Burnt Biscuits

Posted to Sikh News Discussion by Kamaljit Singh kamaljitsingh25@gmail.com

When I was a little child, my mom liked to make breakfast food for supper every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I’ll never forget what he said: “Baby, I love burned biscuits.”

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she’s real tired. And besides – a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone!”

You know, life is full of imperfect things . . . . . and imperfect people. I’m not the best housekeeper or cook. What I’ve learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults – and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences – is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that’s my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God . . . . Because in the end, He’s the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn’t a deal-breaker!

We could extend this to any relationship in fact – as understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!

“Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket – keep it in your own.”

The Tribune – Patiala Gangrape Case; Village residents shun family of deceased

Aman Sood, Tribune News Service

Badshahpur (Ghagga), December 28. They lost their daughter Daljit Kaur (name changed) who committed suicide after being denied justice by the police. Now, they stand alone, forsaken by fellow residents for “bringing disgrace” to the village. Except for family members and close friends, not many from the village attended the girl’s funeral yesterday.

“Many in the village have shunned us for registering a rape case. It is not our fault that some police officers have been suspended for not acting against those who raped my cousin,” said a grieving Charanjit Kaur.

Patiala Inspector-General of Police Paramjit Singh Gill was among those who visited the bereaved family today. “None heard Daljit Kaur as she ran from pillar to post for help. What purpose will the officers’s visit serve now. They can only express regret,” said another relative.

The victim’s father refused to talk on the issue, claiming that he has heard enough“Wherever I would go, the villagers would ask me all sorts of questions pertaining to my daughter. I just wanted justice and never wanted to strike a compromise with the accused. It was the police that wanted us to reach an agreement,” he said.

The victim’s mother Surjit Kaur said that instead of standing up for her daughter who had been wronged, “ several village residents supported the accused and wanted the case to be withdrawn in lieu of money.”

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121229/punjab.htm#5

The Tribune – Punjab takes baby steps to turn around faltering economy

Ruchika M Khanna. Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 28. Punjab’s fiscal health continued to be a cause for concern this year. The state’s rising debt; the widening gap in revenue and expenditure; the state defaulting on payment of salaries; the slow revenue generation and the diminishing private investment in the state are some of the issues that immediately need to be addressed.

The good news, however, was that the state government realised that it needed to generate additional resources.

Though the Budget 2012 did not impose any new taxes on the people, the government was forced to go in for additional resource mobilisation in September, so as to ensure that it was able to bring down the revenue deficit.

Punjab had reported a revenue deficit of Rs 6,838 crore in 2011-12, which had shot up substantially in the last financial year as against the estimate of Rs 3,379 crore. The state has set a target to bring down the revenue deficit to Rs 3,123 crore during this fiscal.

The government first hiked the electricity duty and the collector rate (for getting stamp duty). As part of the additional resource mobilisation drive, the state decided to impose property tax; increase VAT rate by 0.5 per cent; have a single slab for motor vehicle tax; and impose social infrastructure cess on property registration. These measures would help the state raise Rs 900 crore in an entire financial year. However, since these measures came into force from September, the state is expected to earn just Rs 600 crore during this financial year.

With the increase in electricity duty and collector rate, earning an additional Rs 550 crore from excise collections and through the additional resource mobilisation measures, the state has made a provision to rake in Rs 2,400 crore during this fiscal. However, this may not help Punjab bring down its revenue deficit by 100 per cent, as proposed by the Finance Minister, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, while presenting the Budget in June this year.

But even as these measures were initiated, and the state exhausted all means to keep the inflow of cash, the committed expenditure seemed to be much more than the cash inflow in the state treasury. In fact, September and October were bad months for the state, as it had bills worth Rs 2,300 crore pending for clearance. During this period, the state government, having exhausted its overdraft limit of Rs 367 crore, made an overdraft of Rs 43 crore over and above its limit. The state continued to raise money from the market through sale of its state development loans,
as its monthly income remained short of Rs 500 crore, from its monthly expenditure, through most part of the year.

As the state staggered with its rising salary and pension bills, private investment in the state remained elusive. As the government struggled to come out with a new industrial and real estate policy to woo investors, very little investment fructified in the state, mainly because of the slowdown in the country’s economy.

Though major Punjab-based industries continued with their investment in other areas – where land and labour were cheaper and power was surplus – Punjab failed to attract any major investment.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, however, tried to woo private investors by forming a core group of top industrialists to advise him on investment promotion, especially after he took over charge of the department of investment promotion.

The only good thing to have happened in the state on the industry front was the formal inauguration and commissioning of the Rs 20,000 crore Guru Gobind Singh Refinery at Ramsara, near Bathinda, in April.

A joint venture of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Mittal Energy Investment Pvt Ltd, the refinery will produce LPG, petrol and diesel, and value-added products like polypropylene, food-grade hexane, solvents, naphtha and aviation fuel.

It is expected to generate a sizable number of jobs directly and indirectly, besides a source of assured supply of petroleum products in Punjab and North India.

A study has indicated growth in the state GDP in the range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 crore if the associated downstream industry comes up in a petrochemical hub. The other major investment that came in Punjab was the German cash and carry major, Metro, spreading its business in the state by opening its third distribution centre at Zirakpur in October.

