Puran Singh’s Century-old Advice To Sikhs
The digitization of books has created a whole new way for Sikhs to access their history. I’ve stumbled onto a lot of historical Sikh literature that I had never heard of. For example, through Google’s Book Search function, I discovered a tourist guide to Punjab from the 1880’s (here’s...
Preserving a Sikh Shrine in Iraq
In a significant development, the Government of Iraq has decided to rebuild the 15th century Sikh Guru Guru Nanak Dev’s shrine which was destroyed in the 2003 war in Baghdad. [link]
Guru Nanak Dev Ji is said to have visited the place on his way back from Mecca where he stopped to speak with religious...
The Langar Hall in 2008
Posted by Jodha in Musings on 12 29th, 2008 | 5 Comments
As we approach the calendar year 2008, it also marks a year of our existence.
Looking at our top 10 posts in terms of the number of hits, I guess it is sort of a mixed bag on how The Langar Hall is finding its voice. Our top hit getters were usually part of the “first comers” rule. Our bloggers...
Dari envy?
Posted by Camille in Humor on 12 27th, 2008 | 31 Comments
When I was a little girl, I remember the hostile glares my father used to get as we drove together across town. Pretty much anytime the U.S. had gotten entangled in anything remotely related to Iraq, Iran, or Afghanistan between the 1970s and 80s, you could bet your bottom dollar papa would get stopped...
Santa (Singh?) at the Akal Takht
Posted by Jodha in General on 12 27th, 2008 | Comments Off on Santa (Singh?) at the Akal Takht
Although other bloggers have touched upon different aspect of Christmas and the holiday season, while viewing Sepia Mutiny I saw an interesting video of the NORAD-tracked Santa at the Taj Mahal.
However, at the end of the video (cue to :24), I couldn’t help but notice a very familiar Sikh site. ...
The First Global Sikh Civil Rights Conference — Part II
I. Introduction
My last post, which addressed the First Global Sikh Civil Rights Conference held by the non-profit group United Sikhs, generated significant discussion. In an attempt to re-focus and reinvigorate that discussion, I wish to first clarify what the post was not about — it was not...
Chinese take-out and matinees
Are how I usually spend December 25th (unless, like this year, Gurpurab services fall on the same day). When I was younger, my family and I would spend the week of Christmas collecting items for donation, volunteering with the local soup kitchen, and generally reflecting on, and brainstorming, how we...
UPS: What If Your Name Really Was Terro R Ist?
Posted by Maple Leaf Sikh in Activism, California, Human Rights, News, USA on 12 25th, 2008 | 3 Comments
Two steps forward and one step back. Just when you think we’ve made some progress in terms of creating awareness about who we are as Sikhs, you hear of incidents like this. Here’s the story on NBC’s KGET.
What Does “Khalsa” Mean To You?
Today many Sikhs in Southern California will celebrate Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s Gurpurb. When I think of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the first thing that comes to mind is the creation of the Khalsa as an army of the pure.
This past summer I was sitting in a group-discussion, with fellow 2nd generation Sikhs...
“Good Gracious Me’s” Take On Christmas
Hope all of you are enjoying your holidays with family and friends! Here is a “Punjabi” take on a Christmas and one of its infamous songs from my favorite British Comedy Show …. “Goodness Gracious Me”!
Some of you may have already seen it (GGM aired long ago, but is available...
On Sikh Sheroes and Heroes
Last night, I watched a great awards program. No it wasn’t the Emmy’s or Grammy’s (I only know one person that watches those!). It was far more meaningful.
It is called CNN Heroes.
CNN launched its second annual global search for ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary deeds in February....
Fa La La La La, La La La La
Posted by Singh in General on 12 24th, 2008 | 3 Comments
I saw this article?on BBC online and thought I’d share it with your guys. Basically, the BBC did a composite of six interviews with people of non-Christian faiths and asked them how they spend the time they have off for Christmas.
The Sikh interviewee noted that during this time of year, Sikhs...
Church Bankruptcies – Are Gurdwaras Next?
During this holiday season of hard times, not even houses of God have been spared. Some lenders believe more churches than ever have fallen behind on loans or defaulted this year. Some churches, and at least one company that specialized in church lending, have filed for bankruptcy. Church giving is down...
Sikh Students Coming Together
We tend to complain a lot. Really, we do. We complain about the lack of activisim by Sikh youth. We complain about not being able to understand Gurbani or be able to do Kirtan. We complain about the disconnect between Sikh elders and Sikh youth. It’s the status quo – to spend...
The Dreaded Phone Call
The phone rings and its the call you dread as an uncle or older cousin. A desperate parent is on the other end asking for your help. Your teenage nephew/cousin wants to cut his hair. Can you please talk some sense into him.
This happened to me last week with my cousin and, I have to admit, I was woefully...
Sikh Post of the Year?: A Stark Contrast
The Sikh blogosphere is still very young and still in its incipient phases. While one day I hope we will have something like this (ahem, Mr.Sikhnet any takers?), for now, we will try to (at times) highlight some of the best of the blogs.
SidhuSaaheb’s blog has been a favorite of mine for years. ...
A GREAT Sikh Tradition
I know not whether it is an ‘old tradition‘ or a ‘family tradition’; I only know it seems to be a great tradition. Last week, Camille bulletin board-ed a winter clothing distribution in Central California being sponsored by Mike Sandhu of Sandhu Brothers Farms.
The Tracy Press...
Beyond “moderate” and “conservative” representations of Sikhi
I like to spend winter catching up on all the reading I’ve left by the wayside, but imagine my surprise when I came across these op-eds. The first argues that the Sikh youth slate (an all amritdhari slate) that won in Surrey is “fundamentalist,” while the other article argues that Sehajdari...
The Downfall of Us All
A recent study by Heriot Watt University (UK) has published some “ground-breaking results”. A group of psychologists that study family and personal relationships studied 40 romantic-comedy “rom-coms” [always women’s favorites] box office hits between 1995 and 2005, including You’ve...
The First Global Sikh Civil Rights Conference?
To my surprise, I came across a news article with the headline, “Sikhs Agree on a Global Civil Rights Agenda.” When did we do that??
It turns out that the United Sikhs — a non-profit organization that addresses various civil rights issues on behalf of Sikhs, especially and including...
