Articles

Tips for Child Devlopment
How to start Business
Nani Palkhivala's Vision for India

Dilip Barot - Building Bridge between India & USA
Incredible Indians
Thai and Chinese food Indian Style
The Golden Temple : The Ultimate Sikh Pilgrimag

Patiala

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Tips for Child Development

Why are Nursery Rhymes/Songs Important for a Child's Development?

First and foremost, children get "hooked" on listening to language, and they also learn valuable skills. Children learn the patterns and rhythms of their language, how words can be put together in a fun musical way.Patterns are very important for early reading and for math. Reading specialists have advised that a child's ability to discriminate and create rhyming words, as well as their internal sense of rhythm,are closely related to early reading ability. A child who has absorbed over and over through the ears and not the eyes - such common rhymes as "fun, sun, run" or "fiddle, diddle, middle" as well as the melody of their language, is statistically destined to have an easier time learning to read.

In the same way, songs incorporating rhythm are an important teaching tool. Even before they are born, babies are comforted by the rhythms of their mothers' bodies. After birth, rhythm continues to be a comfort. Early in life infants learn to respond to music by moving their bodies and swaying. Later they imitate rhythms and sounds. Through music activities, children learn important pre-language skills naturally - listening, paying attention and concentrating - which lead to anticipating what comes next and being able to follow directions. All of these things form the foundation for learning conventional communication. Singing songs together also involves physical contact, repetition, turn-taking, non-verbal responses, vocal play, actions and an awareness of the appropriate timing for action and/or words. The rhythm and melody of a song help a child to anticipate and recognize when it's his or her turn. This "timing" is a very important conversational skill.

But nursery rhymes and songs aren't just for the development of speech and reading, they are also excellent for strengthening emotional and intellectual development. The bond between caregiver and child is enhanced, there is practice with language, listening and memory, there is pleasure in the auditory stimulation and there's lots of enthusiasm and fun! So let's turn off the radio, TV, tape recorder, computer and the VCR and let's turn on our children by helping them become active participants with us in songs and rhymes.

What is INTERACTIVE
READING?

Interactive Reading is when you involve your child in the reading process even if they have not begun to read on their own. How can this be done?

Reading to your child is the Number 1 requirement to help your child become a successful reader. By reading to you child, you will bestow upon them, the love of literacy, a gift of loving to read, which is a gift of a lifetime. Interactive Reading is when you have them participate in the reading process by involving all the senses of see, hear, say and do and even touch.

When children are as young as 6 months to 4 years old, you can choose "fabric type of books" where they can touch and feel the pages and characters as you read to or with them. When reading with or to children of all ages follow some simple guidelines:

1. Stop every now and then and ask them questions to see if they are listening and understanding the story.

2. Enjoy every page of the book, looking at pictures if any and talking about What if and Why situations.

3. Stop in the middle of sentences with because… and see if they can predict what happens. Encourage critical thinking and creative thinking.

4. Place your finger under the text so that your child begins to understand that reading is from left to right and this is helpful if your child is dyslexic or suffers from any attention deficit disorders. It helps them keep track with the story and helps them read along and begin to follow the left to right order.

5. Re-read books to your child, choosing large texts for little children so they begin to recognize and follow the stories and begin to try reading.

6. Pretend to play or be the characters in the story.

7. Ask questions that teach important life lessons such as. Should Red Riding Hood have talked to the Big Bad Wolf, why or why not? Was it right for Goldilocks to go into a house of strangers?

8. Using rhyming books such as Dr. Seuss are great for easy reading and language development since rhymes are easy to remember and follow.

SEE, HEAR, SAY AND DO… AND SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN YOUR CHILD

Your child has 5 main pathways into their brain and they learn by see, hear, touch, taste and smell. If you can help your child develop these 5 acute senses, you will lay the foundation and basis for a better learning. The first 6 years are critical in development since this is when science has proven the brain soaks up information. The more effective the stimulation you provide to your child, the more you do with your child, the more they will learn.

Maria Montessori, the Italian born educator believed that children go through 6 sensitive learning periods in their life.

Language - the sensitive period of language begins at birth and continues for the first 3 years of their life.

Order - the sensitivity to order appears in the first few months, and continues through until the child is 2, but 18 months is the strongest time of this sensitivity when the child is moving objects around and trying to find things they have seen or placed in the same place.

Walking - sensitivity to walking begins between 12-15 months and once your child learns to move, they keep moving.

Social Sensitivity - this begins around the age of 2-3, when children begin to notice the other children around them and want to make friends and play with others.

Sensitivity to small objects - children begins to touch things around the age of 1 and are attracted t insects, bugs, pebbles, grass etc.

Learning Sensitivity - this begins at birth as the brain begins to develop, with the sense of sight, hearing, then movement, touch, taste and smell. Children learn by doing. They walk by moving around, they learn to talk by listening and talking, they learn to ride a bike by riding, they learn to sing by singing and they learn to read by reading. There is no magic process. It is a simple process of See, Hear, Say and Do!

Children learn by touching and feeling, listening and doing, using all their sensory experience as much as possible.

• 20% of what WE READ

• 30% of what WE HEAR

• 40% of what WE SEE

• 50% of what WE SAY

• 60% of what WE DO

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How to start a Business

The process of starting a business is an exciting process, yet it involves so many questions!

What sort of business do I start? Take a look at what interests you. What are you good at and what do you love to do? The point of starting a business is to do what you like. This is your time to be creative, have fun, and earn some money in the process. Think about your current job, what do you love or hate about it, is this line of work that you would like to continue in? If so, maybe look at creative options to apply the same skills in your business. You don’t need to quit your job to start the business; you can try it part time, and see how much momentum you gain with the venture.

Once you have figured out what you like to do, you need to get an idea of whether this will work. This is where business planning comes in. Roll up your sleeves, grab a pen and paper, and start writing. What’s your idea? What will you need to start the venture? What will you charge? Most importantly, who is your customer and what is the market need? Once you have answered some of these basic questions, use the Small Business Association site, www.sba.gov, http://www.sba.gov, to download a business plan and to fill it out. A business plan is a great way to assess the positives and negatives of starting a business, it will help flush out potential hurdles you may encounter or lead you into a new approach into starting the business. Make sure that you realistically assess the number of employees you may need, the equipment and any other overhead you may have.

Now that you have decided you have a feasible idea, you have to figure out how to finance it. Look into SBA loans, borrowing against your 401k, or getting a contract and utilizing the money from that to fund the venture. There are numerous other factors you need to look at before starting your venture, such as minority 8(a) status. Many South Asians overlook this, but it may allow eligibility to a select portion of government or private work. You can download the application and get more information on 8(a) status from https://sba8a.symplicity.com/applicants/guide. You need to also think about how to register your business and the question: Should I or should I not incorporate? Do you own a house, or have or investments that you would like to protect? If so, incorporating you business may be the answer for you. If you are going to have a partner, you may want to look at a Limited Liability Partnership or if you are starting something that doesn’t have a lot of legal complications, you may want to keep it registered under your name as a sole proprietor. Taxes and the method of accounting to use is another issue that you need to think about in starting your own business. What type of bookkeeping methods should you use and do these have any legal implications? Review the Small Business Association site www.sba.gov 
http://www.sba.gov   for additional resources.

We have focused on the basics of starting a business. Once you have it set-up correctly, you will need to look at the Marketing, but that is for another article. Marketing is the method in which you use to create demand for your product. Some basic methods are to utilize the web, print, or promotions to stimulate demand. The process of starting a business is a challenging one, but it’s definitely worth the personal satisfaction you gain. The strengths and lessons that you gain from the venture are one’s that you can apply to any endeavor you take on again in life.

