Contrary to pseudo-Sikh historians that claim the 5Ks (articles of faith) worn by Amritdhari Sikhs were a invention of the Singh Sabha movement, here's a painting from 1799.
This etching is by Francois Balthazar Solvyns (1760-1824) and its entitled "A Sikh in a landscape: from A Collection of Two Hundred and Fifty Coloured Etchings Descriptive of the Manners, Customs and Dress of the Hindoos" (Calcutta 1799.)
Here's a description of the painting:
The figure depicted displays some of the symbols of membership in the Khalsa (the 'order of the Pure'), founded in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh: namely uncut hair, a steel bracelet, and short breeches. (The comb in the hair and the short sword are concealed in this image). The dark blue colour of the cloak may indicate the figure's being of the zealous Nihang sect.
The etching is up for auction by Bonhams and yours to be had for £800 - 1,200.
Nominations are open for Mixed Company Theatre's Rising Star Award. Mixed Company Theatre invites members of the public to nominate youth 25 years and under for the Award.
The Rising Star Award will be presented to a young person who has created positive solutions by educating, engaging, and empowering his/her peers and community.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Mixed Company Theatre’s 1st Annual Rising Star Award is open to youth 25 years and under at the time of the nomination.
Award winners act as a Mixed Company Ambassador for 12 months following the Award.
Award winners attend Mixed Company Theatre’s 1st Annual STARS Awards Gala on Wednesday, November 25, 2009.
Award winners are available for publicity purposes prior to, during and after the 1st Annual STARS Awards Gala.
NOMINATION PROCESS
To be considered for the Rising Star Award:
Youth are nominated by a community member. Self-nominations are not allowed.
Nominees are required to confirm the nomination.
The nominator is responsible for submitting the nomination package, and must be available for inquiries by the selection committee.
Applications must be completed by November 2 at 5:00 pm.
The application must be accompanied by 2 letters of reference.
AWARD PRESENTATION The award winner will be honoured at Mixed Company Theatre’s 1st Annual STARS Awards Gala. It is important for the award recipient to be available for the event. Representatives from government, corporate, education, arts and media will attend the event.
Enhanced by artistic performances, a silent auction and cocktail reception, celebrating Mixed Company Theatre’s 25 years of positive change will be an evening to remember.
WHERE: SHAMBA foundation, 48 Yonge Street, Suite 1200, Toronto, ON WHEN: Wednesday, November 25, 2009 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
I know that Russell Peters is an expert in picking up in the body language that is peculiar to a particular culture, but this guy has been watching a lot of Punjabi music videos and movies.
The Canadian Centre for Diversity invites you to participate in an interactive and exciting focus group on our newest program, DIVERSITY IS YOUTH.
Please join us to explore the issues and needs of your community as we launch this new and innovative peer-leadership initiative. Monday October 19, 2009 Catholic Education Centre, York Classroom #1 80 Sheppard Ave. East, Toronto 4:30-6:00pm
Light refreshments will be provided
Through innovative programming, CCD creates opportunities for respectful and inclusive dialogue and education. CCD is committed to the vision of a Canadian society without prejudice or discrimination, a society that celebrates diversity, difference, and inclusion.
Please RSVP to jcsillag@centrefordiversity.ca by Tuesday October 13, 2009.
Racism, prejudice and discrimination are harmful to children and youth. They can have a profoundly negative impact on school achievement, self-esteem, and personal growth. Many students who are the victims of racism, prejudice and discrimination develop feelings of worthlessness, achieve less in school, have lower aspirations for the future, and drop out of school in increased numbers.
Building on the Canadian Centre for Diversity’s unique programming expertise, DIY will address these challenges by fostering greater awareness and respect for diversity in high school students, and educating them to become the catalysts of positive change. CCD will work with a wide variety of students in schools and neighborhoods across Canada. The project will include our fast growing immigrant and aboriginal populations. DIY will create a support program that is sustainable by the community in the future.
DIY is based on four pillars -- Training and Education, Peer Leaders Group, Resource Development and Electronic Program Delivery. Over the next four years we anticipate engaging 26,500 students in diversity outings and 1,600 students in training forums, from 275 schools from coast to coast. Approximately 350 Peer Leaders from each of these high schools will be trained through a comprehensive leadership curriculum.
