Ashvinder Kaur, a chemist by day and an active Sikh volunteer, will be appearing in a unique event that attempts to shine awareness on the issue of mental health.
Ash, described as a bubbly “Indian films” enthusiast who loves dancing and has an aptitude for talking (a lot), was previously involved in the sold out Sikh-themed theatre production “Marjaana to Mittar”.
This time, she will be one of the collaborators of ‘The Human Exhibit: Mentalhealth’, now playing in Kuala Lumpur. There will be a show tomorrow (28 Jan) as well as on Feb 1-4. Event Page, click here.
What exactly is ‘The Human Exhibit’? Picture a fine art gallery where you look at paintings and sculptures. Now replace that with people performing dance, spoken word, physical movement, monologues, dialogues, and music at different parts of Twenty20Two.
Utilising even the toilets, pantry, and storeroom, ‘THEM’ will take you on a journey of different mental health issues such as depression, schizophrenia, bulimia nervosa, gender dysphoria, bipolar, struggles of mental health, borderline personality disorder, and more, according to a statement from the organiser.
Being led through the journey into different mental conditions materialised by performance art, audience can expect a journey, walking from one spot to another to experience what it’s like being in the mind of those with various mental conditions. All to raise awareness and break the stigma on mental health.
Ash was last seen as Shanti in I’m Productions’ Silk and Strings, and received positive reviews for her intense performance. She was also involved in short fi lm “My name is Jim” as well as Punjabi-lah’s “Vaisakhi Misconceptions” video which went viral on Facebook.
I’M Entertainment together with Instagram and Facebook movement #DearMentalHealth (@dear.mental.health) aims to abolish the stigma around mental health and to spread awareness on this pressing and ever growing issue.
I’M produces ‘THEM’ in awareness of the different mental health aid (some of which will be present during the show dates) from the 25 January till 4 February 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 |
IN MEMORY: 10am-12pm, 3 February 2018 (Saturday), at Gurdwara Sahib Kuyow, Sungai Besi |Malaysia
Sarjit Kaur (Tanno) 1929-2017
LATE MATA SARJIT KAUR (TANNO)
d/o Late Sardar Tara Singh Gill
Village: Sabra Dist: Amritsar , Punjab
Born: 06 July 1929
Departed: 07 March 2017
Husband: Late Sardar Kernal Singh (Railways – Sentul/Travers )
Children / Spouse:
Persin Kaur@ Ahmer Kaur (Klebang) / Late Gurnam Singh
Ajit Singh (Deceased)
Delip Kaur (Ipoh) / Jeswant Singh Aulakh
Harbhajan Singh (Selayang) / Ghito Kaur
Manjeet Kaur (Batu Pahat) / Harnek Singh Gill
Awtar Singh (Kuching) / Vero Kaur
Dearly missed by sons, daughters, sons in law, daughters in law, brothers, sisters , grandchildren, great grandchildren, relatives and friends
Sehaj Path da Bhog: 10am-12pm, 03 February 2018 (Saturday), at Gurdwara Sahib Kuyow, Sungai Besi, 57000, Kuala Lumpur. Guru ka Langgar will be served.
Contact:
Delip Kaur 017-5863939
Jeswant Singh Aulakh 012-5056959
Harnek Singh 012-7657510
Harbhajan Singh 019-2096509
Please treat this as a personal invitation from the family. Thank you.
| Entry: 27 Jan 2018 | Source: Family
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BOOK LAUNCH: Author Amardeep Singh presenting a copy to Pakistan High Commissioner to Malaysia Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, flanked by CMSO chairman Dr Surendar Singh Cheema (left) and APU founder Dr Parmjit Singh – Photo Beyond Media
By Mohammad Nafees Zakaria
I am sure that majority of you would agree with this understanding that all religions teach peace, humanity, love and respect for each other. No religion teaches violence, hatred, revenge or discord. It is the human weaknesses that distort these teachings. Therefore, any account of religious heritage or religious belief should be a reflection of the religious teachings of that particular faith. It should aim at helping the efforts towards peace and harmony rather than igniting sentiments of revenge, hatred or discord.
Pakistan is not just a cradle of ancient civilizations but also a blessed birth place of founders, saints, preachers and leaders of various faiths and religious beliefs. The country has the honour of being the birth place of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the fourth Guru Ram Das Ji, Bhuddhist Sage Padmasambhava, and many Saints of Islamic faith. There is also a big number of religious leaders who come from different parts of the world and made Pakistan as their final abode ages before our country came into existence.
[Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first of the Sikh Guru’s and the founder of the Sikh faith was born in Nankana Sahib in the winter of 1469. His birth had changed the name of the land from Rai BhoekiTalwandi to Nankana – Nanak-ana].
