News & Update

As many as 3,000 Indian Sikh Yatrees will arrive to attend the Vaisakhi Festival here on April 11.

Talking to The News here on Friday, Deputy Secretary Shrines Syed Faraz Abbas said that the Indian Sikh Yatrees would arrive in Pakistan to attend the 316th Khalsa birthday through Wagha border on April 11 and leave for Hassan abdal on the same day. The Sikh Yatrees would stay there till April 14 while they would visit Nankana to perform their rituals on April 15, he added.

He told that the Yatrees would visit Sacha Soda on April 16 while they would leave for Lahore on April 17. The deputy secretary said that the Indian Sikh Yatrees would visit Eman Sahib and Kartarpur also and leave for India on April 20. He said that nearly 500 Sikh Yatrees would also participate in the festival from different countries of the world. All arrangements had been finalised for the Sikh Yatrees at the gurdwaras of Nankana Sahib, Hassan abdal and Lahore, he added.

~ Source: thenews.com.pk

Our youth and many adults have long been looking for two specific things: a catalog of the vocabulary used in the Guru Granth Sahib, and a grammar textbook on the language of the Guru Granth Sahib.

The latter would provide a system of rules which allow for the combination of those textual words into meaningful sentences or verses.

But before one even gets there, there is an important rite required of every Sikh to be connected to the Guru. It is known as “GurCharni Lago,” a time honored ceremony of initiation.

It consists of the first time recitation from the Guru Granth in public in a solemn public ceremony.

All rites of commitment have a rational basis: in this case, it is that every adherent avails the opportunity to publicly commit himself / herself to the spiritual mentor and set the life goals consistent with that commitment. Furthermore, the aspirant prepares for the day of commitment with a forward outlook and the community buys into it by investing in its preparation.

To be able to fulfill this commitment, the aspirant must learn how to read the script and the language of the Guru Granth.

In Punjab, our clergy and/or parents/grandparents take care of preparing the growing youth for accurate reading of the hymns.

However, there is a greater challenge for those of us who are in the diaspora. A significant population of Sikhs are unable to read and therefore recite passages from the Guru Granth. The absence of this ability renders their relationship with their Guru meaningless or at least questionable.

www.SriGranth.org provides a complete list of words in Gurmukhi in the Guru Granth, but the list comes short in failing to provide a correct pronunciation of the words. Our children, our youth and many adults who are illiterate as far as reading correct Punjabi, to date, have therefore been handicapped. They could not read or recite Gurbani.

Yes, some time ago, our technologists produced electronic versions of Guru Granth Sahib; one example being the website, www.srigranth.org. Others, more recently, have produced an audio version where you can catch the Shabad actually sung.

What has been lacking to date, however, is a word by word audio of the Guru Granth recitation with simultaneous pronunciation of each word that is highlighted. In such a combination of both, Sikhs can recite the bani while reading it.

To my knowledge this is the first time that modern technology has been thus employed, mercifully through numerous man hours donated by the designer. He has successfully produced an electronic teaching tool of reciting gurbani accurately. It is also well suited for gurbani dissemination that may be used to bring others in the fold of gursikhi.

Of course, one has to go beyond this stage to understand the message, which this software does not provide, but the translations and exegeses are readily available elsewhere.

I know Sardar Satpal Singh Purewal through email communications and now through phone contact. He lives in Seattle, Washington, USA, and is the creator of this much sought after software.

I learnt from him what a demanding and tedious job it was to complete the project. It consumed several years of his selfless labor. It took him several years and a good chunk of money. He is not a rich person, but one who lives on a relatively meager income. He did go to the SGPC and sought help from at least three different presidents of SGPC over a course of time. Every one promised help and even offered to take over the project but nothing materialized. He contacted a whole host of other Sikh organizations, but no one stood by him all the way.

To complete his project, not only did he had to teach himself and employ wisely the software technology but to also negotiate with software developers as well as their owners to use their tools and their platforms for wide distribution of the product. Towards procuring the artists needed, he had to find suitable persons who could appropriately read and pronounce the bani accurately, and who were willing to spend years on the project.

There were volunteers as well as technologists to hire who could fulfill one or the other component.

He found those who could recite with an attractive voice but did not possess the skills of correct pronunciation. Others could pronounce the words that were grammatically correct, but lacked presentation skills.

Eventually he found a Sikh scholar who was conversant with both, in addition to the zeal to serve the community. He could recite gurbani with a melodious voice and compose the pronunciation that appropriately followed the Guru Granth grammar.

It was our respected Gyani Jagtar Singh Jachak of New York. I really admire Bhai Sahib’s devotion to this project.

Yes, the software is now ready to download and use. It will assist you to read and pronounce gurbani correctly. Each word, when read, is highlighted and pronounced. If you wish to stop at any word, you can readily do it. You can also go back and forth on the text. You can change the color of the text and its background. You can change the font and its size.

