News & Update

Young actors have been given a rare opportunity to dress up in British World War One uniforms and re-enact the real life experiences of Sikhs who fought during the conflict for a new film, being released on Friday 4th July 2014.

“Indians in the Trenches” depicts the real life stories of those from the subcontinent who left their villages in 1914 to fight in a faraway land for the first time. The film uses the original letters sent from the trenches of France and Flanders to delve into what the Indian soldiers felt and experienced at different key points during the four-year war.

It’s the first time a Sikh re-enactment has taken place in Britain, and the first time the original writings of those who fought have been enacted and captured on film. Around 126,000 Sikhs fought during the conflict in every arena of the war – from the western front to Mesopotamia; and their contribution is all the more remarkable when considered that despite being only 2% of the Indian population at the time they made up 20% of the fighting force of the British Indian Army.

The letters contain a strong belief of their faith and identity. One Sikh soldier wrote “It was my very good fortune to be engaged in this war. We shall never get such another chance to exalt the name of race, country, ancestors, parents, village and brothers.” while another Sikh remarked “We are fortunate men to have been able to join in this great war. We will do our best to uphold the family traditions and the reputation of our tribe.”

But the experience for the Indians was also very harrowing as they faced the harsh realities of the conflict during the winter of 1914 without proper warm kit. One Sikh soldier remarked “The guns fire all day like the thunder in Sawan. The heaven and earth are undistinguishable and at night there is a regular Diwali festival.”

Speaking about the film, director Jay Singh-Sohal said: “This has been a fantastic way of highlighting the Indian contribution during the war through real life letters and experiences. The Sikh story itself is inspiring because of the overwhelming contribution this small community made to the war effort, and this is reflected in that a quarter of Indian gallantry awards were given to this martial race. It’s something people today should not forget.”

This was the first role for aspiring young actor Pavandeep Singh Sandhu (pictured above), who plays the role of cavalrymen Bhaga Singh says: “It’s been a really exciting opportunity to portray this role, especially as Sikhs made such a dramatic impact during the course of the war. It makes me feel proud that our forefathers made this sacrifice. To delve into the psyche of the soldiers enabled me to appreciate what they went through – and be inspired by it.” The film is being released on the online film site and broadcast on British television as part of efforts to raise awareness during the centenary commemorations of World War One.

The team will then be working alongside members of the Armed Forces to create a national memorial to remember the sacrifices of Sikh soldiers.

~ by Dot Hyphen Productions ~ hardgill@gmail.com
~ Source: www.sikhsatwar.info
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Guru Har Gobind Sahib Ji, (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਸਾਹਿਬ) also Saccha Padshah (ਸੱਚਾ ਪਾਦਸ਼ਾਹ “True Emperor”) (5 July 1595 – 19 March 1644). According to another tradition, he was born on 5 July 1595. He was the sixth of the Sikh gurus and became Guru on 25 May 1606 following in the footsteps of his father Guru Arjan Dev. He was not, perhaps, more than eleven at his father’s execution. Before ascension, he nominated Guru Har Rai, his grandson as the next Guru of the Sikhs.

Early years

He put on two swords: one indicated his spiritual authority and the other, his temporal authority. (‘miri’ symbolizing temporal power and ‘piri’ symbolizing spiritual power).He built the Akal Takht, the Throne of the Almighty. Guru Har Gobind ji excelled in matters of state, and his Darbar (court) was noted for its splendour. The arming and training of some of his devoted followers began, the Guru came to possess seven hundred horses, and his Risaldari (army) grew to three hundred horsemen and sixty gunners in the due course of time. Additionally, five hundred men from the Majha area of the Punjab were recruited as infantry. Guru Har Gobind built a fortress at Amritsar called Lohgarh “Fortress of steel”. He had his own flag and war-drum which was beaten twice a day.

Personality

The Guru was a brilliant martial artist (shastarvidya) and an avid hunter. Guru Hargobind encouraged people to maintain physical fitness and keep their bodies ready for physical combat.

Relations with Jahangir and wars with Mughals

The reasons for Guru Har Gobind to arm his followers were many. Both externally and internally, the situation was changing. The Guru had to adjust his policy to the demands of the new environment. Sikhism had developed its organisation mostly during the tolerant days of Akbar. Akbar had never interfered with the development of Sikhism. He had even helped the Gurus in various ways. But the execution of Guru Arjan at the hands of Jahangir and imprisonment of Guru Hargobind definitely showed that sterner days were ahead. The policy of mere peaceful organisation no longer sufficed. Both Guru Arjan had foreseen and Guru Hargobind also saw that protecting the Sikh community without the aid of arms was no longer possible. Guru Hargobind accumulated a stable of eight hundred horses and three hundred mounted followers constantly attended to him. A guard of fifty-six matchlock-men secured his safety in person.

