By Jagdesh Singh | Opinion |
My eldest girl drove our old trusty Saga right in front of my car, all ready for the trip home from Khalsa Land in Kuala Kubu Bharu. This was a huge milestone for us. Seven days before, she had driven the old Saga herself, with her younger sister as passenger, to attend the Annual Gurmat Parchar Samelan.
This wasn’t her first Samelan, the annual event organised by the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia (SNSM).
She has been attending ever since she was less than a year old, following me and my wife even since for every single year. During the dark lockdown days of COVID-19 pandemic, she attended virtually. Alas she missed the 2022 Samelan while preparing for her SPM exams (Year 11 national examinations), breaking a 16 year run. She returned this year, now old enough to drive herself there and as a young volunteer rather than a participant.
More than 30 years ago, the teenage versions of me and that of my other better half were a tad younger than the age of my eldest today, and had crossed paths as participants at one of these Annual Samelans. She was the popular one, everybody wanted to be with her. I was the awkward half Punjabi boy with a weird sense of humour and almost detested the popular ones that got all the attention. Nothing had hinted about our future together back then.
When we met years later and started dating, this memory cropped up and was weaved into the story of how I met my daughters’ mother. We both started attending the Sikh camps again during the engaged years and never stopped since. Pregnant with our first baby, we still enjoyed going back to the Samelan at the end of the year, meeting back with friends we’ve made both on our own and together as a couple over the many years before.
SEE ALSO: Sikh camp celebrates 60th anniversary, goes green
That was the the pull, the attraction, to meet with familiar faces and smiles having gone through seven subsequent rough days together in Decembers over the years since we were teenagers. This is also the same for our daughters. They’ve made friends closer than blood ties since their first Samelans as infants. I joke but I had even made a rista for my eldest when she was only two with the son of my close friend. Today, they’re both the best of friends.
With these two generations of loyal Samelan attendees spanning over almost 30 years, it’s not easy to imagine how it would’ve been before these Samelans started. It’s been there all our lives. To be precise, it’s been there for 60 years.
The Annual Samelans started in 1963, with the vision of enriching children, teenagers and young adults with our Sikh values and the Sikh way of life. Social ills such as drug abuse and alcohol abuse threatened the upbringing of Sikh families back then. Our forefathers had the foresight of gathering youngsters together to ensure they imparted the timeless Sikh values that would overcome these threats. Remarkably, these threats still persist today 60 years later with added flavor, with now our children facing discrimination, sexual abuse, depression, sexual orientation challenges.
The template of teaching and engaging with the children hasn’t changed dramatically over the years. Classroom teaching, inspirational keertan sessions and daily prayers have stayed the way the were. There is a recognition by organizers and volunteers today that the instructive or directive approach isn’t working as well as it did decades ago, and are trying hard to keep up with the times. Evolution takes time but will happen naturally, I’m sure.
Anyway, I’m not going to attempt to be the smart one in the room asking for a revolution or reinvention of how we conduct our Samelans. There are smarter people already working hard on it, dedicated to making these Annual Samelans better and more impactful for our youth.
For now, families like mine with as many as four generations of loyal attendees will continue to go back to the Annual Samelans. It’s the best place to reunite with old friends, to enjoy being together remembering why our upbringing of Sikh values and our way of life is important for our next generations to come.
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.
RELATED STORY:
Serving food and affirmations (Asia Samachar, 6 Oct 2023)
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
