July, and I have just arrived in Malaysia for the Malaysian Airlines Sikh Staff Organisation (MASSO) 25th. Anniversary JodhMela and Akhand Path. Asa-Dhi-Var on morning of 2 July and kirtan on Sunday 4th. for one hour with our local naujawans. A very pleasant 'outing' for me away from the group.

My good friend Bicky was down from USA. I have promised to show him the real Malaysia. On his arrival on Saturday we took him to Batu Caves; a walk up Federal Hill behind my friend Menjit's house in Bangsar and also a visit to Tumasek Pewterware. One our way to my beloved Taiping immediately after the JodhMela with my good friend Menjit and his volvo, Bicky, and I, on Sunday. We arrive there at 5pm. to some local food and residence at the Sri Malaysia Hotel which looks out at Maxwell Hill. The most enchanting place in the world where I am concerned - my childhood town!

We took Bicky for a four wheel drive up Maxwell Hill the next morning. A very exhilerating joy ride but on a near empty stomach because one is prone to losing the stomach's contents otherwise!!! One certainly remembers Waheguru as the trained drivers tear downhill, on the way back, to make it back in record time!

We headed back to Ipoh and the Tambun Hot Springs before getting back to KL so that Bicky could spend one day shopping and sightseeing KL

Bicky's stay was brief, but I think he will be back... if not for the sights, then definitely for the food and fruits which he had! He failed my 'durian test' to our glee and bemusement!

Back to Adelaide on 12 July for two weeks in Adelaide and with my grandchildren in Melbourne. Ahhh, the pleasure of being grandfather. All you have to do is spoil them, to the eternal consternation of the parents. A role I delight in!

Tour of 'From Smithsonian to the Royal Albert Hall' started off very well. We arrived in Baltimore after 37 hours on the move either in the air or waiting in airport lounges, at midnight on 22nd July. Shyrone Kaur, our dear friend had arranged for us to stay at the Dang Residence in Baltimore. Wonderful people!

We did a small program at the Baltimore Gurdwara to a very appreciative sangat on Thursday night.

On Friday we headed with the 'Dangs' to the Washington Hotel in D.C. We arrived to find that our bookings for some strange reason had been cancelled. We have had some dodgy dealings with the Sikh Foundation to be included on this historic program. I must thank Dr. Kapany for insisting that we are included what with our 'shady' reputation amongst so called upstanding Sikhs! Well, we managed to find three rooms anyway.

Saturday July 24th. will go down as one of the most significant days of our lives. We were the main 'music' for the opening of the "Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab" exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC. It was an honour and a privilege to be given this honor. We did two short appearances in the morning to about 500 audience and two appearances in the evening to the official launch to over 1000 Sikhs and non-Sikhs from all over USA including S. Tarlochan Singh, Chairman of the Minorities Commission of India and now Raj Sabha Member. It was great to meet good friends Bicky Singh (sikhpoint.com), Mrs. and Dr. Chani Pangali, Dr. and Mrs. Bhullar of Virginia, Manjit Singh of SMART and other friends.

On Sunday we checked out and performed kirtan at the Herndon Gurdwara a favourite stop of ours in the Washington area. S. Harcharan Gill, a close family fiend from Malaysia kindly provided us transport and then delivered us safely to the airport for our flight to Detroit.

On Monday and Tuesday evening we crossed into Canada for a gurdwara program in Windsor. A very attentive sangat and us, enjoyed two great evenings of kirtan. Even the youngsters sat throught it and had a good time.

An interesting 'can I have a few words in the office' dialogue was had with a prominent member of the sangat - a freshly 'amrited' Sikh. A gentleman with an imposing 'Guru Gobind Singh beard' and prominently displayed kirpan. A very upstanding and well educated gentleman. It always amazes me how those who take amrit freshly always seem to acquire a 'holier-than-thou' attitude. He took issue on two main aspects:

1. One should not encourage 'Satnaam' simran as Rehat Maryadha says 'Waheguru' simran. The fact that we encourage 'Simran' - whichever word one wishes to use was 'anti-Maryadha' as far as he is concerned. No quoting from the gurbani to support simran of 'Satnaam' being OK moved him. 'Jap man Satnaam, sedha Satnaam'. NO! 'Waheguru gurmantr hai...' and Maryadha says so, and that was that! Children get confused when we have diverse views. Sikhi should have one, black and white approach! Rather puritanical, me thinks, but he was 'right' and that was that.

2. He had objected to our group doing kirtan as there were non-Sikhs in our group. The committee had obviously overruled him, I believe. I shall not go into the debate which now has taken a familiar path where I am concerned. I think I managed to stump him momentarily with the fact that having a 'stage' for ragis in a gurdwara is actually against the Maryadha!

The interesting point that surfaced was the fact that he inferred that I was a 'manmukh' (one who goes against the spirit of the guru's teachings by using ones own mind/'man') which of course meant that he was a 'gurmukh'. According to him anyone using his/her own reasoning was a 'manmukh'. I attempted to tell him that one has to use ones reasoning (vichaar?) and that does not make one a manmukh. I gave him various instances as to when one has to use ones reasoning but no arguement could hold water with him. It appeared that whatever HE reasoned were the actions of a gurmukh and any of my reasoning, that of a manmukh. For examples: a. I asked what happens when one has to remove ones kirpan to board an airliner. He replied that one should do an ardaas asking for forgiveness for the 'ulengena' and pray for forgiveness. I said that was a case of one using ones reasoning to overcome a problem as I have known of amritdharies retaking amrit after they have had to remove their kirpans etc. because the 'Maryadha' is silent on the issue. b. I asked what if one is bald, how does one carry a kanga? He said one should tie it in his turban. I asked what if I carry it in my pocket or in my toiletry bag. 'THAT' to him was 'manmukhi' whereas his suggestion of tieing it in the turban was the sign of a gurmukh.

The short of this half-hour dialogue was that ... I lost. Well, you cannot win in that situation. He left rather haughtily when I asked to be excused as we were, truly getting nowhere and I had other friends etc. waiting to meet me.

The next two programs were in gurdwaras in the suburbs of Detroit. One lovely program was with about 100 youngsters plus sangat. The second Detroit program also had a short 'can I have a word with you in the office' type situation. This time I was smart! I asked the honourable brother Sikh to speak right then and there - no more 'private' chats for me! Rumour was that he had been 'informed' by someone that cigarette butts had been found at a program where we had performed somewhere previously! I remember last year, in another town close by the same gurdwara, someone had rung from Washington it appears, and told that I do not get on with my wife!! My answer in that instance was 'Do you ask every 'ragi' who does kirtan whether he gets on with his wife?

Anyway, the cigarette butt incident did not come up as the honourable gentleman was too shy to ask me in public! But he did say that I should convert my non-Sikh musicians to Sikhism. My answer was 'Do you know how much trauma I would cause within their famlies if on my insistence they did become Sikhs?' I asked him how he would feel if his son or daughter became a Christian or a Moslem? Did any of my Guru Ji's ask that we convert people from other religions into Sikhism? I do not think so. Yes, if on their own accord they decide to become Sikhs, that was their prerogative. I think I was able to win that time!!

Friday - onto Toronto and our wonderful friends, the Kohli's of Forest Hill!

A 'country' private program kicked off our ten day stay in Toronto. S. Malkiat Singh and family (formerly from Fiji) - his son has a small holding of 15 accres north of Toronto - a two hour drive. Lovely morning with a 'strawberries and rasberries' stop. Just in time back to do a Puranmashi program for 'The Art of Living' Foundation in the evening.

More in August as we spend ten days here in Toronto and then go to UK...