A more vibrant Samelan

By Jagdesh Singh | OPINION |

It was all so familiar. Almost typical. The sanggat in the main darbar of Khalsa Land tucked between the foothills of Kuala Kubu Baru sang as loud, almost in chant like manner, to welcome the new ablakhees (initiates) into the Khalsa fold. The eminent part time lawyer and full time preacher, Harcharanjit Singh @ Raja led this congregation into almost a frenzy, in his usual enigmatic style.

This scene isn’t dissimilar at all to the very same ceremonial part of the Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan that have been organized by the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia (SNSM) for the past 56 years. Yet, the formulaic template still evokes spine tingling emotions for me every time. The bagpipes, the drums, the lyrics all mashed into a memory that lingers on for days and sometimes even for weeks.

But the same copy and paste approach to the camp over the years is also a double edged sword. At one point, it was considered the true tried and tested approach that other regional Sikh centers decided to emulate. Sydney and Bangkok are prime examples. But these recent days, this template is considered almost unmodern. Sabha has been accused of not keeping up with the times, millennials and the following generations now question everything including what is being preached at these Sikh camps.

The youth are now believed to be more inquisitive.The internet provides immediate answers at their fingertips. The old ways of preaching and lecturing, that worked miracles for my generation, may be impediments to the current generation. At least this was one of the main theories on the perceived lower attendance for these annual samelans over the past handful of years. But the numbers say otherwise. 760 total participants, including 285 sewadars (as the volunteers are called) tell us that the attendance is as healthy as before. If there was any genuine reason for a dip in the attendance, my first thought would be camp-fatigue for our youth. But I digress.

Having spent the whole week at the annual camp, thoroughly enjoying the company, the rough and tumble of being closest to nature and a jam packed schedule, my views and observations could very well be biased. But here goes.

The lectures were all focused on Guru Nanak and his teachings from his 4 Udasis. The material prepared for both students, participants and the lecturers were of very high quality, printed in color and distributed electronically. But what impressed me more than anything was the activities planned in class and outside of class throughout the day. It was evident that the messages that were being preached or conveyed were realistic and applicable to the daily challenges of the young in school and at home. I remember the messages we got in the good old days were a bit more superficial and prescriptive. As in ‘Thou Shall Keep Hair and strive for being an Amritdharee’. Rather, what was being repeated daily over the last seven days were on applying Baba Nanak’s teachings on being a kinder, more humane caring human being, espousing equality and practicality in all walks of life.

The children resonated with these messages, evidently. And the relevance were further fortified with the new roles of Junior Sewadars being the bridge between the young participants to the more senior organizers of the Samelan. The activities were a breadth of fresh air for many of the returning participants, including myself.

It was indeed a good move by Sabha to empower the younger generation of sewadars to design and plan these creative activities like Shark Tank and Samelan Olympics (just to name a couple) that allowed feedback loops from the participants themselves. This new generation of millennials, more in touch with the their target audience, have proven that Sabha’s future are in good hands based on the smiling faces at the end of the Samelan. The proof, as they say, is in the kheer pudding.

Jagdesh Singh, a Kuala Lumpur-based executive with a US multinational company, is a father of three girls who are as opinionated as their mother

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