Outcomes and Impact
DIY will create Peer Leaders who will recognize and acknowledge discriminatory behavior in themselves and others and help prevent silos and conflicts from developing. Peer Leaders will have the skills, strategies and supports to help schools take ownership of these issues and affect lasting change. By focusing on appropriate responses to insults and discriminatory behavior, DIY aims to increase feelings of inclusion and reduce isolation. As Peer Leaders share their new-found knowledge by engaging with local leaders in the community and by working as facilitators with their peers, they will contribute to the formation of a network of concerned Canadians who are responsible and accountable in the cultivation and protection of difference, diversity and inclusion.
Conclusion
CCD will offer youth highly specialized training that incorporates the unique strengths and inherent knowledge of local communities. Our efforts will replace negative thinking with positive action, creating a sustainable network of strong and successful leaders who are motivated to promote understanding and mutual respect in our schools and communities. They will ignite meaningful and lasting change and preserve the values that form the basis of an equitable and democratic society.
Funding Partners
The Diversity is Youth project is funded by the Federal Government through the Department of Citizenship and Immigration. Corporate funding partners are Maple Leaf Foods, PepsiCo and The W. Garfield Weston Foundation.
Here's a Darbar Sahib Hukamnama from a few days ago. In one passage Guru Arjan has described what it means to be not just a decent Sikh, but a decent human being.
Gurmukhi:
DnwsrI m: 5] kir ikrpw dIE moih nwmw bMDn qy Cutkwey] mn qy ibsirE sglo DMDw gur kI crxI lwey ]1] swDsMig icMq ibrwnI CwfI ] AhMbuiD moh mn bwsn dy kir gfhw gwfI ]1] rhwau ] nw ko myrw dusmnu rihAw n hm iks ky bYrweI ] bRhmu pswru pswirE BIqir siqgur qy soJI pweI ]2] sBu ko mIqu hm Awpn kInw hm sBnw ky swjn ] dUir prwieE mn kw ibrhw qw mylu kIE myrY rwjn ]3] ibnisE FITw AMimRqu vUTw sbdu lgo gur mITw ] jil Qil mhIAil srb invwsI nwnk rmeIAw fITw ]4]3]
English Translation:
DHANAASAREE, FIFTH MEHL: Granting His Grace, God has blessed me with His Name, and released me of my bonds. I have forgotten all worldly entanglements, and I am attached to the Guru's feet. || 1 || In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, I have renounced my other cares and anxieties. I dug a deep pit, and buried my egotistical pride, emotional attachment and the desires of my mind. || 1 || Pause || No one is my enemy, and I am no one's enemy. God, who expanded His expanse, is within all; I learned this from the True Guru. || 2 || I am a friend to all; I am everyone's friend. When the sense of separation was removed from my mind, then I was united with the Lord, my King. || 3 || My stubbornness is gone, Ambrosial Nectar rains down, and the Word of the Guru's Shabad seems so sweet to me. He is pervading everywhere, in the water, on the land and in the sky; Nanak beholds the all-pervading Lord. || 4 || 3 ||
Punjabi Translation:
DnwsrI m: 5] hy BweI! swD sMgiq ny ikrpw krky mYnUM prmwqmw dw nwm id`qw, qy gurU dI crnIN lw ky mYnUM mwieAw dy bMDnW qoN Cufw ilAw, ijs krky myry mn qoN swrw JgVw-JMbylw lih igAw[1[ hy BweI! swD sMgiq ivc Aw ky mYN prweI Aws C`f id`qI[ haumY, mwieAw dy moh, mn dI vwsnw-iehnW sBnW nUM toAw pu`t ky n`p id`qw (sdw leI d`b id`qw) [1[rhwau[ hy BweI! swD sMgiq dI brkiq nwl myrw koeI duSmn nhIN rih igAw, mYnUM koeI vYrI nhIN id`sdw, mYN BI iksy dw vYrI nhIN bxdw[ mYnUM gurU pwsoN ieh smJ pRwpq ho geI hY ik ieh swrw jgq-iKlwrw prmwqmw Awp hI hY, sBnW dy AMdr prmwqmw ny Awp hI Awpxy Awp nUM iKlwirAw hoieAw hY[2[ hy BweI! swD sMgiq dI brkiq nwl hryk pRwxI nUM mYN Awpxw im`qr krky smJdw hW, mYN BI sBnW dw im`qr-s`jx hI bixAw rihMdw hW[ myry mn dw prmwqmw nwloN bixAw hoieAw ivCoVw swD sMgiq dI ikrpw nwl ikqy dUr clw igAw hY, jdoN mYN swD sMgiq dI srn leI, qdoN myry pRBU-pwiqSwh ny mYnUM Awpxy crnW dw imlwp dy id`qw[3[ hy BweI! swD sMgiq dI ikrpw nwl myry mn dw FIT-puxw mu`k igAw hY, myry AMdr Awqmk jIvn dyx vwlw nwm jl Aw v`isAw hY, gurU dw Sbd mYnUM ipAwrw l`g irhw hY[ hy nwnk! AwK-hy BweI! hux mYN jl ivc, DrqI ivc, AwkwS ivc, sB QW v`sx vwly sohxy rwm nUM vyK ilAw hY[4[3[