Saveeta Rampadarat, MBA, is currently working in Advertising/Promotions for Sony Electronics. Ms. Rampadarat had founded two companies. Spin Marketing Consulting, a marketing strategy company, where she worked with a range of consumer products: Cosmetics, Children’s, Jewelry, Retail, Biotech and other categories. Realtime Unlimited, a promotions and brand marketing company. Her client list has included some of the following: Best Buy, Columbia TriStar, Polydor, Sony Playstation, Island (Polygram Company), Margaritaville Records, New Line, MCA Nashville, Universal, Amblin Entertainment, Mercury Records, No Limit Records, Atlantic, Ruthless Records, Relativity, Elektra, MGM, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, etc.

Contact Saveeta at saveetar@hotmail.com  •

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Nani Palkhivala's Vision for India

Those of us who have lived through the earlier days of free India, when the entire nation was looking forward with zeal and with a sense of national pride, cannot but look upon the present times with deep anguish and distress. I do not think India in its entire history of 5,000 years has ever reached a lower level of degradation than it has reached now. The depth of decadence to which we have sunk was exemplified by the leakage of question papers for the Joint Entrance Examination 1997 for the first time in the history of the Indian Institute of Technology.

The only achievement of Indian democracy has been that it has survived unfractured for fifty plus years. Nine hundred fifty million people -- more than the combined population of Africa and South America -- live together as one political entity under conditions of freedom. Never before in history, and nowhere else in the world to- day, has one-sixth of the human race existed as a single free nation. Professor Rostow of Texas University regards the survival of Indian democracy as the most important phenomenon of the post-war era.

The achievement is all the more creditable, since no other democracy has had such diversity in unity, or was such a mosaic of humanity. All the great religions in the world have flourished in India. We have 15 major languages written in different alphabets and de- rived from different roots; and, for good measure, our people -- whom you can never call taciturn -- express themselves in 250 dialects.

The English language, which is not included in the 15 major languages listed in the Constitution, yet continues to be the only link language for the whole country; it is the only tongue in which the South is prepared to communicate with the North.

In 1950, we started as a Republic with inestimable advantages.

First, we had 5,000 years of civilization behind us -- a civilization that had reached 'the summit of human thought' in the word of Ralph Waldo Emerson. We inherited great skills and many-splendor intelligence, since the genes had evolved over five luminous millennia. We had a superb entrepreneurial spirit, honed over a century of obstacles. A few years ago, a World Bank report on India mentioned two very favorable factors -- an unlimited reservoir of skilled labor, and abundance of capital available for investment in new projects. The trader's instinct is innate in Indian genes. An    Indian can buy from a Jew and sell to a Scot, and yet make a profit!

Secondly, whereas before 1858 India was never a united political entity, in that year the accident of British rule welded us into one country, one nation; and when In- dependence came, we had been in unified nationality for almost a century under one head of state. Thirdly, our founding fathers, after two long years of laborious and painful toil, gave us a Constitution which a former Chief Justice of India rightly described as "sublime".

The substance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, is embodied as Fundamental Rights in our Constitution. The right to equality before the law is guaranteed to citizens and non-citizen alike. All religions are treated with equal tolerance and equal reverence. The religion of a citizen is no bar to his holding any office, how- ever exalted, in politics or the judiciary. In this respect, we are more secular than the United Kingdom where a Roman Catholic cannot be the monarch or the lord chancellor.

In another respect, our Constitution may claim to be more progressive than that of the United States of America. Equality of the sexes is a guaranteed right in India, whereas the attempt to incorporate a similar right in the United States Constitution was met with resistance.

We can proudly say that our Constitution gave us a flying start and equipped us adequately to meet the challenges of the future. Unfortunately, over the years we dissipated every advantage we started with, like a compulsive gambler bent upon squandering an invaluable legacy. I am afraid, India today is only a caricature of the noble democracy, which our forefathers strove to bring to life and freedom in 1947.

As early as January 1987, The Economist rightly remarked that socialism as practiced in India has been a fraud. Our brand of social- ism did not result in transfer of wealth from the rich to the poor but only from the honest rich to the dishonest rich.

We built up state-owned enterprises called the public sector in India. The sleeping sickness of socialism is now universally acknowledged, but not officially in India. More than 240 public sector enterprises are run by the Union government, and more than 700 by the state governments. These public sector enterprises are the black holes, the money guzzlers, and they have been extracting an exorbitant price for India's doctrinaire socialism.

There is a tidal wave of privatization sweeping across the world from Bangladesh to Brazil, but it has turned aside in its course and passed India by.

The most persistent tendency in India has been to have too much government and too little  administration; too many laws and too little justice; too many public servants and too little public service; too many controls and too little welfare.

My own thinking is that our greatest initial mistake was to start with adult franchise. No democracy has ever paid, all things considered, a heavier price for adult franchise than India. I am not aware of any great democracy, which started as a republic on the basis of adult franchise: all of them started with a more restricted system and then graduated to adult franchise. When the Constituent Assembly was in session, two of our greatest statesmen -- C Rajagopalachari and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel recommended that we should not start with adult franchise but educate our people first to make them worthy of discharging their duties as citizens of a great democracy; but they were out-voted.

The second fatal mistake was to let the population nearly treble, in the absence of any sensible or sound family planning measures and policies. Today, the unbridled population growth, except in the state of Kerala, has been the ruin of this country.

Our third disastrous mistake was to pay no attention to education. Value-based education has never any sex appeal in Indian politics. Unlike Lee Kuan Yew who gave education the priority of priorities in Singapore, our political parties treated literacy as a matter of no consequence. The result has been that more than half of our population is literally illiterate. Official statistics give a more comforting figure; but that is only because any person who can write or sign his name is considered to be literate according to official statistics.

Professor Amartya Sen has bluntly said India will be the only country in the world to enter the 21st century with half her population illiterate, and that successive state governments have demonstrated "incredible irresponsibility" with regard to primary education. In total disregard of Article 45 of the Constitution, state governments have completely ignored their obligation to provide compulsory primary education.

When I was in the United States, I was often asked one question -- How does India, with its great human potential and natural resources, man- age to remain poor? The correct answer is very  unflattering and hardly the type of answer which an ambassador of any country may be expected to give: We are not poor by nature but poor by policy. You would not be far wrong if you called India the world's leading expert in the art of perpetuating poverty.

Yes, the potential of India is so great! Sir William Ryrie, the executive vice -president of the International Finance Corporation, expressed the view that India has some of "the most creative entrepreneurs. The most dynamic business leaders and the sharpest financial brains in the world." These words give you an idea of the magnitude of the effort needed to keep India impoverished.

Most of our politicians and bureaucrats, untainted by knowledge of development in the outside world, have no desire to search for genes of ideas which deserve to be called "a high-yielding variety of economics". We are smugly reconciled to low yield from high ideals.

India is rattling -- and rattling violently with spare human capacity. More than thirty million are registered on our 891 employment ex- changes. According to objective estimates, there must be at least thirty million more who are unemployed, but who are not registered.

As the chancellor of the exchequer pointed out in the House of Commons some time ago, the population of Hong Kong is less than one per cent of India's (0.7 per cent to be precise) and its land area is 0.03 per cent of India's and yet it has twice the trade of India.

The picture that emerges is that of a great nation in a state of moral decay, of which corruption and in- discipline are two of the several facets. In the land of Mahatma Gandhi, violence is on the throne today. Mobocracy has too often displaced democracy. The contribution of modern India to sociology has been a Bandh -- the closure of an entire city by militant rowdies. One may apply to India the words used by the late Benigno Aquino about the Philip- pines -- "Here is a land in which a few are spectacularly rich while the masses remain abjectly poor? where freedom and its blessings are a reality for a minority and an illusion for the many? a land consecrated to democracy but ? a land of privilege and rank ? a republic educated to equality but mired in an archaic system of caste.

" The greatest problem of India is that its finest men -- men of caliber and vision, knowledge and character -- are not in politics and stand little chance of getting elected, having regard to the murky atmosphere of our political life. I was one of the foolish people who told Hari Nanda to stand for Parliament. He stood for Parliament from the seat which was supposed to be the safest for him -- Faridabad. He was not only defeated, but he forfeited his deposit!

