News & Update

The Hari Singh Nalwa Academy located in Leicester, United Kingdom teaches martial arts, combat, and fitness training for the local community. The Academy has a high number of young children learning to stay fit who take advantage of the various classes.

However, the interesting thing is the academy has a good number of Kaurs learning self-defense and mixed martial arts.

Kaurs have throughout history been pivotal at many points in Sikh history by showing their bravery from Mata Bhag Kaur Ji to Bibi Bhagael Kaur Ji to Sardarani Sada Kaur who led Singhs when conquering Lahore. The Kaurs had also made up a good percentage of the Khalsa Fauj during the turbulent times from the 1730s to 1780s.

Perhaps with such excellent training facility and coaches of Hari Singh Nalwa Academy, the day for the first Sikh female MMA fighter might not be too far. UK is one of the places in the world where youngsters are coming back to Sikhi in very high numbers and programs such as the Academy’s approach of teaching self-defense will reawaken the warrior spirit of Sikhs.

~ Source: facebook.com/HariSinghNalwaCombatAcademyLeicester

When it comes to India travel, the state of Punjab, which borders Pakistan, doesn’t make it to the top of that many itineraries.

That’s good news for intrepid travelers.

From temples so gold they’ll make your eyes water, to food you’ll be longing for days after it hits your lips, Punjab is India at its colorful, lively best.

1. Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple)

Located in Amritsar, the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion, Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), is Punjab’s top attraction. Reflections of its gold-encrusted dome shimmer in the clear water of the Amrit Sarovar (Pool of Nectar), which greets those who enter from the north gate, the most impressive of all four entries. To take it all in, it’s best to simply walk around the marble pathway surrounding the pool.Its waters are said to have healing powers. Devotional music, bathing pilgrims, golden carps and meditating devotees add to the atmosphere. Worth keeping in mind: There’s a long line to visit the inner sanctum (Darbar Sahib), where the holy book of the Sikhs, “Guru Granth Sahib,” is kept. Visits are best scheduled for the late afternoon and early evening; every night the temple complex is illuminated. Simply stunning.You can end the day at the temple’s langar. The scale of its free meal, put on daily by volunteers, is impressive, with 50,000 meals served each day, according to temple officials.

2. Punjabi eats

The city of Amritsar has a rich culinary heritage. Building a big enough appetite to give it the attention it deserves is a challenge. Extra-large tumblers of yogurt lassi is an Indian food lover’s dream destination. The best way to get a balanced taste is to start in Kesar Da Dhaba. Hidden in the twisting lanes of the old part of the city, it’s reached only by foot, cycle rickshaw or bicycle. Founded in 1916, the restaurant is particularly popular with vegetarians. There’s crispy butter-smeared tandoori bread; the house specialty, daal makhani, comes with a thick layer of ghee. The creamiest and freshest yogurt lassi in Amritsar is at Surjan Singh Milk Bhandar; the thick drink is a mini-meal in itself.

3. Border face off

One of Punjab’s most interesting rituals is the lowering of the flags ceremony, held at India’s Wagah border each evening before sunset. Wagah is about 25 kilometers from the Pakistani city of Lahore. Indian guards in red and gold turbans march out to meet their Pakistani counterparts in a choreographed affair greeted with loud applause from onlookers. It’s a splendid show of patriotism, pomp and panache. To secure good seats, it’s best to get there by mid afternoon or arrange for a VIP pass from the Border Security Force station. For security reasons, bags and backpacks aren’t allowed. The border is 30 kilometers from Amritsar and takes about 45 minutes to reach by car.

4. Punjabiyat Lodge

The main lounge at Svaasa is tastefully decorated with antique pieces and art from the family. The main lounge at Svaasa is tastefully decorated with antique pieces and art from the family’s personal collection. Punjabiyat Lodge doesn’t conjure quintessential images of India. Instead what you get here are feather-light beds with unobstructed views of green fields as far as the eye can see. The nature retreat in Punjab’s agricultural heartland is a great place to de-stress through simple rural experiences. Visitors can lend a helping hand to farmers, cycle around the village, milk cattle or take a tractor ride. Rooms are luxurious but eco-friendly. Guests get a sense of remoteness and privacy; there are only four cottages, all set in a wheat field. Meals are a pleasure. Breakfast is served near the fields, lunch under the shade of sprawling trees and dinner on a terrace under a canopy of stars. Most meals are made with ingredients grown on the lodge’s farm, says Punjabiyat manager Jagdeep Singh. Punjabiyat Lodge is in the village of Saidowal-Gunopur, about 75 kilometers from Amritsar.