An article from the Deccan Herald relating the sad state of affairs in Punjab where a whole generation of youth being consumed by drugs.
Punjab's Bitter Harvest
Once a vibrant countryside, rural Punjab now lives in a dazed stupor with an alarming increase in the number of drug addicts, reports Krishna Kumar V R
Stooping lifelessly amidst lush green fields in Tarn Taran’s Narli village in Punjab, a stone’s throwaway from Indo-Pak border, Sukhwinder Singh, 29, curses the day he first touched heroin. His pale eyes well up as he bites his thin lips constantly to stifle snivel. I have killed myself, he grieves.
Easy accessibility of drugs owing to proximity with Pakistan border and relentless habit of using a cocktail of drugs has made Sukhwinder pay a heavy price. An AIDS patient now, he buries his face in his hands: “I’ve nothing to look forward to in life. What will I do?”
Sukhwinder’s is a despairingly familiar story in today’s Punjab, that has been engulfed by the all-pervading malady of drug addiction. Vibrant Punjab, which once ushered in the Green Revolution, is today living in a dazed stupor, as 67 per cent of the rural households in the state have at least one drug addict, a survey conducted by the Department of Social Security Development of Women and Children reveals.
Once an affluent village in the heart of Amritsar, Maqboolpura has come to be known as a widow village, where almost every home has lost some of its male members to the menace of drugs.
Drug use-related infection of AIDS took its toll on Sukhwinder’s world as he lost his wife and second daughter due to complicated illnesses. His first son died two years ago. He lost all the six close friends who were constant companions of his dreadful revelries. “Now, I am awaiting my turn,” he weeps, regretting the doom he has brought upon himself and his family.
The quintessential scene of sturdy Punjabi munda (boy) sporting a bright pagadi (turban) with high-spirited life and charm moving in a tractor around lush fields in the village is, unfortunately, a picture of distant past.
The vibrancy of Punjab is a myth. Here many sell their blood to procure the daily dose of deadly drugs, and even beg on the streets to keep their addiction alive. Sukhwinder was once caught by the in-charge of a blood bank when he visited the hospital on the pretext of donating blood. He was there, in fact, to sell it. His skeletal structure, pallor, deep sunken eyes, and particularly the multiple injection marks on his arms, gave him away, telling the tale of his notorious past.
It is no longer a question of a village getting ruined. The whole state is in the stranglehold of this death trap, informs Virsa Singh Valtoha, ruling party MLA of Valtoha constituency that covers 96 km of Indo-Pak border.
The youth gets lured into the world of drugs by first tasting bhuki, which grows like wild grass and is freely available in the fields. Or they take to gutka or tobacco pouches. “The problem is of epidemic proportions in the rural areas where unemployment is rampant,” says a patron of Punarjyot, an NGO working for the welfare of youth in Punjab. “A whole generation is as good as destroyed. Not a single village is without its score of drug addicts.”
