After the hectic tour of UK, March looks like a non-event, yet one never knows what might unfold! I am due for a charity dinner in Kuala Lumpur on 20th March for the orphanage Gurpuri and I look forward to attending the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Vesakhi Mela as a guest. I have not been invited to do kirtan this year, nor last year. After all, I am a 'local' in Malaysia!

I shall be recording another album - of traditional 'bandish' style kirtan, though. I am looking forward to this...

March (1Mar - Monday) started in Melbourne for me, attending to some business there. I drove back alone to Adelaide on Thursday to begin recording this new album.

I received sad news as I drove into Adelaide that my favourite Mama Ji -Hauldhar Sarjit Singh Grewal - father to ex-Malaysian hockey player - Awthar Grewal and Dr. Gurnam, passed away that very morning in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia. Mama, as I called him fondly taught me the value of clean, physically fit, healty living. He used to wake me up at 5am. and take me for a five mile jog, then weight lifting and good food! No wonder my cousin, Awthar, now a lawyer, went on to play hockey for Malaysia. Both my cousins (Dr. Gurnam and Awthar) are, even now, in their forties, an image of fitness - Mama's influence. He never had a harsh word for anyone, never a furrow on his forehead and never turned away from anyone who needed help. Over the last ten years as I have slowly lost my battle with the bulge, he always chided me on my pouch and never stopped from telling me off for not looking after my fitness... I booked my ticket to fly to Kuala Lumpur for the Bhog and Antham Ardaas on 13March. In the process I had to cancel kirtan at the opening ceremony of the new Revesby Gurdwara Sahib in Sydney scheduled for 14Mar. I think my Mama comes first.

The weekend 6/7 was my only weekend in Adelaide. The world music festival WOMAD is in town but we are not performing. Nevertheless, it was a joy to turn up at our local gurdwara and help the youngsters do Asa-Dhi-Var. They allowed me to do the second 12 'shakays' and also two shabads. News of our new Nitnam kit has reached home and kits were booked by most sangat members.

Recording - 'Waheguru Bole Pyarea'

Spent week 8-12Mar. in studio recording new album of shabads based on old 'bandishes' (melodies) sponsored by Harcharan Singh of Toronto. Six golden old melodies which reminded me of kirtan going back 40/50 years! It is a pleasure to revive these melodies which have depth, are based on raags and yet, very simple. Recording this album has been a very blissful experience - I hope folks like them and find them beneficial to them in uplifting their spirits.

I left for Kuala Lumpur on Saturday - 13th. in time for my Mama Ji's Bhog on Sundey 14 March2004.

It was a bright beautiful day in KL as we drove in to the Gurdwara Sahib, Kampong Pandan. My father was the first Granthi Sahib of this gurdwara in the 60's. I have a photograph of Bapu Ji besides Sant Baba Sohan Singh Ji of Melaka and other sangat members doing the Ground-Breaking ceremony of thisgurdwara in 1963.

There was a very large sangat from all over Malaysia for Mama Ji's bhog. I was given the honour of doing one and a half hours of kirtan. My good friends Giani Sukhdaiv Singh of 'Gurpuri' (the Sikh orphanage) and tabla player Kesh-Minder Singh joined me. All 'shabad-bhet' was donated to Gurpuri - they have a loan of 1 Million Ringgit to pay for their new premises. Sangat generously contributed over 3000 Ringgit.

It was good to catch up with old friends and relatives - 'Deh sajan aseesedeya, jion hovai Sahib seon mail' (Give me your blessings O'my friends, I am going to meet my Lord Master!). I am sure Mama Ji would have approved of the send-off he received.

W/E 20 March, 2004. I was scheduled for some preventive medical checks on my 'food passage', blood and urine. All checks were conducted by Uncle Karpal Singh 'Bassian' - surgeon at Pantai Hospital, KL. I passed all of them - just high traces of uric acid and the usual too much bad cholestral and too little of the good variety!! Otherwise, after successful 'stress' tests of the ol' ticker, I am 'phiting phit', just before my 54th. birthday!

Gurpuri Charity Dinner scheduled for 20th. has been postponed indefinitely due to the Malaysian General Elections.

21st March (Sunday) - National Election Day, Malaysia. My first experience of elections after the fateful 1969 elections which led to bloody riots between the Chinese and Malays and we 'non-eithers' caught in the middle. All is peaceful now and I have never seen so many party stickers, streamers, flags, buntings, fliers in my life!!! Not many countries in the world where one sees 'true' democracy at work. I think, Malaysia has it. I believe Mr. Badawi is going to make an excellent Prime Minister!

Amusing Emails - have had a few this month. Here are a few which come to mind...

