aiksaath_SL1

Dear Sikh Sangat, I've copied below a message I've just sent to Slough Sikhs but the exhibition will tour- so maybe it will come to a museum near you: Dear Slough Sikhs, Aik Saath's Partition exhibition is being launched today at Slough Museum. I know that there is a lot of frustration with regards to how much Sikhs are under-represented in accounts of Partition and hopefully this will go some way to rectifying this- the exhibition was created by interviewing four Sikhs, four Hindus and four Muslims. Please visit the exhibition at Slough Museum, 278/286 High Street, Slough. The exhibition is free and open between 11.30 am and 4.00 pm Wednesday to Saturday between 17th and 31st August 2007 For more information contact Aik Saath on 01753 574780 or visit www.1947partition.com Exhibition to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Partition Aik Saath will launch “Partition” today on Friday 17th August (60 years to the day that the borders were announced). The exhibition explores the Partition of British India into India and Pakistan in 1947 through the personal memories of people living in the UK today. Partition involved one of the largest migrations in recorded history with 14.5 million people crossing borders and the deaths of an estimated one million people. Members from Aik Saath’s peer training team made up of young people aged between 14 – 21 have interviewed older people about their memories of living through the Partition. Aik Saath (meaning ‘Together As One’ in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu) began in response to tensions between young Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims in the late 1990s in Slough. One of the reasons stated for the tensions was Partition. This exhibition aims to explore the story of Partition in the hope that we can all learn about the human impact of the decision and move forward to a more peaceful future.

:TH: Thank you for your advice - I'll ask them what they think. I read on here once that Karas should be made from a certain metal- is it Iron or Steel or does it not really matter?

Hi Sangat, I work with some young Sikhs who are having a problem with this hot weather- they keep getting black spots on their skin underneath their Karas- they're finding the spots really itchy- their Karas are made out of the steel that Karas are supposed to be made of. We were talking about how to stop the black spots and I thought other people must have had this problem so I thought I'd ask the kind and friendly Singhs and Kaurs on SikhSangat. Any advice gratefully received.

Balait_da_Sher was right it's panj singha di sewa. Thank you for your responses- :TH:

Absolutely excellent- I've learnt a lot from it :TH:

Hi Sangat, I have a question and I thought you might be the best people to ask. A friend of mine is having a special ceremony where five Gursikhs come round, say a prayer and eat dinner with my friend's family. This sounds great. But what is the prayer about and is it the same one or does it change? Also, who are the people that do this? Are they everyday people doing Sewa or are they like Guruntis (sorry if my spelling is off)? I'd be really interested to read any general information about it also. Any information would be gratefully received.

Chamchas- doesn't that mean teaspoons? Just wondered Institute of Race Relations I only found out about the above article because it mentions Aik Saath but it was an eye-opener for me and you might find it worth reading if you're interested in this issue. The comments on the article are also interesting.

Dear Sangat, Please check this out: http://www.sloughobserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7212 I am doing my best to argue against this kind of thing but I am not Sikh and sometimes I struggle to explain things as well as you would, so if you have time, please add a Sikh perspective.

I think more people know who Sikhs are than you probably think. I first learnt about Sikhs in a strange way. I was living in Bradford and I used to visit a shop. One day I got talking to the guy who ran the shop- he was a Gursikh (sp?) and he gave me a book called 'Listening to Sikhs.' I found it very interesting and have learnt a great deal more since then about Sikhs. I visit this site from time to time for the same reason. I guess the media should play an important role but guys like the one in the shop, educating people through talking and giving information- they are just as important.

