With Waheguru Ji's Grace and blessings, we successfully completed our UK itinerary on 31st. August and took 3 well earned days off into September.

Germany
(Organiser - Gabriele Berlin gberlin@ethnomedialab.de

Workshop:
Saturday, September 6, from 2 - 6 p.m. Akazienhof Akazienstrasse 27 Berlin-Schöneberg

Concert:
Sunday, September 7, 12:00 - ca. 14:00 p.m. Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Berlin Kögelstrasse 6 Berlin-Reinickendorf

We flew to Berlin for the weekend of 4-6th. September with one workshop organised by Gabriella Berlin, a 'gatka' student of my good friend and 'Nihang', Nanak Dev Singh Khalsa. About 40 German 'enthusiasts' turned up for a four hour workshop on 'Sikh sound meditation' (Kalyug me kirten perdhana). They were all invited for the Berlin Gurdwara Sunday programme the next day and came with other friends and partners, much to the pleasant surprise of the very enthusiastic Berlin 'sangat' who turned out in full numbers for the programme.

We made some very good long lasting friendships especially with S. Amarjit Singh Ji who gifted me a genuine piece of the Berlin Wall and a heavily illustrated jumbo book of 'Sikhs Abroad' by Gurmukh Singh. Our host Jernail Singh and his family have also become great friends! I think we shall be doing more and bigger programmes in Germany into the future!

Kenya (Nairobi)

Last stop! We reached Nairobi early on Tuesday morning (8th. September) to be met by members of the Ramgharia Board and S. Tasvinder Singh Ji. After a quick breakfast at the airport we were whisked away to Kenya's main radio station - East 106FM. What a lively radio programme Kenya has! Ms. Praveen interviewed me in her immaculate Urdhu as I answered in my 'tuti' Hindi and mainly Punjabi. Some good friends rang in and we were joined by a great fan and broadcaster, Mr. Jagdish Dikshit. A very lively interview which went down very well.

We did three programmes at the Ramgharia Hall from Tuesday to Friday which were very well attended. On Thursday we went to Lake Nakuru with S. Jaspal Singh Birdi, the current Vice-President of the Ramgharia Board. He showed geniune affection and was a great host and another long lasting bond was established.

On Friday we did a special memorial service for Gursharan Singh Chaggar, who had been organising our tour but passed away a few months earlier. About 1000 sangat came to pay their respect and listen to kirten.

The weekend was a whirlwind with a morning 'concert' which was not well attended as the organisers had not publicised it at all. In the evening on Saturday we did a programme at the Singh Sabha Bazaar gurdwara. Sunday morning was at the main Singh Sabha and in the evening, at the South C Gurdwara. All programmes were very well attended and we received 'seropas' at all these gurdwaras and we were also met by a great number of committee members and representatives from places like Kisumu, Nakuru and other towns who complained that we had not come for a longer period. Promises were made that we would be back soon for more programmes.

Of note on this leg was the enthusiasm shown by Sikh youth to organise themselves for the dissemination of Sikh thought amongst the youth and the enthusiasm shown by many sewadars and committee members of various organisations to support them! Bravo!

Of special mention,family of the late Gursharan (Shani) Chaggar - Pummi and family (Baldish and Yuvraj),their Thaya Ji, Taswinder Singh and their Phuphar Ji, Satt Matharu, who had flown all the way from UK to ensure that our tour concluded satisfactorily in Kenya. Their sewa shall be very fruitful to them. Also a great friendship that I value - Jaspal Birdi, who put in a great deal of effort to ensure that our tour was successful!

Yes, Kenya, we shall be back! We love you as much as you love us! Kenya reminded me of Malaysia...

We were safely back in Adelaide via Johannseburg and Sydney on Tuesday 14th September.

Queensland But no rest... Keith had organised for a short tour of New South Wales and Queensland. So by Sunday morning I was on my way to see my grandchildren in Melbourne, with middle daughter Harsel. Onto Sydney on Tuesday, to my good friend Ajmer Singh Gill and to another good friend Jujhar (John) Singh in 'Sikh town' Woolgoolga on Wednesday night, covering almost 3000 kilometres in four days!

On Thursday night the group was again together within one and a half weeks to do a great concert at holiday spot Byron Bay. (23rd. September)

Friday night was another concert in Tamborine Mountain, off the Gold Coast in Queensland. Our coming broke a three month drought on this north-eastern coastline, with a thunderstorm and plenty of rain lasting almost five days on and off. We were honoured that townsfolk credited us with this blessing!!

The weekend, a very productive one, was at the Griffith University in Brisbane at a Peace Conference - 'Pathways to Peace'. Shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) master Riley Lee and our group were the musical interests. Riley and I were also involved in a workshop each on 'music for peace' and on a panel for a public discourse on 'Inner Peace'. We shared the panel with other luminaries including Aunty Theresa (105 years old!) who runs old age shelters in Singapore, Malaysia and Paraguay and a Bjorn Peterson who heads a University of Peace Studies in Norway and other luminaries.

Riley and our group did a two hour concert of 'Music for peace' on the Saturday Night including a joint rendition of 'Sukhmani Simran'. We were also involved in a 'Finale Prayer' in which we presented 'Sohila' in music to the backdrop of Satnaam chanting by the resident choir.

We spent the next three days for a well earned rest with our good friends Sim and Pat Symons of the Woodford Folk Festival, near Nambour, off the Sunshine Coast.

The last weekend in September/first weekend in October was spent at the Global Music Festival in Bellingen, in north New South Wales. We were honoured to have the final spot on the grand stage at 11pm. on the friday night and a major concert in the main concert venue on saturday evening with a concluding workshop on the Sunday afternoon.

Audiences of up to 2000 were dancing and singing 'Aadh Gur-ay Nemaih, Jugaadh gur-ay nemaih...' and 'Satnaam' jaap rang around the festival for the weekend. Truly a very rewarding weekend to finish off the month!

We moved to Sydney forst for a four day rest with our good friend Ajmer Singh Gill followed by a fairly hectic weekend of programmes in Sydney...

sewak,
Dya Singh (Australia)