If I am asked to name one curse which deserves to be regarded as the greatest curse of India, I would say it is casteism.

Unfortunately, divisiveness has become the Indian disease. Truly, divisiveness is the AIDS of India -- a disease which is spreading fast and wide, preys on the public mind and is without a cure in sight. Communal hatred, linguistic fanaticism, regional fealty, and caste loyalty are gnawing at the vitals of the unity and integrity of the country. To the growing army of terrorists and professional hooligans, caste or clan, creed or tongue, is a sufficient ground to kill their fellow citizens.

National integration is born in the hearts of the citizens. When it dies there, no army, no government can save it. Inter-faith harmony and consciousness of the essential unity of all religions is the very heart of our national integration.

The soul of India aspires to integration and assimilation. Down the ages, Indian culture -- a tremendous force of power and beauty -- has been made richer and deeper as a result of absorbing what is best in outside influences and integrating those various influences to grace and enrich its own identity.

Yet, an objective overview would justify confidence in the long-term future of the country. A nation's worth is not measured by its gross national product any more than an individual's worth is measured by his bank ac- count. Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith remarked that while he had seen poverty in many countries of the world, he found one unusual attribute among the poor of India -- "There is richness is their poverty."

Hundreds of millions, who have no standard of living, still have a standard of life. The ancient civili- zation has survived and will survive when the raucous and fractious voices of today are lost in the    silence of the centuries.

Nature has been kind to India in one respect. It has endowed the country with the gift of producing great leaders in the darkest hour -- leaders with the gift of grace who can arouse the trusting millions to lofty heights.

I believe the solution for India is not to be found in adult franchise. There is a basic lesson of Indian history. Our people have always taken their moral standards from their rulers; the people have risen to great heights when they have basked in the glow of noble kings or leaders. The present generation is waiting for a leader who will make it relearn the moral values, and who will inculcate in the people as Gandhiji did, a sense of the responsibilities which fall on every citizen of a free society.

It is true that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. But it is true, in even a deeper sense, that eternal responsibility is also part of the price of liberty. Excessive authority, with- out liberty, is intolerable; but excessive liberty, is intolerable; but excessive liberty, without authority and without responsibility, soon becomes equally intolerable.

De Tocqueville made the pro- found observation that liberty can- not stand-alone but must be paired with a companion virtue: liberty and morality; liberty and law; liberty and justice; liberty and the common good; liberty and civic responsibility.

One last thought, and I shall have done. Today, the unity and integrity of India seems to be at stake. But "even this shall pass away". Indian society will, in course of time, acquire the requisite political culture -- the attitudes and habits of tolerance, mutual respect and goodwill, which alone can make democracy workable.

The day will come when the 26 states of India will realize that in a profound sense they are culturally akin, ethnically identical, linguistically knit and historically related. The major task before India today is to acquire a keener sense of national identity, to gain the wisdom to cherish its priceless heritage, and to create a cohesive society with the cement of Indian culture. We shall then celebrate our Republic as the dependence of the states upon one another, the dependence of our numerous communities upon one another, the dependence of the many castes and clans upon one another -- in the sure knowledge that we are one nation. 

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Dilip Barot

Building Bridge between India and USA 

A successful businessman, Mr. Barot’s latest venture is an oceanfront resort, and he resides in Palm Beach, FL. He has extensive hands-on experience in development, investment and management of over 7,000 residences over the past 12 years. His success has been published in national and international publications such as Forbes magazine, “Imported Entrepreneurs”, Reader’s Digest, “Keepers of the Dream.” He was chosen as a Finalist for the 2004 Corporate Stewardship Small Business by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Barot also has an ongoing ambitious infrastructure technology project known as “InfoCity” which is a world class “Mixed Use Development” located in India with 10 million square feet under development. His vision of quality has helped to create a luxury oceanfront high-rise condominium “Amrit Resort and Residences” of which he has and continues to be an integral part of every phase of this project.

Tell us about where you were born and your early education.

I was born in District Mehsana, State Gujarat, India and studied in Mehsana High School and attended a 4-year degree course in Pharmacy from L.M. College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad, India in 1981.

Why did you decide to come to America? 
I arrived in America in 1983. It was the adventure to learn and explore new things and to find myself in US.

How would you compare the US with when you first came here in 1983, as per opportunities, culture or any other aspects?
As per my view in terms of opportunities, now more resources are available including team, knowledge and money. I could see more opportunities today as compared to the time of my arrival in the US. I have been able to appreciate both the cultures (East & West) and recognize the effect to changes occurring in both of them. In global politics, in economic development, India and US have a better choice in creating mutual beneficial relationships.

One question which most American colleagues ask me, I would like to ask you too: why do you think India is at the forefront in providing maximum number of IT Professionals to this world?
It’s basically the culture of Bangalore where ISRO came first and the first break came from there. When IT era boomed, the cost of living in India was much more affordable as compared to US and the number of IT professionals required, were easily available in a large population of India.

Success has different definitions for different people. How would you define success?
On a macro level, success is a progressive realization of a worthy goal. Goals can be in a broad spectrum, achieving something you desire. In day-to-day life, success is to assure that everything I am involved in is winning. Speaking about success, 

what in your view, does it take for an individual to be a successful entrepreneur apart from a good product or good service?
In my view, one should have the ability to recognize opportunity, to provide better service or product, and generally make it available at any given time. One should have willingness to take risk (get out of the comfort zone). One should be goal oriented and not task oriented.
Be creative.

Everyone has certain skills or talents, what tips would you give our readers on how to better use their skills better?
Recognize your skills and talents by putting them on paper and identify what product or services it will best fit.
1 Find opportunity that best fits you and use that talent.
2 Establish goals and remain focused, day in and day out to achieve your goals.
3 Learn effective management including time management and people skills.

What guidance will you give to the new arrivals here, who have similar dreams, in achieving their goals?
My message to the new arrivals is to learn American culture, system and practices including good work ethics and a goal oriented attitude. Keep the good part of Indian culture such as patience, respect, appreciation for small things and give up preset notions (prejudice) i.e.; gossiping, comparing cultures in a non-constructive way. Know your talents and skills then establish the goal accordingly to grow. Find a person or company who will give you an opportunity to achieve your goals. Practice the best of both to achieve peace and prosperity in every aspect.

What does it take to be at a level where you are today?
It is basically the self discipline and prioritizing the short term and long term goals which took me to this level. I think the secret behind my success is the ability to practice the value individually and collectively.

How do you create work-life balance being so active?
I look at life in totality and prioritize the aspects whether it is business or personal. Self discipline and wisdom has also helped me to find the optimum balance.

Do you feel the concept of success has changed in the last few years?
Yes, of course the concept of success has changed in the last few years, as life evolved; one’s horizon expands as well as the goal.

Has your personal success changed your attitude, lifestyle or work style?
Yes, in terms of attitude, I have become more appreciative of everyone and everything. In terms of lifestyle, it is in more harmonious and now I realize duty is joy.

What does it take in terms of spirit, to be successful?
In terms of spirit, one has to have success in two terms i.e.; faith in godly values and product or services you are offering; including yourself and team members.

What are your personal aspirations?
My aspiration will be to help others to achieve their goals while achieving my goals of making the best out of my god given talents and skills.

Your current venture is an oceanfront resort and residences in Palm Beach what kind of difficulties did you find in starting this venture and how did you overcome them?
The major difficulties I faced at the time of starting this venture was the very limited knowledge about the American system, culture and language. I overcame all the hurdles or difficulties by learning and practicing, which I am still continuing today.

How did you manage to achieve so much in such little time?
I believe this is my beginning and I have so much more to achieve in the future.

What qualities/values of life would you like your fellow citizens to adhere to?
Values are dynamic; however, fundamental values known as godly values in the great religious book include truth, non-violence (as lived by Mahatma Gandhi), fearless (courage) and respect for everyone and everything.

