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RaajK

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  1. Hi, The story is nearly eight months old, but it still appears families have not been reimbursed additional cost for tickets. One grandmother was left stranded in India due to failure of tour operator. She had to pay additional £400.00 for return journey back to U.K. Original ticket was bought from Panjab Radio, owners of Sonia travels. The case has gone to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), because Sonia Travels have been unable to provide correct receipts listing ATOL number. Punjab Radio are doing nothing to help resolve the issue. Sonia travels simply making excuses not to return the money. Great customer service. Quick to take your money, but slow to solve customer issues. Suryadev you are right Stick to well established tour operators. Grandmother is out of pocket by nearly £600.00 to date. Any similar stories elsewhere ? Suggest a petition is started to put pressure on Tour operators for reimbursement.
  2. Airline passengers told to pay for fuel Posted by ABC News November 18, 2011 07:44:04 Passengers on board a flight from the Indian city of Amritsar say they were forced to collect money on board the plane to pay for the remainder of their trip back to Britain. Those on board said they were "held to ransom" for six hours on a runway in the Austrian capital Vienna. The bizarre situation came after the flight, with Austrian airline Comtel Air, stopped to refuel. Passengers said they were told they had to hand over around 20,000 pounds ($31,500) to complete the journey to Birmingham in England. More than 180 passengers, who should have arrived in Birmingham on Saturday, finally reached the city late on Tuesday according to the Birmingham Mail newspaper. Elderly women and children were among the passengers. One passenger, Dalvinder Batra, told the paper: "It is absolutely disgusting. There are still people stuck out there." Ranbir Dehal said: "We were escorted to the cash point to take money out. They said there was a deficit of nearly 24,000 euros and they gave us receipts." Reena Rindi, who was travelling with her two-year-old daughter said: "We wanted to go home. We'd been stranded for about three to four days. Who was going to take us home?" "If we didn't have the money they were making us go one by one outside in Vienna to get the cash out." Konrad Bhupinder, managing director of Comtel Air, blamed tour operator Skyjet for the problem. "We only organise flights if the tickets have been paid for," he said, adding that in this case Skyjet had not paid the airline for the flights. The flight had been due to take off on Saturday but was delayed to Tuesday because of a conflict between Skyjet and Comtel Air. Eight months later, anybody received compensation from travel agents or CAA team ?
  3. Manbir Do you have a few simple vocal exercises which I can practise regularly to make an improvement in my singing ability ? What key ingredients are required to develop the vocals for good singing? Is it possible to learn sur gian without the aid of an instrument ? Shaheediyan I remember when Prof. Surrinder came to perform Gurmatt Sangeet at local Gurudwara the audience had little to no previous exposure to Sikh musical traditions. I and many others found his music deeply inspiring, and the event proved to be a fascinating spiritual encounter. I felt at that time his interpretation of Gurmatt Sangeet, a universal language, t could transcend regional and cultural barriers. For this the Sikh Panth should be ever grateful to the hard work and perseverance that such scholars undergo in order to spread the love and teachings that Guru Sahib had brought into this world. I guess the Southgate Gurdwara in North London are fortunate to have somebody like you (Shaheediyan) on the committee. You and Manbir certainly helped myself to think positively and continue with the journey to learning Gurmatt Sangeet. DSG It seems you too have been frustrated in your quest to learn Gurmatt Sangeet from poor standard of teachers. I recently met a fellow student who had the same desire as you to learn tanti saaz but was discouraged to continue due to lack of direction from teaching organisation, resulting in the instrument they purchased ending up in a closet or glass case to be visually admired. I agree with DSG’s point of view as regards to Gurudwaras taking greater responsibility to increase Gurmatt Sangeet awareness to wider audience. The local Gurudwara I attend have one poorly paid giani, whose working visa runs out within next two months. His duties include, performing the Rahras and bhog each day, serving prashad, locking-up at night, participating in Akhand path and bhog every Sunday. On top of this he plays and sings a shabad to the same Kehrava tune each week on the harmonium. INSPIRATIONAL !! The Gurudwaras should collectively nurture younger generation and sponsor talented individual to gain a professional qualifications in Gurmatt Sangeet vidya. Over a period of time, they will interact with Sangat, as well as raising awareness to the youth and other communities. Committees can also pay them a decent income to support their families to attract good quality students for future.