I just thought I'd post this for two reasons. Firstly, a tiny minority of posts I've read have been a little bit down about how the rest of society view Sikhs (be it in UK, Canada etc.) when I think it's important to recognise the great deal of respect so may people of various backgrounds have for Sikhs. Secondly, it happened days ago and it's still making me laugh. Last week, an anti-racism conference took place in Burnley and the group of young people I took along were a mixture of white British, Muslims and Sikhs. We knew that the trip would coincide with Bandi Chor Divas and the Sikh contingent said that they did not mind as long as they could go to the Gurdwara. We knew the date well in advance so we found the address of the nearest Gurdwara- it was in Blackburn. We made sure we knew where it was so that the night we would arrive, it would be easy for us to find. When we got there it was closed and when we asked around we were told it usually opened on a Sunday. Because of the long trip it was getting late and we knew that there would be one in Manchester but had no idea where to find it- 118500 weren't very helpful. We needed petrol so we went to the petrol station and spoke to the Muslim owners who rang friends to find out if there was another Gurdwara near by. They gave us directions to Preston and a contact at a video store. We inevitably got lost but found our way to Preston. We asked in a couple of shops where the local Gurdwara was but it drew blank and confused faces every time from the shopkeepers. Eventually, we went inside a video shop and the guy behind the counter was very helpful. We had decided on a change of approach (I hope this doesn't offend), so we asked for the Sikh Temple. He scratched his head for a while and looked really thoughtful. Eventually he said, I'll ask the manager. The manager came in and he shouted, "these two lads are looking for a film called Sikh Temple, can you help them?' We tried to explain but it was no use. The manager vaguely pointed up the road and we ran off looking for it, conscious it was getting late. We found the Gurdwara about ten minutes later. It was packed out with people of all ages and our group of white British, Muslim and Sikh young people were made most welcome. It still makes me smile- the fact that someone thought we were desperately seeking a film called Sikh Temple. What makes me smile even more though, is the way people from different backgrounds (Muslim, white etc) went out of their way to help us get young Sikh people to the Gurdwara. I think there's a lot more care for each other in our communities than we sometimes recognise- regardless of our religion or background.

Hi I hope you don't mind- I wrote this because of something sent on an e-mail list but I thought you might be interested (sorry if I got it wrong) To: sloughsikhs@yahoogroups.com ; akj@yahoogroups.com ; b_o_s_s@yahoogroups.com ; info@thesikh-times.co.uk ; sikh_news_discussion@yahoogroups.com ; ss-refs@yahoogroups.com Cc: syf24_7@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Friday, October 21, 2005 11:06 AM Subject: RE: [sloughSikhs] Chalvey Boyz V Shere-E-Punjab, 14.10.05 <I cannot subscribe to all of the above lists but I would be very grateful if you could forward my message to them as I feel we have a 'right of reply'> Dear 'Suki World' and Others, I felt the need to right a response to what I think is an unfair portrayal of what has happened. I have worked for Aik Saath for a couple of years and can tell you the following: -"The article was commissioned" - no it was NOT. Aik Saath was approached by the Eastern Eye who informed my manager they would like to do a retrospective piece on how things used to be and how much is being done to prevent that kind of thing happening- like the new faith partnership. -"do gooder sycophantic groups" - do gooder- what? like Sewa? As for sycophantic, from what I understand that means to (if you'll forgive the expression) suck up to people. We never have, never will- I think it's an inappropriate insult- even if the word does sound good. -"the 'race relations industry'"- I went to a conference with five young people on Wednesday. Aik Saath was selected as one of fourteen best practice examples from across the country for preventing race hate crime. Doreen Lawrence- Steven Lawrence's mother opened the conference- I'm sure you have heard of him. It reminded me of how vitally important the 'race relations industry' as you call it, is for people. -"a raison d'etre and to get funding -"The group needs £80,000 to continue running next year..." We are definitely NOT in search of a raison d'etre- our raison d'etre is highlighted every time a young person tells us they've been abused because of the colour of their skin or because of the length of their hair and so on. As for suggesting that we commissioned the article because of a funding crisis- that is probably one of the most ridiculous things you could say. You are effectively inferring that we risked worsening race relations to keep ourselves in a job. The staff team works ridiculous hours and goes through all kinds of stresses because they are motivated by making our community a better place. If it was about money, I can ASSURE you- we wouldn't even be here. -"Eastern Eye need to concentrate their reporting on the ghettos in Leeds and other cities in the north of England that breed Islamic suicide bombers, who attack the very society that has allowed them so much freedom." Eastern Eye has covered issues like that in the past and I'm sure they will in the future. To concentrate on that, I feel, would give a negative impression of our Muslim brothers. With regards to the article itself- my manager's line in the interview (however people feel it was reflected) is exactly the same now, as it was then: Things were bad- they're much better now but there's still work to do. To conclude, if anyone, including yourself Suki, would like to discuss the article itself, Aik Saath's work or community relations then you can call me on 01753 574 780 or drop in (I can't guarantee we'll be here because we're often in schools and youth centres so it's best to call in advance). Bul Chuk Muaf, Rob Rob Deeks Project Development Worker Aik Saath Conflict Resolution Group www.aiksaath.com