What financial advice would you like to give to your fellow Indians?
My foremost advice to my fellow Indians is to learn more about their skills and talents, find the opportunities, develop good working ethics, remain goal oriented; thereby achieving them.

How do you deal with failure?
Failure is a temporary set back to your goal and sometimes it guides you in the right direction. It can act as your traffic sign, provided you look at it in a constructive way.

How do you deal with envy?
I believe in truth and non-violence (as lived by Mahatma Gandhi), do sole searching and receive everything in a constructive way.

Is it possible to be successful while keeping your principles and ethics intact?
It is impossible to be successful without keeping your principles and ethics intact.

Who has played the most important role for you to achieve success: your parents, spouse, teacher or mentor?
It’s basically all of them; however others have also contributed in a different manner including team members, children and friends.

Who is your mentor?
At a young age, my parents, elders and Swami Vivekananda and now Mahatma Gandhi have been my mentor’s.

How has religion played a role in your success?
Religion to me is the godly value and has played a vital role in my life which is still continuing and has contributed to my success.

How has education played a role in your success?
The word “Educ” means ‘learn from’. It means I am still gaining knowledge and has helped me in every aspect of my success.

What is the most exciting thing about success?
Success helps you to find yourself in a constructive way (who you are and what you are).

Have you missed out on anything in life?
I have not missed much in my life. My past has been good, present is wonderful and future will be fantastic.

What message will you give our young children for them to be successful?
The message to the younger generation should be to learn from everyone and everything; care and share, talk to walk, be confident and humble at the same time. Being caring and sharing human beings; will bring more fulfillment, inner happiness and peace. 

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Incredible Indians

The final rites for Shri Sunil Dutt (world famous actor, political leader, humanitarian, social leader and philanthropist) were conducted at Parmarth Niketan. Sanjay Dutt and his sisters Priya and Namrata came with the entire family to immerse Shri Sunil Dutt's ashes in the holy water of Mother Ganga. The puja was graced also by the presence of the Honorable Chief Minister of Uttranchal, Shri Narayan Dutt Tiwariji and other dignitaries. The Uttranchal Police performed the official Salami Shastra in Shri Sunil Dutt's honor.

Dr Rup Nagala: Leader of rural healthcare in US

This part of the United States - namely the States of North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana and Wyoming - is predominantly rural.

Taking advantage of a law that facilitates a relatively hassle-free issue of visas to medical practitioners in rural areas, quite a large number of doctors in the country-side and smaller townships in the US are Indians.

Dr Rup Nagala, the Indo-American doctor, is now considered to be a pioneer and leader in "rural-healthcare facilities" in the U.S.

Meet Dr Rup Nagala, who left India for the US in 1978. He developed a new system of rural health care facilities, in this part of America, at a time when native doctors were packing their bags - as the case is in India - and migrating to large cities for better earning opportunities. 

Starting as the only physician in a small sleepy town over 25 years ago Dr Nagala has developed six satellite clinics, paid to educate and train six of his assistant physician and created a "network" of serving 20,000 people. In fact, over the years he has developed a regional and rural health care network, which is now being emulated by other rural areas of the United States.

Such has been his contribution to the rural health care and that to this township that the city of Oaks declared one day in his name: an honor which is rarely given to a physician.

His commitment to rural health care has made him finalist of the Country Doctor of Year Award several times. The award honors rural physicians who demonstrate extraordinary dedication to patients, community and profession.

In the year 2002, he was declared the "Country Doctor of the Year": a rare honor for an Indian doctor. The very next year he was bestowed with the 2003 Physician Community and Professional Services Award deeming him a role model professionally and in his community. In 1993, he was named the outstanding rural health care provider. He has also received recognition from the National American Academy of Family Physicians, North Dakota Chamber of Commerce and American Medical Association.

His list of achievements is long. Dr Nagala treats patients not only at his clinics, but also at two nursing homes and works with four volunteer ambulance services. Indeed, he has developed a complete rural health care network over the years, his large fan club claim. Originally hailing from a doctor family in coastal Andhra Pradesh, Dr Nagala studied rural medicine at University of North Dakota, where he developed the idea of a satellite medical system, he says.

His wife, Dr Vani Nagala joined him in 1984, which too started serving the community with same passion and dedication. For several years, the couples were the only doctors in the region. 

However, with their help the area now boasts of as many as five doctors - all from India - serving the rural population in the United States.

It is only because of Dr Nagala and his team, which he has developed over the years, that Oaks and its neighbourhood are the few fortunate rural areas of the US, where people do not have to travel long distance for medical treatment.

The road north, out of Udupi induces peace and calm. The Arabian Sea to the left, the sense of space and the bright light make you wonder if there can be anything better.

Soon you learn that there is. Turn right at Brahmavar ['Gift of Brahma'!] and right again. You are on a road fast asleep. Trees stand tall, broad and quiet. Fruit lies on the ground unclaimed. There are so few people about. You have just dropped through two or three floors of time, from noisy, crowded India.

10 km down the road at the village of Cherkady, 86 year old Ramachandra Rao welcomes you with a pitcher of water and three tiny cones of jaggery, into his 2.5 acre homestead. He's a small, wiry man with twinkling eyes on an untroubled face.

He is eager to tell his story and it is best we have it in his voice.

Gandhi is all you need:

"Sir, I was born in Kodagu [Coorg] in 1917. When I was two, my father and mother, died mysteriously within a day of each other. My older sisters had been married. I was first brought to one of them in Dharmasthala and then here to Cherkady where another sister had been married. My brother-in-law was a farmer some distance away from here. I grew up grazing his cows and helping out in the fields.

"They sent me to the local school when I was close to 10 and I spent just two years there. That has been the only formal education I have ever received. Or needed.

"My teacher Ramachandra Patil had only one subject: Gandhi. He spoke of his life, thoughts and courage. He spoke of Gandhi's frugality, devotion to nature and self-reliance. He spoke of nothing but Gandhi the whole time, and we were all under a constant spell.

"Patil-Teacher even kept a charkha in the school and we all fought each other to learn to spin. My two years were soon over. The farm needed my labours. I am glad I studied no more, for that would have diluted what I learnt.

"I was growing up in the fields helping my sister's family. In my spare time, I was spinning the charkha at home. In my late teens, deciding that I must have a career, I went to Brahmavar to learn weaving. I made my first money when I was 22, for fabrics I had woven. I had not known money until then.

Weaving wins a bride:

"I gained a reputation as a good weaver. Oh, I loved it: the smell of lint in the air, the clack of the loom and the film of sweat on my skin. The whole thing was very meditative and kept me fit and well-fed. It gained me my wife as well. Her father thought me a stable fellow and she too began to weave. We earned Rs.600 per year as weavers. Life was good.

"Then came the great war. There was a huge shortage of yarn and we were out of work. I then heard there was a large stock of unusable cotton, lying at the Mangalore Khadi Bhandar. Everyone had declared its yarn unfit for spinning.

"I examined it and brought a sample lot over. I spun it and with some care, I could weave it. The Khadi Bhandar was delighted. They thought me a master-weaver. They commissioned me to convert the whole lot and spent the princely sum of Rs 30,000 on my word. I put a charkha in every home in Brahmavar and set up seven looms. We began to turn a warehouse full of dead cotton into good cloth. Gandhi was as good as his word. We spent the war years in reasonable comfort.

"The Khadi people then sent me to their ten acre farm in Moodbidri to revive it. There was a goshala, a weaving centre and agriculture to care for. I was paid Rs 25 a month. It was hard life with our three children to feed. I was there for four years. The extreme poverty nearly broke me.
 
"Post-war, famine was stalking the land. The British knew how to march around and terrify people but they knew nothing about managing a crisis. What do foreigners know who are not born to this land, who have not experienced its truths? Gandhi did. He urged people to return to the land and grow food, just food. I knew he was right."