  4. Manbir, Great suggestion!, Can you recommend any good teachers ( Sikh or non-sikhs ) who know about Raags of Guru Granth sahib Ji or Gurbani? DSG My experiences so far bear out your comments, regarding Kirtani’s motivation and ability to teach. I had approached a talented Gurbani kirtani His vocal range was phenomenal. He had trained in India and his ability to sing in raags was above average. Decided to go private and learn from him, but soon discovered his teaching ability was ZERO. I don’t think he had any idea on how to manage a class or organise a structured method of teaching Gurmatt Sangeet. After a couple of months teaching the Sa, Re Ga Ma Pa Da Ne scales, he ran out of teaching material. When confronted with questions , his answer was ‘Don’t need to worry, I teach you everything’. It felt he was simply looking forward each week to payment of tuition fees. Sorry to say, but out of frustration, decided to terminate his services. I understand Gurmat Sangeet takes dedication and time to learn and prepared to put the effort and time to learn it the correct way. Sorry to say, today the Sikh Panth have many issues with kirtani’s who have set times and hourly rates to teach kirtan. Shaheedyian, You are right, good teachers who know Gurmatt Sangeet are very localised and difficult to find, particularly in U.K. I had made contact with the famous Sarangi player and he politely referred me to some unknown teacher. (I think it was one of his students). It felt as if I needed to be at a certain level in my playing and singing abilities, before he was willing to put personal time or effort to teach. ‘’ Catch twenty two comes to mind’’. If it’s possible to achieve professional qualifications from studying at home, surely with the aid of Technology, it should possible to teach Gurmatt sangeet anywhere in the world, supported by qualified Gurmatt Sangeet teachers !! The Outreach program devised by Raj Academy fits these requirements very well and appears to be a fantastic learning tool. The only drawback is the cost. In my opinion it is too expensive !! Also, why does it seem that the Gurudwara Committees do not want to sponsor or fund organisations or individuals who genuinely want to preserve the rich heritage of Gurmatt Sangeet for future generations ?
  5. Hello Shaheediyan, Many thanks for the information. I will try DTF, if they stock these books.. I got interested in learning tanti saaz, when visiting local gurudwara and heard Raj Academy performing shabads in Gurmatt Sangeet. It was totally mind-blowing. After the performance, Prof. Surrinder lectured on Sikh music traditions and how they were being lost to popular bollywood tunes. A workshop was held by Raj Academy and I went along to get further information. My knowledge of Kirtan, Raags, Tanti Saaz was zero. Complete beginner - armchair listener. The workshop was factual and inspirational, we also got to hold tanti saaz for first time (dilruba, Taus, Saranda ). Prof JI explained in more detail the declining Sikh music heritage and how they were reviving the art for mainstream public. The added advantage of learning with Raj Academy was the possibility of gaining a recognised qualification from Thames Valley University in Sikh Musicology. To get a Sikh musicology course (foundation to Phd level) accredited at a British University was a tremendous achievement by Prof Ji. Several of the attendees at the workshop enrolled onto the foundation degree course, including myself. We all paid our fees and bought instrument of our choice. The classes tutored by Ranbir singh were superb. We followed both the theory and practical parts of the syllabus. We were give compositions to learn in order to sing and play correctly our chosen instruments. Three ingredients were needed to ensure success in learning. 1) Dedication 2) Motivation and 3)Practise. He drilled into us the need to practise, practise and practise. The first year soon ended and everybody had passed foundation 1st year. We were all looking forward to the second year. It was during this time, the University had announced increases in all course fees. Raj Academy informed us they had no option, but to also increase their courses fees. This increase was unacceptable to everybody on the course, and the course was withdrawn. Raj Academy offered Outreach program (DVD) as an option, but we all felt the need of visible hands-on tutor for teaching purposes. Also, the cost of this alternative was beyond most of the students. I continue to practise what we had learned from Ranbir Singh. Tried to learn shabads, by listening to kirtan done in raags by various raggis, but it is not so easy for semi beginner. The Gurmatt sangeet project have few basic compositions posted on their website, which I found to be good source of self-development. Number of trained Tanti Saaz players are very few in our Sikh temples. Need exisits to increase awareness and assistance.
