Garrison Churches
Garrison Churches The British built garrison churches in the Cantonments that they established in various parts of India. In 1947 they were handed over along with everything else in the Cantonments. The process was not difficult because an Interim Government had been formed in 1946 itself. Moreover, the Chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force continued to be …
AFTER SIGHTING 1000 FULLMOONS
Prelude Attaining the age of eighty acquired some significance for pensioners when the government instituted additional allowance to the elderly persons who were classified as ‘super senior citizens’ about fifteen years ago. I was wondering why the figure 80 was chosen for the award of this bounty. In an idle reverie, I was surfing the Internet when I discovered …
HAJI MOHAMMED MASKIN’S PRICELESS GIFT TO THE GOLDEN TEMPLE
Introductory Note Millions of people visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar every year; some as devotees and the others as curious visitors. However, very few of them know about the existence of a treasure trove (called the ‘Toshakhana’ in the local parlance) Housed on the first floor, this strong room contains precious items given as gifts to the Temple over …
GENDER BIAS IN THE GOLDEN TEMPLE
Music is the language of Gods I can’t sing for nuts, but if a singer makes even one slender mistake, my body quivers and the soul protests. It seems that the Goddess of music came all the way up to my ear but failed to travel the final three-inch distance to the larynx which contains my sound box. When I …
Healing power of Holy Words
Power of Mind over the Body Call me a cynic, if you like, but I have no hesitation in asserting that I have a healthy disbelief in the reports of the clinical tests which are performed on the body. Pulse rate and blood pressure (BP) are routinely checked by doctors to diagnose disease. Their well researched ‘normal’ values have been specified by …
EYES IN THE SKY BUT FEET ON THE GROUND
A Tale of two Eminent Contemporary Men This is a brief story of two eminent men : Mr HS Malik (1894-1985) and Bhai Hira Singh ji (1889-1926) They both became well known and left an indelible mark on the sands of time. Their fields activity were very different, but they had one thing in common: their vision was high above the clouds, and …
RIVULETS OF JOY and RIVERS OF SORROW
All the World is a Stage… What is life, and where are we going? This question has haunted human beings ever since they learnt to ‘think’. The great poet and playwright, William Shakespeare suggested that we are mere actors, and perform the roles assigned to us. In “As You Like It” this appears in the form of a monologue. The analogy …
SALVATION FROM ‘Dukkha’ and ‘Gham’
Meanings of words: ‘Dukkha’ This Pali / Sanskrit word means ‘suffering, anxiety, dissatisfaction, and discontentment’ and it forms the basis of Buddha’s four noble truths. ‘Gham’ is an Urdu word which means ‘sorrow’ especially when it is caused by the loss of a loved person or failure in life. Ghalib has used it in many of his poems. Part I: …
The Sikh Arti Video with Background Write-up
Originally posted on 14 July 2010 : This has come to me from Lt Gen Gaur. It gives an interesting background to the Aarti performed in the Gurdwara after the last prayer. The beauty of this ‘forward’ is that you can play the aarti, read the text and also see a video clip. This is true multi-media, the future of …
FATHOMLESS WORDS OF BABA SHAIKH FARID SET TO MUSIC BY JAGJIT SINGH
Originally posted on 23/01/2011 : Within a space of two days, we lost two men of substance. Why it hit me hard was that one of them was barely one year senior to me. Death, the natural culmination of life seemed perilously close, and I started looking for words to soothe myself. In my shelf I found a CD of …