Back to Gandhi:

Cherkady Ramachandra Rao pauses with a soft smile. He looks into the dense stand of trees and plants. We eat some sweet-sweet pineapple chunks just out of the ground. He resumes his story after a while.

"We returned to Cherkady. My brother-in-law gave me a cow and this patch of land. It is a hectare. He had no use or plans for it. It was barren, with some water in a ditch. Despite reasonable rains in these parts, no water ever stayed on the land for long. I built a hut and the five of us moved in. The cow fed us all. I sold the milk and we ate whenever we could. 

"I began to scrounge for seedlings and planted them all over. I would walk about wondering what to do next. There was no water to grow paddy. I raised some vegetables after deepening the ditch for some more water. I spent most of the time shaping the land to harvest rain water. That was the scene 57 years ago, and I am still here, a very contented man. 

"Slowly the plants and trees grew. I never wasted anything that arrived on this land. All fallen leaves and cow dung, were spread around the young trees.

 "I had built my toilet based on a design by Gandhi. It was a simple pan set into the ground, the outlet had a trap door and looked down on a pit layered with leaves. There was a rudimentary privacy screen around it. After each use one poured just a mug of water and that dumped it all into the ground; the trap door shut again, sealing out all odour. One then went around and emptied a small basket of dry leaves over the dump in the pit. Every year or so I made a new pit and moved the pan to it. In about six months the previous pit awaited me with rich manure. 

"I planted only what I found in the neighbourhood. Mango, jack, pepper, pineapple, silk cotton, banana, coconut, cashew and vegetable species. I picked the best of a breed and brought it over. In a few years, water stayed for longer months in the ditch. The land got cooler and the soil felt wetter. The leaf pile was getting thicker.

 Message on a straw: 

"One morning, I stopped in my tracks. A sturdy plant of rice, ripe with grains stood in my way. How had I missed it all these days? Where had it come from? Where it stood was no wetter than other parts of the farm and my land was by means abundant in water. I had certainly, not planted it. It was unlike any paddy I had known. It had buxom grains on 16 strands, all on one stem. It stood alone glistening in the morning sun.

 "I was overwhelmed. I took it home and shook it. There was close to a kilo of grains from that one plant! And so began my rice harvest year after year. I scattered the seeds on unploughed land, spread leaves and manure and watered it by hand. There was no attempt at flooding the patch. Slowly, the patch grew wider but it was never more than a tenth of an acre. All it called for was one man's labour for three days in a season. That was enough to feed our family of five continually, for forty years.

 "Folks were surprised. Paddy in dry land? Without flooding? Papers wrote about it. I was told that a Japanese man called Masanobu Fukuoka had done something similar. There was a stream of visitors asking questions. I was called to meetings, seminars and was honoured by adoring audiences.

More pay-offs:

"What cash I required, I got by growing vegetables in 20 cents and from what my trees gave me. We ate what we grew. I milled the silk cotton seeds for oil for our lamps. I deepened the ditch, and built a lined well over it. I drew all the water by hand, for the land and our home-- about forty pitchers in a day. There has been no electricity on this land till two years ago. Not that power-lines didn't run in these parts, but I didn't want it. Children went to school and read by oil lamps.

"My first son was a good student. When he passed high school, Mr Haridas Bhatt, principal of MGM College in Udupi, who was my admirer took him in at no cost to me. When he graduated, Mr K K Pai, another admirer, took him into his Syndicate Bank. He went away to become a good banker. I was happy, for him. I got my daughter married to a good man. The land had helped me do my duty by her. But I was happiest when my second son Ananda, came home from school one day and said: "Father, I do not want to study any more. I don't understand anything at school. I want to work with you on this land." He has been with me and does most of the hard work. I think he made a great choice.

"I don't want you to think I am a poor man in money terms, either. My bank account is as rich as this land. And it grew without any clever skills. I have more than what many salaried people have at the end of long careers. The term, 'impoverished farmer' bothers me.

"I can understand the plight of people without land to live on and grow their food. But I don't understand those with land, complaining, asking for the government to help. I am sorry to say this, but their problems can only be traced to two things: greed and or ignorance of how nature works. Often, the latter. They are led astray by fertiliser, seed and pesticide companies, bore well contractors and politicians who say, I will give this free and that on credit. We have farmers seduced by exotic crops and huge profits. All in quick time. They are finally led to suicide.

" Ramachandra Rao has nothing more to say. He is clearly upset.

Cherkady changes too:

Rao's elder son returned to Cherkady after retiring from the bank. He declares he's happy to be back. He has built himself a substantial house in a corner of the land. Electricity arrived two years ago. The old man suffers it albeit with some grudging concessions to its merits. There's also a small electric pump drawing water from the well.

The Gandhi toilet has fallen out of favour. "It needed just one mug of water per use," wails the old man. Alas, rice grows no more: the trees are so big and everywhere, that hardly any sunlight falls on the land. So they buy rice to eat. But Rao has preserved his success species. Elsewhere in the state, there seem many people who want to know how to survive on heartache-land. Rao travels frequently to teach his secrets.

The drive back to Brahmavar, suggests a new interpretation of the story of Eden, as possibly told by Brahma: Nature decreed that for those without greed, there is enough to live happily by. But man wanted more. He looked up from the soil and gazed into the distance. And, was tempted by chemicals, credit and fork-tongued promises. He was drawn away from the land and began to wander in confusion. Soon he was lost, and often killed himself. "The original sin", said Brahma, "is greed."

Back on the highway by the sea, leaving Brahmavar behind, the road ahead somehow seems littered with doubts. b

                                                                                        – Cherkady Ramachandra Rao

Main Index


Thai and Chinese food Indian Style

|| Schezwan paneer or Schezwan || Thai chicken || Crispy Thai Tofu ||
|| Cauliflower Manchurian || Rice machurian || Quesadillas ||

Schezwan paneer or Schezwan

 Tofu Preparation Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 10 Minutes Serves 4 People

 Ingredients for Schezwan sauce:-

 - ½ cup Minced ginger
 - ½ cup Minced garlic
 - ½ tea spoon black pepper
 - ½ cup corriander
 - ½ cup finely cut spring onions
 - ½ cup finely chopped spring onion tops
 - 2 tea spoon salt
 - ½ tea spoon tandoori color
 - 1 tea spoon vinegar
 - 2 table spoon red chili powder
 - 1 cup oil

 -Ingredients for red chilly sauce:
 - 7/8 red chilies
 - ¼ cup garlic cloves
 - ½ tea spoon cumin seeds
 - Little less then 1/3-cup vinegar
 - 1 ½ tea spoon sugar
 - Salt 1 ½ tea spoon
 - Tomato ketchup 1/3 cup

Ingredients for Schezwan paneer or Schezwan Tofu

 - 1 cup Schezwan sauce
 - 200 grams Paneer or Tofu
 - 1 tea spoon corn flour
 - ½ cup water
 - ½ tea spoon salt
 - Green onion tops for garnishing

Method
 Grind all the Ingredients for red chilly sauce in a blender except ketchup when smooth paste adds ketchup mix well.

Method for Schezwan sauce
Put all the Ingredients for Schezwan sauce in a stainless steel vessel. Heat the oil and mix to Ingredients gradually and mix well. Add to it the red chilly sauce.

Schezwan paneer:

Take one cup of Schezwan sauce in a kadai. Stir-fry for about 2 Minutes. Add salt, paneer cut into cubes.mix corn flour mixed with1/2 cup water and give one good boil. Garnish with green onion tops. For a delicious taste, you may want to server it hot.

