Singapore-based budget carrier Scoot Air earlier this week said that it would expand its service in India with the addition of three new destinations Coimbatore, Trivandrum and Visakhapatnam.

The long-haul, low-cost, wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, entered Indian market in 2016 with flight services to Chennai, Amritsar and Jaipur, reports PTI.

Flights to Trivandrum (5-times weekly) will commence from May 7 2019, and flights to Coimbatore (5-times weekly) and Visakhapatnam (3-times weekly) will start from October 27, the airline said.

Upon taking over the routes from SilkAir, Scoot will be the only airline operating direct non-stop flights between Singapore and Visakhapatnam and Trivandrum, the report said.

 

ਇਕ ਲੜਕੀ ਆਪਣੇ ਪਿਤਾ ਕੋਲ ਗਈ ਅਤੇ ਕਿਹਾ …”ਮੈਂ ਹੁਣ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰੇ ਨਹੀਂ ਜਾਵਾਂਗੀ..”

ਪਿਤਾ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ: “ਕੀ ਮੈਂ ਇਹ ਪੁੱਛ ਸਕਦਾ ਹਾਂ ਕਿ ਕਿਉਂ?”

ਓਹ ਕਹਿੰਦੀ: “ਜਦੋਂ ਮੈਂ ਉੱਥੇ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹਾਂ ਤੇ ਮੈਂ ਦੇਖਦੀ ਹਾਂ ਕਿ ਲੋਕ ਆਪਣੇ ਮੋਬਾਇਲ ਫੋਨ ਤੇ ਗਲਾਂ ਕਰ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ ਅਤੇ ਕੀਰਤਨ ਨਹੀਂ ਸੁਣ ਰਹੇ, ਕੁਝ ਚੁਗਲੀਆਂ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ, ਲੋਕ ਇਕਸਾਰਤਾ ਨਾਲ ਨਹੀਂ ਜੀ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ, ਉਹ ਸਭ ਕੇਵਲ ਪਖੰਡੀ ਹਨ …”

ਪਿਤਾ ਜੀ ਚੁੱਪ ਹੋ ਗਏ ਤੇ ਫਿਰ ਕਿਹਾ: “ਠੀਕ ਹੈ … ਕੀ ਮੈਂ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਆਖ਼ਰੀ ਫੈਸਲਾ ਕਰਨ ਤੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਲਈ ਕੁਝ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਕਹਿ ਸਕਦਾ ਹਾਂ?”

ਓਹ ਕਹਿੰਦੀ: “ਹਾਂ .. ਉਹ ਕੀ ਹੈ?”

ਓੁਸ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ: “ਪਲੀਜ ਇਕ ਗਲਾਸ ਪਾਣੀ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਦੇ ਆਲੇ ਦੁਆਲੇ ਘੁੰਮ ਕੇ ਆਓ । ਪਰ ਪਾਣੀ ਨੂੰ ਗਲਾਸ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਹਰ ਨਾ ਡੁਲਣ ਦੇਣਾ।”

ਓਹ ਕਹਿੰਦੀ: “ਹਾਂ … ਮੈਂ ਯਕੀਨਨ ਅਜਿਹਾ ਕਰ ਸਕਦੀ ਹਾਂ.”

ਫਿਰ …ਉਹ ਵਾਪਸ ਆ ਗਈ ਅਤੇ ਕਿਹਾ: “ਇਹ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਆਹ ਹੈ ਪਾਣੀ ਦਾ ਗਲਾਸ|”

ਪਿਤਾ ਨੇ ਤਿੰਨ ਸਵਾਲ ਪੁੱਛੇ:

1. ਕੀ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਨੂੰ ਫੋਨ ਤੇ ਵੇਖਿਆ?

2. ਕੀ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਨੂੰ ਚੁਗਲੀ ਕਰਦੇ ਦੇਖਿਆ?

3. ਕੀ ਕੋਈ ਚੰਗਿਆਈ ਤੋਂ ਬਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦਿਖਿਆ ਸੀ?

ਓਹ ਕੇਹਂਦੀ: “ਮੈਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਹੋਰ ਨੂੰ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਵੇਖ ਸਕਦੀ ਸੀ? …. ਮੈਂ ਕੁਝ ਨਹੀਂ ਦੇਖਿਆ; ਜਿਸ ਥਾਂ ‘ਤੇ ਮੈਂ ਫੋਕਸ ਕੀਤਾ ਸੀ, ਉਹ ਸਿਰਫ ਗਲਾਸ ਅਤੇ ਪਾਣੀ ਸੀ। ਇਹ ਯਕੀਨੀ ਬਣਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਕਿ ਪਾਣੀ ਡੁਲੇ ਨਾ।”

ਪਿਤਾ ਨੇ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਕਿਹਾ, “ਜਦੋਂ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹੋ ਤਾਂ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਇਹੋ ਕਰਨਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ … ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਸਿਰਫ਼ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ (ਰੱਬ) ‘ਤੇ ਧਿਆਨ ਕੇਂਦਰਤ ਕਰਨਾ, ਸੋਚਣਾ ਅਤੇ ਜੁੜਨਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ, ਅਤੇ ਦੇਖੋ ਕਿ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਤਰੱਕੀ ਕਰ ਸਕਦੇ ਹੋ ਅਤੇ ਦੂਜਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਮਦਦ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਆਪਣੇ ਆਪ ਨੂੰ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਜੁਟਾ ਸਕਦੇ ਹੋ। ਇਸ ਨਾਲ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਦੇ ਵੀ ਜ਼ਿੰਦਗੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਡਿੱਗੋਗੇ ਨਹੀਂ।

ਧੀ ਨੇ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਨਾਲ ਧਿਆਨ ਦੇ ਤੱਤ ਦੀ ਅੰਦਰੂਨੀ ਸਿੱਖਿਆ ਨੂੰ ਸਮਝਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਆਪਣੇ ਪਿਤਾ ਦਾ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ ਕੀਤਾ।

A daughter went to her father and said: “I won’t be going to Gurudwara anymore..”

