Men are Cruel

Few weeks back I was attending a camp at Vermont Gurdwara in Los Angeles.After my work I used to go to Gurdwara to take part in the evening events .It was a five day long camp but I think I was hardly able to make to four evening sessions.I used to take metro red line from Union Station to Sunset and then walk from Sunset to Gurdwara.On the way from Sunset to Gurdwara,I used to observe a homeless lady sitting by the side on one of the raised platforms.

It was day 5 of the camp(last day of camp),and I decided to walk up to that lady and just sit by her side and ask her what led her into this state.I was really reluctant at times to approach her because being in an alien country ,you never know how people are going to treat you.But some how at the end of camp ,it was approximately 10 pm ,I was going back ,walking the same stretch where she sits,something beckoned me and I stopped by her side.I started talking to her and she was really pleased to talk to me,because she got a vent for her emotions after a long time by talking to me.She told me her name ,it was "Joyce",she began telling me her story how she came on the road.The story goes like this ,she had a very cruel husband ,and when she was pregnant ,her husband tried to kill her and the to be baby.In one of the attacks she was hurt ,that resulted in death of her to be born baby.She could not take that incident and became imbalanced and her husband abandoned her and started threatening her that if she will try to tell all this to cops ,he is going to kill her.That's how she was here roaming on streets helplessly.But as we were talking I came to know that she had a very good hand at drawing sketches,she showed me all her sketches.After seeing the sketches ,I was like awe struck .It looked like as if those sketches were live speaking to you.As a token of love ,she gave me two of her best sketches .I felt like blessed receiving those sketches from her.Here are those two sketches:

Jaap Sahib Course

I aatended Jaap Sahib Course from August 5-9,2007 at New Mexico,Espanola.
Jaap Sahib Course was a whole new experience for me. I learnt so many things .I was like a blank person when I came to the course, but by the end of course I was like a pot full of information and confidence.

The main thing that I learnt from the course was that, you can live a very good life without having a lot of money but with enough of spirituality which comes at no cost at all but with some personal effort and dedication.
Other thing that I felt was the power of Jaap Sahib, reciting Jaap Sahib in the sangat gave some kind of confidence and power to me, and I could really feel it. I really felt close to Guru Gobind Singh ji.The other thing I came to know about Jaap Sahib was that it was one of the most musical and the most difficult bani’s of all .I really enjoyed the “Bowing Jaap Sahib” part , in which you had to bow for every reference to “Namo” and “Namastan” (which was approximately 800 times), that means that you had to bow 800 times. This was a really a test of patience for my body for first time, I changed positions at least 50 times, but from second time onwards I just changed positions few times.So,one thing that I learnt from this was that by controlling your mind you can do everything in you life. As it is said in Japji Sahib “Man Jitta Jag Jeet”.It was enduring for the body but rewarding for mind.

The other thing that I developed was my positive attitude towards Nihang Singh’s. The lectures given by Baba Nihal Singh and translated by Dr.Harjot Kaur were really a good source of information about Nihang’s and how they perceive Sikhism, because the general perception is that Nihang’s are always in a state of high .

Then we had to really endure our bodies, by doing some really difficult kriyas like Sat Kriya,Archer pose each for eleven minutes.Gurutej Singh and Guruchander Singh were trying to give us the same training they got from SSS Harbhajan Singh Yogi ji.But it was good to test how much your body can endure ,those were really the most painful classes of the whole course. But our teachers told us that they are painful but they would really make us powerful from inside as well as outside. And I now I realize that it is really true when I try to practice those Kriya’s at home ,I think what they said was really true and I now respect them for what they said at that time.
During the course there had been times of enjoyment also. The best part was the Gatka workout time. It was under the aegis of Chardi Kala Jatha.They taught about the Pantra’s ,which is the basic of Sikh martial arts, they also taught made us to do Sarvan Danda,they had planned a really good workout schedule for us. The best part was that they used to make us play some really rough games like “Lions and Tigers” and “Human Tug of War”. During the whole Gatka workout Jaap Sahib would be played in the background which always gave us some feeling as if we were being trained to serve our Guru Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

During the course I had an opportunity to know a lot about Guru Gobind Singh ji by listening to the Sakhis told by Chardi Kala Jatha,they really recited the stories in a really nice way. Their bold voice can awaken anybody in this world. Then were the stories from Shanti Ji about the role of Singhnia’s in Guru Gobind’s life, that was such a great Sakhi.We also had a chance to know all about the Jaap Sahib ,through the words of Bibi Ji .It was a really informative lecture about Jaap Sahib ,giving in depth detail about each and detail about Jaap Sahib. With these stories we had some Q&A sessions, which were really great. They really gave answers to so many questions to which I could not find answers for a long time.


