Dya Singh writes a regular monthly email about his 'adventures'. Previous monthly installments are archived in Dya Singh's Diaries' in his website www.sikhpoint.com/dyasingh.

WE, AT SIKHPOINT WISH EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Editor

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It is Dec.23rd. I am finishing this year at this point to give me the opportunity of wishing all my friends, dear ones and readers a ...

NEW YEAR OF CHERDHI KALA

May Waheguru grant us all higher spiritual awareness and sewa besides material progress.

2005 is drawing to an end! It has been an eventful year - Waheguru made His presence felt through the Tsunami's after effects and devastation; Hurricane Katrina and others; and also the huge earthquake in Pakistan in October. The volunteers of United Sikhs, Global Sikhs and Khalsa Aid have found a new meaning to 'sewa' and are gaining international admiration and recognition for their relief work at all these natural disasters. A Sikh must be able to make his presence felt in 'sukh' and 'dukh'. Remember the bani phrase - 'Dukh daru, sukh roag bheya... (Pain is the malady, comfort can become a disease). To a Sikh, both pain and comfort are the two sides of the same coin. All is in Waheguru's 'reja' and hukm. All is in God's Will - which a Sikh accepts unflinchingly.

Beginning of December finds me in Malaysia for Rehat & Rekreasi (Malay for Rest & Recreation).

SMS - A - NAAM SIMRAN

A great idea which I must mention. It was Saturday 3December. My friend Menjit Singh received a SMS (a message which comes on the mobile phone - I do not know what the abbreviation SMS stands for!) It was from the Bhai Sahib from the Kampong Pandan 'Veda' Gurdwara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It informed of a Naam Simran at the gurdwara on the following (Sunday) morning from 5am. by a jatha from Dehra Dun (or some romantic Indian place like that) followed with the usual 'perothay, sagh and cha' (stuffed chapattis, spinach and tea). Dhan Sikhi!. Now that was a novel idea I thought. So, Menjit Singh, his wife and I duly went the next morning to a heavenly morning of Naam Simran and food. There were about 60-70 other 'sherdhalus' (devotees). By 8am. we were done and the whole of Sunday lay before us! NOW THAT IS WHAT SIKHI MEANS TO ME! Well done, the youth members led by Mohan Singh and his sewadhars. I was informed that this Naam Simran is a three mornings a week affair and youth and especially young professionals turn up in their swanky cars (mostly Mercs.) in good numbers. What a refreshing way to start the day and to think that this idea of doing Naam Simran is once again catching on. We go to gurdwaras on a Sunday - daytime, to be 'seen' to be attending. The true devotee comes very early, does Naam Simran, some sewa and leaves unnoticed! On Saturday night I am told, there is one other gurdwara in the region (Subang, I think) which has four hours of continuous Naam Simran from 7pm to 11pm. A bit much for me, BUT apparently devotees turns up in large numbers. Some even sit through all four hours of it!



I am also here in Malaysia to finalise the printing for our Asa Di Var double cd including a color-coded 'gutka' of all the gurbani sung. Artwork is being done by my good friend Malkit Singh and his staff at Bloomingdale Advertising.

4pm. Sunday. I take a coach to Singapore for the next chapter of my life adventure.

SOME GENERAL NEWS OF INTEREST

I am informed that a Western Dharma jatha has been doing missionary work in South America. Missionary work by Sikhs is almost dead, so it is nice to know that Nanak's word is being spread farther afield by our western Sikhs. Guru Ji's work goes on ... notwithstanding what happens in the corridors of power of Sikhi in Darbar Sahib, Akal Takhat, and elsewhere. Information by Bibi Sat Kirin Kaur of New York. She is mother of Gurmustuk Sigh of sikhnet.com.

I also hear that Bhai Sahib Mahinder Singh and the Nishkam Sevak jatha are in the Gaza helping in the peace process in this troubled spot between Jews and Muslems. Bhai Sahiband his jatha played an instrumental part in the Parliament of Religions held in Barcelona recently serving langgar up to 10,000 participants per session alongside plenty of kirtan and Sikh music.

SIKH JOKE!

Why did the chicken cross the road from one Sikh village to the other...because the 'vegetarian' Sikhs lived on the other side!

FINALLY! THE FIVE RIVERS OF THE FULL PUNJAB!

I have finally paid my respects to the 'land of my Gurus'. I report this on Dec.21 after accompanying the Singapore Sikh Education Foundation 'Heritage Tour' group as their kirtan and 'naam simran' guide - a very uplifting experience all round. The tour group consisted of 35 students and 25 mentors and teachers including S. Bhajan Singh (chairman) as 'caravan commander' and special guest S. Inderjit Singh - Member of Parliament of Singapore and his family.

We spent three sessions prior to the tour familiarising ourselves with about 12 shabads so that we could all do kirtan on tour besides naam simran.

In brief the tour was very well organised with good hotel accommodation; constant clean water; a very thick jacket provided for all, to serve as uniform and keep out the cold; good food catering for vegetarians and carnivores (!); good transport arrangements with three coaches in Pakistan and two bigger ones in India; and smooth arrangements to cross the border at Wagah.