The father said: “Iay I ask why?”

She said: “When I go there All I see is people on their mobile phones during service and kirtan, some are gossiping, some just are not living with integrity, they are all just hypocrites…”

Father became silent, and then said: “OK… can I ask you to do something for me before you make your final decision?”

She said: “Yes.. what’s that?”

He said: “Please take a glass of water and walk around the Gurdwara Sahib two times; but you mustn’t let water fall out of the glass.”

She said: “Yes… I can definitely do that.”

Then…She came back and said: “It’s done and here is the glass of water”

He asked her three questions:

1. Did you see anybody on their phone?

2. Did you see anybody gossiping?

3. Was anybody living without Integrity?

She said: “How could I have seen anyone else?…. I didn’t see anything; All I was focused on was the glass and the water within it., making sure the water never dropped.”

He told her: “When you go to  Gurdwara Sahib Ji, this is what you should do… you should be simply focusing, thinking and connecting to Waheguru Ji (God), and see how you can progress and help yourself to help others.. this is so that YOU don’t ever FALL in life.”

The daughter thanked her father for helping her understand the inner learning of the essence of our focus with Wahiguru Ji. – Source: Unknown

By Asia Samachar Team | MALAYSIA |

Sant Sohan Singh Ji Melaka Memorial Society Malaysia (SSSJMMSM) today (19 Jan 2019) received a ‘generous’ donation from a family that had a close relationship with the former Malacca granthi in whose memory the society was formed.

Reshminder Singh, a former vice president of the 47 year old organisation, made the donation on behalf of his family as per the wishes of his late parents.

“My late mother had willed it that should the siblings sell the family home, one portion would go to the Vidyala. She had also expressed the wish that the donation be channeled towards education,” he told Asia Samachar when contacted.

SSSJMMSM, popularly known as the Vidyala, was established in 1972 in the memory of Baba Sohan Singh, the renowned granthi of Gurdwara Sahib Malacca and a respected Sikh preacher in Southeast Asia in the 1960s and 1970s.

Reshminder, who is involved in the recycling business in Texas, and all his siblings have migrated to the United States and are settled there.

What is the back story to the donation? In 1968, Reshminder’s dad Ranjit Singh, then a police clerk based in Ipoh, Perak, had showed Baba Sohan a house in Sibilin, Ipoh, that he wanted to purchase. Baba Sohan did an ardas and told him to proceed with the purchase.

In her will, the late Pajan Kaur had stated that should her children decide to sell the house, one portion of the sale should go to the Vidyala.

The donation was received by SSSJMMSM president Rejinder Singh Dhaliwal, vice presidents S S Muker and Tarlochan Singh Dhaliwal and secretary Daljit Singh.

In expressing thanks to Reshminder and family, Rejinder hoped the generous donation would inspire other members to make similar generous donations to the society to carry out its duties and obligations for the betterment of the Sikh community.

“Aside from organising the annual programme in the memory of Baba Sohan Singh, the Vidyala has also join hands with other Sikh societies to promote Sikhi in Malaysia. We are also in the process of reviving the granthi training programme,” Rejinder told Asia Samachar.

RELATED STORY:

Chance for Malaysians to become fully trained granthis (Asia Samachar, 1 Dec 2018)

You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to – Chris Guillebeau

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By Asia Samachar Team | MALAYSIA |

Why move? This was the most common question raised when the Butterworth Sikhs were on the fund raising trail for a new gurdwara building.

On Saturday (19 Jan 20190, Sikhs of this northern city of Peninsular Malaysia made the 4km move, bringing the Guru Granth Sahib to the new building in a symbolic gesture of kick starting life at the spanking new two-storey building costing more than RM5 million.

“When we went out for our donation drives, the Sanggat had raised the question again and again: Why the shift?” Gurdwara Sahib Butterworth (GSB) president Narinder Singh told Asia Samachar.

Narinder and his team had wrestled hard with the question.

The move, he said, was driven by a combination of factors. First, the state government had designated a new religious enclave for places of worship with the Sikhs, too, purchasing a piece of land. Second, the old building was dilapidated and needed major repairs for safe and proper continuous use. Third, part of the land of the old building had already been acquired by the state for development works. Fourth, the old building would be leased to provide the gurdwara a new source of income.

The land where the new gurdwara building sits on today, measuring 1.01 acres (45000 sq feet), was bought for RM250,000 in 1988.

It is part of a religious enclave earmarked by the Penang state government. In the area today stands a church, two Hindu mandirs, a Buddhist temple and a Chinese temple. The Sikhs are the last to build and occupy their place of worship.