Jahangir could not tolerate the armed policy of Guru Hargobind and consequently imprisoned him. The main reason for leaving him after years was that there were a lot of reports from across the length and width of the country that people were against the throne due to the popularity of the guru, as well as the unjustified martyrdom of the fifth guru. A lot of people were following Sikhism, and there was a possibility of a coup if the Guru was not released at the earliest. As it is, there were 52 Hindu kings in the Gwalior prison at that moment, the policies of Jahangir against the local majority people were oppressive in nature. Therefore, the situation compelled him to order release of Guru Hargobind and save the throne.

During the reign of Shah Jahan, relations became bitter again. Shah Jahan was intolerant. He destroyed the Sikh baoli at Lahore. The quarrels between Mughal officials and the Sikhs originally started over hawks or horses, but subsequently led to risings on a large scale and were responsible for the deaths of thousands of persons on both sides. Battles were fought at Amritsar, Kartarpur and elsewhere. Guru Hargobind defeated the Imperial troops near Amritsar. The Guru was again attacked by a provincial detachment, but the attackers were routed and their leaders slain. Guru Hargobind grasped a sword and marched with his devoted soldiers among the troops of the empire, or boldly led them to oppose and overcome the provincial governors or personal enemies.

A childhood friend of Guru Hargobind, Painde Khan, whose mother had been the nurse of the Guru, had become his enemy. The cause given, in some accounts, was a valuable hawk of a follower of the Guru which was taken by Khan, and when asked for, was resented by him. Other accounts note Khan’s vanity and his pride. This opportunity was used by Mughal officials, who saw Guru Hargobind as an ever-present danger. Painde Khan was appointed leader of the provincial troops and marched upon the Guru. Guru Hargobind was attacked, but the warlike apostle slew the friend of his youth, with his own hand, and proved again a victor.

Effects

During the era of Guru Hargobind, the Sikhs increased greatly in number, and the fiscal policy of Guru Arjan and the armed system of Guru Har Gobind had already formed the Sikhs into a kind of separate entity within the empire. The Guru was not unconscious of his latent influence, but in his private life never forgot his genuine character, and always styled himself Nanak, in deference to the firm belief of his Sikhs, that the soul of their great teacher was alive in each of his successors.

Guru Hargobind had no regard for idol worship. One of his followers cut off the nose of an idol; on complaints from various neighboring chiefs, he summoned the Sikh to his presence; the culprit denied the act, but added, ironically, that if the idol bore witness against him, he would accept punishment willingly. “O fool,” replied the chiefs, “how will the idol speak?” Replied the Sikh, “If he can’t save his head, then how will he avail you?”

~ Source: wikipedia.org
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The Times of India as also the Center for Global and Intercultural Study (CGIS) of the University of Michigan carried articles on the “Langar Class” as TOI puts it as a program in examining the Langar of Harmandar Sahib (Harmandir Sahib Project) as a ‘model of holistic and coherent action’.

Over the next few weeks we will present before the SikhNet Sangat the various aspects of the Global Engagement program, the cultural and personal experiences and views of the participants often forgetting ‘distinctions of class, caste, gender, age, and even faiths’.

Jun 9, 2014: Starting June 8, 13 students from the University of Michigan (UoM) are spending a month in Amritsar to learn about sustainable nourishment through the langar at the Golden Temple.

Students from different cultural and academic backgrounds will prepare the food in the kitchen that feeds 60,000 mouths a day.

The langar is a historically sustained nutrition programme that is important for the study of sustainable living, especially because it is not government sanctioned but instead based on a foundation of volunteerism.

The University of Michigan wants to make India a major partner, given its growing importance on the world stage and has begun with the study of community nourishment at the Golden Temple. According to Jasprit Singh, professor, College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, UoM, the students wish to study and participate in langar as an “engineering challenge” and explore the motives of the volunteers, 75% of whom are not Sikh.

The students had been preparing since January to ensure a smooth transition into Indian culture without disturbing it. Once they return, they are going to replicate the langar model to prepare a community meal for 10,000 people to be showcased at the university.

