My History - Lecture 101 - Singapore

I thought i would begin by providing a little more history about me so you get a chance to get to know me better.

As mentioned in my very first post i was born in Singapore in April 1979 to my lovely parents and was the first of three kids. I was a good kid but apparently a bit of a mummy and daddy's boy, cried a fair bit and tried to swallow a Singapore 50c coin! Lol. It's true. I was born pretty clumsy according to my parents and i still have the scars to prove it! Well i have improved since then.. well i hope.. lol.

Growing up in Singapore provided me with good grounding as it is a pretty strict society and everyone was dedicated to studying hard even at that tender age and the food was amazing. I was there til i was 8 years old and still have very fond memories. I remember we had a pet turtle, there was a tree which produced some sort of red seedlings, my dad's brother Uncle Pritam, my cousins and mum's brothers and sisters, my Grandparents and the food. Oh the food!

Well where do i start.. i will cover the important people in my life and what my experiences were at that age that i can remember. I was born a Sikh to my Sikh parents and had very curly afro like hair, i wore a patka (a small Sikh turban for youngsters) from the moment my hair was long enough to tie a patka. In order to tie a patka you have to tie your hair into a knot / bun at the top of the head, then the patka goes over it for pictures check out the following link http://www.mrsikhnet.com/index.php/2006/12/03/weekend-fun-in-the-snow/. I was a good kid and tried to do right but of course i ran around alot and did lots of cheeky things.

We used to go to my cousins and mum's sisters and brothers place a fair bit as they lived pretty close, i used to play with them as much as i could. All the families would go out from time to time to dinner, the park or shopping. They were great days! I have quite a few cousins and boy did we have a good time. I remember though that we used to fight over the toys from time to time but the love was always there. I guess my cousins taught me how to love others and to share (toys especially) at that tender age, but it was an important part of how i developed into whom i am now. My uncles and aunties were great too, always laughing, smiling and loving in a very much Sikhi way, there was so much love everytime we all got together. They too taught me love from a young age, the value of laughter and always looking at the bright side of life.

My uncle Pritam was someone i would have loved to get to know better, unfortunately we didn't hang out much with my dad's side of the family but this man i truly loved. He was a gem among rocks, he was the source of the love i feel now and taught me more than any other person combined. He was a poor man living in Singapore in a flat making just enough to make ends meet however he was known for his heart of gold. His heart was worn on his sleeve and his love was shown all over his face (got tears in my eyes writing this part now). He resembled the essence of a true Sikh, generous, loving and did as much as he could for anyone who needed anything. I remember this one time we went to his place and he had his blue dastaar (Sikh turban) on, we hadn't been to his place in a while that i don't know why but when we turned up he surprised us with an amazing assortment of cakes, every colour and type you could imagine from the layer cakes, marble cakes and lots of other singaporean style cakes and when i say lots i mean lots. I couldn't believe it! Here was a man who was barely making ends meet and was sharing more than he could afford with us, he taught me a great lesson and one that i will take with me to the grave and that was Ishnaan / Vand Chakna (In Sikhi this is one of three of the equally important foundations as taught by Guru Nanak - Share and consume together).

I remember the day i heard that uncle Pritam passed away, it has to this day been the saddest day of my life but the example he set for me was one that no person could imagine would strengthen someone to the core and that it did and is doing so right now along my path of Sikhi and along understanding and loving this journey. I cried for days and nights and still once in a while when i think of him i still do shed some tears, he to me was the epitomy of what i hope to one day be and represent. This tremendous learning from my uncle at a young age taught me some amazing lessons and made me who i am. He can count on one thing, it's that i will remember him until my very last breath.

My Grandparents were great. From my mum's side i had two amazing grandparents, Naniji and Nanaji as i would lovingly call them. To this day i remember how strict my grandfather was but also how loving he was, he had a truly amazing personality. I never knew how someone could be strict yet be so loving at the same time, this was what i learnt from him. He was built for the army like most Sikh's of his time, in fact he worked as a security guard for the US embassy in Singapore. He was amazing with his love for Sikhi and his devotion and pure tranquility and peace i would see in his face when he was praying to this day i am to meet a man as devoted in prayers to Sikhi as him. He was always doing prayers and Naam / Simran (In Sikhi this is the second out of three equally important foundations as taught by Guru Nanak - Meditation). I can only hope to be half as devoted as him but that is another goal of mine. My Naniji was a lovely person, she was always laughing and smiling. She used to play with us three brothers and sister and boy could she cook. She was in the kitchen most of the time but she loved it there. I miss her paratha's. She's still living in Singapore and boy does she laugh at my broken Punjabi up to this day. She taught me what love for elders meant and how being young at heart through smiling and acting young would lead to a happy life along with her devotion for Sikhi she taught me alot in both these aspects.

I remember when my Nanaji passed away it was another sad day in my life, from what i was told he was walking and suddenly got down on his knees and said 'Waheguru' (what Sikh's refer to as the greater presence / God) and passed on. I never really asked where he was going or where he was coming from, but that is something i will have to do. He knew his time was up and he simply kneeled down and used his last breath to say the name he loved, Waheguru. I am hopeful to have devotion as great as my Nanaji's.

As i said previously my Naniji is still alive and still laughing at my tuti (broken) Punjabi, may Waheguru be with her forever. I have to call her one of these days to have a chat now that i have moved to the US.

My grandparents from my dad's side of the family were again truly remarkable, i didn't get to know then much but i do remember they were devoted Sikh's as well. They were both sick when i was young and passed on early. Dadaji (grandfather from fathers side) and dadiji (grandmother from fathers side) were amazing from what i have heard about them. I have to find out more and will create another posting.

My parents are both great. My mum was a housewife in Singapore and looked after all the kids and my dad worked to support the family. He loved his job and he worked hard too, both my parents worked hard at home and at work. I have to say here that there is a misconception that housewives have it easy at home, the honest answer is no. There are always things to clean, cooking to be done, laundry to be washed, ironing, looking after the kids, and i am sure there is alot more that i haven't covered here. As my mum would say it's a fulltime job where you don't get time off or much appreciation as there is always something to do at home. As mentioned before both my parents are great, the encapsulated the basics of Sikhi that i have covered above as well as Daan / Kirat Karni (In Sikhi this is the final of three equally important foundations as taught by Guru Nanak - To work hard and honestly).

My brother and sister were fun and cheeky, each of us are three years apart (my parents timed it well, lol) and i am the eldest. My brother was always a little rebelious but had a good heart we used to wrestle and fight like all young brothers do. My sister was cute and sweet, my parents cherished her alot and did alot for her, she deserved it.

Of course coming to the food, it was just awesome. There was so much choice and it was so cheap. There were hawker centres everywhere and the food was so good as it is a melting point of food with influence from the local Chinese, Indian and Malaysian population. Mmmm. Singapore was also a techology hub at that time too, the subway system was fantastic and you got all the latest state of the art gadgets too.

Well hopefully i have provided you with some background about me and some influences in my life when i was growing up in Singapore. As you can see i had influences all around me, as they say a person is defined by those whom surround them at a young age, i guess i was lucky that way. As mentioned there were some important things that i learned while i was growing up in relation to being a good human being, only recently did i find out how that fit into relation with Sikhi.

The next post will cover when we moved to the UK, London..