A Sewadar's Diary

GURDWARA MEDFORD COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE where I would be spending most of A Sewadar’s Diary my weekdays: Boston, but I considered the commute a small price. By Karminder Singh Months before coming to Boston, I asked the Millis Ashram to lease us an A personal account of the trials and apartment, filled out forms etc. triumphs of the incredible journey of but they would not have us. the Gurdwara, and a Sewadar’s humble And so Medford it was. role along it... We settled into our two‐ th JULY 30 2001 Logan bedroom apartment in Riverside International Airport Boston. Avenue just as soon as our shipped Feeling the ground at the airport stuff arrived. As we went around was a welcome relief to a 22‐hour the Malls looking for stuff we journey from halfway around the needed, we could not help notice world. “Medford” I told the Boston that there were Sikhs everywhere. cab driver when asked where he My wife and I wondered if there wanted to take my family, our was a Gurdwara around. At the luggage and me. Medford was to Ames Department Store in be our home for the next four years. Medford, we bumped into a Millis was where we truly Gursikh family we had befriended wanted to live. My wife, Sitvinder in 1993 ‐ Surjeet Kaur, Mahinder and I had been to the Guru Ram Singh Saini and their daughter Das Ashram there every week when Manraj Kaur Khalsa. They told us we lived in Boston from 1993 to there was a Gurdwara in 1995: doing Katha, Kirten, and Somerville, Medford’s neighboring playing tabla. Millis offered our city, ten minutes from the our family a mix of our top priorities – apartment. We took directions. It the company of Gursikhs who lived was the best news we heard, and in the apartment complex, a with it, the grief of not residing in Gurdwara within the Ashram and Millis vanished. good friends we had made then. The Ashram would provide a good SUNDAY, NOV 2, 2001. We place for my children, Brejvinder, set out to find the Somerville three, and Amrit, one, to grow up. Gurdwara. The narrow one‐way The only setback was that Millis streets of the city turned a 10‐ was an hour’s drive from the place minute journey into a three‐hour 20 GURDWARA MEDFORD COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE one. We went up and down next Sunday,” I told the secretary, Highland Avenue four times, but Darshan Singh Ji. He said there was there was no sign of it. We met no normal program and urged me dozens of Sikhs throughout our to reconsider. By this time the Bhai search and stopped to ask them. Sahib finished Sukhmani Sahib and Their replies were as elusive as the moved to do Kirten. He was Gurdwara’s location. “Its in accompanied on the dholaki by an someone’s house,” said one. African American and tabla by a Sat Another said he’s heard of it but Narayan devotee complete with never been into it. Another was dhoti and bodee. sure there was no Gurdwara in Somerville or anywhere nearby. At The spectacle of someone 12.00 noon, we finally found it trying to fit a shabad into an out when we entered a back street to of tune vaja, an African tribal turn back onto to Highland Ave one beat and rusty tabla inspired me last time. The Gurdwara had a back to take on secretary’s offer. I street entrance and was located on now understood what he meant the second floor of a restaurant. It by there being no normal took us another half hour to park along a nearby street. program. We climbed a dingy staircase and entered the Gurdwara’s Darbar I stood before the sangat, at 12.45. The hall could greeted them and asked everyone to accommodate 500 people. But about leave the comfort of their walls and 25 people sat leaning against the get to the center of the hall, as close sidewalls. The center was as possible to the Guru. Some did completely empty, save for the four move. I repeated my request, of us who chose not to sit against infusing humor with a litany of the walls. The final Ashtpadee of arguments based on the notions of Sukhmani sahib was being read. A respect and disrespect, proper and gursikh came up to me and improper. One lady spoke up: “I introduced himself as the secretary have back pain.” I replied from the of the Gurdwara and asked if I stage “come sit right here in the wanted to do Kirten. He said he did center and if your pain does not go not know me but since I was away, I will go away.” The retort wearing a Bana, he felt it was