“The state government has been kind enough to give us extension over the years from having to move to the new location,” said Narinder. “But we felt we could no longer drag it further. Hence, in 2014, we started work on the new building.”

HISTORY

The Butterworth gurdwara history dates back to the 1920s.

By the beginning of the 20th Century, there were a few Sikhs employed as watchmen by the Straits Trading Company Ltd. in Butterworth. These Sikhs and their families were provided with living, quarters in the ‘Sikh Lines’ near the vicinity of the company’s smelting works along what is now known as Jalan Pantai, according to an entry at the GSB website.

In the 1920’s, the British management of the company allowed one of its quarters in the Sikh Lines to be used by the Sikhs as a place of worship, according to the article. “This small Gurdwara Sahib was able to accommodate the Sikhs and their families during prayers. There were no regular Granthis, and as such, the Sikhs managed the Gurdwara Sahib by rendering voluntary service,” it said.

TO CATCH SOME LIVE FACEBOOK VIDEOS, GO TO BUTTERWORTH GURDWARA FACEBOOK PAGE HERE

In 1934, a piece of land, was purchased along Chain Ferry Road. The Sikhs built a Gurdwara Sahib building, a single storey brick structure with a tiled roof, which was completed by the end of 1934. Gradually, the Sikh sangat started to grow and this Gurdwara Sahib could not accommodate everyone. Finally in 1968, this Gurdwara Sahib was demolished to make way for a new building.

In 1968, building plans were approved to construct a three-storey building, which was declared open in 1971.

NEXT STEP

So, for the last 47 years, Butterworth Sikhs were centred in their three-storey building gurdwara. At least three generations had grown with the building playing a role at crucial points of their life – be it janam sanskaar of a newborn or marriage or death. Many Gurmat camps were also conducted here.

However, the changes to the old town around the gurdwara were beginning to show. The aged gurdwara building was also starting to stare at the local community.

After the 1988 land purchase, the Butterworth gurdwara committee and congregation had always been faced with the question of when they would want to develop it.

Things finally fell into place in 2014, the same year when entrepreneur Narinder was elected as GSB management committee president.

There was also the land acquisition by the state in the 1980s. A part of the gurdwara land – still sitting within the gurdwara fenced area – had actually been acquired by the state for a planned road widening. However, the proposal did not happen, though the land had already been acquired by the state.

“So, on paper, that part of the land is no longer ours,” he said.

More importantly, Narinder said the old gurdwara building required substantial funding for its upkeep.

“The building is old. The [electrical] wiring is old. We had a small fire at the switchboard while kirtan was going on sometime ago.

“We were mulling minor renovation while raising funds for the eventual new building. In 2014, we decided to go ahead with the new building. We had RM1 million which was raised earlier,” he said.

After much effort, Butterworth finally has a new gurdwara building. The total built-up area is 27,000 sq ft, making it the largest darbar sahib in the north of Peninsular Malaysia.

“We decided to built as large a gurdwara as we can. We don’t know what kind of restrictions may be placed in future, if any,” he said.

The new gurdwara complex also houses the weekend Punjabi school, one of the largest in terms of student numbers in the north of Peninsular Malaysia.

“At the peak, we had about 130 students. Now its about 110,” he said.

The gurdwara is also active when it comes to organising programmes for visiting ragi jathas. “We are ready to hold Samelans functions. We will work with everyone,” he said.

Moving forward, the gurdwara plans to hire full-time professional music teachers to conduct table and waja classes for the north region.

STRATEGIC LOCATION

The new area is strategically located, with many of the businesses from the older part of the town having moved into the area.

“We bought the land four decades ago. The land value has certainly gone up,” he said. One estimate had put the new gurdwara land value at RM3 million.

Across the road from the gurdwara, the Sunway Group is building a 180 bed hospital to be ready in two years. There is also the Sunway Carnival Mall and Sunway Hotel nearby.

FUNDING

Todate, GSB has spent about RM5.4 million. The team had collected about RM4 million over the years from the Sanggat in Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, UK and other countries.

In the recent months, the gurdwara committee had raised another RM600,000 in soft-loans from the local congregation to bring up to speed the final part of the building construction. They also have in hand a commitment for RM200,000. All in, GSB is still short of some RM500,000.

The new complex marks another chapter in the long, cherished history of Sikhs in Butterworth.

RELATED STORY:

Butterworth Sikhs all set to welcome spanking new gurdwara building (Asia Samachar, 3 Jan 2019)

Butterworth gurdwara hearse to serve Sikhs in Penang, Kedah (Asia Samachar, 20 Feb 2018)

ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |

By Amandeep Singh Madra | PEOPLE | US |

It’s easy to be mistaken by this picture of a gentle, stooped, grandfatherly 95 year-old. He was in fact one of the most feared and dangerous men in British India. So feared was he by the British that, shackled in irons, he was held for 16 years in near solitary confinement 1000kms off the shore of India for fear of the revolution he tried to spark.

This is Sohan Singh Bhakna, founder of the revolutionary Ghadr Party. When India joined WW1, every young Punjabi man was vigorously encouraged to join the Indian Army; British officials, Indian nobility, Indian district bureaucrats, even the Indian National Congress and Mahatma Gandhi joined forces to promote recruitment. Opposing that consensus was a vociferous, violent energetic group, operating from North America called the Ghadrs, or revolutionaries.

