RANJAN'S SIKH AND CRICKET BLOG

Estimation of Annual Risk of Tuberculosis Infection in Sri Lanka: an epidemiological approach for assessing the TB situation in the country.

2011-02-06T10:34:00.000-08:00

Wijesinghe PR, Palihawadana P, Alwis S.

Methodology: A nation wide, school-based, cross sectional tuberculin survey was conducted to estimate the Annual Risk of Tuberculosis Infection (ARTI). The study sample comprised 5280 children aged 10 years irrespective of the BCG vaccination selected in a stratified, two stage cluster sampling technique. Of these, 4352 were administered tuberculin and reactions were read in 4202 within 72 hours according to a standardised protocol.

Results: The proportion immunized with BCG was 98% and 95% had a BCG scar. Frequency distribution of reactions demonstrated a not very distinct second mode corresponding to 15mm.Therefore; the mode of reaction sizes observed among 82 smear positive cases (20mm) was also studied. Both modes were used as cut off values for determining prevalence of TB by mirror image technique and ARTI as scenario one and two.

The national estimate of ARTI was 0.4% (95% CI- 0.2-0.7%) (Scenario I) and 0.12% ( 0.07-0.17%) (Scenario II). The corresponding values for urban, rural and estate strata were 1.4% (95CI- 0.8-2.1%), 0.2% (95CI- 0-0.6%) and 0.2 %( 95 CI- 0-0.7%) respectively, according to the scenario I. According to scenario II, ARTI estimates were 0.6% (95CI-0.08-1.2%) for urban, 0.12 %( 95CI- 0.07-0.2%) for rural, and 0.05% (95% CI- 0-0.2%) for estate sectors.

Conclusions: The national estimate of ARTI reflected a low risk of TB transmission. This estimate was lower than the same for many developing countries and higher than that for industrialised countries. ARTI in the urban stratum was higher than the national estimate.

The high ARTI in the urban sector calls for strengthening and intensifying TB control activities on sustained and long term basis. The low risk in other sectors does not allow complacency as reported incidence rate at present is less than the expected incidence of newly infected and re infected individuals .Sustained, committed , long term provision of quality anti tuberculosis service remains essential. A repeated tuberculin survey is recommended in 5-7 years for epidemiological trend analysis.

Participatory approach to control intestinal infections in different socio economic and cultural settings in Sri Lanka

2011-02-06T10:31:00.000-08:00

by Jayasinghe A, Wijesinghe PR.

Introduction:Intestinal infections endemic in one geographical area may cause outbreaks in other parts of the country. The common disease control strategies are not effective when applied uniformly in all areas as practices of inhabitants differ in different socio cultural and economical settings. Therefore, ascertaining knowledge, practice and behaviours of inhabitants and strategic planning with available resources are effective ways for disease control.

Objectives:
• To identify behavioural and administrative factors affecting control of intestinal diseases
• To design, implement, monitor and evaluate locality specific programs through participatory approach to control intestinal infections
• To prepare a comprehensive, national intestinal disease control program incorporating different locality specific programs

Methods :Six different groups of people in different localities were identified based on routine surveillance data on intestinal infections. These groups were Tamil speaking tea estate community in Badulla, Tamil and Sinhala speaking vegetable farmers from Nuwareliya district, Faddy cultivators from Anuradapura district, Moor community in Puttalam district and a seasonal migrant fishing community from an islet in Puttalam district and a Tamil speaking, semi urban community in Mannar district. Based on focus group discussions with inhabitants and on-site situational analysis, six different intestinal disease control programs were worked out with stakeholders through a participatory approach. Activities were monitored for a period of 12 months.

Results ;Though the knowledge on control measures of intestinal diseases was adequate, behaviours and practices were not satisfactory for controlling the disease. The priority given by divisional health authorities for surveillance and control of intestinal diseases were not up to the expected level. Available resources were proved to be adequate to reduce disease incidence by 50% when area specific problems were prioritised by the divisional health authorities and responsibility was shouldered by different stakeholders.