During the course I had a chance to meet some really great people like Chardi Kala Jatha,Shanti Kaur Ji(“The Punch Lady”,that’s what comes in my mind when I remember her name, as related to the big punch she gave to one of the reporters in India who was trying to sneak into the train cabin in which yogi ji was sitting),Gurujot Singh,twins Hari Singh and Prabhu Singh,Lakmir chand and Siri chand,Gurmustuk Singh(Mr.Sikhnet) and many more. I felt like I have one more family in New Mexico, they were all so nice. And not to forget to mention Bibiji, she is so down to earth that I cannot explain to you, because generally people of her stature are really full of ego and would never meet anybody. But she was such a gentle lady that she would just mix with other people like just a common person. She made such a delicious Indian food for us on the last day, and she would offer anybody to come to meet her anytime they feel like.




Besides these religious affairs we came to know about the entrepreneurs like Gurutej Singh, the way he was rejected by LAPD and then he started his own security company “Akal Security” which is one of the most reputed security companies in USA as of date.


They say that when somebody comes to Espanola, he doesn’t go back. But I thought that what was so special about that would attract people to keep them back in such a non commercial place. At time of leaving Espanola I felt the same way I felt like staying back here, I don’t why?
But I was very much more confident when I left Espanola after the course, both as a Human and as a Sikh.

To look at all the pictures I took during the course, please follow the link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/harjotsingh.kochar/JaapSahibCourseSikhYouthCamp

Yosemite National Park,California

Quarter of Pizza

We went over to Yosemite National Park on the labor day weekend.It was one of the most exciting vacations of my life.Yosemite National Park is located in northern california ,somewhere around 300 miles of Los Angeles.I was accompanied by my room mates Vishant,Suranga,Prakash and Aditya.Vishant and Suranga drove us to our destination ,Yosemite National Park,they were pretty decent drivers ,except Vishant was always threatening Suranga not to drive below 100 miles/hour.It was a pretty smooth drive across I5 ,I99 and then on CA 41.

We reached Yosemite National Park at around 3:00 pm and the first thing that struck us was that we were low on gas and that whether we would get gas inside the park or not.But by luck there were some gas stations inside the park but only at some designated places.This one is a huge park spread over hundred of miles ,so they had to have a gas station.So,we got some gas filled up and headed towards the glacier point.



On our way to glacier point we saw some breath taking views,so decided to take some pictures.So,we made some nice "profile postures" for these pictures.Here are a few of them.






















After taking these pictures we headed toward the glacier point .Glacier point was at quite a height and it had a spectacular view of the whole Yosemeti Park.

After glacier point we headed back and decided to go to Yosemeti Valley to visit the visitor centre and get some information about places to visit in the valley ,so that we can plan out our trip for the coming day.But what we found on our way back was a head sign for Bridalveil fall.We all could not stop ourselves to go to the fall and have a nice dip in the water.So,we headed for the fall and when we reached there ,we found a beautiful fall and few people taking a dip in the fall.We decided to give a shot and got ready to take a quick dip,the moment we entered pool of water, wave of shock ripped us apart.It was icy cold water,we could hardly bear it and came out after sometime ,Suranga was cribbling as we were throwing that cold water at him.It was an awesome body shaking dip at 7:00 pm ,an odd time for dip in a waterfall.

After that we headed back to yosemite valley ,our teeth tickling with cold that shocked our body completely.We went to the market and bought some fruits and ready to eat stuff for the trip next day ,which was not yet planned out.But a traditional punjabi mentality says that whether we go to the hike or not ,we should have something to eat.The only person who could guide us for the coming day hike was that daily store's cashier ,so we got all the information from him as he was busy doing the billing ,but he was really helpful.He gave us quite a few options for hiking
"Half Dome " ,"Cloud Rest","Nevada Falls" and a lot many.Among all of these "Half Dome" was the most difficult one.So,we thought that we are no less than anyone and would go for "Half Dome".