5. Sarai Amanat Khan

A scenic 45-minute drive from Amritsar, Sarai Amanat Khan is an old, crumbling caravanserai (roadside inn). Built by Mughals in 1640, it’s a fantastic remnant of ancient architecture. It once served travelers on the Agra-to-Lahore trade route and was a prosperous pit stop back in the day. These days, the historic ruins only hint at its glorious past. Photogenic features of the complex include an arched entry, fading calligraphy, Persian tiles, eroding walls and a mosque. Amanat Khan, the inn’s namesake, is believed to be the same guy who etched the calligraphy on the Taj Mahal in Agra. It’s a great day trip from Amritsar.

~ Source: http://edition.cnn.com/

The Paintings highlights the huge contribution of Sikhs in the UK , 83,000 Sikhs died in the World Wars and a further 109,000 were injured. As Sikhs began appearing on the battlefields, hospitals, towns and farms of Europe during World War One, for many it marked the first time that they had ever seen a Sikh in real life. The appearance of the Sikhs generated a level of curiosity among Europeans about these exotic looking turbaned warriors from the Far East now in their midst to defend them. Paintings and drawings of Sikhs by artists including portraits, scenes of camp life and frontline action helped to satisfy the general public’s curiosity and the hunger for more information about them.This exhibit features a unique collection of paintings and drawings of Sikh soldiers from the First World War.

Striking portraits of Sikh prisoners of war painted by German artists reveal a fascination with ethnic studies as each soldier is meticulously recorded in lifelike detail, including how they tie their hair under their turbans. The time of these paintings marked the formative years of German ethnic studies that would later culminate in the Nazi ideas of race and racial superiority in the following decades. Looking at these lifelike paintings of Sikh prisoner’s one can see in their faces a quiet dignity; their spirit had not been broken in captivity by their German captors.

Fascinating sketches of Sikhs in northern France from the portfolio of artist Paul Sarrut reveal another dimension of the culture and humanity of the Sikhs beyond the stereotypical image of the Sikh as a fierce warrior. Sarrut effectively captured not only personalities with striking portraits but also provides an intimate glimpse into the world of a Sikh soldiers existence between the realms of peace and rest at camp and the brutal violence and intensity of battle at the front.

Almost a century after they were first painted and drawn these images continue to be relevant not only for their artistic merit but also as a time-capsule providing the viewer with an intimate glimpse into the life and experiences of Sikh soldiers in a world at war.

~ Tapasleen kaur

The New Year Honors is a part of the British honors system and is given annually on New Year’s Day, i.e. 1 January. It is marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honors. These awards are presented by or in the name of the reigning monarch, at present by Queen Elizabeth II. The honors are being given since 1890. Queen’s New Year Honors for the year 2015 were given on 1 January 2015. The honors were conferred on more than thousand persons, which included several persons of Indian-Origin from various field. Here we have the proud members of the Sikh community honored with respect & dignity. One of them being Mr Gurmel Singh.

Gurmel Singh has been the Chief Executive of the world’s first dedicated Sikh memorial built in Derby , representing the millions of Sikhs who died in six holocausts and both World Wars. The museum is dedicated to the Sikh Culture commemorating the valor & bravery of the Sikh soldiers. He has been proudly awarded a MBE for services to the community. The memorial highlights the huge contribution of Sikhs in the UK , 83,000 Sikhs died in the World Wars and a further 109,000 were injured. Gurmel Singh had been a consistent volunteers who helped set up the National Sikh museum “. Mr Singh had been on a fundraising campaign for the memorial and got a number of voluntary contributions. He got a large number of young people involved who were interested in their heritage and offered their skills for free when it came to the building of the memorial.

The museum is a modern, packed, multi-channel museum with real artifacts that allow the visitor to appreciate the rich and complex heritage of the Sikhs in a story of courage & sacrifice, recognizing their huge contributions.

We appreciate Mr Gurmel Singh for serving the National Sikh Museum & preserving the rich Sikh Heritage for the generations to come!

~ Source:

Harjus Sethi, a second-year graduate student of Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, has been chosen to ride on the first-ever Sikh American float in the 2015 Rose Parade on New Year’s Day.

Sethi was selected by the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, United Sikh Mission, SikhLens and the Khalsa Care Foundation.

Sethi, who is studying to be a film director at Chapman, is considered to be a rising talent by the organizations, which hope to increase Sikh American Awareness.

“I knew that with film, I’d have the freedom to create something uniquely my own and direct projects that show a greater understanding of the Sikh community by placing Sikh actors in lead roles,” Sethi said.

On New Year’s Day, Sikh will be seen atop the float in Pasadena wearing a turban designed by Bicky Singh, the founder of the SikhLens’ Sikh Arts & Film Festival that has been held at Chapman since 2001. The turban was designed by tie-dying cardinal red and gray – the colors of Chapman.

~ Source: http://www.ocregister.com/

A head of a Birmingham Sikh Temple, Bhai Mohinder Singh Ji – head of the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha UK has been honoured in the Queen’s New Years Honours List 2015 with an OBE for his services to interfaith and community cohesion.

