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London: Leading academic Sir Tejinder Singh Virdee, known for originating the concept and construction of the Compact Muon Solenold (CMS) that led to the discovery of the Higgs Boson, has won the ‘Professional of the Year’ award.

At an awards ceremony here, organised by the Asian Achievers Awards 2014, Virdee received the award for his outstanding achievements in the field of physics.

In recognition of his work on CMS, he has been awarded the Institute of Physics 2007 High Energy Physics Prize and the IOP 2009 Chadwick Medal and Prize.

He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Institute of Physics in 2012 and in 2014 he was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to science.

The award recipients on Friday night also included Dr Richie Nanda, an international security magnate and the executive chairman of Topsgrup and The Shield Group (Entrepreneur of the Year).

Other award recipients were Mumbai-born Hanif Kureishi, an English playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker and novelist (achievement in media, arts and culture); Wasim Gulzar Khan, the first British-born Pakistani to play professional cricket in England (achievement in community service); and Dilawar Singh, director, Sports Council for Glasgow, the first Asian and Sikh police officer in Scotland, who spent over 30 years with Strathclyde Police (sports personality of the year).

Philip Hammond, Britain’s secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs, who was the chief guest, said a new generation of Asian entrepreneurs was encouraging the British Asian community to expand into new sectors.

“Today, 50,000 British Asian businesses in the UK together generate more than 60 billion pounds nationwide,” he said.

The High Commissioner of India to the UK, Ranjan Mathai, was among the prominent personalities present on the occasion.

~ Source: www.hindustantimes.com

Beginning of September, ​Santokh Singh came from India to the Ajai Alai International Kundalini Yoga Community Centre in Shenzhen (China). He is with us for a whole month,​ sharing​ with Chinese students his long experience of Shabd Guru. We organized two 7-day​ sessions at the Center for the participants learn to play harmonium and chant shabd. After only three​ days of practice, I was very touched listening to the group chanting the Name guided by Santokh Singh playing tablas. Each student played harmonium, diving into the vibration of the sound current. I realized how important it is to bring this technology to China, as ​an inspiring way to rise the Sadh Sangat.

~ Satmukh Singh

“Deeply inspired by my late father Bhai Kalyan Singh Ragi, I feel that sharing my knowledge is my seva. I travel worldwide to teach Shabad Kirtan and tablas but it is my first time in China. I was very warmly welcomed. The students show me a lot of respect and have a deep sense of seva. Even if they are are just beginners, they learn fast and the majority of them have a high sensitivity to music. Their voices are very special too. I could teach 3 shabd and 4 mantras in only one week to the students of the first workshop. I taught 6 hours a day and everyday they would ask for more. They were so eager to learn more about Shabd Kirtan! Now I am looking forward to the second workshop next week and, above all, to come back next March for continuing this new adventure.” Santokh Singh

~ Source: Facebook.com

An Indian space probe has successfully entered Mars’ orbit, marking the first interplanetary mission for the country.

Scientists broke into wild cheers Wednesday morning local time as the orbiter’s engines completed 24 minutes of burn time and maneuvered into its designated place around the red planet.

The success of India’s Mars Orbiter Mission, affectionately nicknamed MOM, brings India into an elite club of Martian explorers that includes United States, the European Space Agency and the former Soviet Union.

The Indian Space and Research Organisation described the mission as flawless.

“We have gone beyond the boundaries of human enterprise and innovation,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, standing alongside ISRO scientists at the command center in the southern tech hub of Bangalore. “We have navigated our craft through a route known to very few.”

India is the first country to reach Mars’ orbit on a maiden venture and the first Asian country to launch a successful Mars mission, all with a much cheaper price tag than any Mars mission before it.

NASA congratulated the ISRO for the successful mission on Twitter.

The ISRO launched the small unmanned satellite Mangalyaan (Hindi for “Mars craft”) in November of last year. The probe has spent the last 300 days journeying more than 420 million miles between Earth and the red planet at a speed of 13.7 miles per second.

The mission’s success was not guaranteed. If the onboard rocket engine did not slow the satellite to just the right speed, it could have either careened off into space or crashed down to the planet’s surface, wrote science writer Pallava Bagla in an article for BBC News.

Only about 42% of the 51 probes sent to Mars since 1960 have completed the mission Only about 42% of the 51 probes sent to Mars since 1960 have completed the mission, Bagla said.

The probe is expected to use five tools to map the planet’s surface and search for signs of life, including a color camera, a methane sensor and a thermal imaging spectrometer. To cut down on costs, the probe has a relatively small payload and used a smaller-than-average rocket engine to break into Earth’s orbit.