Besides a variety of Gurmukhi fonts, you may use Hindi and Urdu fonts as well. Thus, you can share the Guru Granth with your Indian and Pakistani friends.

With this software, you can select different banis and pages of Guru Granth you like to recite. It will help you reciting your Nitnem.

There are also some exegeses by Gyani Jagtar Singh on the web site that you may take advantage of. There is also an excellent search engine that will find a word and its pronunciation at the same time.

How about projecting the Guru Granth Sahib verses on the screen during the akhand paath so that the attending sangat can get something more out of it?

Sardar Satpal Singh is presently working on the next version where you may click on any word that is read and pronounced to connect it to various dictionaries to instantly learn the meaning of the same word.

To me it is a breakthrough, as well as a challenge to distribute it widely so that our new generation can take full advantage of it immediately.

Best for the last:

To download the software and the program please go the web site http://www.ektuhi.com and download various tools at no cost. It is all free courtesy of Sardar Satpal Singh.

Please CLICK here to access the new website. http://www.ektuhi.com/

~ Source: sikhschic.com

A migrant Indian taxi driver has turned a racist cab fare experience into a monthly quest to feed the needy, hungry and homeless in Darwin.

Tejinder Singh and his three family members save $1 each a day so they can spend the last Sunday of every month handing out kilos of rice and chickpeas from a van. “When I see the people, I stop and say ‘you need food?'” Mr Singh said to 105.7 ABC Darwin. The Singhs are migrants from Punjab, a region in India seen as the birthplace of the Sikh religion.

By day, Mr Singh works as an air conditioner mechanic on a skilled migrant visa, but by night he drives through Darwin’s streets in a taxi. He occasionally encounters racism from cab customers due to the black turban worn for his religion. In 2012, Mr Singh picked up a person who asked him which school in Darwin his children attended.

After Mr Singh replied, the person said he would send his kids to the same school as Mr Singh was not likely to bomb an establishment that his own children attended. Shortly afterwards, Mr Singh launched his food van for the hungry in Darwin, to help the community to not be so afraid of his turban.

“Our religion says 10 per cent [of your income goes towards] the needy, poor, who need help, no matter if they follow your religion,” he said.

“I try to follow my religion.”

Darwin taxi driver’s monthly ritual

When the ABC visited the Singh family home last Sunday, Mr Singh had just finished cooking up 30kg of food for his monthly Sunday rounds.

He had been driving his cab the night before and had not slept before cooking up vats of chickpeas, rice and peas in his backyard.”He worked all night and he didn’t sleep at all,” his wife Gurpreet Kaur said.

“It’s amazing how he does it. He drives for 12 hours in the night and then [spends] five hours cooking around a gas stove.”

~ Source: abc.net.au

Vice Admiral Surinder Pal Singh Cheema took over the reins of the Western Naval Command as flag officer commanding-in-chief from Vice Admiral Anil Chopra at a ceremonial parade held at INS Shikra. Cheema, while serving in Mumbai earlier, had commanded INS Nishank, INS Trishul and INS Virat, a Naval release said, adding Chopra was accorded a send-off.

Cheema is a seasoned campaigner and has the unique distinction of shouldering responsibilities as C-in-C (commanding-in-chief) for the fourth time. His first appointment as a C-in-C was as the head of the Tri Services HQs at Delhi as CISC, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, it said.

Cheema had earned ‘Mention in Despatches’ for his duty during operations in Sri-Lanka in 1989 and was awarded the Nau Sena Medal (Gallantry) while commanding the Indian Naval Ship ‘Nishank’.

~ Source: Economic Times

This raag is ideally performed in the afternoon hours.
The solum composition of Alahanina di bani is composed in this raag as well as the festive compositions of Ghorian or wedding songs are also composed in this raag.

Guru Amardas ji
Ang 571: guides us,
The One who created the universe beholds it, there is none greater than Him.

This painting is my representation of our little nook of the Lord’s infinite cosmos….our little solar system. The creator, upon creating it… dwells everywhere within it. The Divine dwells in its brightest as well as in the darkest spaces …The Lord is present everywhere.

~ By Dr Navjeet Kaur

The ideal time to recite this raag is in the evening.

Guru Angad Dev ji: guides us….

Ang 537:….. we all are travelers who have gathered under the world tree, many paths lead here; seek good company where the Lord’s praises are sung.

This painting is about “The One world tree”.

All of us come from many different directions; and each one walks down a different path, but we all come here to share this world space …as if under our One “world tree”. Guru guides me that during this short stay under the world tree…..we share this space….try to seek good company, and sing The Lord’s praises.