Once hooked, these young men graduate to cough syrups like phansydril and corex, proxyvon, dormant 10, diszepham tablets. From this stage they proceed to more potent menu of opium, charas, ganja, mandrax, smack, heroin, lizards’ tails and many more substance like quaint application of shoe polish, smelling petrol and consuming iodex spread on bread to get that heady feeling.
“Peer influence, thrill-seeking and curiosity about drugs were found to be the main factors promoting drug abuse among youth,” observes an official of Spring Dale Senior School, Amritsar. With the consumption of intoxicants having become so widespread, an introduction to them is treated as some kind of a coming-of-age ceremony by most boys.
“The story of drug addiction begins out of a curious adventure and soon turns into a sordid nightmare. I have seen my colleague’s son selling off his land and his wife’s jewellery to procure his daily dose,” says Surinderpal Singh, an English teacher at a Government School in Narli. “It is really frightening as he sometimes asks his mother to shoot him dead so as to save him from this misery.” The spread of AIDS, too, is linked with the malady due to sharing of syringes. The death rate and the HIV positive cases have increased in Punjab by 60 percent due to widespread use of intoxicants. Reports say within just one year, hundreds of youth have lost their lives to drugs. The scene is worsening rapidly, say medical experts and social workers, due to the growth of illegal chemists shops which supply some of these substances. Even a small village with a population of about 2,000 has at least 10 to 12 chemist shops, without any physician or general practitioner nearby.
Abetting crime Many chemists are surviving on addicts as they provide drugs without prescription. “Injectible intoxicants, tablets and syrups are easily available,” says Dr Deepak Sahdev, of EMC Super Specialty Hospital, Amritsar. Even many of the so-called de-addiction centres are actually proving to be addiction centres, which are found to be supplying drugs to the inmates.
“A misconception about de-addiction is being spread in Punjab. Some advertisements are ridiculously promising de-addiction treatment with laser therapy,” says Debasish Basu, Professor, Drug De-addiction Centre at PGIMER (Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research), Chandigarh. Most of the privately run de-addiction centres lack basic facilities and are there just to mint money. Media reports have often revealed inhuman treatment of drug addicts at private de-addiction centres where they are even chained and beaten mercilessly on the pretext of maintaining discipline. In Mohali, near the state’s capital Chandigarh, a youth was recently dumped at the gate of his home by the workers of a local de-addiction centre after he developed complications. He later died. The Punjab government has, of late, started cracking down on the illegal de-addiction centres. The increase in the number of patients at the Drug De-addiction Centre, PGIMER, Chandigarh, is alarming, as the institute gets 1,000 patients at walk-in clinics every year, while 500 patients are registered at OPD. Nearly 250 addicts are treated as in-patients. “Drug addiction is a chain reaction. One person ropes in others,” explains Dr Basu.
Vikas, a student of BBA, narrates the dreadful experience he underwent when he had tried to rope in his batchmates to attend a seminar on the issue. “They sought smacks as compensation,” says Vikas. “They also forced me take some pills bought from a nearby chemist. Thank God, somehow I managed to escape.”
Even women are not safe from the tentacles of drug menace. Kirat, a dental student in Dera Bassi, says many of her friends sail through the strain and pressure of examinations with the help of “some stuff.” A cigarette break is quite normal. “Pills are also available if you need more stamina,” she says. Girls also prefer cough syrups to other forms of intoxicants, thanks to young peddlers, mostly boyfriends.
Smuggling and narco-terrorism are a natural corollary of drug menace. Many addicts make a few quick bucks through drug-trafficking. “We are able to confiscate only 10 percent of the smuggled narcotic substances. Rest is consumed by the market,” reveals a senior official at Narcotic Control Bureau in Chandigarh. There are recoveries occasionally, but they are not even the tip of the proverbial iceberg. For many long years, Punjab was only a transit point for drugs from Afghanistan, which were being routed to other parts of the world or metropolitan cities in the country. Punjab is no more just a transit point. “Drugs from Afghanistan are being sold in Punjab itself and the youth in large numbers have joined the cartel,” says the Narcotic Control Bureau official.