Sohan Singh Bhakna became active in the early nationalist movement before he joined the small pioneering stream of men who moved out of Punjab to the Pacific Northwest in the early 1900s where he worked in lumber mills. America wasn’t colonising India but there was no lack of racism and discrimination toward the ‘Hindoo’ labourers and Bhakna rapidly joined the early Indian labour movement.

He founded the Ghadr party with other North American Indians who agitated for the overthrow British colonial authority in India by means of an armed revolution. The Ghadrs viewed the Congress-led Independence movement as soft and unambitious so adopted a harder stance with their principal strategy to entice Indian soldiers into armed revolt against the British taking particular advantage of the vulnerability of the First World War.

Their revolutionary plans included smuggling arms to the passengers of the Komagatu Maru on their return to India, making overtures to the German Embassy in the US, pumping out revolutionary messages to Indian soldiers via their prolific pamphleteering. Their most seditious and dangerous plot was to coordinate violent armed revolutionary activity with Indian soldiers in SE Asia. Alarmed, the British promptly arrested Sohan Singh as he tried to enter India in 1914 and tried for conspiracy.

Found guilty, he was sentenced to death. A sentence later commuted to life imprisonment in The Andaman Islands, 1000kms off the shore of India. There Sohan Singh settled into a period of revolt and activism with repeated hunger strikes to improve the conditions for his fellow prisoners. Both in the Andamans and back in India where he was imprisoned until 1930 he carried out hunger strikes for Sikh prisoner’s religious rights, the rights of lower caste Indian prisoners and in support of Bhagat Singh.

By the outbreak of the Second world war, Sohan Singh had been released 10 years and was an active and fearsome political voice for the Communist Party. War brought new rules, and the Indian Government arrested and interred the now 70-year-old Sohan Singh for 3 more years in an Indian jail lest he revive his violent tendencies during a time of wartime vulnerability.

He lived another 20 years after Indian Independence and the Partition, a constant and prolific voice in early Indian politics. He died in 1968, ending a phenomenal life of 98 years, in his home district of Amritsar.

Amandeep Singh Madra, an independent historian and co-author of a number of books on Sikhs, is also the co-foundee of United Kingdom Punjab Heritage Association (UKPHA) which organised the much-acclaimed Empire of the Sikhs exhibition

By Manvinder Kaur | MALAYSIA |

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) G/8223 Harjinder Kaur D/O Gurdial Singh retires on 21 January 2019 from the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP). This highest ranking Malaysian police Sikh lady has served the police force with full dedication and patriotism for 41 years, 1 month and 10 days.

ACP Harjinder followed her father’s footsteps, Late Sardar Sergeant 367 Gurdial Singh S/O Ishar Singh, who originated from Punjab, India and served in the Malaysian police force for 34 years. On this note, even her father-in-law, late Sardar Charan Singh S/O Arjan Singh, was a Malaysian police Sergeant 6510.

Hailing from a family of police background, this Iron Lady in Blue has achieved various milestones in her career.

She started her police career with the rank of Inspector on 11 December 1977. She has served in various ranks and capacities, in the local district, contingent and headquarters levels.

Among the police departments she served included the Special Branch, Management Department, Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID), Anti-Money Laundering (AMLA) under the IGP’s Secretariat, and her last post as the CCID Chief in the Selangor contingent.

SEE ALSO: ACP Harjinder Kaur now Selangor police commercial crime chief

Based on her achievements and good performance, ACP Harjinder was honored with many medals and awards at the federal and state levels (PSPP, KMN, PPP, AMN, AIS, PPA, PJPN).

While serving in the hotspot Klang district in Selangor, she was awarded “Wanita Cemerlang Selangor Award”, a distinguished award by the Sultan of Selangor in 2002.

During her career, she escorted many VVIPs including then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Princess Hitachi of Japan providing protective security.

ACP Harjinder comes from a highly qualified academic family where five of her siblings are PhD holders and five Masters Degree holders, including herself as she possess a Masters in Law (LLM) from University Malaya and Bachelor of Law (LLB – Hons.) from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

She is married to an engineer, Sardar Paramjit Singh S/O Charan Singh, and blessed with three children: the eldest daughter a medical doctor and two budding doctors pursuing medical degrees.

Being a crime buster in the white collar crime, she has spoken in many local, regional and international platforms including the Malaysian Banking Summits and ASEANAPOL. Equipped with legal background and years of hardwork and determination with transformational leadership, she has paved the way for modern policing.

As she retires today, with a smile she reminiscences the long journey in RMP and reiterated: “I am proud to have served my country and have fond memories of this journey. I hope more Sikhs, especially ladies will take up the challenge to join the Royal Malaysian Police to serve the community at large in Malaysia.”

RELATED STORY:

ACP Harjinder Kaur now Selangor police commercial crime chief (Asia Samachar, 12 July 2018)

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On Sunday, Amarjeet Singh Chawla successfully completed his 101st half marathon at the Tata Mumbai Marathon. And the 63-year old runner, popularly known as Sporty Sikh, is not about to stop soon.

“My next target is to hit 151 half-marathons, and run abroad, if I can find the sponsorship,” he told the Success and Ability, India’s cross dis-ability magazine which featured him on the cover of its latest issue. “101 is a shubh number.”

Amarjeet is no stranger to the sporting world. And he has an interesting story to tell.

To make ends meet, Chawla runs a lottery shop and has now ventured into insurance service business.