The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system and is given annually on New Year’s Day, i.e. 1 January. It is marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. These awards are presented by or in the name of the reigning monarch, at present by Queen Elizabeth II. The honours are being given since 1890. Queen’s New Year Honours for the year 2015 were given on 1 January 2015. The honours were conferred on more than thousand persons, which included several persons of Indian-Origin from various field.

Bhai Sahib Dr. Mohinder Singh, Chairman of the Nishkam group of charitable organisations based in Birmingham has been appointed Officer of British Empire (OBE) in recognition of his unstinting and inexorable work over forty years to promote peace and coexistence by bringing people of different faiths together to contribute to the common good of humanity.

Dr Mohinder Singh is the first British Sikh to receive the official title of “Bhai Sahib” from the highest religious Ministers (Jathedars) of the Sikhs’ spiritual and temporal seats of authority in India. Bhai Sahib means ‘a brotherly leader or one worthy of respect amongst the larger family of Sikhs’. On the award in the Queen’s 2015 New Year Honours list, Bhai Sahib said, “It is a great personal honour to receive this prestigious award from Her Majesty the Queen, by the grace of God, the Defender of the Faith. All accolades are attributed to God Almighty who facilitates human puppets to perform. I have accepted this appointment on behalf of the founders and members of Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (GNNSJ) and the wider communities that I am privileged to serve here in the UK and internationally.”

Bhai Sahib is a selfless religious visionary leader propagating peace, serving society through spiritual inspiration, infrastructure creation, heritage conservation, interfaith engagement and promoting values-led education. As Chairperson of GNNSJ, one of the UK’s largest Sikh faith registered charities, he is engaged in an astounding range of civic and spiritual initiatives. He is respected as a bridge-builder within communities in the local and global, secular and spiritual, intra and interfaith contexts.

From 1999, Bhai Sahib began to channel his energy into the growing area of global interfaith dialogue and cooperation to pursue the objective of global peace building. He is the founding convener of the proposed International Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation, which aims to provide a framework for communities, organisations and Governments to promote forgiveness around the globe. He, along with other prominent international trustees, is actively involved in establishing the unique Museum of World Religions (MWR) in Birmingham, estimated to cost around £60m, to create cohesion amongst people of different faiths and none. The MWR will bring together youth and adults from different faiths to promote mutual respect and peace building. In 2013, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI bestowed a Papal Knighthood of ‘Saint Gregory the Great’ upon Bhai Sahib for his interfaith work in the UK and around the world.

Bhai Sahib chairs the Boards of the Nishkam Gurudwara, established in 1977; Nishkam Community Cooperative (MSS Manufacturers Ltd) established in 1980; Nishkam Civic Association (NCA), a Centre for personal, community and sustainable development that is open to all communities established in 2006; and the Nishkam Healthcare Centre established in 2012 that provides a range of health care services and advice to hard to reach groups. He has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from Birmingham City University in 2002, the University of Birmingham in 2006 and the University of Aston in 2014 for services to religious faith propagation, community service, education and research.

Bhai Sahib embraces the concepts of values-driven education on one hand and interfaith cooperation on the other as tools to forge lasting and sustainable peace. Propelling this forward is the Sikh Gurus’ teaching to consider humanity as one family with the same light of the Creator in all. He is an international trustee of Religions for Peace International (RPI), which works in some 90 countries. He is also one of RPI’s 50 Co-presidents around the world. He is a senior member of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders and a Senior Ambassador of the Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative, which in 2014 bestowed upon him the annual award for embracing the concept of education for the common good by building schools and colleges essential for a sustainable world. In 2014, he was also awarded the highly coveted Guru Nanak Interfaith Peace prize by Hofstra University, New York.

Bhai Sahib is Patron of the Nishkam School Trust that has successfully established Nishkam nurseries, primary and secondary schools with a multi-faith ethos in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and London. Nishkam High School and Sixth Form in Newtown was judged as ‘Outstanding’ by OFSTED in its very first inspection in 2014.

His greatest legacies will be the transformation of many lives across faiths; the restoration and conservation of the sacred historical Sikh shrines, including Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) in India; construction and management of outstanding quality Sikh places of worship – Gurudwaras – in England, India, Kenya and Zambia; and the ingenious conservation of listed buildings on Soho Road in Birmingham that now house the Nishkam Nursery, Nishkam Primary School and the Nishkam Healthcare Centre.

Under his leadership over the span of some twenty-five years, the Nishkam Group has become a major player in the social and economic development of Handsworth in the city of Birmingham, UK and a number of other cities internationally, investing over £50m. He believes in the policy of “service delayed is a service denied” which demands great speed to complete whatever he undertakes to do.

As a highly respected spiritual and community leader, he propagates the deeper Sikh sacred teachings that demand the practice of values in everyday life such as humility, compassion, selflessness and courage. As a role model, he generates in others a tremendous capacity for undertaking selfless voluntary service to improve the wellbeing of all communities.

~ Source: http://dailysikhupdates.com/