Drug trafficking has increased by at last 30-40 percent in the last year ever since cross-border civilian movement increased between India and Pakistan. Late last year in Phagwara, the Punjab Police recovered 50 kg heroin worth Rs 250 crore in the international market from a young brother-sister duo. “International drug cartel and terrorists operating from neighbouring countries are actively involved in drug smuggling,” says a police official.
The Narcotic Control Bureau, Chandigarh, reports that the number of registered cases of heroin smuggling has increased since 1998 and over 1,200 kg of the drug seized during the same period. The report also suggests that cocaine, charas, methaqualone, ephedrine, acetic anhydride and amphetamine are some of the other drugs flowing in. Opium pilfered from certain parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where cultivation of poppy is licensed is also making its way into Punjab.
Social activists, however, believe that a police-level drive is not sufficient to deal with the situation. “War against drug menace cannot be fought in a piecemeal fashion,” believes Manjeet Singh, professor, Department of Sociology, Panjab University. “People have to wake up to the gravity of the situation. Punjab takes pride in its Green Revolution, we need another revolution now to rid the state of drug menace.”
For Sukhwinder Singh, however, it is already too late.
A great video and translation of Guru Gobind's Bentee Chaupai. Amazing how you can read a bani every day of your life and still get some nugget of knowledge and inspiration from it every time.
Congrats to Jasmeet Kaur Sidhu on being selected to Glamour Magazine's 2009 Top 10 College Women. Pick up the October issue and turn to page 237.
Here's what she shared with me:
"Every year Glamour Magazine runs a competition called the 'Top 10 College Women in America'. The competition has been run by the magazine for 50 years, and Martha Stewart even won the award back when she was in college. I was fortunate enough to win the award this year along with 9 other amazing young women from across the United States! The award is usually given out to college women in the United States, however I was lucky to have been selected amongst the group this year (a rarity for a Canadian and a Canadian school), something which I was very excited about!"
Here's an excerpt from the profile:
The Journalist Jasmeet Sidhu, 21, Trinity College in the University of Toronto
Her dream: To be an international journalist.
How she’s making it happen: As a sophomore, Sidhu wrote to the Toronto Star suggesting ways for the paper to improve its coverage. She was promptly asked to join the Community Editorial Board—the youngest member ever—and soon started writing opinion columns for the Star, Canada’s largest newspaper. Sidhu, whose family moved from Malaysia to Canada when she was a baby, has covered everything from HIV/AIDS in Africa to climate change. As the peace and conflict major says, “My mother used to deliver the Star when we first came to Canada. Now her daughter writes for the very same newspaper. Amazing, right?!”
How she unwinds: Celebrity gossip blogs.
On her iPod: Songs from American Idol—“I’m obsessed!”
If you have some extra money to spend, how about picking up some original Sikh art from this upcoming Sotheby's auction.
Actually, this is where we feel the dearth of active Sikh institutions. If we had our act together, there'd be half a dozen Sikh arts organizations coordinating efforts to buy these and other pieces of Sikh art so as to ensure they're kept in the public sphere, rather than in a private gallery. Unfortunately, we don't have this so hopefully whoever picks up these pieces does so with the interests of the Sikh community in mind.
DESCRIPTION India, Punjab early-20th Century Signed 'Sardool Singh,' and inscribed 'Pintre P. Photographrie 193' lower left and further signed and inscribed in Urdu lower right Opaque watercolor on paper
The early twentieth century witnessed the increasing prevalence of lithographs and painted photographs bearing images of Saints and divinities, which could be easily produced and readily marketed to a wide audience. This marked a pronounced shift in art production and its effect was seen in the structure of the traditional artist studio where the dominance of the traditional chitrakar or draughtsman waned and a new breed of photographers and print makers were inducted into the workshops, working alongside traditional painters.
The present image appears to have been produced in one such workshop as suggested by the inscription on the lower left.
DESCRIPTION India, Punjab Inscribed 1912 Oil on canvas
Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) was the tenth and final Sikh Guru. He was known as a writer and philospher who cultivated the interpretation of the Sikh faith. He made final contributions to the codification of the Sikh Holy Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, and declared the Scripture to be the highest, permanent article in the Sikh religion.
Guru Gobind Singh is cheifly identified as a fearless warrior in defense of the Sikh faith. He created the Khalsa order of holy soldiers who recognized struggle was necessary to preserve the freedom to practice their faith.