Here is an abbridged version of the article ran by Success and Ability:

It all began rather unassumingly. Amarjeet Singh Chawla was at a family function, in Asansol, when he received a text message from the National Association for the Blind (NAB), an invitation to be part of the seven-kilometre run at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) 2004, of which NAB was to be a beneficiary. Due to macular degeneration, Chawla’s sight began deteriorating from the age of 13, leading to complete loss of sight by the time he was 40. For Chawla, who was 48 years old then, life was meandering on. His bread and butter came from the small lottery shop that he ran at Malad in Mumbai, while his wife ran a small insurance service business.

“My wife and I visited NAB to enquire about the event and then and there I decided to go for it, just to prove to the world that blind people aren’t incapable”, shares Chawla.

This was the starting point. An adrenaline rush then set in. Following the SCMM 2004 run, Chawla decided that he had to do something bigger. He enrolled himself for the half-marathon, i.e., a 21.0975 km run, at the SCMM 2004. He practiced vigorously for this and roped in an escort to run with him. On 16, January 2005, at the age of 49, he ran his first half marathon, completing it in about two hours. Chawla reminisces, “Completing my first half-marathon with such good timing meant a big deal to me. I decided to run more marathons”.

There’s been no looking back since then. His life started getting punctuated by half marathons, the punctuations falling closer and closer together with time. When he completed his 25th half- marathon, at Pune, he thought of setting a target for himself. He became fixated on completing 101 half marathons. “101 is a shubh number”, he says. Curiously, his 101st half marathon, slated for 20 January 2019, will be at the 2019 Tata Mumbai Marathon (formerly the SCMM), where it all began. His 100th half-marathon was Mumbai’s Powai Run on 6 January 2019.

In the last couple of years, he has been averaging about 20 marathons a year!

Besides, Chawla has also completed several treks in the Himalayas and Sahyadri ranges that have taken him to the Sar Pass, Saurkundi Pass, Kedarnath Trek, Valley of Flowers, Jaisalmer Dessert Trek and Dalhousie to name a few. He has also completed the famous 300 km Mumbai-Shirdi rally walk. In 2009, he became the first blind person to scale the Dolma Pass (Mount Kailash) at 19,830 feet in Tibet. “I could’ve tried for the Everest base camp trek, but I didn’t have sufficient funds, nor a proper escort”, he rues. Then there are his exploits in swimming – Chawla won the 50 m freestyle gold at the ‘All India Swimming Competition for the Disabled’ in Mumbai in 2004.

Lack of availability of escorts prevents Chawla from preparing/training for marathons by running long distances. Runners with visual impairment run marathons with escorts, the escort and marathoner holding the edges of a 10-inch rope and running in tandem, with the escort guiding the marathoner as to when to turn, when to change direction, step up/down, etc. “The only training that I do is on-the-spot jogging, holding the railing of the staircase at my house and Pranayam. On the marathon days, I don’t take up any specific preparation. I just wake up, get ready, have bread-and-butter with tea, and pray to God to give me the courage and the power to complete the marathon”.

To read the full story, go here.

RELATED STORY:

6,000 runners charge up Super Sikh Run (Asia Samachar, 12 Dec 2018)

| About Us | 

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By Asia Samachar Team | SINGAPORE |

Gobal accounting software provider Sage Group has roped in Sushil Singh as the Singapore-basedfor Asia.

In an announcement, Sage Asia said Sushil will be responsible for developing sales strategy and driving sales results across Asia, covering all customer segments including SSB, Start-Up and Enterprise, the company said in a social media update.

“My role is to drive growth and adoption of the extensive Sage solution portfolio across Asia and am responsible for the revenue for the region,” he told Asia Samachar when asked what would his role entail.

Sage supplies accounting and business management software to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs). Its listed arm, Sage Group Plc, is UK’s largest software company.

With over 20 years of cross-industry experience, Sushil was most recently Chief Growth Officer at BizGo, where he successfully completed Series D funding.

Previously, Sushil held the roles of General Manager of Acumatica, Strategic Alliances Director at NetSuite and spent a decade in multiple senior roles at Microsoft, the Sage Asia statement added.

To succeed in the new role, Sushil said that you would need to understand the customers needs in every segment, (SMB/Mid Market/Enterprise) in various verticals, across countries with a very unique/diverse region stretching from India to China.

At the same time, he said one would need to synthesise this into a strategy that can be executed at a tactical level delivering the desired revenue targets for the business whilst maintaining the high satisfaction levels that our customers demand.  

“In essence, you need to be a strategic thinker that can deliver a comprehensive plan that can be executed at a tactical level,” he said.

Sushil has a Bachelor of Commerce in Acconting and Information Systems from Curtin University as well as a CPA Australia qualification.

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By Gurmukh Singh OBE | PANJAB TIMES |

Akaal Chalaana (death) in a family is a traumatic experience. In addition, there are the funeral arrangements and the last rites – Antam Sanskaar in case of Sikh families – which have to be taken care of. Much confusion about religious rituals is added to the tragic loss in the family. However, the family is helped by relatives, friends and dedicated community sevadars of the Sangat (congregation). They provide comfort and guidance and, at such times, we learn the value of local Sangat as part of our extended family.