“Whereas in the past the West tended to teach other cultures how to live, now the focus is shifting and cultures are learning from each other. There is a growing acceptance to a two-way flow of information between developed and developing countries. Especially in the case of sustainability, developed countries can learn lessons from developing ones,” says Singh.

The article as published by University of Michigan

Center for Global and Intercultural Study (CGIS), University of Michigan

Prof. Jasprit Singh has been updating us on his GIEU cohort’s experiences in Amritsar, India.

Every single day, over 40,000 people enjoy a free, delicious, and nutritious vegetarian meal in Harmandar Sahib (‘The Golden Temple’), Amritsar, a six-hour train ride from Delhi. People voluntarily switch from being served to serving, eliding distinctions of class, caste, gender, age, and even faiths – although the meal takes place in a temple, participants are of many and varied belief systems and most of the volunteers are not Sikh. Sitting together on a jute runner on the floor, people share a common meal whose roots extend more than 400 years.

This GIEU program is examining the Langar of Harmandar Sahib as a model of holistic and coherent action. Students trace food from farm to mouth in order to tackle issues of food sustainability as well as serve in the community kitchen in order to learn how to cook at such a massive scale. Prof. Singh is especially focused on asking how the vocabulary and practices that may be culturally rooted in the land (the Punjab in India), the religion (the Sikh faith), and the culture (of India, where the concept of karma and its understanding flows through each person, even if the interpretations of karma may vary) be transformed for other lands and people and cultures.

The Center for Global and Intercultural Study (CGIS) was founded in July 2009 to provide a wide variety of global engagement and learning opportunities to the University of Michigan community. CGIS programming serves students with diverse academic interests at international and domestic sites on every inhabited continent.

~ Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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The story of conflicts between some of the Gurus of Sikh religion and the Muslim rulers is well-known. The emerging religion of the Sikhs during the Mughal era was perceived by some of the rulers and their vassals to be a political threat. As a sizeable segment of disgruntled peasantry started joining the Sikh movement in Punjab and beyond, its political and social implications were not lost on perceptive minds, especially among the orthodox section of aristocracy.

Some of the Gurus faced persecution. A few were even executed for their religious and political views. Consequently, their followers at times had to bear the brunt of Mughal might. This is one side of the story. The other side remains largely untold. There was also a good number of Muslim musicians, scholars, Sufi saints, notables, including some royals like prince Dara Shikoh, who were not only sympathetic to the Sikh cause but also supported it in different ways. And this is what ‘Muslman Kahavan Muskal’ (It takes a lot to be a Muslim), a remarkable book by Iqbal Singh, implicitly tells us. The book has been published from Amaritsar in Shahmukhi, one of the Punjabi scripts derived from the Arabic that is used on this side of Punjab. Iqbal Singh, is well-versed in the Sikh religious literature.

Granth Sahib, we all know, is a huge collection of sacred verses, a foundation on which stands the Sikh religious and metaphysical edifice. It contains not only the sacred verses of the Gurus but also the selections of Bhagti or Sufi poetry thought to be compatible with the vision of Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion. Granth Sahib in general and ‘Nanak Bani’ (the verses of Baba Guru Nanak) in particular have a lot of material which directly or indirectly refers to the Muslim rulers, their politics, faith, religious practices, saints and score of other things related with the newly-established Muslim society.

Iqbal Singh has painstakingly collected all the material that we find scattered throughout the Holy Granth and has arranged it in a systematic way in his book providing us a holistic picture of the historical relationship between the Muslims and the Sikhs, spreading over centuries. The book is a must read for anyone interested in discovering the historical context of the roots of love-hate relationship that existed and perhaps still exists, though to a much lesser degree, between the Muslims and the Sikhs. The Muslim and the Sikh narratives in Punjab though different are uniquely interlinked and so is their destiny in the cultural and social terms at least. The reference material one finds in the book has a material as well as symbolic value. It can help build bridges between two important communities of Punjab.

A journey of self-discovery ‘Velay day pichhe pichhe’ (In the foot-steps of time) is a travelogue by Afzal Tauseef published by Institute of Language and Culture. Afzal Tauseef is one of our senior intellectuals and fiction writers deeply involved in the cultural politics of Punjab.

Her book narrates a moving story of her visits to Indian Punjab where she was born in a prosperous land owning family. She was a growing child when came the Partition and with it she lost everything. She shares her vivid memories of what happened and how all of a sudden her paradise with its verdure, flora and fauna and blissful community life was lost.