1. Dya Singh Ji, I have purchased your latest recordings - Nitnam. I am not a vegetarian. Am I allowed to open the Sunder Gutka?
(Sikhism does not 'enforce' vegetarianism - it does 'recommend' it. I am not a vegetarian - I recorded the Nitnam! Please use the gutka freely - that is what it is for!)

2. Dya Singh Ji, am I allowed to do 'path' and kirten even when I am having 'periods'? (Unlike Hinduism, a lady is not considered 'unclean' when she is having her periods. Maintain good hygiene. You are allowed to do 'path', do kirtan - in short carry out all your daily activities - spiritual and temporal, as normal. Yes, you can do 'ardaas' and also make 'degh'!)

3. My folks run a restaurant. All the meat supplied to the restaurant is 'halal'. You say that the Maryadha allows us the consumption of meat but not 'halal'. Then why do my parents not care what meat is being served, and also consume it? I am forced to eat it too.
(Beta, for the purposes of earning a living, your parents are running a restaurant where 'halal' meat is served. This is sad. The Rehat Maryadha clearly stipulates that we are not to partake of 'halal' meat. As your conscience is troubled, surely you can be discerning. Surely, your parents' restaurant also serves vegetarian dishes? Why can't you just eat the vegetarian food - also a good trial to becoming a vegetarian? By all means show this note to your parents.)

................
Saturday March 27th. turned out to be quite an eventful day.I have not attended a single reunion of my old school - Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur where I was a secondary school pupil from 1963-69.I had a call from an old school friend - Surjeet Singh, that the school soccer(football) team of 1969 and other former school footballers were honouring our very respected (Malay-Muslim) school football master who had turned 70 and was in poor health. I was due to do kirtan at a friend's (S.Malkeet Singh Bloomingdale) gurdwara 'thanksgiving' function in the nearby town of Rawang in the evening. The reunion was set for 4pm. I knew it would be a squeeze but I did want to see my old school mates. It certainly proved to be a trip down memory lane as a number of the old mates relived their football experiences and so did Che-gu (teacher) Othman. I had forgotten what a celebrity I was in school. I was 'Sportsman of the Year' for 1969 and was a part of three of the top games teams which won the state championships for that year. One being football, the other two being hockey (I was captain) and cricket. To top it off I was part of the group which also won the school Talentime contest with an English (American) song called 'Big Bad John'

It certainly was a great boost to my spirit. We had met after 35 years! Wish my daughters had been there to hear their 'old man's' exploits from others! Che'gu Othman's philosophy has always been - to keep life 'simple' and believe in Allah and His Will. A devout Muslim, he always believed in 'non-complication' as he called it. 'Why have a mercedez and higher expenses when a cheap Ford will take you there? Why eat 'rich' and expensive food when simple cheap food is more nourishing and healthier? Why wear expensive clothes, shoes and ornaments and attract unnecessary attention and danger, when simple clothes, shoes and cheap watches are just as comfortable - ornaments being an unnecessary accessory? A gentle soul if ever I met one. May he live a long and happy life! Insha-Allah!!

We made it to Rawang in time to one hour of kirtan. I was accompanied by Kesh Minder Singh on tabla. All 'shabad bhet' was donated to Sikh Orphanage - Gurpuri, again.

Menjit Singh, my 'eternal' host in Malaysia and I, with Menjit's family made an early start on Sunday - 5.30am. from KL, to make it to an Akhand Path dha Bhog of my old friend S.Mohan Singh 'Mabu' and family in Klang Gurdwara.. We went for a long drive after that, down some old roads to some off-the-beaten-track towns like Kuang, Rawang, Serendah to Tanjong Malim and back.

From Monday, we concentrated on going for long walks and watching our diet....I do want to lose weight!

On 31st. March we received manufactured copies of new cd, 'Waheguru Bole Pyarea' - sponsored by S. Harcharan Singh Ji and family of Toronto and containing shabads based on old classical 'bandishes' (melodies). This album has been a pleasure to record and produce. Thank you S. Harcharan Singh Ji. A box of cd's is on its way to you in Toronto today. May this cd bring great joy and rememberance of your parents. Memories you shall cherish for ever.

....the May itinerary for mainly California and Texas is now in place and here it is in brief...

6 May Fly to LA
7 - 18 May LA, Orange, San Diego Programmes
Please contact Bicky Singh on Bsingh@fcsinet.com for details or program enquiries.

19 May fly to San Fran
19-23 Programmes in Bay Area
Please contact S. Chani Pangali on pangali@sbcglobal.net for details or program enquiries.

24 May free in San Fran
25 May Fly to Dallas

26-30 May Programmes in Dallas, Houston
Please contact Keith Preston on artbeatkp@aol.com for details.
31 May Fly back to Oz

On April Fool's Day - Thursday, we celebrated our friend Surjeet Singh's 53rd. Birthday and also the Cheras Vesakhi Mela held annually in the first weekend of April starts today...

Dya Singh