Impossible is Nothing - Fauja Singh

I was just looking at a few pictures of Fauja Singh and I came across these couple of pics. I know it is quite an old campaign but thought I would upload it regardless. Fauja Singh started running again in his 80's and his dedication is an inspiration to all. Many people, young and old including myself, have taken up this new healthy lifestyle by getting inspiration from Fauja Singh. On the 1st of April 2007 he will be turning 96. He is hoping to beat the world record for the oldest marathon runner in three years time.

Plashet Hockey Club

This is the official website for Plashet Hockey Club for whom I play for. This club has been there since the 80's but this year was the first time that it was entered in the winter league. The season is over and Plashet HC are the league winners. So a pat on the shoulder for all the players and fans who put in alot of effort throughout the season. A Speacial shout goes out to all the aunties who used to prepare the food for all the home games.

Please click here to enter the site

Anoushka Shankar - Concert for George (2003)

A taste of what to expect in the Anoushka Shankar concert. Details are in the previous post.

Anoushka Skankar - 4th June 2007, Queen Elizabeth Hall

Following her three sell-out performances at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Grammy and BBC Music Award nominee Anoushka Shankar returns to Southbank Centre to introduce her stunning new acoustic blend of Eastern and Western influences. The Anoushka Shankar Project builds on the success of her breakthrough album Rise (EMI/Angel), and continues to give the sitar new expression in a modern context, engaging audiences with this experience, and displaying her unique sound and unmistakable charisma and talent.
'Shankar is steeped in her classical roots, but skilled and brave enough to build on them to explore exciting new artistic terrain' (San Diego Tribune).

Tickets: £17.50,£15.00 & £12.50

Click her for booking tickets

Concert: Rimpa Shiv - Tabla Phenomenon

RIMPA SHIV - Sat 21st April - Paul Robeson Theatre, Hounslow (West London)
Start 7.00 pm Chakardar Tabla Tarang then Intense Solo by Rimpa
Tickets: £12/£10 (under 14) from :
Box office: 0845 456 2840 / 07714 065078 / 07817 951658
Tickets also available from Jas Musicals, Bina Musicals, Southall

Manav Singh, The Musician

Just wanted to dedicate this post to a friend of mine from Thailand, Manav Singh, who is a very talented musician and is very humble about it as well. His blog is well worth a visit for all Raag lovers and students of the 'tanti saaj'. The above video is of Manav Singh playing a tune for a Shabad in Raag SHUDH BASANT (According to Gurbani Kirtan Scholars).

http://singhmusic.blogspot.com

Lisbon, March 2007

This is the Infamous, the one and only, Jatlee the morning before the memorable trip to Lisbon. You can see the rest of the pics on his blog, Click Here. I will be uploading videos soon.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Rabab

If asked what is the greatest Sikh relic in existence today, few people would suggest a musical instrument. Yet, the Rebab of Guru Gobind Singh qualifies strongly for this title. To start, the musical tradition of gurbani (religious writing) ties the instrument directly to the center of the faith -- Sikh prayers are done as vocal music and written in standard musical modes (scales) of North Indian classical music.

Further, this particular item is the only known musical instrument from the time of the Gurus that is still intact. We know that Guru Gobind Singh himself played this rebab, making this a particularly valuable and rare find. The Guru gave the instrument to Maharaja Sidh Sen of Suket Mandi (located in today’s Himachal Pradesh) as a gift. The rebab was later donated to the Sikh community and is currently housed at the Sri Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara of Mandi. Unfortunately, none of this information is available on site and most of the visitors are local residednts. Fortunately, the Gurudwara is only a short walk from the main bus station and easy for outsiders to find.

The instrument connects us with a past that is quickly being forgotten. Less than a hundred years ago the rebab was in common use in Gurdwaras (place of worship). But today, few Sikhs have ever heard kirtan (musical religious recitation) performed on one. Kirtan is now performed on the harmonium, a British instrument. The single-stringed rebab (also known as a rebec or rebek in the West) is referred to in literature of India, Persia and even in Arabic poetry. It is still in use today in derivative forms from the Middle East to South East Asia. It may even be the predecessor of the modern violin.

But even without its legendary past, this rebab is also a priceless piece of Punjabi art given its history and significance to the community of its time. Sikh religious music has inspired its followers for 500 years, featuring the rebab since the beginning. Currently, the few efforts to revive the rebab’s legacy have gone slowly because very few musicians still use one.

Today’s rebab players search hard for the motivation to pursue their craft. They must dedicate the expense and time needed to master a complex and largely unknown art form. They also face hard competition with India’s film industry. The media conglomerates have learned that movies form an effective marketing platform for music products, allowing them to lower the quality while still generating sales. Modern Indian music has become little more than a generically produced pop song dubbed into a popular actor’s soliloquy.

Traditional and classical music still exist, but the high cost of training musicians results in a much higher ticket price than the movies and therefore, a much smaller audience. As a result, music students usually abandon their studies before long. The small classes that remain consist mostly of dedicated foreign students who work hard and have won critical praise. Ironically, they are educating Indians about their own musical heritage.

(Courtesy of Punjab Heritage & Muhafiz of SPo)

It Smells Like Up-Dawg in Here!

Dost

Dost dost nahi,Khuda hota hai.

Mehsus tab hota hai, Jab voh juda hota hai.

Bina dost ke jina, Ik saza hota hai.

Aur dost aap jaisa ho, To jine ka maza hi aur hota hai.

X ^ 0 = 1 , Equation as Anology

In my previous post, I posted something ( X ^ 0 = 1 ) what most people just see it as a simple mathematical equation. The equation states that any number to the power of zero equals one.

I too had seen this as just a mere equation until I read a small paper, Paradox of Evil by Mohinder Singh Cheema ji (MA - London) published in 1970. Uncle ji, as we call him, used this equation as an anology. Lets say we take :-

'X' as any Individual e.g you, me, anyone
The Power as The vices within us ( kaam/lust, krodh/anger, lobh/greed,moh/attachment, ahankaar/ego).
1 as Ik-oan-kar

So if we use that in the same equation, we have :-

Anyone ^ 0 vices = 1 = one with the existance.

How can we become one with the Lord? By trying to reduce the evils that exist within us and hopefully one day we can become one with the divine Lord by having no evils within.

I am sorry for the crude explanation I wrote, but I would suggest all of you to read that paper. Paradox of Evil - Click here