We also look for Gurmat guidance in the Sikh Reht Maryda (The Sikh Code) regarding related ceremonies. This is provided at Article XIX – Funeral Ceremonies (Antam Sanskar). The whole process has been simplified in Sikhi. Yet, I do wonder if, contrary to that guidance, sometimes we complicate matters due to ignorance and anti-Gurmat ritualism.

Sikhi guidance advises the family to seek consolation in dignified recitation of Waheguru only and not raise hue and cry or indulge in breast beating and such show of grief. The deceased should not be put on the floor, nor a lamp lit nor should any other such bipran ritual be performed. The body should be cremated.

However, if that is not possible the body can be immersed in flowing water or disposed of in any other manner. The Sikh Reht Maryada makes it clear that, depending on the circumstances, there should no qualms about the method of disposing the body, except that it should be treated with respect, bathed and clothed and the Five Kakaars should be left intact.

What follows is fairly straight forward. Following Ardas (supplication) for taking the body for cremation the assumption is that it is taken straight to the crematorium and cremated after Kirtan Sohila and final (agan bhet) Ardas. Other than Sehaj Paatth which can be completed in about ten days or later and final Bhog, no funeral ceremony remains. The preference is that the reading of the Guru Granth Sahib should be carried out by the members of the household of the deceased and relatives in cooperation.

The whole of Article XIX – Funeral Ceremonies (Antam Sanskar) in the Sikh Reht Maryada should be read. It is clear that, except for seeking consolation in recitation of Gurbani and Waheguru Naam Simran, Kirtan Sohila, and Ardaas to mark each stage, much discretion is left to the family about disposal of the body and the ashes according to the circumstances. When the pyre is burnt out, the whole bulk of the ashes, including the burnt bones, should be gathered up and immersed in flowing water or buried at that very place and the ground levelled. Raising a monument to the memory of the deceased at the place where his dead body is cremated is taboo; the picking of the burnt bones from the ashes of the pyre for immersing in the Ganga, at Patalpuri (Kiratpur), at Kartarpur Sahib or at any other such place are contrary to the approved code.

We should follow the simple, Gurmat based procedure during Atam Sanskaar in the spirit of the Reht Maryada guidance and give up practices carried over from Brahmanic ritualism.

Gurmukh Singh OBE, a retired UK senior civil servant, chairs the Advisory Board of The Sikh Missionary Society UK. Email: sewauk2005@yahoo.co.uk. The article first appeared at The Panjab Times, UK

* This is the opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.

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SASKAAR / CREMATION: 3.00pm, 25 Jan 2019 (Friday), at Cheras Crematorium, Jalan Kuari, Kuala Lumpur. Cortège leaves 40, Jalan Indah 5, Taman Selayang Indah, 68100 Batu Caves, Selangor, at 2pm | Malaysia

CHAND KAUR D/O GURBAK SINGH

Village: Rarr, Tesil Mansa

Born: 23 August 1931

Departed: 25 January 2019

Husband: Bachan Singh

Children / Spouses:

1) Mithoo Singh / Pearljeet Kaur

2) Balbier Kaur / Darshan Singh

3) Harbans Kaur / Satwant Singh

4) Sukhdarshan Singh / Paramjit Kaur

Also leaving behind a host of granchildren, relatives and friends

Saskaar / Cremation: 3.00pm, 25 January 2019 (Friday), at Cheras Crematorium, Jalan Kuari, Kuala Lumpur

Cortège timing: Cortège leaves 40, Jalan Indah 5, Taman Selayang Indah, 68100 Batu Caves, Selangor, at 2pm, 25 January 2019 (Friday)

Path da bhog: To be updated

Contact:

Harbans Kaur (daughter) – 0163397856

Arjanpreet Singh (grandson) – 0162780728

Mahajoth Singh (grandson) – 0165009433

SASKAAR / CREMATION: 12 noon, 26 January 2019 (Saturday), at Kek Loke Seah Bercham Crematorium, Ipoh. Cortège leaves No 11, Lorong Oh Cheng Keat, 30350, Ipoh, Perak, at 11am  | Malaysia

ਜੇਹਾ ਚੀਰੀ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਤੇਹਾ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਕਮਾਹਿ ॥ ਘਲੇ ਆਵਹਿ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਸਦੇ ਉਠੀ ਜਾਹਿ ॥੧॥

Jayhaa cheeree likhi-aa, tayhaa hukam kamaahi. 

Ghalay aawah naankaa, saday othe jaahi (SGGS, 1239)

MR IMERDEEP SINGH SANDU S/O JAGDIS SINGH SANDU

Lawyer & Partner at Sandu & Associates

Aged: 42. Passed away peacefully on 24 January 2019.

Parents:

Mr Jagdis Singh Sandu & Mrs Ranjit Kaur Sandu

Children:

Ayana Kaur Sandu

Jagdis Singh Sandu

Siyonna Kaur Sandu

Siblings / Spouses:

Raveet Kaur Sandu / Mohanjeet Singh Dhalliwal

Dr Simmrat Singh Sandu / Sangeet Kaur Deo

Risha Kaur Sandu / Dr Dhssraj Singh Gill

Nephews & Nieces:

Shannya Kaur Dhalliwal, Diya Kaur Dhalliwal, Nickhil Singh Dhalliwal, Johrran Singh Sandu, Aarya Kaur Sandu, Zorravvr Singh Sandu, Saharra Kaur Sandu

Saskaar / Cremation: 12 noon, 26 January 2019 (Saturday), at Kek Loke Seah Bercham Crematorium, Ipoh

Cortège timing: Cortège leaves No 11, Lorong Oh Cheng Keat, 30350, Ipoh, Perak, at 11am, 26 January 2019 (Saturday)

Akhand Path: Akhand Path commences at 9am, 31 January 2019 (Thursday) at residence No 11, Lorong Oh Cheng Keat, 30350, Ipoh, Perak.

