1931 SINGAPORE KHALSA ASSOCIATION’S NEWSLETTER MCI (P) 073/01/2021 JULY 2021 VESAKHI MELA SKA organises a three-day fun-filled Vesakhi Mela with a difference THIS ISSUE SKA lends support to the exhibition on ‘The Sikhs in Singapore – A Story Untold’ WOMEN’S MICROSITE LAUNCHED STORY TIME DEVELOPMENT SKA brings out an interactive SKA’s monthly story telling th SKA hosts national microsite to mark its 90 is a big hit with the children conversation on issues anniversary and their parents impacting women in Singapore WWW.SINGAPOREKHALSA.ORG.SG A Publication Of Singapore Khalsa Association CONTENTSCONTENTS 3 EDITOR’S NOTE 13 BOLLYBEATS FITNESS 3 EDITOR’S NOTE 13 CLASSESIMPortanCE OF COVID-19 VACCination 13 CHAIR YOGA FOR THE LADIES 4 4 SEWAVESAK HEALTHCAREHI MELA wit LAUNCHED...H A DIFFERENCE 14 SKA’S SPORTS SECTION AdaPTS to NEW 4 CELEBRATING A SCENARIO MILESTONE 14 DHOL BLASTING TIME AGAIN! 5 7 THE SIKHS IN 14 SKA WELCOMES SINGAPORE – A NEW MANAGEMENT Story Untold 14 Committee DIWALIVE 2020 MEMBER 5 COVID-19: SKA’S MEMBERS STEP UP 8 Renovations at SKA 15 HEALTHCOMIN GMELA SOON @ :SKA – ALMOST COMPLETE! Harmony GAMES 2021 15 VETERANS HAKI 88 AM WARMINDFUL WELCOME Parentin g…TO KNOCKABOUT IS BACK 10 OUR NEW MEMBERS 16 THE NEXT BIG THING... 13 9 AnotHER SEASON 16 INAUGURALYOGA CLASSES FIFA 21 oF CHAIR YOGA TOURNAMENT 9 REMEMBERING A SOON at SKA STALWART: LIEUTENANT-COLONEL 16 A CHAI CHAT: PANDEMIC JASWANT SINGH GILL REFLECTIONS 10 Playin(1923-2020)G HOST to A UNIQUE GatHERING 17 SKA LaunCHES 90TH Anniversary MICROSITE 10 National Conversations ON 17 LAUNCH OF INDIA ON WOMEN DeveloPMENT 17 OURSurvey MINDS ON THE in10 SKA S INAPPOINTSGAPORE SINGAPORE SIKH 15 CONVENORS AND 17 LOHRICOMMUNITY 2021 18 COACHES 11 LADIES WINg’S JURASSIC MILE 18 PassPARONTHAPORT toBRUNCH BETTER Adventure HealtRETURNSH AND SEDAP SKA News is the newsletter of Singapore Khalsa Association. 11 PRESENTING For feedback and enquiries, please contact: THE SPORTS TEAM 18 FUN TIME FOR THE PARIVAAR The Editor, SKA News, Singapore Khalsa Association 18 NEW CONTRACTS at No 2 Tessensohn Road, Singapore 217646 SKA Tel: 62986206/62981230 I Fax: 62924782 12 SSEF’S Milestone Email: [email protected] CELEBration 18 BeinG Part OF THE All Rights Reserved. 12 A TRIBUTE TO 19 SKAINDIAN JOINS Cultural SIFAS FOR No part of this newsletter may be reproduced, stored or 12 COACHA WARM PS WELCOME TO FestivalDIWALI CELEBRATIONS transmitted in any form, for any reason or by any means, OUR NEW MEMBERS whether re-drawn, enlarged or otherwise altered, without the 12 SKA CO-OPTS FIRST 19 THE ART OF PANJIRI prior permission in writing from the copyright owner, except in MAKING case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews. MEMBER IN NEW TEAM Designed and printed by: Khalsa Printers Pte Ltd 19 SEWA HealtHCARE 13 Story TIME KEEPS Continues GOOD CominG ALIVE at SKA WORK SKA NEWS MARCH 2021 2 I SKA NEWS I JULY 2021 SKA’S MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE (2020-2022) Editor’s Note PRESIDENT Mr Hernaikh Singh am delighted to join the SKA Management Committee (MC) and VICE PRESIDENT take over the editorship of the newsletter. I will do my best to Mr Sarjit Singh s/o Udam Singh continue the good work of my predecessor. VICE PRESIDENT Mr Sarabjeet Singh The beginning of the year offered hope for some form of normalcy when the government lifted further COVID-19 restrictions. GENERAL SECRETARY However, as cases started to increase in the community in May Mr Prem Singh 2021, the government imposed several restrictions. The MC ASSISTANT SECRETARY, has been working well within the restrictions to initiate several ADMINISTRATION AND SECURITY Iprogrammes and activities across the different committees. We have also Mr Gurpreet Singh Rikhraj ensured that SKA continues to operate during the various phases of Singapore’s ASSISTANT SECRETARY, MEMBERSHIP COVID-19 measures. Mr Surindar Singh We were delighted to present the Vesakhi Mela this year, albeit in a different GENERAL TREASURER format, after having had to cancel it in April 2020. We innovated, given the Ms Ezrynn Kaur Charl COVID-19 circumstances, and put together nine exciting activities catering to ASSISTANT GENERAL TREASURER different groups. Spread over three days, the Mela had something for everyone. Mr Baldev Singh s/o Avatar Singh All the participants were also presented with a goody bag comprising a range CHAIRPERSON, SPORTS of interesting items to mark SKA’s 90th anniversary. Mr Tarlok Singh As part of our 90th anniversary, we also launched a microsite. Through this CHAIRPERSON, CULTURAL AND initiative, we want to share SKA’s history with the wider Singapore society SOCIAL to create greater awareness of the contributions of the Sikh community in Mr Gursewak Singh Gill Singapore. The interactive site has several exciting platforms that you can be a CHAIRPERSON, EDUCATION part of. Please do visit