Thai chicken

Preparation Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 15 Minutes Serves 4 People

Ingredients
 - Boneless chicken
 - Garlic
 - Coriander leaves
 - Black pepper powder
 - Soya sauce
 - Salt to taste

Method
 Grind garlic and coriander leaves to a paste. Cut chicken into small pieces. Marinate chicken pieces with the garlic coriander leaves paste and salt for about 1 hour. Heat 1-teaspoon oil into a nonstick pan. Add some garlic coriander leaves paste to it. Then add marinated chicken pieces, black pepper powder and soya sauce. Cover the pan for 10 Minutes. Stir it occasionally. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Crispy Thai Tofu

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 10 Minutes Serves 4 People

Ingredients
 - 250 gms. Tofu
 - 200 gms. French Beans( thin and long)
 - 3 table spoon. coarsely crushed macadamian nuts
 - 1 table spoon. finely chopped garlic
 - 2-3 table spoon. soya sauce
 - 4-5 table spoon veg oyester sauce
 - 2 table spoon oil for cooking oil for deep frying
 - Salt and pepper to taste

Method
 1. Cut the tofu into rectangular pieces 2X1inches long. Deep fry them in hot oil Keep aside
 2. Cut the french beans into two. Keep aside.
 3. Heat 2 table spoon. oil in a non stick pan or wok add the garlic and crushed macadamian nuts. Sautee for a few seconds.Add the french beans and soya sauce and toss.stir fry the beans for 5 Minutes.Add 2 tea spoon. water. Add the tofu pieces and stir fry carefully taking care not to break the pieces. Add the oyester sauce, salt and pepper,2-3 spoons of water and cook for a few more Minutes. Serve hot with steamed rice and Pad Thai

Cauliflower Manchurian

Preparation Time : 45 minutes to 1 hour Cooking Time : 10-15 minutes Serves / Makes : 4-5 servings

Ingredients
 - 1 cauliflower, cut into small flowerets
 - 3-4 green chilies
 - 1 bunch of green onions or shallots
 - A bunch of coriander leaves
 - 3 flakes garlic, crushed finely
 - 4-5 flakes garlic, chopped
 - 2 table spoon lemon juice
 - Little piece of ginger, crushed finely
 - 3 table spoon chapathi flour
 - 3 table spoon corn flour
 - Salt to taste
 - Oil for deep frying the cauliflower
 - 2 table spoon butter for making the sauce
 - 2 tea spoon red chili powder
 - 1 tea spoon soya sauce

Method
 Make a batter out of the 2 table spoon corn flour and all the chapathi flour.
To this, add crushed ginger, garlic, red chili powder, salt, cumin seeds, lemon juice, 1/2 tea spoon soya sauce and coriander leaves.
Dip the cauliflower flowerets in it and fry till golden brown in color. Drain and keep aside.

To make the sauce:
Dissolve the remaining corn flour in 1-2 table spoon of water. Add the remaining soya sauce, salt, chili sauce to the corn flour mixture and mix well. Keep it aside.
Heat butter in a frying pan and add chopped green chilies, chopped garlic, chopped green onions and stir-fry for about 5-6 minutes. Then add the above prepared corn flour paste and lower the heat.
The sauce will begin to thicken and when it is thick enough, take it from the fire and pour it over the fried flowerets. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Rice machurian

Preparation Time : 15 Cooking Time : 10 Serves / Makes : 2

Ingredients
 - Cooked rice
 - 1 cup
 - Plain flour
 - 1 cup - Shredded cabbage - ½ cup
 - Shredded capsicum (Green Peppers)  - ½ cup
 - Ginger & Chili paste - 2 tea spoon
 - Soya sauce - 3 tab. spoon
 - Vinegar - 1 tea spoon
 - Sugar - pinch • Salt - to taste
 - Water - 2 cups • Corn flour - 4 tab. spoon • Oil to fry

Method
Mix cabage,capsicum (Green Pepers ) and ginger-chilli paste in plain flour.If necessary then put some water & make machurian balls. deep fry in the oil. Keep water to boil.

Put soyasauce, vinigar, sugar, salt. When come to boil then put cornflour to make it thick.take care that lumps should not come. After 5 minutes take it down from the flame. Add machurian and serve hot with plain rice & boiled spinach cooked in ginger water.

Quesadillas

Yield: 5 quesadillas
Quesadillas are large, fried tortilla turnovers. Our recipe, with its easy cheese filling, makes an impressive brunch when served with browned vegetarian sausages.

Ingredients Steps
 - 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
 - ½ cup crumbled firm tofu, drained
 - ½ cup large curd cottage cheese, drained
 - ½ teaspoon turmeric
 - Salt and pepper
 - 1 large red bell pepper, slice lengthwise into ¼ inch strips - ¼ cup vegetarian bacon bits (optional)
 - Chopped chili peppers to taste (optional)
 - ¼ cup chopped fresh chives - 5 7-inch corn tortillas
 - Butter and vegetable oil for skillet-frying

In a bowl, combine 1 cup of the Cheddar cheese with tofu, cottage cheese, turmeric and salt and pepper to taste. Mix in bell pepper along with your choice of optional ingredients. Warm both sides of the tortilla, one at a time, in an ungreased heavy skillet over medium heat.

Place on a flat surface. Sprinkle ¼ cup Cheddar cheese over each tortilla. Spread about ¼ cup of tofu mixture over cheese, leaving a ¼ inch border around edge uncovered. Fold tortilla in half, tucking filling in.

Heat 1tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in skillet. Fry folded tortillas over medium heat on both sides until crisp. Add more butter as needed. 

Keep Quesadillas warm in oven until served. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top just before serving. Variation: Spoon heated chili over top of Quesadillas before sprinkling with cheese. •

Main Index

Golden Temple

The Golden Temple is the ultimate Sikh pilgrimage. The Harmandir Sahib, as it is traditionally known, actually means the temple of Hari or the Supreme God. Also known as the Darbar Sahib, the stupendous, architectural phenomena is located at the city of Amritsar. The temple's exterior is gold-plated and the structure stands in the middle of a square tank. There is a causeway across the Pool of Nectar to reach the Temple. The shrine is symbolical of the doctrines of Sikhism. It also represents the magnificent strength of all the Sikhs. The amazing thing about Harmandir Sahib is that it has doorways on all four sides, meant to be open for the people of the all four castes. All over the, the Sikhs always look forward to visit to the magnificent temple and offer prayers at the Harmandir Sahib.

  The study of the art and architecture of the Golden Temple has, unfortunately, remained a subject of unconcern for art historians and critics. Even scholars of Indian temple architecture have bypassed it and references, whenever made, were mere courtesies. Fergusson considered the Golden Temple an example of the forms, which Hindu temple architecture assumed in the nineteenth century. According to the official list of buildings of interest, published by the Punjab Government in 1875, the design of the temple, as reconstructed by Ranjit Singh, was borrowed from the shrine of Saint Mian Mir, near Lahore. Louis Rousselet, writing in 1882, regarded it as a "handsome style of architecture". Major Cole described it as an adaptation of Mohammadan styles, flavored with a good deal of Hindu tradition. Percy Brown considered it to be a product of the synthesis of Hindu and Muslim influences, combined with elaborations that imparted it an appearance of its own.

 Guru Arjan Dev thought of building a central place of worship for the Sikh community. In 1588, after finalizing the design of the Darbar Sahib, he laid down the foundation of the temple himself. His followers started living in the adjacent area and the town of Ramdaspur came up. The town of Ramdaspur later came to be known as Amritsar, deriving its name from the holy pond that beautifies the area surrounding Hari Mandir. The planning to dig the holy tank or Amrit Sarovar was made by Guru Amar Das. However, the construction of the tank took place under the supervision of Baba Budha ji. The land for the site was acquired free of cost from the zamindars (landlords) of native villages. The first Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh made Amritsar his spiritual capital. He developed the temple further including the gilding of the embossed plates, renewing of the pietra dura and the embellishment of the ceilings with the mirror and floral designs.

Amritsar is an institution by itself. And the Golden Temple is the cradle of Amritsar with the city growing around it nurtured by its divine sanctity. The Golden Temple stands there in simple majesty, the gilded splendor of its paneling, dome and minarets shining in the morning light, silhouetted softly in the water and etched gently across the city escape. For the Sikh community the Harmandir Sahib Gurdwara Golden Temple is the final spiritual "vision," journey's end or beginning and, for every other community too, it is a shrine to be visited.