Now time had come for some food ,everybody had their gas tanks empty,had to fill them up.
So ,we went over to curry village to have some pizza ,in hurry we ordered two large pizza's ,as we thought that everybody was hungry and we would be able to finish it.When the pizzas were delivered our eyes were wide open as they were really "large",it was a big task to finish them off.But at last we had almost a quarter of pizza left over,which brought a lot of nice people to visit us,you will see that in later part.So,after food we were justing sitting in the common's lobby and relaxing ,were asking people about their experiences of hiking "Half Dome",if they had been there.As we were talking one couple was hearing over our talk and they asked us ,if we were planning to go "Half Dome",they told us that they had just came back from the hike and told us that it was pretty interesting hike and we would be able to cover the whole thing in 10 hrs.This motivated us to further continue on our plan of hike ,which had withered a bit when we had a discussion with one of the guys sitting there ,who said that it was a pretty difficult hike and requires atleast 12 hrs.The earlier couple was over motivating ,and helped us a lot with the hiking tips and told us that if we are not handicaps we can finish the hike in atmost 10 hrs."But we proved to be worst than any handicaps ,you will see later".


Now was time to sleep,we took that "quarter of pizza" along us.We are students and Indians ,so we are not supposed to spend money on things like lodging and of all that we had no reservations for any lodging ,so we decided to stay at "Car Lodge".Me and Vishant flattened out the front two seats ,Suranga squeezed up in the middle seat,making horrible sounds that went on through out the night,but there were some more things horrible than that , Prakash and Aditya at the back with the back seats flattened,those guys were the most comfortable one.I wish I had the picture of this sleeping plan,but anyhow now make a picture yourself from this description.Now starts the fun part,I was finding it hard to sleep ,changing sides,and feeling thirsty at the same time ,after an hour or so Vishant opened his eyes,I asked him for the keys, went out and grabbed some water from the boot.I took a sigh of relief,after drinking water,but who knew there was worse to come.I could not sleep even after that and told Vishant to open my window approximately to the half level,this was the biggest mistake of my life.After that Vishant went to sleep,but I still could not sleep.But what I saw in the coming minutes was the most frigthening moment of my life.I had read on my way that there were 300-400 black bears at Yosemeti,and they had mentioned that they can cause harm to you and your property in order to grab the food ,so you always need to keep all food items in bear safe container.But now I had that a Quarter of Pizza in front of me lying almost open.I think that was the reason that attracted the black bears near our car,they were two of them.Quarter of Pizza in front of me ,my window half opened,bears by the door ,and everybody else sleeping,man that was the most scariest time of my life.I was shivering with fear from head to toe.The only thing I could do was to pray whole heartedly.Interestingly the bear went away after 10-15 minutes,but ask me ,those 10-15 minutes looked 10-15 days to me.I took a deep breath of sigh,may be equal to million people.But even after the bear went away I could not sleep ,and to my surprise again after 2 hours at around 4 a.m the bear came again,but this time I was not ready to take him and woke up Vishant this time ,he was also bit frigthened,but by God's grace the bear went pretty quickly.Say it to be my audacity or my foolishness,I still didn't pull up my window even after this.


According to the plans the previous night we were to get up at 5 ,and leave for hike.But we all are a bunch of lazy ass,everybody got up at 5 and then decided we will get up after half hour,but the next time we got up it was 8.We hurriedly did our daily chores in the public restroom "Desi Style",had our coffee,some quick breakfast and headed towards the start of trail at around 10 am.The trail was "Half Dome",which was a total of 17 mile or 22 km.We started the trail in quite an excited mood,here is how we looked at the beginning of the hike.