Path da Bhog: 2 February (Saturday), 10am-12noon, at Gurdwara Sahib Bercham, Ipoh

Contact:

Mohanjeet 012-5020495

Dr Simmrat 012-5051951

Dr Gurnam 012-4288494

By Adwait Patil | ROADS AND KINGDOMS |

For the five years that Kulwinder Singh spent behind the wheel of a cab, grocery stores and delis across New York turned him away from their restrooms, even when he was a paying customer. Cab drivers he knew would go the entire day without a bathroom break, and there were rarely designated parking spots for longer periods away from the road or in case of emergency. When he took over a small storefront shop called Punjabi Grocery & Deli on East 1st Street in 1994, his first thought was to offer cab drivers a 24-hour restroom, free of charge—a place to decompress during or after a long day behind the wheel. Twenty-five years later, Punjabi Deli is a neighborhood institution.

Punjabi Grocery and Deli is a typical South Asian canteen, serving a simple menu of rice, chaat (a variety of snack food common across the Subcontinent, consisting of fried doughs and chutneys), and a collection of staple vegetable dishes like saag (spinach), chana masala (spiced chickpeas), yellow dal, and curried potatoes with bell peppers. The dark green awning that reaches out over the sidewalk bears only the word Punjabi, the demonym for people from the region of Punjab, split between northwestern India and eastern Pakistan, where Singh was born.

Despite its fame and the occasional name-drop on food-TV programs, Punjabi Deli & Grocery remains, first and foremost, a space dedicated to the diaspora communities who, for years, have kept New York moving. As an immigrant and a former cab driver, Singh still feels connected to the thousands of South Asian cabbies working New York’s streets, and who come to his Deli.

Read the full story, ‘Punjabi Deli: New York’s Favorite Rest Stop’ (23 Jan 2019, Roads And Kingdoms), here.

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By Asia Samachar Team | MALAYSIA |

Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (MITRA), the rebranded agency handling the RM100 million allocation earmarked for the Indian community under Federal Budget 2019, will start receiving grant proposals Tuesday (28 Jan) onwards.

It will be managed via the Grant Management System 2019 (GMS 2019) that will be operational under the unit’s new website.

The online grant application system will enable Malaysian legal entities to propose innovative and creative socio-economic programmes to uplift the Indian community particularly those belonging in the B40 socioeconomic stratum, according to a MITRA statement.

“With the GMS 2019 project, MITRA is looking forward to receiving unique proposals from various stakeholders on what can be done to curb and overcome social and economic challenges that are plaguing the community and to ensure their optimal inclusiveness into Malaysian civil society,” MITRA Director General S. Letchumanan Shanmugam said in the statement.

MITRA, is a unit under the Prime Minister’s Department, was known as the Socio-economic development of the Indian community Unit (SEDIC) under the previous Barisan Nasional-led government.

In May 2018, the Pakatan Harapan coalition, led by former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, stormed into office in a surprise victory at the general polls, marking the first ever change for Malaysia at the federal government level.

The unit comes under the purview of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (National Unity and Social Well Being) Senator Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy.

In Federal Budget 2019, the government had set aside RM100 million to support the Indian community with a focus on eradicating hardcore poverty.

In his speech when presenting Federal Budget 2019, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the government had proposed an ‘allocation of RM100 million to support the Indian community, including TVET to improve the career advancement opportunities of the Indian youths’. This comes under to achieve balanced development throughout the country, especially in the rural areas.

TVET, short for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, is meant to provide knowledge and skills for employment.

In the past, Sikh organisations, including the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council (MGC) and Khalsa Diwan Malaysia (KDM), have received funding for community projects from SEDIC.

On the new system, Letchumanan said GMS 2019 is user-friendly, integrated and a transparent system.

The application process is made simple but at the same time it places much importance on credibility, credentials and accountability of applicants, the MITRA statement said.

The system was jointly developed with the Asia Pacific University (APU) as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR), the statement added.

The application for the GMS 2019 commence on 28 Jan 2019. Prospective applicants may read the application procedures, requirements and terms and conditions of the GMS 2019 from the newly launched website at www.mitra.gov.my .

For more information on the online portal and the GMS 2019, contact MITRA’s office at 03-8886 6262 / 03-8886 6322.

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Veteran surgeon Dr Jaswinder Singh Samra received Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for 2019 honour for service to medicine as a pancreatic specialist.

The award was in conjunction with Australia Day today.

Dr Jaswinder, a member of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), is the co-founder of the Australian Pancreatic Centre along with Dr Anubhav Mittal.

Born in the UK, Dr Jaswinder is a hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeon. He has a special interest in pancreatic cancer and cholangiocarcinoma and undertakes a broad range of laparoscopic surgery.

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By Hb Singh | OPINION |

“What has happened to Sikhs today?” my friend lamented as we sat for Guru Ka Langgar. “In those days, they were so full of valour and love.”