Besides the Golden Temple there are several other Gurudwaras in India that are of great importance to the pilgrims. Another important pilgrimage site is Anandpur Sahib, where Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru created the 'Khalsa' or the pure ones by baptizing them. Anandpur Sahib (in Ropar District) is one of the five Sikh takhts or thrones. Sikhs from all over India visit this holy site especially on the occasion of Holla Mohalla which coincides with the last day of Holi and marks the festival's finale. On this day, the Gurudwara Keshgarh is filled with people and color as men in bright turbans and women in gaily-colored salwar kameezs try to live up to Guru Gobind Singh Ji's vision of Holi.

Planning a pilgrimage to any of the Gurudwaras of India? Check out the following all-inclusive tour packages and holiday offers that will make your travel trip to the Gurudwara tour comfortable and enjoyable. We provide a range of tour packages and holiday offers for the destinations with sacred Gurudwaras of India that will suit your requirements and budget. As per the nature, duration and the accommodation required during the pilgrimage at each destination of the Gurudwara the tour packages vary.

Amrit Vela
Amrit Vela means the pre-dawn moment. It is actually the time when the watch strikes four o'clock in the morning. The pilgrims wake up and start preparing for a serene early morning visit to the Darbar Saheb. After reaching the temple entrance, one must take off their shoes at the 'shoes counter'. The next step is to dip one's feet at a channel of running water. On the way to the temple, there are lined up flower stalls, for one to buy garlands or just fresh flowers for offering.

Harmandir Sahib
The sublime shrine is reached by descending a flight of marble stairs. The idea is to teach humility to mankind. The staircase leads to the parkarma, where is situated the inspirational and awesome Harmandir Saheb, in the center of the Sarowar. Naturally, one is inclined to bow down to touch the cool marble with their foreheads. Then of course, one goes left to go around the entire parkarma and stop at shrines on the way, before making it finally to the Harmandir.

The Parkarma Shrines & Ath Sath Tirath 
It is the very first shrine on the Parikrama way. Known as Dukh Bhanjani Ber, it is actually built around a jujube tree. The relevance of this spot lies in its story, which says that, a dip in the sacred pool inexplicably cured a crippled youth. Devotees believe that their visit to the temple remains incomplete without bathing at this spot. So, it has become a custom to stop and bath here for any kind of healing.

Next is the stop for a raised marble platform, known as the Ath Sath Tirath. It is believed that bathing near it fulfils one's wish of visiting the 68 holy places of India. The next corner has the shrine of Baba Deep Singh, the legendary old warrior who died at this spot. The names of Sikh martyrs who died in the war are inscribed on marble tablets set in the floor of the parkarma or on the pillars of the verandahs. The Akal takht and the Darshani Deorhi are the very next destination for the eager devotees. 

The Decorated Palki and Sawari
The ceremony of bringing down the Guru Granth Sahib commences half an hour prior. For the occasion, the palki, a gold and silver palanquin, are prepared for it. Attendants lay down fresh sets of silk and brocade coverings and sprinkle rose water.

The head priest of the Harmandir appears with the Sri Guru Granth Sahib on a cushion on his head. And to mark the occasion and to alert the worshippers, there starts the drumbeat sound of the Nigara. 

The procession solemnly moves across the plaza, through the Darshani Deorhi, and along the causeway, stopping as it reaches the main door of the Harmandir. The head priest reverently lifts the Siri Guru Granth sahib out of the Palki, places it on a silk cushion on his head, and enters the holy shrine.

Parkash 
The Head Priest carries it to its Place of Honor, which is a place below the velvet canopy, richly brocaded in silver and gold. He then sets it on velvet cushions and silks placed on a manji sahib. Then the head priest sits in front of the Holy Book and reads it aloud the Vaaq (the Lord's message) to the Sangat (congregation) standing. At the end of it, it is time for the entire Sangat and the sewadars to stand up for the Ardas, a prayer. Following which takes place the shabad kirtan, the song of the sacred verses.

Har ki Pauri and Darshani Deorhi
The Har ki Pauri is the place to be visited after the Ardas prayer. It is on the southern side of the inner parkarma. There is a marble staircase leading into the sarowar. Visitors stop here to sprinkle water from this sacred pool into their heads. One can drink a little bit of water for its remedial power also.

Continuing on the inner parkarma, the devotees again bow towards the Guru Granth Sahib. Then they make way back over the causeway, through the Darshani Deorhi and onto the main parkarma. At this stage, one would see the Ber Baba Buddha or the Tree Shrine. Baba Buddha was the first head priest of the Harmandir Sahib.

Rahras & Arti
The evening is a time for the devotees to come and listen in deep thoughtfulness to the evening recitations. It is time for the Rahras, the Arti and the shabad kirtan. At end of the prayers, the Sri Guru Granth Saheb is reverentially and royally carried to the palki waiting outside. The palki is carried by dedicated Sikhs. The grand Darshani Deorhi is shut down for the visitors after this.
The city of Amritsar was built around the Golden Temple and the Amrit Sarovar lake, from which it derives its name. Surrounded by a fortified wall with eighteen gates, the temple complex has its main north entrance under a Victorian clock tower known as the Darshani Deori. The entrance is up a flight of steps and down again to the temple and holy tank.

The Golden Temple sits on a rectangular platform in the center of the Amrit Sarovar. It is surrounded by a white marble corridor, through which pilgrims visiting the shrine walk, circumnavigating the temple. A narrow causeway links the Harmandir, or Darbar Sahib, as the temple is also called. The entrance to the temple is through an ornate archway with intricate inlay work, inscribed with verses from the Granth Sahib.

The temple building is three stories high and is crowned with a dome shaped like an inverted lotus. The lower story is in white marble, while the two upper story have gold plating. The temple has four entrances instead of the usual single entry, symbolic of the openness of Sikhism and the fact that followers of all faiths are welcome here. The walls within are decorated with carved wooden panels and elaborate inlay work in silver and gold. The Adi Granth, compiled by Guru Arjan Dev, rests on a throne beneath a jewel-encrusted canopy. Priests continuously recite verses from the holy book in 3-hour shifts. A complete reading of the text takes 48 hours.

The Akal Takht, next to the Golden Temple, is the seat of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, the religious governing body of the Sikhs. The building of the Akal Takht was begun by Guru Arjan Dev and completed in 1609 by Guru Hargobind. The Adi Granth is housed in the Akal Takht and is taken out in procession every morning to be placed at the Harmandir, and is brought back to the Akal Takht at night. 

Shrines on the northern edge of the corridor are venerated as the 68 holy shrines of the Hindus. According to the teachings of Guru Arjan Dev, it was enough for the devout to visit these shrines and not visit all the original Hindu shrines, which are distributed across India. Many of these shrines have now been converted into a martyr’s gallery showing the gruesome history of the Sikhs. Around the Parikrama, or pathway, are four rectangular cubicles where Granthis (priests) sit and recite the Granth Sahib. Pilgrims leave offerings at the steps, and can also get the holy book recited in their names for a donation. 

The Jubi tree, at the northwestern corner of the complex, was planted some 450 years ago by the temple’s first head priest. The old, gnarled tree is believed to have special powers and childless women tie strips of cloth on it to be blessed with sons. Marriage deals are also fixed under the tree, though this practice is disapproved of by the temple authorities. 

Getting there and around
As the religious capital of Punjab-and one of India’s most important cities- Amritsar is well connected by plane, train and road to the rest of the country. Amritsar’s Rajasansi Airport has air links to Delhi, Srinagar and Chandigarh; the local train station has regular trains to most major cities in the country. 

In addition to air and rail connections, Amritsar also has frequent bus services from cities and towns both within Punjab as well as in other states. Besides this, there’s a bus service from Lahore (35 km away), the only overland service between India and Pakistan. 

Within the city, rented cars, taxis, local buses, unmetered auto-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws can be used for transport. 