Pakistan proudly hosts over 300 Sikh historical religious sites and Gurdwaras all over the country. Images of some of those can be seen on the screen. I have also brought with me coffee table books on Sikh Heritage of Pakistan, which I’ll gift to various Gurdwaras in Malaysia. At the end, we would also show you a short documentary.
The Government of Pakistan, in cooperation and collaboration of Sikh citizens of Pakistan and Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC), remains engaged in the constant functioning of the Gurdwaras and also undertakes major renovations and upgrading of the facilities for Sikh Pilgrims, whose number has increased significantly over the years. Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) of Pakistan spent over Rs.170 million during last three years.
More than 70,000 Sikhs from all over the world visit the holy and historical shrines in Pakistan throughout the year on the occasions of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s birthday (in November), Vasakhi in Punja Sahib Hasnabdal in mid April, Guru Arjan Dev Ji’s martyrdom in Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Lahore and Barsi of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh in Lahore. Since Hindus also follow Guru Nanak Saheb and other Sikh religious figures, they also attend the occasions from within Pakistan and other countries in thousands.
The Evacuee Property Trust and PSGPC arrange reception of the Pilgrims on arrival, langar on arrival and departure, travel arrangements, facilitate custom clearance & immigration, ensure security, accommodation, etc. ETPB has employed Sikh and Hindu Sewadars, Granthis and Pujaris in Gurdwaras and Mandirs, respectively, in keeping with the religious sensitivities and for proper observance of traditions.
In addition, Pilgrims are assisted in matters related to currency exchange, telephone facility and health cover.
The Government of Pakistan, together with the Sikhs of Pakistan, has restored 3 major Gurdwaras in Lahore: (1) Gurdwara Janam Astaan, Sri Guru Ram Das in Chuna mandi; Gurdwara Shaheed Singh – Singhnia; and the birthplace of Bibi Nanaki – Guru Nanak’s sister.
Renovations and expansions are undergoing at Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore – The martyrdom site of Guru Arjan Dev Ji. The works include building of over 300 rooms and an underground car park in Lahore City. The Government is also actively involved in maintaining and restoring other Gurdwaras outside Lahore. The list of Gurdwaras include and are not limited to Kartarpur Sahib, Rori Sahib, Babe di Beri, Sialkot, Peshawar Gurdwara Bhai Biba Singh.
During 2016 alone a lot has been accomplished, such as opening of Gurdwaras Bhai Beeba Singh, Peshawar; Chatti Patshaahi Nankana Saheb and Kiara Saheb at Nankana Saheb; renovation/uplifting of Gurdawar Tamboo Saheb at Nankana Saheb and Gurdwara Dera Saheb; Construction of Bhai Mardana Monument at Nankana Saheb and Angetha Saheb at Kartarpur Narowal; upgradation of pay scale of Sewadars and Pujaris from BPS-7 to BPS-14; scholarships for Sikh students; renovation of 156 room accommodation at Panja Saheb and construction of 100 room at Gurdwara Janam Asthana Nanakana Saheb; Town Planning of Nankana Saheb has been approved and started infrastructure development, municipal services and to develop it as an International City. 50,000 gallons water tank being constructed at Gurdwara Janam Asthan Nankana Saheb and supply of clean drinking water with the cost of Rs 4.8 million has also been provided for the Pilgrims and Devotees at Gurdwara Dera Saheb, Lahore. Most importantly, work on establishment of Baba Guru Nanak International University has started and HEC has approved funds.
The Sikh Community of Pakistan has made significant contribution to the economic and social development in Pakistan. Sikhs are doctors, engineers and in other professions. There are also officers in the army and in police force. On a national level the Sardars are also part of the Junior National Cricket Team.
Mr Ramesh Singh Arora is a Member of Parliament in Pakistan and represents the Sikh community.
In deference to the sanctity of Sikh traditions, Pakistan also enacted the Sikh Marriage Act. This act is the first of its kind as it recognises the Sikh Anand Karaj as legal in the eyes of the law.
Ladies & Gentlemen, I have shared with you the state of affairs related to the Sikh citizens of Pakistan and Gurdwaras.
I am sure those of you who regularly visit and may visit in the coming years would remember what I said here and compare notes.
[Extracted from the speaking points by Pakistan High Commissioner to Malaysia, Pakistan High Commissioner to Malaysia Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, at the launch of the book, The Quest Continues: Lost Heritage – The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan’ by Amardeep Singh in Kuala Lumpur on 20 Jan 2018]
Author Amardeep Singh talking about Sikh heritage in Pakistan during his book launch in Kuala Lumpur on 20 Jan 2018 – Photo Beyond Media
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 |
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong and other guests at India’s 69th Republic Day on 26 Jan 2018 – Photo / Narendra Modi Twitter
Four of the 10 leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries posing for a casual photo at the President’s Palace in New Delhi on Thursday. It is the first that the leaders of the 10 Asean countries are present for India’s Republic Day celebration on Friday (26 January 2018). Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to jawans who laid down their lives for the country by laying a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate.