~ By Dr Navjeet Kaur

A century-old story of Manta Singh’s valour at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in France has been inspiring British school kids for decades now. Last week, when the world marked the centenary of the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission urged Indians to take a minute to remember those who died in the war. Among them was Manta Singh who sacrificed his life to save his officer in March 1915.

Manta Singh was born near Jalandhar in 1870. He joined the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs, an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, and was one of many Indian soldiers sent to France in 1914. In March 1915, during the Battle of Neuve-Chapelle, Manta Singh rescued a seriously wounded comrade-Captain Henderson-by pushing him to safety in a wheelbarrow, but was himself severely injured while carrying out this rescue. Manta Singh was admitted in the Kitchener Indian Hospital in Brighton. His wounds had become infected with gangrene, and he died from blood poisoning a few weeks later.

Manta Singh’s story is used online, in cemeteries in the UK, at the Neuve Chapelle Memorial in France and in classrooms.

According to CWGC, one of the biggest challenges before them today is to engage a new generation in the First World War. “In our experience, one of the most powerful ways to engage them is to bring to life the individual stories of those taking part in the war. And in terms of learning, we use the story of Manta Singh a great deal with schoolchildren as it is such a powerful story for them and having the living link to his descendants helps to bring the story home,” says Peter Francis, media and marketing manager Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The two families are still in touch.

“Manta Singh’s story, and the story of the other 74,000 Indian servicemen and women we commemorate from WW-I makes history live,” he said.

“India’s contribution during both world wars was vital and its involvement should never be forgotten. Their stories of bravery and sacrifice are both inspirational and sobering and Manta Singh’s sacrifice is a perfect example of that,” he added.

Bond survives time:

Peter Francis, media and marketing manager Commonwealth War Graves Commission says that Manta Singh and the injured man he rescued, Captain Henderson, had become firm friends as well as brothers in arms while he was undergoing treatment. When Manta Singh died, Henderson ensured that Singh’s son, Assa, was taken care of. He encouraged him to join the Sikh Regiment too. Throughout the Second World War, Assa Singh and Henderson’s son, Robert, served together, in France, Italy and North Africa. “To this day, the Singh and Henderson families remain close friends. Assa and Robert have passed away, but their sons, Jaimal and Ian, are in contact,” he shares.

~ Source: Times of India

MALAYSIA: Uditakiran Kaur, 12, completed the entire reading of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) towards the end of last year.

It was no mean feat for a wheelchair-bound girl who cannot turn the pages of the SGGS due to her physical disabilities.

Uditakiran is battling muscular dystrophy, a muscle disease that hampers her mobility and weakens her muscle cells. She cannot lift her hand high enough to turn the pages of the SGGS.

She has been bound to a wheelchair since the age of seven, after a long medical affair and numerous visits to hospitals.

On Jan 20, 2015, she was the centre of attention at the Gurdwara Sahib Klang in Selangor. She was all set to complete the reading of the last few pages of the SGGS which she started in 2013.

It was a proud moment for the family to see this little girl complete a feat which many Sikhs – so much older and physically abled – have not achieved.

“Her reading was so clear, so beautiful,” says Baldev Singh Leo, a local kirtani, who was present at the path-da-bhog ceremony. “I admire her confidence.”

Uditakiran started learning Gurmukhi from basic in June 2010 under the guidance of Ajit Kaur from Port Klang, Selangor. Within two years, she started the Sehaj Paath, the reading of the entire SGGS over time. She completed it in October 2014.

“I’m truly grateful to Bhenji Ajit for making this happen. She’s a truly sought after Punjabi teacher,” said her dad Jaspal Singh Bhullar, a businessman. Her mother, Harjinder Kaur, is a dental nurse.

Due to her condition, Udita, as she is called, needed physical support to flip the pages of the SGGS during the paath-da-bhog, the ceremony to mark to completion of the full reading of the SGGS. Uditakiran’s eldest brother, Gurveeer Singh, 15, was there to help.

At home, she read the SGGS from the sanchiaas (the SGGS in four volumes). She did that in the comfort of her home, at her own pace. She was able to turn the pages of the sanchiaas herself as it is physically smaller in size.
Uditakiran comes from a family where Gurbani recitation is a norm. The whole family does sehaj path. They have a saroop (copy) of the SGGS in their home.

Gurveer, who completed his full reading of the SGGS in 2013, inspired his younger siblings to do likewise. Now, her younger brother, Brahmveer Singh, 8, plans to start soon. Uditakiran also plans to start another round of the full reading of the SGGS.

Uditakiran attends a private school because the public school close by was not conducive for her condition as it hinders her mobility in a wheelchair.

“She’s perfectly normal in her studies. She’s just like the other students,” said Jaspal. – ASIA SAMACHAR (13 March 2015)

~ Source: asiasamachar.com