The communal riots led by lynching mobs forced her family which lost some of it members, to migrate to Pakistan. The tragedy of being uprooted, incomprehensible to young and old alike changed the course of life for her and her family permanently. Standing on the soil where she was born but forced to flee by the whirlwind of circumstances, she reliving the excruciatingly painful existential experience, wails and laments.

With her artistically articulated wailing and lamenting Afzal Tauseef creates a historically oriented cultural context where her sigh transforms itself into a cry of millions of the Punjabis who went through the same hell in the aftermath of the Partition in 1947. Her emotionally charged narrative provokes us to pause and ponder over the malady that inflicted deep a wound on the collective psyche of Punjab. With the passage of time the wound has healed though but the ugly scar it left is still there to remind us of what we did to ourselves in our collective frenzy whipped up by the communalists and fanatics of all hues.

The content is replete with emotional undertones but skillfully crafted prose does not let itself to be loaded with the kind of kitsch one usually encounters in the Punjabi writings dealing with trauma of the Partition. This is a book of sorrow that may comfort many with its reconstruction of a heart wrenching orgy of hate that we want to delete from our collective memory but its stubborn specter keeps coming back to haunt us all.

Tender verses

‘Main Chaitar nahin Chakhia’ (No whiff of April for me) is a new book of poetry by young poet and writer Khaqan Haydar Ghazi published by Sanjh Publications.

Khaqan employs different genres like free verse and lyrics for his creative expression. He seems to be very passionate about exploring the emotional and psychic effects the changing seasons imperceptibly have on individual.

A number of poems deal with experiencing ‘Chaitar’ which is a harbinger of spring and a metaphor of re-birth. It reminds us of Chaucer’s famous verse “Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote” that inspired T.S. Eliot’s line “April is the cruelest month”. Khaqan’s poetry generally creates a sweet-sounding romantic ambiance underpinned by angst. Simplicity of the language and clarity of the experience impart palpable freshness to what he expresses in an unpretentious manner. “A little more than friendship and a little less than love is what twists the relationship that is there between you and me”.

~ By Mushtaq Soofi
~ Source: http://www.dawn.com/
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Bhatinda (Payil) : Kaun Kehta hai Ki Aasmaan mein surakh nahi Hota ek pathar to tabiyat se uchaalo yaaron. This phrase of some Shayar really matches the native of Bhola Razak Aadarsh Nagar, Poonam of Bhatinda whose abilities and capabilities seems to have over-passed her physical disability.

Eradicating the undesired disease like polio this super powerful daughter-student is running on the path of learning-Sikh is relentlessly moving forward obtaining great achievements and setting example for others.

Poonam Kumari Malwa is an M.C.A student in college. She may not be physically able like others but in her heart she has the Jazba of moving forward like other youth keeps boiling.

This is the reason that she started M.C.A studies with all her heart-force and like first semester in third semester also she scored 85.16 % marks acquiring 1^st position in college. Father of Poonam does a Job at N.F.L under a contractor. Despite low income and having responsibility of 3 children he provided Supreme education to her daughter He keeps enthusiasm to make her Self-Independent. Poonam also respects the wishes and dedication of her Father and studies with all her heart. In her Education wherin even the college directors are also fully supporting her there on the other hand even the SehPaathi students also her. Taking her to school and bringing her back is responsibility of SehPaathi Students who align themselves to days. Inflicted with polio at the age of 3 Poonam says she does not want to be called less than anyone in anyway and she will definitely become someone.

~ Source: www.Jagbani.com

ਬਠਿੰਡਾ (ਪਾਇਲ)- ‘ਕੌਣ ਕਹਿਤਾ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਆਸਮਾਂ ਮੇਂ ਸੁਰਾਖ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੋਤਾ’, ਏਕ ਪੱਥਰ ਤੋਂ ਤਬੀਅਤ ਸੇ ਉਛਾਲੋ ਯਾਰੋ ਕਿਸੇ ਸ਼ਾਇਰ ਦੀਆਂ ਕਹੀਆਂ ਇਹ ਪੰਕਤੀਆਂ ਬਿਲਕੁੱਲ ਢੁਕਦੀਆਂ ਹਨ, ਭੋਲਾ ਰਜਕ ਵਾਸੀ ਆਦਰਸ਼ ਨਗਰ ਬਠਿੰਡਾ ਦੀ ਪੋਲੀਓਗ੍ਰਸਤ ਧੀ ਪੂਨਮ ‘ਤੇ, ਜਿਸਦੀ ਪ੍ਰਤਿਭਾ ਸਾਹਮਣੇ ਉਸਦੀ ਸਰੀਰਕ ਅਸਮਰਥਤਾ ਵੀ ਨਿਗੂਣੀ ਨਜ਼ਰ ਆ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ। ਪੋਲੀਓ ਜਿਹੀ ਨਾਮੁਰਾਦ ਬੀਮਾਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਮਾਤ ਦੇ ਕੇ ਉਕਤ ਪ੍ਰਤਿਭਾਸ਼ਾਲੀ  ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥਣ ਸਿੱਖਿਆ ਦੀ ਰਾਹ ‘ਤੇ ਲਗਾਤਾਰ ਅੱਗੇ ਵਧਦੀ ਹੋਈ ਸ਼ਾਨਦਾਰ ਉਪਲੱਬਧੀਆਂ ਹਾਸਲ ਕਰ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਦੂਜਿਆਂ ਲਈ ਇਕ ਮਿਸਾਲ ਵੀ ਬਣੀ ਹੈ। 

