Columnists
Going Places:
Sidak Returns This Summer
Part III
T. SHER SINGH
Continued from yesterday ...
SIDAK is an annual retreat designed as a leadership development program for young adults. It is run by The Sikh Research Institute ("SikhRI"), and is being held this year for two-weeks between July 27 and August 9 in Mission, British Columbia, Canada.
I had the pleasure of attending the full two-week duration of its chapter in San Antonio, Texas, USA, last year. I penned my experiences while there and posted them on THE DAILY FIX on sikhchic.com.
What follows is Part III of the daily segments -- we started the republication of the series two days ago -- presented here with the hope that it will enourage you to consider attending what I found to be a life-transforming opportunity for both the young and old.
Part III
The Sidak Retreat, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Instructors and students have converged here from four different
continents. Accents heard at any given time of the day or night, even
though all are fluent in English, range from Aussie to Brit, Boston
clipped to Southern drawl, Punjabi to Canuck.
In addition to personal traits -- some are extroverts, others introvert,
for example -- each carries national and regional characteristics. For
example, East Coast Americans are a species quite different from the
Californians; or, the Texans from the mid-Westerners. The Canadians can
be spotted in a crowd by their demeanour ...
But despite all the differences and the idiosyncrasies, a common set of
traits gives the group a definite homogeneity. For different reasons or
different goals, each brings a hunger to know more about Sikhi. And
throws into the mix demonstrated skills in achieving excellence and
reaching the pinnacle of their chosen paths -- which also vary,
revealing 34 different career paths for 34 young men and women.
Soldiering and athletics, law and order, medicine and engineering,
accounting and crisis management, IT technology and family husbandry …
are but a few of the areas represented here.
* * * * *
During lunch on Monday, a young fellow grabs the empty seat beside me at
the table and proceeds to munch away while the banter continues amongst
the other 8 or so sitting at the same table.
I note, a few minutes later, that he hasn’t said a word. So I turn to him and try and break the ice.
“Where are you from?“ I ask him.
“Bakersfield,” he replies.
“Where’s that?” I ask him.
He looks at me with a tinge of disdain. “California!” he snaps, mercifully dropping the obligatory “Duh!”
He hasn’t looked up yet from his food. Leave me alone, his body language cries out.
So I press on.
“And what do you do?” I ask.
“Getting ready for the Olympics,“ he says.
I wait for details, but none are forthcoming.
I keep on trying, but getting answers from him is like pulling teeth. It
takes me a while before I realize he’s not being rude, he’s just shy
and reserved.
We scatter soon thereafter, everyone heading to his or her Sidak ’class’.
* * * * *
A day later, I’m driving back from the city. I had taken a couple of
hours off to check out the Norman Rockwell photo exhibit at the McNay
Gallery in town. I get off the I-10 and swing towards the ranch where
Sidak is holding its annual two-week leadership retreat.
Still a couple of miles to go, and I notice from the corner of my eye
two orange dots bobbing up and down in the distance, near the tree-line
about fifty feet away from the road.
It’s 4 in the afternoon. The sky is clear but shrouded in a haze,
nevertheless. It’s 38 degrees C. The weatherman says it feels like 45.
The air, though dry, has a whitish sheen to it.
Therefore it takes me an effort to focus on the two bobbing balls.
As I get closer, I see that it’s really the tops of two joggers. No,
runners, actually. Belting it out. The bobbing balls? Orange and red
patkas!
I slow down. One of them is the Olympian. The other I recognize as another young man who is also attending Sidak.
I spot them sitting at a bench back at the ranch, about 40 minutes
later. They’ve washed up by now and changed, but their bodies are still
glistening with beads of sweat.
Their energy somewhat spent by the run, I find them easier to tackle into a conversation.
One is still withdrawn and needs to be dragged out of his shell. The
other is high, bubbling with energy, forever fidgeting and bouncing, and
needs to simmer down. Even when he does, his fingers won’t stop: he
texts away full-speed on his iPhone.
So, I turn to the Olympian to chat with him.
* * * * *
Mohanvir Singh, 17, is a high school Senior from Bakersfield, California. Close to 6 ft tall. Marathoner slim.
His life revolves completely around running, he tells me. He wants to
qualify for the Olympics for the 1600 metres and the 800 metres events.
He’s making his way slowly up the ladder, already having risen to the
top in the Kern Valley division. The next hurdle is the national level
qualifier. He’s got some ways to go, he confesses, but he sees it merely
as a matter of time. There are no if’s, no buts.
His parents own and run a small gas station in Bakersfield. They’re
supportive of his track-and-field ambitions … as long as he stays on
track with his schooling.
Which he is. He expects to get a scholarship into University, based on his running record and his grades.
He wants to get into Sports Medicine.
Earlier this year, Mohanvir started a running club in his neighbourhood.
Dozens have already joined in, with at least 10-15 turning up every
Saturday for a run. Most of them Sikhs. And the majority of them are
girls.
Why? I ask.
It’s because girls are more into health nowadays, he says.
He hopes to expand on the running club idea, once he starts university in the fall.
What brings you to Sidak, I ask him.
He wants to learn, he says. He took Amrit a few years ago. Has learnt
kirtan, plays the harmonium and tabla. Actually taught a shabad -- “thaakar tum sarnaa-ee aayaa”
-- to his colleagues this morning. I love sharing, he says … that’s how
we all learn … from each other … and grow! It’s the way to do it … pass
it from one to the other.
Someone had recommended Sidak to his mother, who proposed it to him. He liked the idea.
Glad he came.
Waxes poetical over the first class this morning in a series on “Asa ki Vaar”, being taught by Inderpreet Singh.
Suddenly, he says, words I already enjoy when I sing or hear being sung, have added meaning … and beauty!
* * * * *
I have to take Pavandeep Singh’s iPhone away from him to get him to talk.
Also 17, he’s from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A couple of inches taller than his buddy. Broad shoulders. Sharp, angular features.
Lives with his mother -- a single parent, school teacher -- and a sister, who is also attending Sidak this year.
Starts on his first degree at the University of Toronto in September. In Criminology.
Loves debating.
Wants to be a lawyer.
Has been attending Sikh camps for years. Enjoys them. Found some of them
a bit rigid … and overly strict. Learnt a lot from them, though, he
says. Wants to continue attending them. Helps makes and keep up with
friends.
It was a girl he met at another retreat who recommended Sidak. She was all gaga about it. So, he thought he’ll give it a shot.
Has been learning kirtan from Prof Purshottam Singh in Kitchener, Ontario. “He’s awesome! … A legend!” he exclaims.
His sister has taken Amrit. He wants to, as well. On his own volition.
First met Mohanvir only the other day. They instantly hit it off when they figured they’re both runners.
No, Pawandeep doesn’t want a career in athletics.
I’ll be a lawyer, he says emphatically. Why do you want to be a lawyer, I ask.
“Oh … because I think I’ll be good at it. It excites me.”
First published on July 31, 2013; re-published on July 8, 2014