In June, India’s prime minister Narendra Modi claimed that, at a cost of just $74 million, the Mars Orbiter Mission was less expensive than production of the Oscar-winning science fiction film “Gravity,” which cost a reported $100 million to make. For comparison, NASA’s most recent Mars probe, Maven, which made orbit on Sunday, ran up a cost of about $671 million and the European Space Agency’s 2003 mission’s price tag was roughly $386 million.

India’s space agency has honed its ability to make do with limited resources over the years out of “sheer necessity,” according to the Wall Street Journal. In addition to operating on a comparatively paltry budget, many international agencies refused to share expertise with ISRO’s scientists after the country began conducting nuclear weapons tests.

While some critics question whether a nation that is home to a third of the world’s poorest people should be spending roughly a billion dollars per year on space exploration, India counters that the program drives innovation and fuels employment in the country. Modi hopes the mission will help establish India as the world leader in cheap space exploration.

~ Source: http://mashable.com/

‘A Word A Thought’ (AWAT) is a free, daily email service for its subscribers. It is based on the wisdom sourced from the Guru Granth Sahib. This initiative has been started by Shabad Foundation, a religious and educational organization, registered in India.

Our VISION is to bring together a thriving community who READ the Scripture, REFLECT on its immense wisdom and SHARE this knowledge with others. We aim to do this through a word a day. It is designed so that it does not overwhelm but is just enough to set us thinking. It provides a little space for spiritual knowledge in this fast paced, technologically driven life of today. The idea is to introduce the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib in a very simple way.

Each email features a word. This is followed by a thought (a verse) from the Guru Granth Sahib to help put this word in context. The meaning and further explanation follows. There is also help with the Gurmukhi pronunciation, and an English translation is provided for easy understanding.

The subscribers of this service are encouraged to help create an interactive worldwide platform for discussion.We hope the users will revert with their comments and suggestions for improvement.

Join us in this spiritual journey of life Here – http://awordathought.com/

~ Source: http://awordathought.com/

Members of the Sikh community who felt let down by Coventry schools when they were children, have set up their own school to try to do better.

The new Seva School has begun with 130 four to seven-year-old pupils, with plans to increase to 1,450 four to 16-year-olds over the next five years.

The newly opened free school is temporarily housed in a former special school in Tiverton Road, Wyken , ahead of a move to a permanent home on a site yet to be announced.

Deputy head Suneta Bagri said: “The trustees are born and bred in Foleshill in Coventry and want to give something back to the community.

“They left school with low aspirations in life. They achieved anyway and become professionals but they want better for the next generation of children. The Seva School ethos is that every child can and will achieve.”

Head Devinder Riat said: “We are not full yet but numbers are increasing as word is getting out. Parents are being given an alternative which is a very exciting time.”

The school is using a maths curriculum based on schools in Singapore, where pupils are regularly ahead of those in other countries. Like many primary schools in Coventry the school is following the International Primary Curriculum, and teachers are using Kagan strategies, a method where pupils work closely together in groups and help each other.

The school day begins at 8.30am and finishes at 4.15pm. The last hour of the day is spent in assembly, doing homework under supervision and after school sport and art clubs. There are future plans for extra classes at the weekend as well.

Pupils wear a smart uniform of striped tie, navy cardigan with school badge, white shirt and grey trousers. Girls are not allowed to wear skirts for fear skirts won’t keep their underwear covered while sitting on the floor.

Pupils all arrive by bus to prevent congestion in Tiverton Road . Most are Sikh with a handful from other faiths.

Each day there is a religious assembly mid afternoon when children are invited to join in prayer and reflection. At intervals through the day Sikh religious music is played through loud speakers in the corridors.

The Seva School is one of three newly opened schools in the city, alongside free school the Muslim Eden Girls School, in Foleshill, and University Technical College the WMG Academy for Young Engineers in Mitchell Avenue, Canley.

~ Source: www.coventrytelegraph.net

Harry Baweja is known to make headway in technology. He is the first Indian film-maker to attempt digital intermediate and also to present India’s first heavy duty sci-fi film. Harry attempts another First, a ‘photo realistic’ 3D Animation Film in S-3D, on Sikh History with Char Sahibzade. The film will be released in Punjabi, Hindi, English and various other Indian and over a dozen foreign languages.

Harry has previously produced and directed 18 critically acclaimed, award winning blockbusters and Jubilee hit feature films. This is his first animation film, in which, for the first time in the 100 years of Indian Cinema, Sikh history depicting the four sons of Shri Guru Gobind Singhji will be portrayed. The script and the making of the film is being coordinated with the team at the SGPC so that the effort is true to history and correct in it’s depiction of religious sentiments. The first look trailer and poster are launched with the consent and approval of SGPC.