ਪੂਨਮ ਕੁਮਾਰੀ ਮਾਲਵਾ ਕਾਲਜ ਵਿਚ ਐੱਮ.ਸੀ.ਏ. ਦੀ ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥਣ ਹੈ। ਬੇਸ਼ੱਕ ਉਹ ਸਰੀਰਕ ਤੌਰ ‘ਤੇ ਹੋਰਾਂ ਵਾਂਗ ਸਮਰੱਥ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ ਪਰ ਉਸਦੇ ਦਿਲ ਵਿਚ ਹੋਰ ਪ੍ਰਤਿਭਾਸ਼ਾਲੀ ਨੌਜਵਾਨਾਂ ਵਾਂਗ ਅੱਗੇ ਵਧਣ ਦਾ ਜਜ਼ਬਾ ਉਬਾਲੇ ਜ਼ਰੂਰ ਮਾਰਦਾ ਹੈ। 

ਇਹੋ ਕਾਰਨ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਉਸਨੇ ਐੱਮ.ਸੀ.ਏ. ਦੀ ਪੜ੍ਹਾਈ ਜੀਅ-ਜਾਨ ਨਾਲ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਕੀਤੀ ਅਤੇ ਪਹਿਲੇ ਸਮੈਸਟਰ ਵਾਂਗ ਤੀਜੇ ਸਮੈਸਟਰ ਵਿਚ ਵੀ 85.16 ਫੀਸਦੀ ਅੰਕ ਹਾਸਲ ਕਰਕੇ ਕਾਲਜ ‘ਚੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾ ਸਥਾਨ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਕੀਤਾ ਹੈ। ਪੂਨਮ ਨੇ ਪਿਤਾ ਐੱਨ.ਐੱਫ.ਐੱਲ. ਵਿਚ ਠੇਕੇਦਾਰ ਕੋਲ ਨੌਕਰੀ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ। ਆਮਦਨ ਘੱਟ ਹੋਣ ਅਤੇ ਉਸ ‘ਤੇ ਤਿੰਨ ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਜ਼ਿੰਮੇਵਾਰੀ ਦੇ ਬਾਵਜੂਦ ਉਹ ਆਪਣੀ ਧੀ ਨੂੰ ਉੱਚ ਸਿੱਖਿਆ ਦਿਵਾ ਕੇ ਆਤਮਨਿਰਭਰ ਬਣਾਉਣ ਦੀ ਚਾਹ ਰੱਖਦੇ ਹਨ। ਪੂਨਮ ਵੀ ਆਪਣੇ ਪਿਤਾ ਦੀ ਇੱਛਾ ਅਤੇ ਸਮਰਪਣ ਦਾ ਸਨਮਾਨ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਦਿਲ ਲਗਾ ਕੇ ਪੜ੍ਹਾਈ ਕਰ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ। ਉਸਦੀ ਸਿੱਖਿਆ ਵਿਚ ਮਦਦ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਜਿਥੇ ਕਾਲਜ ਪ੍ਰਬੰਧਕ ਵੀ ਪੂਰਾ ਸਹਿਯੋਗ ਕਰ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ, ਉੱਥੇ ਸਹਿਪਾਠੀ ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥਣਾਂ ਵੀ ਉਸਦੀ ਮਦਦ ਕਰਦੀਆਂ ਹਨ। ਉਸਨੂੰ ਘਰੋਂ ਕਾਲਜ ਲਿਜਾਣਾ ਤੇ ਫਿਰ ਘਰ ਛੱਡਣਾ ਸਹਿਪਾਠੀ ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥਣਾਂ ਦੀ ਹੀ ਜ਼ਿੰਮੇਵਾਰੀ ਹੈ, ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੇ ਆਪੋ-ਆਪਣੇ ਦਿਨ ਬੰਨ੍ਹੇ ਹੋਏ ਹਨ। ਤਿੰਨ ਸਾਲਾਂ ਦੀ ਉਮਰ ਵਿਚ ਪੋਲੀਓ ਦਾ ਸ਼ਿਕਾਰ ਹੋਈ ਪੂਨਮ ਕਹਿੰਦੀ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਉਹ ਕਿਸੇ ਵੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਤੋਂ ਘੱਟ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਹਾਉਣਾ ਚਾਹੁੰਦੀ ਤੇ ਇਕ ਦਿਨ ਉਹ ਜ਼ਰੂਰ ਕੁਝ ਬਣ ਕੇ ਦਿਖਾਵੇਗੀ।

