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New Staff
We are so very excited to introduce our readers to two new SikhRI staff members. Ravinder Singh has stepped in as our acting executive director. Varinder Kaur is our new office manager in the San Antonio location.
 Ravinder Singh spent his formative years in Singapore and Delhi. He arrived in the United States in 1976 and graduated from the Simon School of Management at the University of Rochester, Rochester NY.
He began his professional life in 1984 with IBM in New York as a Marketing Representative and has worked for multinationals in Singapore, London and New York. He currently works for a large Financial Services company.
Ravinder’s professional expertise includes leading technical and business consulting engagements: organizational change, transformation programs and building high performing cross functional and global teams.
His consuming passion is Sikhs and Sikhi – in all flavors and dimensions. He is actively involved with the local Sangat in Columbus where he initiated a Gurbani Vicar group that has met weekly for over three years. He is also the founder/convener of the Talking Stick, a weekly online colloquium devoted to a dialogue around Gurbani that appears on Sikhchic.com.
Since 1997, he has lived in Westerville, Ohio, with wife, Harjit, and daughter, Simran.
 Varinder Kaur manages SikhRI's San Antonio office. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Accounting from Vancouver. In this role, she is responsible for all operational needs and serving as the main hub of contact for the office.
She is especially interested in educational opportunities for couples-- chances for families to achieve a closeness with the Divine and to renew their commitments and passions as true Sikhs.
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BC Events
From 4-9 April SikhRI was in the lower mainland area of British Columbia, hosting a number of events in the spirit of the upcoming Vaisakhi celebrations!
There was a public forum, “Understanding Vaisakhi and Revealing the Invisible Heritage of Panjab”, where local Sikhs and non Sikhs gathered to hear a history of the Vaisakhi celebration and to provide an opportunity to clear up any questions or misconceptions about the significance of the date to Sikhs everywhere.
"I didn't know what to expect, as there are many elements to the Sikh religion,” said Amrita Sahota, who attended the community forum. “But this event focused more on Sikh heritage, and the diaspora of the Sikh community outside of India, so it was very relatable."
Later in the tour, several events were held for Sikhs that iterated the continuing importance of the Khalsa in modern times, with a Model Sarbat Khalsa workshop and a day-long dialogue on The Guru: Connecting with the Divine Light.
"This was my first time attending this type of event,” said Harjit Singh, who came from Washington and attended "The Guru" workshop. “[I have] never experienced so much participation from the participants. We expressed our views and enhanced our understanding about Sikhi, Guru and Khalsa Panth. This workshop helped me understand, ‘Where are we going? What are we doing individually to serve the Guru?’ It prepared me to explain my religion and my Guru to a layman.”
There were also two interviews on Sher E Punjab radio shows, two interviews on OMNI TV, and an afternoon at Dastar Day.
You can watch the OMNI segments on our Vimeo page:For complete details of the events, please open our Press Release.
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Connecting with Youth
Over the past month, SikhRI has taken part in a number of events in Mississauga, Edmonton, and New York designed to inspire and ignite passion for Sikhi in college students and youth-- the next generation of leaders in our communities.
From 24-25 March, Kirpa Kaur, Dr. Inder Jit Singh, and Harinder Singh took part in SIKHing 2012, a conference for youth held at the University of Alberta. Presenting on multiple topics each, the three covered such a range of topics as: "Grihast: the Sikh Perspective on Relationships and Western Impact," "Sikh Governance: From Tradition to Rule," "The Turban: The Symbol and the Reality," and "Hair Speaks: Women Voicing Spiritual, Sexual, and Identity Body Politic." You can watch OMNI news coverage of the Conference here.
On 31 March, Harinder Singh headed back to the States to present, along with many other speakers, at the Sikh Youth Awareness Seminar in Flushing, New York.
On 15 April, Harinder spoke in Toronto at an event hosted by One Panth, intended to harness the energy and curiosity of youth activists through a day-long workshop: One Panth: Reviving Sarbat Khalsa. Later that evening, he addressed an audience of nearly 1,000 on the topic of "Vaisakhi, Rajoana, & Us Gurdwara."
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Sidak 2012
Sidak was featured on thelangarhall in this piece penned by one of our 2011 alumni, Sharadeep Singh: "Learn About Sikhi at Sidak 2012"
Spots are filling up steadily for this year's leadership development retreat, but there is still room in all three tracks for you! We hope you'll join us this year, August 5-19 in San Antonio for what will be the tenth year of this unique retreat experience.
Enjoy our Sidak video and then check out our Sidak page to learn more the experience.
Then, start your application today! We can't wait to see you this summer.
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Liv
On 24 March, Surender Pal Singh presented the Liv Webinar "Decoding the Numbers," which 16 people attended. The presentation explored the meaning of words like tin tap, trai gun, cautha pad, or nau nidhi, and examined the religious, spiritual, and cultural basis of such numbers, while tracing the origin and significance of their underlying thought in the respective religious schools. The presentation concluded with a discussion of their meaning and relevance in the Sikh context today. Jasdeep Singh moderated the webinar.
If you missed Decoding the Numbers, you can watch an archived recording of this webinar on the Liv Channel on SikhRI's Vimeo Page.
The next webinar on the calendar is set for 5 May with Dr. Inder Jit Singh on the topic "Vaisakhi Redux." Join us for a lively discussion on the historical and cultural forces which collided to produce the Khalsa and the Vaisakhi traditions which we still celebrate today.
Open the "Vaisakhi Redux" flyer to get more details and register at no cost today!
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UK tour
From 14-20 March SikhRI was in the UK speaking at universities and gurduaras, as well as conducting a few interview for TV and a documentary film.
For more details and links to video of presentations and media appearances, please open our press release on the tour: Leadership, Panjab & Becoming Guru-like or check out our Vimeo page to watch videos from the UK tour and other SikhRI events.
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The Sikh Culture
On 14 April, Harinder Singh presented to an interfaith audience in Hamilton, Ontario, on the topic "The Sikh Culture." The event was organized as an opportunity for non-Sikh community members to come to gurduara, learn the basics of Sikhi, ask any question they might have, and enjoy langar together afterwards.
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Thank Yous
Sikh Research Institute exists to serve the community's education needs. As we strive to fulfill our mission of empowerment through education, we cannot be successful without the endless support of volunteers. Thank you to all of our volunteers this month who continue to inspire us with their strength, dedication, and passion!
Anu Kaur, Baljit Singh, Dr. Chattar Raj Singh, Central Gurdwara, Gurpreet Singh, Harsharan Kaur, Jasdeep Singh, Jasleen Kaur, Jasvir Singh, Kirpa Kaur, Parminder Kaur, Jasvir Singh, Dr. Jotinder Mann, Navneet Singh, Parminder Mann, Parminder Singh, Dr. Parvinder Singh Garcha, PwC Sikh Network, Rajkamal Kaur, Randeep Singh, Dr. Shalinder Bhullar, Shalinder Gill, Singh Sabha Derby, Singh Sabha Southall, Sukhdeep Singh, Surjit Mann, and Yadwinder Manhas.
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