This year, Malaysian classical dancer Datuk Ramli Ibrahim was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian awards to honour his distinguished service in the arts. The 64-year old dancer is one of 16 foreigners to receive a Padma Award.
ASEAN LEADERS at President’s Palace in New Delhi while attending India’s 69th Republic Day. L-R: Malaysian PM Najib Razak, Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong, Indonesian president Jokowi and Brunei ruler Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah – Photo courtesy of Najib Razak Official facebook page.
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SASKAAR: Cortege leaves at 1.30pm, 27 January 2018 (Saturday), for cremation at Sikh Crematorium, Lorong Batu Lanchang, Penang|Malaysia
Jasbir Singh Aujla (1950-2018), Penang
JASBIR SINGH AUJLA
(Son of the Late Hari Singh & Late Sathwanth Kaur)
Born: 1950
Departed: 25 January 2018
Age: 68 years
He will be dearly missed, lovingly remembered and forever cherished by all his loved ones.
Wife: Jagjit Kaur
Children & their Spouses, Grandson, Sister, ln-law, Nephews, Nieces, a host of Relatives and Friends.
Funeral: Funeral service will be held at the residence at No. 9-E, Lorong Delima 13, Island Glades, 11700 Penang on 27 January 2018 (Saturday)
Cortege timing: Cortege leaves at 1.30pm, 27 January 2018 (Saturday), for cremation at the Sikh Crematorium, Lorong Batu Lanchang, Penang
Akhand Path: Akhand Path will be held at Wadda Gurdwara Sahib Penang (No. 87, Jalan Gurdwara, Penang) on 2 February 2018 (Friday) till 4 February 2018 (Sunday)
Path Da Bhog: 10am-12pm, 4 February 2018 (Sunday), at Wadda Gurdwara Sahib Penang, followed by Guru Ka Langgar (Lunch will be served).
KINDLY TREAT THIS AS OUR PERSONAL INVITATION.
Contact: 016-333 6486 (chetvinder @ baby)
| Entry: 26 Jan 2018 | Source: Family
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Neurosurgeon Dr Gurmit Singh will share some tips on spotting a stroke and what to do at that point of time at a health talk in Petaling Jaya on 11 February.
The afternoon talk (2.30pm-4.30pm) at Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya is organised by Sikh Women’s Awareness Network Malaysia (SWAN).
Dr Gurmit is a senior consultant neurosurgeon at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital.
She gleefully finished her chocolate lava cake, her dimples from her smile now apparent again, as we finished the day with the formality of cutting her birthday cake. It wasn’t even a typical birthday cake. Just a small-sized lava cake enough for her and her sisters.
I’m told her day was a good day. She had participated in some rehearsal long distance run representing her school. Her new friends weren’t that new after all, acquaintances from her primary school days. And her dimples from her smile danced as she recounted her day.
It was a completely different picture a week back. She was stuck in a rut, depressed and sad. Her eyes had bags from crying every night, her face skin blemished. I know my daughter was trying her best to put up a brave front, to appease her parents but her free fall into sadness overpowered this brave face very quickly whenever we tried to console her.
Her acceptance into a well known sports school to start off her secondary education came abruptly mid-December. Typical of us, we rushed through our year-end vacation with minimal preparation for her to start her hostel boarding. And when I say preparation, I meant emotionally. Neither she, nor us, her parents, were mentally nor emotionally ready for our first born to be away from home so early in her life. We just pressed ahead with the optimism that her potential as a football player at the state level and even perhaps national level would do her good in the long run. We, her parents, did. She, on the other hand, reserved herself, knowing full well that she couldn’t adjust being away from her home and family.
As her father, I already had visions of singing the national anthem at a packed stadium with her in the middle of the stadium to marshal the defense of her team. I convinced her and her mother that all she needed was time to acclimate to her new surroundings in the hostel. I had managed to mask her apparent sadness with layering this vision of mine above it all. “All she needed was time”, I repeated to her, her mother, and to myself.
By the third week, she was the same. Crying every night. An old friend, my mentor in life as a father and husband, asked me what my aim was to put her through this. It was an uncomfortable phone call as I waffled on about excellence, about her being exposed to the highest level of competition, her potential to grow as an outstanding sports person, playing for state, and so on and on. As I spoke, I dithered and faltered. I couldn’t even convince myself if this was my dream for her or if this was her dream. He listened, as he always has. And the awkward silence at the end suddenly made the visions I had of my daughter manifest into something physically heavy on my shoulders. “How about you ask her truthfully?” he suggested.