When to go
The Golden Temple, and the city of Amritsar itself, are best visited in the winter. The months between November and March are pleasant (even cold), although the summer can get blisteringly hot. 

Accommodation and other facilities
Amritsar has a number of mid-range and luxury hotels- the latter mainly along Mall Road. There are smaller guesthouses too, and a youth hostel which houses the Punjab Tourism Development Corporation office. Besides these, there is accommodation at the Golden Temple itself; the Guru Ram Das and Guru Nanak hostels on one side of the complex offer free accommodation up to three nights for visitors. 

 
All across Amritsar are restaurants and eateries galore, where apart from the local food, you can also get international cuisine, although usually not too authentic. If you’re visiting the temple, however, it’s best to go to the langar for a taste of traditional Sikh hospitality. The `Guru-ka-langar’ or community canteen is a Sikh institution, which was started by Guru Amar Das in the 16th century. The practice of eating together encouraged shedding of inhibitions and the principle of equality. The community kitchen at the Golden Temple feeds up to 10,000 people in a day, free of charges.

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Patiala

Three kids are coming down the narrow track, dragging along an old bicycle; they are looking for a neon tree. I point out one near Jalau Khana, the old shuttered building fronted by a colonnade, and they move on. Once again, there is silence: a fragile quiet, for the merest sound will scare the hundreds of pigeons perched on the fort wall into spectacular flight.

The trespasser in me realises that the Patiala royals were obsessed with security. I am looking for the slightest opening, even a breach, in Qila Androon's wall but it is as the watchman said - strictly out of bounds. There's only one gate leading into the Qila and the guard there will not let me in at any cost. Well, not until I get permission from the Deputy Commissioner of the Archaeology Department of Punjab and that's unlikely because it's Sunday.

My hopes of seeing the eternal flame brought by Ala Singh, the founder of Patiala, from Jwalamukhi temple are dashed but heck, Patiala has a lot more to fill my day!

Guns & chandellers

In fact, even as I yearn to enter Qila Androon (Punjabi equivalent of the Hindi word andar, meaning inner), I am standing in Qila Mubarak, a later day fortification encircling the old fort. And it's not just a hardy wall built to thwart enemies, but an impressive fort palace with a Darbar Hall (ceremonial court), living quarters for queens and several palatial buildings built under western influence.

The highlight of this outer fort is the Arms and Chandeliers Gallery, housed in the Darbar Hall. It stands atop a mound on the right of Qila Androon Chowk, the open public space between the gateways of Qila Mubarak and Qila Androon.

It's difficult to say which of the gallery's collections is more impressive: the weapons or the chandeliers. If a seven-barrel bolt-action gun is ingenious, it is difficult to peel your eyes off the two tree-like Bohemian glass chandeliers. The 20 heavy chandeliers hanging from the ceiling can send you into a frenzy, but the stem royals (both Patialvis and British) staring down from their wall mounted frames demand decorum.

There's a story about how the chandeliers came to Patiala. Maharaja Mohinder Singh (1852-76) was shopping in Kolkata, where he saw the chandeliers and enquired the price of one. The salesman snubbed him saying ordinary people could not afford them. At this, Mohinder Singh asked him to quote a sum for the entire collection and ship it to Patiala post-haste!

Walking along the hall's rear wall you cannot fail to admire the four carved walnut wood doors. Spare a few minutes for the roof as well. It is a false ceiling, made of coloured wooden tiles. Considering that the building is a darbar, shouldn't it have a gallery for the women members of the royal family? The architect at Patiala addressed the need for purdah with tiny windows set at mezzanine height. These too have black walnut shutters.

While it is difficult to pick a clear winner from the swords, lances, guns, armour and chandeliers, the silver alloy chariot used by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, grandfather of the present scion (and Punjab chief minister) Amarinder Singh, is a big hit with all visitors. The four-wheeled carriage was built in Kolkata in 1909 to be used on ceremonial occasions and was drawn by six horses.

Footloose

Coming out of Qila Mubarak, I set out in quest of the famed Patiala jutti (moccasins). The market street under the fort wall is known for bangles and parandis (traditional ribbons for hair) but these are not in my line. Since it is the wedding season, beautiful turbans for grooms and chunnis for brides dominate the shop windows.

On checking with locals, I learn that Adalat Bazaar is the centre of the jutti trade. In fact, workmen live and make juttis just behind the shops. It's good that I am walking, as driving through the Sunday morning crowd in the market is practically impossible. Although Patiala is one of the four biggest cities of Punjab, its markets still have that small town look. Most shops are small and practically jut into the streets.

Adalat Bazaar lives up to its promise. Every second shop here sells juttis in all shapes, sizes and colours. Plain ones and richly crafted ones. Thick, sturdy ones for men. Dainty, soft ones for women. The blue beaded ones catch my fancy. They would make a great gift but it would be sacrilege to put the delicate things on ground!

The juttis here are a steal. Most are priced between Rs 100 and Rs 500. And you can always beat the price down to half for the really expensive ones. The traders and craftsmen of Adalat Bazaar are not untouched by change. The variety of juttis available with them shows that they understand the importance of design. What's more, the Kolhapuri chappals on their shelves indicate their willingness to adapt to changing tastes.

Garden City

It's not for nothing that Patiala is called a city of gardens and palaces. The Baradari Gardens in the city's heart are living proof of the Patiala royals' love for greenery. The old Moti Bagh is perhaps the most tastefully laid out garden in the city and it is also the setting of two brilliant palaces, namely Sheesh Mahal and Moti Bagh Palace.

Moti Bagh lies on the city's outskirts and I wend my way there in a cycle rickshaw. On the way, we pass Mohindra College, founded by Viceroy Lord Northbrook in 1875 during Maharaja Mohinder Singh's reign. The college building shows none of the Mughal or Rajasthani influences that dominate Qila Mubarak. It is an out and out Roman building.

Moti Bagh is a sprawling estate. We leave the gate leading to Moti Bagh palace and continue to the other end, where Sheesh Mahal stands beside its dried up tank. Maharaja Narinder Singh had got this amazing palace built in 1847, at a cost of Rs 5 lakh.

Consider some of the palace's exotic highlights: a large tank that would require some effort to fill up in the dry season. A suspension bridge across the tank, modelled on Rishikesh's Lakshman Jhula. Two large ornamental watchtowers in the tank. Gardens laid out on the pattern of Lahore's Shalimar Bagh, with fountains, terraces and water channels. As its name suggests, Sheesh Mahal had galleries decorated entirely with mirrors while other chambers were decorated with paintings in the Raj as than and Kangra styles. Today, however, its claim to fame is its museum of over 3,000 medals and decorations pieced together by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh.

The Moti Bagh palace has been recently painted and looks as godd as new. It certainly qualifies as one of the most beautiful palaces in the country. While I can vouch for its beauty, there is one claim I couldn't have verified even if I had spent one full day on the premises - that it has 1,000 rooms. As an institute of sports, the palace does not hold much interest for tourists but its museum of sports certainly is an attraction. Milkha Singh's spikes, Gama Pehalwan's millstone and Maharaja Bhupinder Singh's silver bat are just some of the curiosities on display here.

Three museums in a day is a bit too much for someone who visits one in maybe three years. I emerge from Moti Bagh's museum more overwhelmed than impressed. The simple pleasure of sitting on freshly trimmed grass in the December sun is too much to resist. For the next half hour, I do not grudge the Patiala royals their opulent palaces.

Patiala Heritage Festival

Come February and Patiala will become the stage for a grand heritage festival. For nine days - February 12-20 Patiala Heritage Festival will bring together the most famous classical dancers, singers and musicians from across the country.

Another highlight of the festival's first edition last year was the crafts mela, showcasing handicrafts from across the country. The festival had also managed a cultural coup of sorts by getting Pakistani band Junoon to perform. With cross-border Punjab ties on the upswing ever since, expect even greater representation from West Punjab (Pakistan) this time. •