When asked about his reasons for embarking on an animated film project, Harry said, “While going through the pages of Sikh History, as I focused on the dramatic events around the Lives and Sacrifices of the Four Sons of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, I knew I had the story of my next film in hand.

But It is an understood fact that a ‘live action’ film cannot be made on the lives of the four sons of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, so Animation was the only option in which format I could make a feature film on this part of Sikh History.”

“We then closely worked with Mr Prasad Ajgaonkar the head at the Animation Studio “IREALITIES” to create the world of that era. Finally after an intense effort of literary and technical research for over three years, the First Look of the Film in 3D Animation being also made in S-3D : that is 3D projection in theatres, is ready.”, adds Harry.

His production house Baweja Movie Pvt. Ltd. has made more than a dozen films, some critically acclaimed, some award winning, and many blockbusters. Always ahead of times, Baweja Movies has churned out films that were technically innovative like Deewane, Love story 2050, topical like Diljale, musical chart-busters like Dilwale, Betaabi, Karam, Main Aisa Hi Hoon, and action that set a new trend in Qayamat.

There comes a time in one’s life when one looks back……overcoming the famous line of the famous poet William Henry Davies “what is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare…..”and realizes, it’s time to be of service….to the society, to the roots you belong to……..and the search within me started…to look for a platform I could use to complete my mission…what better I thought than a film that could make millions visually conscious, and aware about the History of Northern India.

I picked up the pages from the Sikh History which were very dramatic…pages that smouldered my heart and at the same time made me feel proud of the sacrifices of the Four sons of Shri Guru Gobind Singh ji: Baba Ajit Singh Ji, Baba Jujhar Singh Ji, Baba Zorawar Singh Ji and Baba Fateh Singh Ji.
When the Turkish and Mughal invaders supressed the common man in India with atrocities and forced conversions, then rose a sect, caste being no bar, from amongst the suppressed Hindus Muslims and Sikhs, baptized by Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, “The Khalsa”. Martyrdom in Khalsa is fundamental and represents an important institution of the faith.

This story of “Chaar Sahibzade” is about holding the sanctity, and sacrifice for the sake of the Sikh religion.
The Khalsa stood the test, now and again for its own existence and the two tender younger sons of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, too stood their ground, and accepted martyrdom.

When it came to fighting the enemy in a battle unto death, age was no bar, and Shri Guru Gobind Singh ji’s elder two sons were no exceptions.

That the history of any religion may be written with pen & ink… but the Glorious Sikh History is written with the edge of Sword & the redness of the blood.
The foundation of Sikhism is very strong, and it is cemented on the supreme sacrifices of its great Martyrs, including The “Chaar Sahibzade”.

~ Source: http://dailysikhupdates.com/

Char Sahibzaade Film Trailer by dailysikhupdates

Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh Ahluwalia was created a knight by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in recognition of his dedicated work for Roman Catholic Sikh relations and for his enthusiastic commitment to working for peace among people of all faiths.

It is the first time in history that a Sikh was honoured with The Pontifical Order of Knighthood of St Gregory. An award granted in recognition of an individual’s pre-eminent service to their faith, community, or the work of the Holy See on a local, national and international level. The Papal Order of Saint Gregory was originally founded by Pope Gregory XVI in 1831 and reformed by Pope Saint Pius in 1905.

The ceremony was held on Sunday 22nd April at Saint Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham and led by The Most Reverend Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham. The Order of St Gregory is one of five Pontifical orders of Knighthood in the Catholic Church and is usually bestowed on Catholics. On rare occasions the Order is also conferred on non-Catholics in recognition of meritorious service to the Church and exceptional example set in one’s own community or country. More than 100 Sikhs from Birmingham, London, Leeds, and some who had come from Kenya,Canada and India were present in St Chad’s Cathedral for this unique and ground-breaking event in inter-faith relations involving the Catholic Church and the Sikh faith.

The occasion brought together Roman Catholic and Sikh devotees in hymns of praise from both traditions; something unique in a Cathedral service. Onlookers witnessed a historic event unfold for both Catholics and Sikhs. On completion of the ceremony the Sikh community’s jubilation call “Bole so Nihal” echoed in the vast Cathedral depicting a real victory for interfaith collaboration.

Commenting on the momentous event, the Most Reverend Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham said:“Today I have been very grateful to the Holy See to bestow upon Bhai Sahib Bhai Mohinder Singh, one of the faith leaders in the City of Birmingham and spiritual leader to many Sikhs across the globe, with the honour of the Papal knighthood and I am grateful it is in recognition for the contribution he has made to Sikh – Catholic relations, not only here in Birmingham but in many other places.

