Who Do You Think You Are ?

[Freed]

Gurfateh !

I was going through some old videos and found this - it's from the outstanding BBC TV geneaology show 'Who Do You Think You Are?' - where UK celebrities trace their families and ancestors.

In this episode Meera Syal - from 'Goodness Gracious Me' and 'The Kumars ....' traces her family roots - Her Mother is Sikh and her Father a Punjabi Hindu.

Her father's father was Tek Chand Syal a noted Journalist and Communist , Her Mother's father was Phuman Singh Uppal who took part in the Jaito Morcha.

The film is fascinating - whether you are interested in Sikh History, Punjabi History or punjabi Village history - it's all covered here.

Meera goes to her father's ancestral home in Lassara (Dist Jalandhar) - you see her inspect a 'Fard' or the records that show property rights in a village and she then goes to Hardwar to see the Ancestral Records kept there - you see the old 'Vehi' or roll of family records.

She also visits her mother's village Bassian (Dist Ludhiana) and visits Jaito Gurdwara . She then goes to Amritsar and finds records noting Phuman Singh's role in the Jaito Morcha in the Sikh Reference Library Amritsar. There is great archive footage and photographs and some really poignant pictures of the Shaheeds of the Morcha.

It's all great stuff - well worth a look

"Who Do You Think You Are ?" - first shown BBC 2 UK in 2004

Link :

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=...57&hl=en-GB

Ranjit Singh 'Freed'

[tSingh]

Bassian pind, near Jagraon, what a coincidence. Sant Amar Singh Ji of Rattan Bagh Ashram (i.e. my gurdev's gurbhai) was from the Nirmala dera in Bassian and passed away only a couple of weeks ago. My gurdev attended his antim ardas only last week in Bassian itself, an event at which Sri Mahant/Panchayti Akhara, Head Granthi Darbar Sahib and Damdami Taksal Jathedar attended. I was going to write his obituary on this site but decided against it. One interesting anecdote I heard was that during his time kharkoo in the 80s sent him death threats, since the dera was famous for supplying ayurvedic treatment for childless couples (thus against those infamous 'Sikh traditions' people talk of). He didn't leave the place and survived unlike others. A small world!

[Niranjana]

"One interesting anecdote I heard was that during his time kharkoo in the 80s sent him death threats, since the dera was famous for supplying ayurvedic treatment for childless couples (thus against those infamous 'Sikh traditions' people talk of)."

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How very typical of these "Sikhs"!!!

[Freed]

It is a small world - Lassara pind is the 'Post Office' ( as in V & PO of Punjabi addresses) and next door village of my Dad's Naankey and his birthplace ( My Grandmother's village)

My Grandad still visits a 'Ved' in Lassara - for any ailments - probably the reason while he is still fighting fit in his late 90s .