But this excitement turned into pain as we started our hike.We were trying to follow some shortcuts,but I think they made us more tired.According to our plan we decided to halt after every fifteen minutes,but I think something was wrong with our clocks,our fifteen minutes used to come after every five minutes.Today I came to know how long a mile is,every mile looked like extended fifteen times.We had our first stop at Nevada Falls ,had some quick food and water ,filled up our water bottles as this was the last point where you can have water,remaining 5 miles had no trace of water.On our way up we met a Forest Ranger named "Brenton",he told us some exciting ranger stories and I also described to him the bear incident that occured by our car due to that "Quarter of Pizza",he told us that we were pretty lucky that bear didn't jumped into our car.Remember I had my window open.As the hike became steep ,we started becoming tired,Suranga was acting as he was going to fade away in any moment.He was saying that "Kill me ,I will pay you for that".I knew that he was not going to make it to the top.When we reached the fag end of our hike,we could see the steep "Half dome " beckoning us.Half of us were planning to drop it half way,but there was one thing that was pinching us that if a girl can do it,why can't we do it.This is because one of our friend "Poornima",who had visited this place earlier had told us to go for this hike ,and we had seen her picture at the half dome (but actually that was picture at glacier point ,that's reachable by car).


So,finaly I and Vishant decided to do the last part of hike and the reamining three decided to stay there and wait for us until we come back.This part of hike was the most dangerous and excrutiating.We had to climb around odd rough 1000 steps,they were really difficult ,then we had to climb to the top of half dome using the metal rope,so had to use gloves.It was really consuming lot of power to pull ourselves along those ropes.It took us around 40 minutes to climb the ropes,normally it takes 15 min.But when we reached the top of "Half Dome",we could see the whole Yosemeti valley.We took the longest time ever to hike the "Half Dome" i.e 9 hrs.Here are some pictures of the last part of hike.


Me and Vishant starting with the toughest part of the hike to "Half Dome".







Finally the two who made it to the top.It looks beautiful up there.



The two victorious showing their strength to other three scary people.




So,after this show of victory we realised that we were becoming too late,it was already 7pm and it was getting dark in the forests.We were the last one to walk back out of that place.We walked back for about half an hour ,and it was totally dark,so had to make use of search lights and the water proof neon candles which Prakash got it along with the earthquake safety kit from Google.Here is how we looked with neon handles in our hand.



You can see the look at our face,we were all so exhausted.Everybody holding their neon lights and Vishant guiding the way from the back using a search light.Prakash was leading the way ,using different words like "Careful,slippery,move on left".Well done Prakash.
As comapred to our way up ,we had very few stops ,may be just two or three.The sky was so filled up with stars that day,I have never seen so many stars together in one glance.We could almost see every constellation(we remembered very few of them),but it was really awesome.We finished the hike on the way back in 5 hours ,so a total of 14 hours ,I think the worst anybody would have done till date.

As we reached the trail end ,it was already 11:30 pm ,we came to know that there are no buses after 10,so had to walk till parking ,that means another mile.Anyhow we reached the parking and were really delighted but at the same time exhausted too.We sat down in the car and had some food ,chips and I kept the" remaining chips on the dashboard".We decided that tonight we will again sleep in the car and would leave early morning at around 6 am ,so that we can reach Los Angeles by 11 am and return the rental car by 11 am,otherwise we would have to pay another $65.So,as we were going to sleep I saw some bears at some distance ,and I quickly rolled up my windows.This time everybody was awake so I showed the bear to everybody.But anyhow we were less afraid this time,but I forgot that I had kept the chips at the same place where I had kept the "Quarter of Pizza " last night.But anyhow we all went to sleep,suddenly at 2:30 am we heard a punching sound on the windows.My first guess before opening the eyes was that it was bear trying to hit the glass of the window.Suddenly we all woke up and what we saw was that National Park Security people banging on our window,we opened the window and they told us that we had violated the law by keeping the food in open sight ("remember those chips on the dashboard"),and we could be fined for this and our vehicle could be impounded for that.But she was good and she let us go on one notice that either we should go the camp ground and stay there or leave the National Park as soon as possible,because there was a bear on the tree ,below which our car was parked and he could damage the car.Again a wave of fear went through us and we decided to leave the park at 2:45 am.I think it was good in a sense that NPS had come over ,because otherwise we would have slept till 10 in the morning and would have ended up paying $ 65 more for the rental car.



To look at all the pictures we took at the yosemite national park ,you can follow this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/harjotsingh.kochar/YosemiteLabourDayWeekend