We landed in Amritsar on Dec.9th evening with a garlanded welcome accompanied with bhangra and gidhha. It was the ritzy Ritz Hotel in Amritsar for the night. We left at 8am the next morning for the gruelling task of crossing the border which took almost five hours - and that because things ran smoothly !!! We went straight to two separate hotels in Lahore and a warm reception with an impromptu stage show by some youngsters. I was able to show my 'other side' with some qawalis, folk songs and renditions of Bulle Shah and Sultan Bahu accompanied by three very accomplished Pakistani musicians who accompanied us for the tour.

The five day tour here took us to Kartarpur (retirement and burial/cremation place of Baba Nanak); Panja Sahib, Nankana Sahib besides a few other minor gurdwaras and Lahore Fort which houses the Maharajah Ranjit Singh 'samadh' and Princess Bamba (daughter of Punjab's last maharajah Dulip Singh) collection of memorablia and artifacts. We also saw a couple of plays in Punjabi which were excellent including 'Bulhha' which had intriguing dialogues between Bulle Shah and Banda Bahadur on pacifism and militancy. (I strongly recommend this play to all. Pity it is just in Punjabi.) The Lahore Grammar School put on an impressive contemporary play called 'Soni' based on the love story of 'Soni Mahiwal' with Heer Ranjha and Sassi Pannu thrown in including a British shipwreck. Unfortunately it was in Shakespearanesque Punjabi which I personally could not fully understand, neither could most of us. But the glamour and the acting made up for that! Music accompaniment especially of the qawali form was of a very high calibre at both plays.

IMPRESSION OF PAKISTAN AND ITS PUNJABIS

I was amazed at the genuine hospitality we received from all we met. The love and warmth was genuine and we left behind some good friends who we hope we shall meet again. The receptions were unbelievable and the food - superb. Unlike India, Pakistan has some world class highways complete with mobile mechanic services and highway petrols to keep a check on overspeeding. The speed limit on most highways was as high as 130k.p.h. Baba Nanak is held in very high esteem in Pakistan. I must relate one incident

SIKHAN KA GURU YAN MUSSELMANA KA PIR?

A (presumably) high ranking police officer with a chestful of medals and a short stick under his armpit accompanied by two machine gun totting police officers trod purposefully into the precincts of Panja Sahib (shrine where Baba Nanak's hand imprint exists). Seeing me as the biggest looking 'body' around, asked haughtily who we were. I answered innocently that we were Sikhs. I was told off not to be stupid, though I felt that I had answered his question. It was a sort of interrogation for information about us, our movements etc. I politely answered his questions though a little bemused at their pomposity. Finally he asked if all was well and I thanked him for the hospitality and help we had received so far from Pakistanis. I also thanked him for the way Baba Nanak's shrines were looked after and inadvertantly happened to say 'our' Baba. He immediately challenged me on how I could ever possibly consider Nanak as 'my' Baba when he belonged to 'them'. I apologised and accepted that Nanak belonged to all. But that was not good enough for him. He insisted that Nanak belonged to 'them'. He challenged me to prove to him how Nanak was 'mine'. I conceded that I could not answer that. He then went on to 'prove' that Nanak belonged to 'them'. Apparently he was a descendent of Rai Bullar - the first, after Bebe Nanaki, to recognise Nanak as 'god-sent'. That the very land we were standing on and much more including the land at Kartarpur had been bequethed by Rai Bullar to Nanak. What had 'we' done for Nanak - NOTHING. I tried my hardest to be polite but he was on a winner and refused to let go, becoming louder and louder.

Finally, I had to speak up. "Bhai Sahib, let me, now, explain why Nanak is 'ours' then, if you insist. Rai Bullar might have recognised Nanak as a man of God, but Rai Bullar died a Muslim. You his descendent, who claims Nanak as your own are still a Muslim. My forefathers gave up their old religions and became Sikhs - the faith which Nanak founded and I am today a Sikh, a follower of Nanak. You, Sir, are not! I wake up every morning and remember Nanak - you do not. So you can keep Nanak but he can never be yours even if your ancestors gave him tracts of land." The arguement then mellowed into a discussion and we became very amicable. Nothing like a bit of adrenalin flow to keep us going!

A FAITH ASSURANCE - seeing things?

An interesting incident supplemented our faith on the way back from Panja Sahib. Darkness fell as we drove in convoy from Hasan Abdal (Panja Sahib) to Lahore. As the darkness grew, I recited Rehras and slowly saw a 'khanda' form with the headlights of our coach falling on the contours of the back of the coach in front of us. It contorted, faded and formed again and again, with the movement of the coaches. I drew the attention of those around me to it. MP, S. Inderjit Singh took a few pictures with his camera and managed to catch it, but interestingly, as he kept on attempting to catch the perfect shape, one of his pictures looked like an old man dressed in white with a white 'dastaar' and white flowy beard instead of the khanda! Think what you like but we felt blessed by the hand of Nanak.

