Amerpreet Singh Khalsa who helps with Langer Seva society, a hunger relief charity, providing free food to Cardiff homeless.

Amerpreet prepares the food ready for anyone who asks for a meal.And it is not just the homeless whom he serves, but all those who cannot afford to eat.

He says he was inspired by the example of his grandfather, who handed out bags of roasted chick peas and bottles of water to those who were hungry in his home town in Amritsar, India.

“I wanted to do something along the same lines and carry on his good work,” Amerpreet explained.
“It’s a good feeling, giving something back to the community.”

He represents a charity based around the Sikh concept of langar, which translates as “free kitchen” and which offers free food to anyone who needs it, regardless of background. And he says he derives satisfaction from the gratitude of those whom he helps.
‘We had to be committed to it’

“You can see in their faces when they get a warm meal or a cup of tea that they really appreciate it,” he said.

Devoting every Saturday to the cause is not one which daunts Amerpreet. “When we started off we said we had to be committed to it,” he added. “If we miss one then people will miss that food.”

Amerpreet added: “I see a lot of homeless people all over the place and if someone in Newport or Swansea wanted to set something similar up I would be happy to help them out.”

~ Source: walesonline.co.uk

From October 15th to October 19th, the Parliament of the World’s Religions will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. This unique gathering brings together thousands of people from different faiths to dialogue with one another about the pressing issues of our times.

The Parliament meets only once every four years and this is the first time in over 20 years that the Parliament has been held in the United States.

SikhNet will participate in this year’s Parliament of the World’s Religions, on the ground coverage of the Sikh presence there.

How will the Sikhs contribute to this year’s Parliament? What unique perspectives do we have to share?

SikhNet plans to bring you original articles, photos and interviews from the Parliament to give you a view of what is happening inside. Watch the SikhNet News, SikhNet social media or bookmark this page to view our inside coverage.

TODAY, this event is recognized as the occasion of the birth of formal inter religious dialogue worldwide.

~ Source: Sikhnet

The Parliament of the World’s Religions was created to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world. To accomplish this, individuals and communities are invited who are equally invested in attaining this goal. The 2015 Parliament begins on Thursday, October 15th.

This unique gathering brings together thousands of people from different faiths to dialogue with one another. The Parliament meets only once every four years and this is the first time in over 20 years that the Parliament has been held in the United States.

The Parliament of the World’s Religions seeks to promote inter-religious harmony.

Each day from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., Langar, a vegetarian meal that brings people together around sharing the meal, will be shared at no expense to Parliament attendees as a gift of the Sikh tradition.

~ Source: parliamentofreligions.org

Low-cost handset maker Datawind announced partnership with mobile operator Telenor to offer free unlimited Internet browsing for one-year.

The offer is available on any of its devices across six telecom circles across the country where Telenor offers commercial mobile services, Datawind said here.

Apart from Telenor, Datawind is also offering the one-year free Internet scheme with Reliance Communications. “This is a very exciting development for Datawind. We are making the Internet more easily accessible to millions of people across the country like never before,” President and CEO Datawind Suneet Singh Tuli said.

He added, “Our customers will be able to use any of our devices to browse Internet in all the six circles – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar & Jharkhand, UP (East), UP (West), Andhra Pradesh and Telangana where Telenor has its network.

Singh said through this new partnership, the company had strengthened its market position as an organization that thrives for consistently bringing down costs for connectivity, both in terms of product range and Internet access for emerging economies.

~ Source: gadgets.ndtv.com

Products & Services like these are step towards achieving our Internet for empowering customers with benefits of being connected.

Even as food has become a communally divisive subject in India, Sikhs around the world have used it as a unifying agent in their observance of International Langar Week, from October 5 to 11. Langar – the Sikh practice of serving free food to all visitors of a gurdwara irrespective of caste or colour – was taken to 46 locations in 11 countries in a global community-building exercise. It is estimated that ordinarily at langar six million meals are distributed every day around the world.

The concept of International Langar Week, initiated by the Sikh Press Association (SikhPA) in London, was taken up by several Sikh organizations, including Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), which organized langars to promote the values of service and brotherhood.

The students and staff of National University of Singapore were treated to a communal meal. Rows of carpets were laid out on campus, and people from all ethnicities sat down to dal-chawal and rotis, served with the local rose-flavoured milk drink, bandung. Sandhya Deep Kaur, a law graduate, had helped organize the langar along with her friends, most of them of Punjabi origin. “There is racial harmony in Singapore and an openness to different religious traditions. We got a very encouraging response to the langar,” says Sandhya. Next in line is a langar at Singapore’s Singh Sabha, where non-Sikhs, especially children, have been invited to participate in the preparation of the meal.

Elsewhere locals in London, California and New York did not just partake in langars in their area but also volunteered in seva. “As the word spread, we had English locals approaching us with donations. Many of our Sikh volunteers shared stories of strangers walking up to them to appreciate the concept as a solution to food scarcity,” says Rupinder Kaur Virdee, the London-based press director of Sikh Press Association.

Langar’s customary format is changing in other ways as well. The platter has adapted to the tastes of the young. When the group, Basics of Sikhi, organized a langar at Delhi University, students were served hot vegetarian soybean ‘chaamp’ straight from a restaurant. “Likewise, at langars held for corporate employees in the national capital, fruit juices were served. The attempt was to take langar out of the Gurdwara to people of all communities,” says Opinder Preet Singh Khalsa, a key member of the organizing team.

Anne, a French national living in Chandigarh says, “Sikhism and Langar, in particular, have given me immense peace and I have been attending all langars held in Chandigarh. It is a great thing to sit and have food with someone you don’t know. Besides, people from different communities cook and serve food.”

All these efforts combined to make Langar Week a hit on social media, with even European volunteers posting pictures on Twitter and Facebook. Jasjit Singh of Basics of Sikhi in Amritsar said a high point of the campaign was the inter-faith lunch organized at Jama Masjid with Sikhs and Muslims having food side by side. He says it was overwhelming to see lines of religion blur and economic prejudices shatter along the food mile.

Source- Times Of India

Its overwhelming to watch how Langar Week has united all FAITHS blurring the lines of religion & prejudices!