The company already has two stores in Punjab at Ludhiana and Jalandhar and proposes to start another store at Amritsar. With this, the company’s total investment in Punjab will be over Rs 400 crore.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121229/punjab.htm#2

The Asian Age – For once, all speak in one voice

Asian Age Correspondent

New Delhi, 39 December 2012. President Pranab Mukherjee, vice-president Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday mourned the death of the 23-year-old gangrape victim in Singapore.

Describing her as a “brave daughter of India”, President Mukherjee called on the authorities to ensure that the culprits in the case are brought to book. In his condolence message, he said, “She was a brave and courageous girl who fought till the very last minute for her dignity and her life. She is a true hero and symbolises the best in Indian youth and women. The nation will mourn the passing of this brave daughter of India.”

Even as he appealed for peace and calm, he added, “Let us resolve that this death will not be in vain. We will do everything possible to ensure that such an incident never happens again.”

Vice-president Ansari, while condoling the death, said that this death should be a wake up call for us as a society to focus on social norms and practices. He said, “This heart-rending tragedy would compel us as people to focus on social norms and practices which are violative of human rights and an impediment to progress in the modern world.”

He further said, “A young and promising life has been brutally snatched away in most tragic circumstances. Not only has the family lost a daughter and a sister, every Indian is today feeling the sense of loss as we all had come to identify with the brave heart as she fought valiantly for her life.”

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his condolence message called upon the political class and civil society to ensure that the country as a whole becomes a safe place for women to live in. He said, “I want to tell them (her family) and the nation that while she may have lost her battle for life, it is up to us all to ensure that her death will not have been in vain.” He added, “I hope that the entire political class and civil society will set aside narrow sectional interests and agenda to help us all reach the end that we all desire making India a demonstrably better and safe place for women to live in.”

Calling for channelising all the energy that has been generated by the ghastly incident into a constructive course of action, he said, “We have already seen the emotions and energies this incident has generated. These are perfectly understandable reactions from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change. It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channelise these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action.”

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar called the girl a “powerful symbol” of the current battle to ensure justice for women.

She said, “In her untimely and sad demise, we have lost a courageous daughter of our country who faced life with tremendous strength and fortitude. She will continue to inspire us for all times to come.” Calling for turning the anger into creating a new India, she said her sacrifice should lead to the creation of “a new India, a new society where women are respected.”

http://www.asianage.com/india/once-all-speak-one-voice-152

Visit to the UK : Bristol & Gloucester 27/09 till 02/10 2012

30 September Panjabi Virsa School

More group fotos

More group fotos

Beautiful sky-blue patka

This might look funny to us, but most Sikhs are unaware of European history

The divan, ragis and Sikh Channel’s equipment

Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara Bristol
301-307 Church Road
St George, Bristol BS5 8AA

To see more World and UK Gurdwara pictures :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/4304661200/in/set-72157611278213681

More Bristol & Gloucester pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Cold wave unabated in North, toll 62

New Delhi, December 29. The entire North India continued to remain in the grip of severe cold with 13 more people succumbing to the chill in Uttar Pradesh, even as the mercury went up by a few notches in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.

Delhiites basked under a sunny day today with the sky remaining clear for most part of the day after a misty morning.

Both maximum and minimum temperatures remained a degree above normal to settle at 21.4 and 8.5 degree Celsius respectively against yesterday’s 19 and 6.3 degrees. The Met office forecasts mainly a clear sky with mist or fog in the morning for tomorrow.

Uttar Pradesh, however, continued to reel under biting cold with 13 more persons dying in the state, taking the toll this winter to 62.

While four persons lost their lives in Hathras district, three died in Kanpur Dehat, followed by two each in Mirzapur and Lalitpur and one each in Chitrakoot and Banda districts.

Muzaffarnagar and Kanpur City remained the coldest places with each recording a minimum of 2 degrees, Met sources said.

Night temperature remained to hover below normal in most parts of the state, dipping by as much as 6 to 11 degrees.

In Himachal also, night temperatures plummeted in the mid and lower hills and hovered around freezing point.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district remained the coldest place with a low of minus 4 degrees, followed by Kalpa in Kinnaur district with minus 2.6 degree Celsius.

While Solan and Manali recorded minimums of 1 and 1.6 degrees, Shimla and Sundernagar settled at 3 degrees, Met sources said, adding that Lahaul and Spiti, Rohtang and Kunzam Passes had another spell of moderate snowfall.

Cold wave swept entire Rajasthan too, where Sri Ganganagar shivered at 1.6 degree Celsius followed by Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Churu and Pilani with minimums of 4.4, 5.7, 5.9 and 6.7 degrees.

In Punjab and Haryana, fog threw life out of gear in most parts, even as mercury went up by up to three notches above normal in most parts of the two states.

Rail and road traffic remaining affected, causing inconvenience to commuters. Later, as visibility improved, flights from Chandigarh to various states resumed, though with minor delay, officials said. Narnaul continued to be the coldest place in the region with a minimum of 4 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal.

Hisar, Ambala and Bhiwani in Haryana had a low of 6.6, 7.8 and 5.6 degrees Celsius respectively. In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a minimum of 6.6 degrees, up by three notches above normal while Ludhiana and Patiala had low of 7.9 and 8.5 degrees respectively. (PTI)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121230/main6.htm