  6. Enjoy Punjabi joke !!! Barack Obama was sitting in his office wondering whom to invade next when his telephone rang. "Hello, Mr. Obama!" a heavily accented voice said, "This is Gurmukh from Phagwara, District Kapurthala, Punjab .. I am ringing to inform you that we are officially declaring the war on you!" "Well, Gurmukh," Obama replied, "This is indeed important news! How big is your army" "Right now," said Gurmukh, after a moment's calculation, "there is myself, my cousin Sukhdev, my next door neighbour Bhagat, and the entire kabaddi team from the gurudwara. That makes eight" Obama paused. "I must tell you, Gurmukh that I have one million men in my army waiting to move on my command." "Arrey O! Main kya.." said Gurmukh. "I'll have to ring you back!" Sure enough, the next day, Gurmukh called again. "Mr. Obama, it is Gurmukh, I'm calling from Phagwara STD, the war is still on! We have managed to acquire some infantry equipment!" "And what equipment would that be, Gurmukh" Obama asked. "Well, we have two combines, a donkey and Amrik's tractor." Obama sighed. "I must tell you, Gurmukh, that I have 16,000 tanks and 14,000 armoured personnel carriers. Also, I've increased my army to 1-1/2 million since we last spoke." "Oh teri...." said Gurmukh. "I'll have to get back to you." Sure enough, Gurmukh rang again the next day. "Mr. Obama, the war is still on! We have managed to get ourselves airborne...... We've modified Amrik's tractor by adding a couple of shotguns, sticking on some wings and the pind's generator. Four school pass boys from Malpur have joined us as well!" Obama was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. "I must tell you, Gurmukh, that I have 10,000 bombers and 20,000 fighter planes. My military complex is surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I've increased my army to TWO MILLION!" "Tera pala hove...." said Gurmuk, "I'll have to ring you back." Sure enough, Gurmukh called again the next day. "Kiddan, Mr.Obama! I am sorry to tell you that we have had to call off the war." "I'm sorry to hear that," said Obama. "Why the sudden change of heart" "Well," said Gurmukh, "we've all had a long chat over a couple of lassi's, and decided there's no way we can feed two million prisoners of wars!" NOW THAT'S CALLED PUNJABI CONFIDENCE
  7. Found couple of beginners shabads from website :- Gurmatt Sangeet Project Example Shabad: Jagat Jot Japai Nis Basur Raga Ahir Bhairav Taal : Tintaal X Sthaiye D N SM SM N D P M G _ G M R R S S NH NH DH DH S S S S G _ G M R R S S Antra M _ M M D D N D SM SM N D RM RM SM SM RM RM RM RM SM SM SM SM N D P M R R S S Applying the Notation to the Text X Sthaiye D N SM SM N D P M G _ G M R R S S Ja Aa Ga Ta Jo Oh Ta Ja Pai Ai Ni Sa Ba Aa Su Ra NH NH DH DH S S S S G _ G M R R S S Eh Eh Ka Bi Na Ah Ma Na Nai Ai Ka Na Aa Ah Nai Ai Antra M _ M M D D N D SM SM N D RM RM SM SM Pu Oo Ra Na Pre Eh Ma Pra Tee Ee Ta Sa Jai Ai (Bra Ta)1 RM RM RM RM SM SM SM SM N D P M R R S S Go Oh Rha Ma Rhi Ee Ma Tha Bhu Uu La Na Ma Aa Nai Ai Note 1 The words (Bra Ta) appear in parentheses as they are to be sung when the line is repeated ; they are not to be sung When the line is sung the first time. Please note that they actually 'belong' to the next line; however, since there are too many syllables in the next line to fit the available sixteen beats, the word (Bra Ta), occupying two beats is in effect, pulled in' into the previous line. Please refer to the recording and listen to the first antra carefully for furether clarification Still searching the Internet and other sources for good quality shabads with Notations and compositions to share with sangat keen to learn Gurmat Sangeet(vocal and tanti saaj).
  8. I have been searching the internet and various libararies (public and Universities )for Guramt Sangeet compositions in raags. Very little published information found to date. Can anyone help ?
  9. Gods Channel veer ji !! Do you care enough to ensure Gods message does not get sabotaged by people with ego ? I hope their are people in this forum with genuine interests to ensure Gods message be told with honesty. Do you agree with this ?
  10. DSG, Your comments are sound and to the point. I nominate you as the volunteer with a mission. Like to hear your views.
  11. Hello, Its great to hear normal sangat discussing pros and cons of tv channels. At least people care. :-) Next step would be to actively get involved with them. The forum can decide and agree on common questionaire to assess the channels strengths and weaknesses. Suggest one non biased volunteer approach each channel and report back to forum on their findings.. A proactive approach could help decide which channels are genuine in serving the sikh panth. Any volunteers ?
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