his woke up those who were asleep at duty to check me out. I hesitated, on the walls. “Tell the Guru, cure my grounds that first of all I was very back or I’ll not come here late in arriving, and second that the anymore,” I continued. “We are Gurdwara’s normal program tired,” another person spoke out. should go on. “I’ll do something “Come sit straight and attentively in 21 GURDWARA MEDFORD COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE the feet of the Guru and your restaurants, gas stations, and tiredness of 8.4 million lives will grocery stores or worked in them. disappear,” I shot back. My They were simple, decent and message began to seep in. The faithful people. They trusted me. frivolity of their arguments, the gall And they turned up to listen. for a complete stranger to take on The sangat grew and soon the issue, my refusal to start my talk there was no place to sit in the unless they all moved, and my Darbar. Darshan Singh Ji promise to come back next week announced on the stage one day created a sense of urgency as well. that the Sangat had decided to Soon everyone moved to the center. appoint me as Director of Religious I said, “This is how a sangat sits in Affairs. A Jaikara followed. My job the charan of the Guru. We will sit was to take charge of all things like this every time beginning next religious in the Gurdwara. I Sunday, and I will be here to do my wondered what, if any, activities Katha.” Fateh. were “non‐religious” and hence out of my purview. News got around town I began to sense why the that a crazed comedian Guru offered me Medford instead parcharak with a wacky of Millis. I took the position offered shooting from the hip style had seriously. This is what we need to come to the Gurdwara and more do, I announced. “We need to start people came to see for a Kirten Jatha comprising our children and youth. They will learn themselves. 100 shabads in full rag and Taal and will play the tabla and do Kirten for The fact that the following one hour every Sunday. You will week was Nirangkari gurpurab not need to put up with any more helped pull in a bigger crowd. I out of tune tribal music from the delivered a 45‐minute lecture on lost continent. We need to set up a Guru Nanak’s life. A total of 208 website to tell people about our such 45‐minute lectures, ranging activities. I need the educated youth from the fiery to philosophical Japji to help out here. For each of you Katha, would be made in the 4 attending, there are 50 Sikhs in years of my stay in Boston. The Boston who are not here – they sangat began to get to know me and don’t know or they don’t care. I met me them. I gathered that a majority many on the same block as this of the Sangat was from Punjab. Gurdwara who did not where the Most of them were related to each Gurdwara was or if there was one. other. A vast majority of them were We need to change that. We need in business – they either owned people to learn to do path. The 22 GURDWARA MEDFORD COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE Sunday program will be changed. My own child Brej joined the Sukhmani sahib will end at 10.30 Jatha as soon as his hands had am, not 12.45. From 10.30 till 12 we grown long enough to reach the will do Kirten. From 12.00 to 12.45 vaja’s pakha. At the time of writing, pm I would do Katha on Gurbani to the Kirten class had gone into its tell you about the Guru’s messages. fourth year and each Kirten student That would give us two hours of had learnt anywhere from 20 – 75 spiritual food – Kirten and Katha – shabads in taals such as Teen Taal, per week. Most of all, we need a Jhap Taal, Deep Chandi and new Gurdwara premises. It will be Roopak in a variety of ragas. The the biggest Guru Ghar in jatha’s Kirten time is fixed ‐ 10.30 till Massachusetts and will cater for the 12 noon every Sunday. city of Boston and surrounding cities.” Darshan Singh Ji conveyed FEBRUARY 2002. Our the committee’s and sangat website was up and running. We exuberant approval on stage. had a committee comprising Deepinder Singh, Satvir Kaur, SATURDAY, JAN 12TH 2002. Manraj Kaur, Gurpreet Kaur, First day of Kirten, tabla and path Inderpreet Singh, and Gurminder classes. Kimran Kaur, Sandeep Singh Gerry who worked hard to Kaur, and Inderjot Singh turned up give shape to the stuff that I had as vaja students while Paramveer written to put on the website.

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