“We had people like Banda Singh Bahadur – warrior, saint, strategist, all in one. Our Sikh mothers endured unimaginable pain. We had Sikhs who were cut limb by limb, yet stayed true to Sikhi.”

For the uninitiated, the ‘cut limb by limb’ is a reflection from the standard version of the Sikhs Ardas or supplication as contained in the Sikh Rehat Maryada (SRM) document.

I could sense where the conversation was headed. It’s unlikely to be jovial, cheerful or upbeat. He is digging into Sikh history. Our history is replete with torture and sacrifices. At some point of our short history, our forefathers had endured what ISIS did in the recent past. But seen from another light, it is also one full of inspiration and hope.

“Where are those Sikhs today?” he said in a sombre voice.

I turned to him, my eyebrows coming close together. Now, that’s a sure sign something is about to come.

I decided to cheer him up a little. But not so fast. As much as he was feeling melancholy, I decided to give him a dose of my reality check.

“So, whoever told you that all Sikhs were fine and dandy in those days?” I began.

“What you shared are examples of fine and beautiful people over a period of time. But in that same period, I bet you we had problematic people.

“I’m sure there was a fair share of Sikhs who were all nutty and messed up. It’s just that we don’t read or think about them today.”

I was driving home a simple point. We tend so amplify the good or the bad, and downplay the other, depending on the case we intend to drive home. In this conversation, he amplified the good, and ignored the bad apples amongst the Sikhs of the past. As a result, Sikhs today look rather bad.

We are prone to nostalgia. We say things like how things were better back then, how people were more honest back then, how stuff was simpler once upon time.

Really? Are we not making the past look better simply by dismissing, by design, the reality? Not everything was better back then!

Enough about the past. What about the present? I went on to argue that Sikhs are alive and kicking all over the world.

“Look at where we are seated,” I began to argue my case for Sikhs today. “We are in a gurdwara just about a mile away from the Malaysian parliament house, the national police headquarters and the country’s central bank. We are in a Muslim-majority nation. And this is a fully-functioning gurdwara.”

In Malaysia, Sikhs are doing decently well. Of course, we have our challenges. Naturally, we have Sikhs who are struggling economically and on other fronts. But that’s the story of about every other community, as well.

Next point, the food before me.

“We are having Langgar here today, some 550 years after the birth of Guru Nanak. The Langgar institution that our Gurus started has endured the test of time,” I pressed forward, tucking in another bite of the sumptuous mixture of rice and curry, with a dash of santan (coconut milk).

Langgar is food cooked and distributed at gurdwaras and Sikh religious functions. Its largely vegetarian, allowing most people can consume it. A practice started by the Sikh Gurus, it is free, open to one and all. Everyone – beggar or billionaire, peasant or prime minister – sit together in what is called the Panggat.

Guru Ka Langgar still exists as an integral Sikh practice.

But it gets better. Guru Ka Langgar has taken on new wings in many places. Just look at numerous occasions where Sikhs have run Guru Ka Langgar to feed victims of humanitarian disasters.

In 2016, a group of American Sikhs teamed up with Latin Americans and the US Vets to serve healthy vegetarian meals through its Free Meal Service.The SevaTruck serves piping hot meals, freshly prepared in the mobile kitchen. And there are numerous such examples in the UK, Australia, Malaysia and India.

“That’s Guru Nanak at work today,” I pressed my point.

Next, my final point for the day. I’ve almost finished the food before me.

“Is the Sikhi spirit lost on Sikhs today? I just read about this Sikh farmer in the Us who has offered to pay the rent for US Federal workers if they are affected by the partial shutdown of the nation’s government,” I said.

Mike Sandhu is a farmer and landowner in Tracy, the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California.

“I see the spirit of Guru Nanak alive and kicking in him. And this is a Sikh living and breathing today.”

Hb Singh is a Kuala Lumpur-based journalist with some experience in dealing with Sikh organisations, both from within and outside. 

* This is the opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.

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SASKAAR / CREMATION: 2pm, 28 Jan 2019 (Monday), at Jalan Loke Yew Crematorium, Kuala Lumpur. Cortege leaves residence No.1, Lorong Dendang 1, Kawasan 16, Taman Rashna, 41300 Klang, Selangor, at 12:00 noon | Malaysia

GURNAM KAUR A/P HIRA SINGH

Village: Malhi, Talvindi

Date of Birth: 16 Jan 1932

Departed: 26 Jan 2019

Husband: Late Sardar Hari Singh Bhinder (Retired police no. 172)

Children / Spouses:

1. Sharmukh Singh/ Manjit Kaur

2. Gurcharan Singh/ Jit Kaur

3. Charnam Kaur / Bhaskaran

4. Late Baldeva Singh

5. Jagrais Singh / Amarpall Kaur

6. Mahinder Kaur / Bobby Devine

7. Sarjeet Kaur / Sarjit Singh

8. Shinder Kaur / Suhkdev Singh

9. Manjit Kaur / Amarjit Singh

Leaving behind children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Saskaar / Cremation: 2pm, 28 Jan 2019 (Monday), at Jalan Loke Yew Crematorium, Kuala Lumpur.

Cortege Timing: Cortege leaves residence No.1, Lorong Dendang 1, Kawasan 16, Taman Rashna, 41300 Klang, Selangor, at 12:00 noon,28 Jan 2019 (Monday)

Take a break – ToonistBains

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