When I did ask her, she was brave. She told me and her mother that she was willing to give it more time. But the tears in her eyes were more truthful. Her tears told us more than her brave facade. She was doing this for my dreams, not hers. It was all in that moment. It clicked for me. I could’ve persevered. I could’ve pushed on, even if my visions of her in the future were now no more crystal clear. But it didn’t seem right, emotionally. Her mother’s eyes penetrated mine, as she silently tried to convince me that we should listen to our daughter.
As I write this, I still don’t know if if I made the right decision to transfer her to the school she had wanted to go initially, sacrificing the potential of her etching her destiny as a sports woman. And I don’t know if I should trust my young teenager daughter to chart her own path at such a young tender age of thirteen. But I remember being rebellious and how I vehemently objected what my father thought should be my path, as I had just done with my daughter. I also remember my father empowering me to figure out my own dreams and ambitions as I matured in my teens when he realized that dreams are not meant to be forced upon.
My generation, and the following generations, have the luxury to choose our dreams, to take time discovering. This is simply because we’ve been lucky enough to not worry about putting food on the table, our parents provided in abundance. Because of this luxury, there really shouldn’t be any justification to push and force upon our children our ideals, our dreams. At least not when it causes unhappiness. Perhaps she will find her way to flourish and to express herself in another way. This to me now, would be more valuable, than for her to achieve excellence that I define for her. Maybe her definition differs completely, and maybe that’s just fine for her. As long as her dimples dance in her smile. Always.
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.
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PRAYERS:Akhand Path: 8am, 26 Jan 2018 (Fri) to 28 Jan 2018 (Sunday). Path Da Bhog: 9am-11.59am, Sunday, at Gurdwara Sahib Selayang Baru |Malaysia
We think of you in silence, with sorrow in our hearts
Though our tears still flow, you will live in our hearts forever
SARDAR SARWAN SINGH JAMARAI
The man of integrity, courage and love
Village: Jamarai, Tarn Taran, India
Residence: Selayang Baru, Batu Caves
Born: 1951
Departed: 25 March 2017 in India
Akhand Path: 8am, 26 Jan 2018 (Fri) to 28 Jan 2018 (Sunday) at Gurdwara Sahib Selayang Baru, Selangor
Path da bhog: 9am-11.59am, 28 Jan 2018 (Sunday) at Gurdwara Sahib Selayang Baru
Message from Family:
Sadly missed but forever treasured and loved by wife, children, grandchildren, relatives and friends.
We invite you and your family to kindly join us for a Sri Akhand Path prayers from 8am, 26 Jan 2018 (Fri) to 28 Jan 2018 (Sunday), followed by Path Da Bhog on Sunday, 11.59am, at Gurdwara Sahib Selayang Baru.
Please treat this as our personal invitation.
Contact:
Bhupinder Singh (Bob) 016-3380040
Harvinder Singh (Harry) 012-3259005
Mansharan Kaur (Sharan) 016-2207207
| Entry: 23 Jan 2018 | Source: Family
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Simran Retreat 7.0 | Gurdwara Sahib Tanjung Malim, Perak | 23-25 February 2018
Kindly fill up the registration form to enable us to plan the logistics and langgar for all of you..
We will post the info on nearby hotels.. for you to choose and make your bookings directly..for your own comfort and leisure. There will be some place made ready in the gurdwara premises for those who want to stay in.. therefore all this info is needed when you fill up the registration form above.
You could also scan the QR code to access the registration form.
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PRAYERS:Akhand path from 9am, 26 Jan 2018 (Friday) at Gurdwara Sahib Taiping. Path da bhog: 9am-12pm on 28 Jan 2018 (Sunday)|Malaysia
Suckdzir Singh (1952-2018), Taiping
Suckdzir Singh s/o Lall Singh
Last respects: For those paying their respects, they can do so at No 171, Jalan Dato Mah Poi Nui, Taman Bukit Mas, 34000 Taiping, Perak. Sukhmani sahib path commences at 10am and cortege leaves the residence at 1.30pm.
Saskaar /Cremation: 2pm, 22 January 2018 (Monday) at Pestavest Crematorium Ground, Taiping
Prayers: Akhand path commences on 26 Jan 2018 (Friday) at 9am at Gurdwara Sahib Taiping. Guru Ka Langgar will served on all three days.
Path da bhog: 9am on 28 Jan 2018 (Sunday) followed by Kirtan/Katha and programme semapthi.
Contact:
Sandev Singh 019554499
Balraaj Singh 0195555564
Baljit Singh 0194747483
| Entry: 22 Jan 2018 | Source: Family
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