In this portrait, the Guru is shown seated against a large bolster with a serene, mountainous, lake-filled landscape in the background. He wears a plumed turban and there is a nimbus around his head, which are both common iconographic elements in his portraits. While it is a non-military portrait, he is also shown armed with a bow and arrow to denote his warrior status.
DESCRIPTION India, Punjab late-19th Century Opaque warercolor heightened with gold on paper
Ranjit Singh is pictured here riding a richly caparisoned stallion accompanied by foot soldiers.
The Sikh ruler's passion for horses was legendary and it was said that he bestowed as much or more jewels upon his favorite steeds than upon himself. This is certainly borne out in the present illustration.
The stories of one's ancestors make the children good children.
(Guru Amar Das, Raag Raamkalee, Page 951 of Guru Granth Sahib)
The American writer Muriel Rukeyser once said that the universe is made up, not of atoms, but of stories. This especially holds true for the Sikh universe. Stories or anecdotes from our short but action-packed history provide us with guidance, inspiration and resilience. Who needs fictional super-heroes when the Sikh narrative provides us with so many real-life heroes who did extraordinary things?
For most Sikhs, myself included, these Sikh stories told to us by our parents and grandparents were an essential part of growing up Sikh. However, we're quickly losing this great oral tradition. For a variety of reasons, parents and grandparents aren't telling sakhis like they used to and kids aren't listening to them.
In attempt to transfer our stories to the next generation of Sikhs. the folks at Vismaad have taken on the monumental challenge of bringing our Sikh heroes to the big screen. With their previous productions, Sahibzadey, The Rise Of Khalsa, and Sundri - The Brave Kaur, they have single handedly created the genre of Sikh animation and brought our history to life. While there have been lots of technical challenges and limitations with the films, largely due to budget constraints, no one can question the hard work, dedication and sacrifice of Sukhwinder Singh and his team.
Their latest project deals with another great hero from Sikh history. The story of Bhai Taru Singh is a great example of this courage and faith. Imprisoned by Mughal rulers, Bhai Taru Singh chose to be scalped alive rather than abdicate his faith and cut his hair. His sacrifice is remembered daily by Sikhs around the world in our ardaas (jina Singhan, Singhnian ne khoprian lahaian).
Here's a trailer for the upcoming film:
Unfortunately, most Sikh parents are willing to look past the hypocrisy of buying a pirated (illegal) copy of a Sikh film to teach their kids about Sikh values. As a result, traditional distribution channels (i.e. DVDs) haven't worked for Vismaad. Instead they've relied on private screenings in cities around the world to raise the funds to pay for their films. So there will be 23 screenings of Bhai Taru Singh in 13 cities across the US, Canada and the UK in less than three weeks, starting in late September. A schedule is available on the film's website.
Please try to go out and watch the film. We hope that it lives up to expectations, is widely viewed by Sikhs around the world, and inspires others to make our history relevant to a new generation of Sikhs.
Over 40 submissions for this year's Film Festival have been received and now we need your help. Some of the contestants' films are available for viewing. Click here to see this year's films.
Then, let us know your favorites by clicking the "I like this video" heart icon to vote for the films you like best. The Film Festival judges will include your choices in the judging process.
Every day new videos will be posted for viewing, so please keep coming back!
Jaura Nagpal is my new hero. Owner of the Nagpal Turban Academy in in Jalandhar, this guy can a tie a dastaar on you in 90 seconds flat. And not just any turban, this thing is a piece of art. Watch for yourself.
I'm stunned. My daily turban-tying routine can stretch to 30 minutes on "bad turban" days. I'll definitely be visiting Jaura Nagpal on my next visit to Punjab. Here's a quick ad for his business.
I'd admired the work of Charles (Chad) Meacham for some time. He's taken some amazing photographs of Sikhs over the years. He's just redesigned his website and, as a Sikh, there's two galleries to view (amongst the many great photographs). One is entitled "Being Sikh" and other is "The Nihang". Definitely worth checking out.
Once a vibrant countryside, rural Punjab now lives in a dazed stupor with an alarming increase in the number of drug addicts, reports Krishna Kumar V R 