“Today marks a historic occasion, a moment of thanks giving to God for drawing us together, and I am very grateful for it. I am very grateful to the Holy Father for this acknowledgment and recognition and I am also grateful to Bhai Sahib for the encouragement that he gives us all to work much closer together as people of faith for the common good and search for truth.”

He added: “We are called as people of faith to work for the good of others, especially that we have the opportunity to seek peace and be a service to the nation. Today we know our world is so much in need for that international peace, not only for the people to practice their faith and worship their faith in peace but also to live their faith for the good of others and I think it is important that we demonstrate this.”

The Archbishop continued: “I believe that it is the first time that a Papal Honour has been bestowed in this way on a spiritual leader from within the Sikh community. It represents the Holy Father’s recognition of Bhai Sahib’s deeply held desire for fruitful and lasting relations between Sikhs and Catholics and opportunities to witness together.

“We recall Bhai Sahib’s presence in Assisi For the international meetings of faith leaders at the invitation of Blessed Pope John Paul II and of Pope Benedict – and I am sure that he will long remember being present with Mandla Ji in St Peter’s Square at the funeral of Blessed John Paul II during April 2005”.

Bhai Sahib has been recognised both nationally and internationally for his dedication to faith and service, promoting intra and inter-faith cooperation and peace-building through shared values. He has been distinguished as an ‘Interfaith Visionary’, holding the Juliet Hollister Award from the Temple of Understanding. In February 2012 during World Interfaith Harmony Week, Bhai Sahib was honoured to address The United Nations General Assembly in New York on the theme Common Ground for the Common Good. His message was about religion and that the UN should create permanent structures to facilitate and engage between the world of politics and religion. At the UN he shared a verse by Bhagat Kabir Ji from the Sikh scripture; ‘Where there is knowledge and wisdom, there is religion. Where there is deceit, there is sin. Where there is greed, there is famine death and destruction. Where there is compassion & forgiveness, there is God Himself.’

Bhai Sahib’s engagement with the interfaith arena alongside the Pontifical Council has also included proactive participation with the Elijah Board of World’s Religious Leaders, Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, European Council of Religious Leaders, Religions for Peace (International Trustee), Tony Blair Faith Foundation, West Midlands Faith Forum, Birmingham Faith Leaders Group Birmingham Faiths Roundtable. In recent years he has supported Post-Doctoral Research on Religion, Civil Society and the United Nations and also supported Religions & Peace Building.

A visionary leader, Bhai Sahib was the first to celebrate The Global Interfaith Harmony Week in the UK; the first British Sikh to receive the prestigious title of “Bhai Sahib” from the highest Sikh authority Sri Akal Takhat Sahib in India; first to present a Siri Sahib (3 foot long Kirpan) honouring his significant services to the Catholic Church to His Holiness Blessed Pope John Paul II in May 2000. In October 2011 on the 25th Anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace Bhai Sahib was allowed to meet the Pontiff whilst carrying his Siri Sahib that was presented to him at the Akal Takhat in 2010. This signified a remarkable gesture showing the Church’s understanding of the significance and importance of the Siri Sahib (Kirpan) as one of the five Kakar and Dastar (turban) to a Sikh.

Bhai Sahib in all humility said: “First and foremost I must thank God for making me worthy of such an award. I must also thank the Founders of GNNSJ, Pujya Baba Ji and Bhai Sahib Bhai Norang Singh Ji and the Sikh sangat on whose behalf I received this award. Furthermore, I must express my gratitude to The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI for bestowing this accolade upon me and The Most Reverend Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham for the Investiture Mass.

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“This award is recognition of the great work put in by people from both faiths to make interfaith relations such a success. During the Third Bilateral Dialogue of the Sikhs and the Roman Catholic Church at the Nishkam Centre in April 2008, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, was deeply moved by the presence of the Jathedar of the Akal Takhat Singh Sahib Shri Joginder Singh Vedanti. He said that the presence of Singh Sahib from India endorsed and invigorated bilateral dialogue.”

Bhai Sahib concluded by saying, “This marks a significant milestone recognising the importance of the solidarity of religions, structured dialogue and open cooperation between faiths to combat an age of hostile secularism. The need for peace, strengthening families, preserving the institution of marriage, promoting values-based education, strengthening the bonds of friendship and creating permanent structures for continued dialogue between Sikhs and the Holy See worldwide, must create a template for other faiths to emulate.”

~ Source: www.ncauk.org