We came back across the border on 16th. to Amritsar after some sad good-byes at the border. We visited a few more gurdwaras notably Khadur Sahib and Sultanpur Lodhi. We visited two senior colleges of creative Art in Amritsar to some very affectionate receptions in Amritsar. One other interesting episode comes to mind...

'INDIAN' CULTURE

Mass Communication students of DAV Senior College had arranged to have an open dialogue session with us as a sort of ice-breaker. They fired off some questions which our group reps. and students tried to fend as well as they could. I listened in silence and noticed that 'all' the questions were about how deprived we must feel of not being able to 'experience' the fullness of 'Indian culture'. Our team tried bravely to explain our puny attempts to retain our 'Indian culture'. When they finally decided that they had mauled us beyond recognition, they decided to call it a day. I decided to speak at that point and asked why they were so preoccupied with Indian culture when I observed many adverse features of 'Indian culture'. Their justifictions flowed thick and fast and eloquent, but I think I left a niggly doubt in their naive minds. Two of them decided to interview me - below are my views...

Culture to me basically means how a group of people live - their dress, language, manners, food, entertainment, music, dance etc. These are my observations of Indian culture and of course they are generalised. But tell me what 'you' think!

1. Generally Indians are rude. This is evident on the streets in India. The traffic operates on being rude - one hand on the hooter and get in front at all cost. Indian officers (so called public servants) are rude. The rich and those of high caste are 'very' rude to those of lower castes and workers. Indian cameramen/photographers have no consideration for viewing public when it comes to taking their movie or photograph. More often than not, one cannot see what is happening on stage due to the mass of photographers and cameramen in front.
2. . Indians are always late. There is an abbreviation IST -stands for Indian Standard Time. One must arrive one hour later than the official time given for a program, especially a wedding or reception. Expect the program to be delayed by hours. You are a mug if you turn up early.
3. Garlands. Indians have not yet learned that garlanding is a wasteful exercise. Flowers are destroyed and it is a formality. Most 'Indian' dignitaries rip off garlands almost as soon as they are garlanded yet the practice persists.
4. This incident took place in Amritsar. All the girls asking questions were dressed in western clothes and asking them in English. I could not see any 'Indian culture' here! The main address by the MC took place in Hindi and the rest was in English. There was Punjabi sung, but otherwise we could have been in any Indian Association function anywhere in the world! In contrast all functions in Lahore were in Punjabi!

My question really was - what part of 'Indian culture' we, living overseas, were deprived of? In fact besides the food, clothing, our faith, music and dance we are in fact trying very hard to rid ourselves of 'most' of it!

... I am sure the two young ladies who interviewed me will have something interesting to write about. But then, I am also sure that their teachers will not look upon my views too kindly!

So, I have finally visited 'Guruan-di-dharti' (the land of our Gurus). All my life I have been sustained and nourished by my roots. Strange, it took me almost a whole lifetime to visit all my roots. But then, a strong tree never ever sees its roots! A quick trip to 'home' Ludhiana to visit my aging Bebe Ji ensured that I crossed all five rivers of Punjab in this trip. Raavi,Jhelum and Chenab in west Pakistan and Beas and Sutlej in the east . It has been a very rewarding experience.

Our music group heads for the north especially the Woodford Folk Festival for the year-end, where we are launching our latest 'live' cd titled 'Dya Singh 'Live' at the Lion'.

HARGO - IN MEMORY OF LENNON

A young man Hargobind Hari Khalsa (Hargo) is making a name for himself singing in English. Keep a lookout for him. He is the son of close friends from San Diego, California, Gurshabad Singh (and Sarab Shakti) Khalsa. Hargo is a third generation western dharma Sikh and sings of the longing of the soul and following in the footsteps of the likes of John Lennon and Roy Orbison lyric-wise. I saw an article of his progress in an English medium newspaper in Amritsar. HGH, don't forget your kirtan and your gurbani!

I close here this month so that I can, once again, wish all my friends worldwide a Happy New Year. May the new year bring greater spiritual and material rewards to all, and the ability of doing greater sewa as sayeth Guru Gobind Singh - 'Sukhi vesai moro pervara, sevak Sikh sebhai Kertara'. (May my family live in peace and harmony and may every Sikh of mine be a sevadhar of Waheguru.)

VISITORS FROM OVERSEAS / YOUTH CAMPS

A number of you readers from overseas have requested help in planning a trip to Australia. That is why I have elaborated on some of the prominent 'features' of Australia. Others are keen to come when there are some 'youth' activities ongoing - so you have some details of our camps in eastern Australia - in January. Nationals are urged to come and bring your children for these camps - you have to decide how beneficial these camps are for your youngsters. Besides these camps in Melbourne and Sydney , one other camp which I recommend is the annual Malaysian Naujawan Sabha Samelan which is the 'mother of all Sikh youth camps in the world.' Over 1000 participants and 300 sewadhars. You, from any part of the world want to see 'how things should be done', then come for this camp in Malaysia. Highly recommended. Waheguru-willing, see you into 2006.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Dya Singh