the site at www.SKA90.com. Mr Kuldip Singh CHAIRPERSON, MEDIA AND The Association supported several national initiatives in recent months. Through COMMUNICATIONS the Ladies Wing, we contributed to Indian Heritage Centre’s exhibition on the Mr Ravinderpal Singh (Co-opted Member) ‘The Sikhs in Singapore – A Story Untold’. The exhibition will be held from CHAIRPERSON, BUILDING AND March to September 2021. We also hosted a dialogue session on women FACILITIES empowerment in April 2021, as part of the national conversations on issues Mr Satinder Pal Singh impacting women in Singapore. In the same month, we partnered the Sikh Advisory Board to organise a panel discussion on the importance of COVID-19 CHAIRPERSON, HOUSE vaccination. We would like to urge our members and their families to have their Mr Tejinderdeb Singh Gill inoculations if they have not done so. CHAIRPERSON, YOUNG KHALSA Ms Harveen Kaur The SEWA Healthcare team has been busy with its community outreach efforts. CHAIRPERSON, LADIES WING In addition to the Health Mela@Central Sikh Temple, as part of the Vesakhi Ms Harbinder Kaur celebration, the voluntary group conducted health screenings at Our Tampines Hub and Bukit Batok East Community Club. In total, it reached out to about CHAIRPERSON, VETERANS WING 1,000 people. SEWA Healthcare is certainly an important inclusion to SKA’s Mr Sukvinder Singh Sandhu bouquet of offerings to its members and the wider community. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Mr Jaswant Singh The Ladies Wing celebrated the International Women’s Day with a fun outing at Ms Harvender Kaur Jurassic Mile. It also resumed the Chair Yoga classes. Similarly, we continued Mr Sarjeet Singh Sohal (Co-opted Member) with the monthly story telling for children and the joint workshops on parenting with Mental ACT. EDITORIAL TEAM, SKA NEWS As we move into the second half of the year, I am pleased to announce that the EDITOR repair and additional renovation works at SKA are almost complete. Apart from Mr Ravinderpal Singh the façade, the renovations have also included the general and security offices, the foyer, the boardroom and the rear terrace. The lounge is scheduled to open DEPUTY EDITOR on the first floor in August 2021. Members visiting the premises will certainly Mr Jagjit Singh Sandhu enjoy the new look and feel to the Association. MEMBERS Mr Hernaikh Singh We are eagerly waiting for the further lifting of restrictions by the government. Mr Baldev Singh s/o Avatar Singh We want to resume suspended activities as well as to initiate our planned programmes. We are eager to welcome our members back to the Association. Mr Baru Walia Mr Simar Ghangas Ravinderpal Singh Ms Harpreet Kaur Ms Resvin Kaur Ms T Sasikala JULY 2021 SKA NEWS 3 VESAKHI MELA WITH A DIFFERENCE The untimely outbreak of COVID-19 last year put paid to SKA’s plans to organise the Vesakhi Mela. The cancellation of the two-day fun fair, which traditionally attracts close to 4,000 visitors, left many naturally disappointed. This year, the Vesakhi Mela was back at SKA, but with a difference. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, SKA was not able to organise the Vesakhi celebrations in the same manner that it has done in the past. However, that did not stop the Association from celebrating an important event in the Sikh community and SKA’s calendar. Over three days from 30 April 2021, SKA organised a series of social, cultural, sporting and health-focused activities. Themed ’Celebrating 90 Years of Community Development’, in line with SKA’s 90th anniversary this year, the event reached out to Singaporeans, new citizens and foreigners from different ethnic groups, ages and backgrounds. The participating teams in the various activities included individuals from diverse ethnic groups. This was to enhance awareness and appreciation of the Sikh community among the different communities in Singapore. This year’s Mela Organising Chairman, Mr Gursewak Singh Gill, stated, “We knew that the COVID-19 restrictions would not allow us to organise the event on the large scale that we are accustomed to so. So, we decided to innovate and organise a week-end of festivities. People we spoke to appreciated the gesture.” The annual Vesakhi Mela is held in conjunction with Vesakhi, a key event in the Sikh calendar, commemorating the birth of the Khalsa Panth (the Commonwealth) and a celebration of the Sikh cultural heritage. Chair Yoga Session SKA started its Vesakhi celebrations on 30 April 2021 with the Chair Yoga session. The event began with a talk on the benefits of yoga by the Ladies Wing’s committee member, Ms Gurmit Kaur. This was followed by an hour of Chair Yoga and breathing exercises by Master Dev Kapil from One Wellness Fitness Club. The ladies had a fantastic time as they learnt the benefits of Chair Yoga as well as how to keep themselves active and fit.