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Wednesday, June 04, 2014: With the blessings of Guru Sahib, Toronto Singhs Camp was held from Wednesday 28th May to Sunday 1st June. This is the fourth year the camp has been running. Toronto Singhs Camp provides inspiration and motivation to young and old who want to discover the essence of Sikhi. The camp is aimed to reach out to people of different backgrounds and levels of understanding of Sikhi. The camp was attended by around 70 people. The camp is aimed at people aged 17 years and above. It is a great opportunity to experience Sikhi in a relaxed, friendly and spiritually charged environment. Toronto Singhs Camp 2014 took place at camp Kintail, a beautiful scenic camp site located in Southwestern Ontario on the shores of Lake Huron. The beautiful beach scenery and natural surroundings helped to connect with and appreciate the Creator.

The theme of the camp was “khanio tikhee vaalo nikkee et maaraj chalnaa” and looking at the idea of balance in Gurmat in relation to different topics. On Thursday, Bhai Mani Singh did a workshop on survival skills and facilitated capture the flag game, and in the evening Bhai Gursev Singh did a workshop on Gurmat’s take on anger, domestic violence and leadership styles. Bhai Gursev Singh’s lecture was not only very important and relevant to today’s society, but it also challenged the campers minds on how and why we react to situations in certain ways. Very interesting and motivational session! On Friday Bhai Sarbjeet Singh did a workshop on self-defense and Shastar-vidiya. Bhai Sahib is very passionate about Sikhi. He teaches a mixed martial art which includes Gatka and other styles. In the afternoon, Daas did a lecture on Maya and living in this world. On Saturday Bhai Balpreet Singh from World Sikh Organization Canada did a thought-provoking and inspirational talk on the concept of Shaheedi in Gurmat. Who is a Shaheed and what does Shaheedi really mean. In the afternoon Bhai Amar Singh Nihang did a workshop on the beach on what is Dharam and issues relating to Kaam and Kalyug. The last workshop was on Sunday, looking at the concept of love and the obligation to adhere to Rehat and whether they link etc.

The day began with mandatory Amrit-vela Naam Simran and Nitnem from 4am to 6am, followed by breakfast. Straight after the Nitnem, Aasa kee Vaar keertan took place and then there was breakfast. Yes. The camp was so Chardikala that they provide breakfast twice! lol. After a rest period campers had physical activities provided like water sports, rock climbing and zip wire etc. Then there was lunch followed by workshop/presentation. After a quick food break there was another workshop/presentation followed by Rehraas Sahib and evening Diwaan. The Keertan was just amazing at the camp. From amazing Rehraas Sahib sung on the Vaaja by a Bhaji to the moving keertan sung in Raag by campers. The night time activities included bonfire night, Rainsbaaee Keertan and a workshop talk. I must say the day was very packed but at the same time a lot of freedom and time to relax throughout the day.

The Sangat was really friendly and no one was made to feel like an outsider or feel alone. It was so nice to see the Panthic spirit in the camp with people associated to different Jathas doing Sangat with one another with no issues being made of small difference in understanding of Maryada. The camp sevadaars did amazing job in organising the camp! I must say the camp felt like a mini-Langar Smaagam. I have heard of three meals a day – but I think the Singhs in Toronto achieved a record by having about ten meals a day! Vaheguru. Having been to many camps, this camp and the Sangat left a very positive impression on my mind. I hope the camp sevadaars continue to do the good work and with Guru Sahib’s blessings Toronto Singhs Camp grows in its success.

~ Source: manvirsingh.blogspot.co.uk