Recommendations:
A generic control program is not recommended for different socio-cultural groups. Locality specific disease control programs prepared through a participatory approach by divisional stakeholders is the best approach for effectiveness and sustainability of practical control programs.

Don’t panic, say health officials

2011-01-01T08:54:00.000-08:00

News ( Sundaytimes Sunday November 14, 2010 )

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As the second wave of A/H1N1 hit the country, taking on the pattern of a seasonal influenza or flu, health officials urged the public not to panic.

So far there have been 48 confirmed cases since October 6, when the first patient of the second wave was detected in the influenza-like disease surveillance at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children in Colombo, Consultant Epidemiologist Dr. Ranjan Wijesinghe of the Epidemiology Unit told the Sunday Times.

Stressing that the World Health Organization (WHO) has now declared that H1N1 is in the ‘post-pandemic period’ or last phase, he explained that this, however, does not mean that we will not have cases. The virus will continue to circulate for many more years, but the severity will be less.

The important difference between the first wave that hit Sri Lanka in June last year during the ‘pandemic phase’ and the second wave this year is that the virus has joined the pattern of other seasonal flu viruses, he said, adding that H1N1 was the predominantly circulating strain in the first wave.

“Then it spread like wildfire, with people manifesting severe symptoms but now we may not see an unusual breakout. This is because some people have acquired immunity against H1N1 either due to contracting the virus or being vaccinated against it. But it will be seen among clusters of people who are not immune,” he said.

Among those who develop the disease, the individuals who have co-morbidities or health issues such as hypertension and diabetes which make them immune-deficient, may have severe symptoms, said Dr. Wijesinghe.

“Therefore, it is important to think about remedial measures, with the best option being vaccination,” he said. The vaccines have been distributed to all Medical Officers of Health (MOHs) to be administered to those with the highest risk of catching H1N1 such as health and disaster management workers as well as essential services which include armed service personnel and telecom and electricity workers, the Sunday Times learns.

Anyone with health issues which may make them vulnerable to the virus may also seek the flu shot from the MOH, he said.

The second wave was anticipated following trends in countries in the Southern Hemisphere such as Australia and New Zealand where H1N1 distinctly joined the bandwagon during the flu season. Our surveillance data since 2004 has indicated that we have flu throughout the year but with two major peaks in February-March-April and October-November-December, he said, explaining that with the first wave peaking in the middle of October last year, H1N1 was expected to act similarly this year. This was further strengthened by the fact that cases are occurring in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala with much travel between them and Sri Lanka.

In the first wave which hit in June last year with imported cases and the community spread beginning in October and continuing until mid-February this year there were 642 confirmed cases with 48 deaths.
The fortunate factor was that in the first wave only 10% of those who contracted H1N1 needed intensive care unit admission which indicates that the virus virulence was not so bad, he added.

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/101114/News/nws_09.html

Estimation of the Annual Risk of TB in Sri Lanka: Presentaion made at the EPISEA 10th scientific session in Colombo

2010-06-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Surveilance of Inflenza in Sri Lanka- presentation made at the Indian Influenza Society meeting at New Delhi, 2009

2010-05-18T01:52:00.000-07:00

Transition from killed JE vaccine to Live JE vaccine : Sri Lankan experience ( presentation for the Bi regional meeting on JE 2009)

2010-05-13T23:32:00.000-07:00

surveilance of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Sri Lanka: The South Asian Pneumococcal Network Alliance (SAPNA)

2010-01-27T22:44:00.000-08:00

Poster presentation made at ISPPD at Reykjavic, Iceland

Introduction of New vaccines to the National Immunization Program: Link between Epidemiology & Microbiology.

2010-01-25T01:14:00.000-08:00

Bacterial pathogens associated with conjunctivitis and corneal ulcers with special reference to Streptococcus pneumoniae.

2009-09-14T22:01:00.001-07:00

Abstract presented for the annual scientific sessions of the college of
microbiologists - 2009

Piyasiri D.L.B. 1, Chandrasiri P.2, Wijesinghe P.R.3
Post Graduate Institute, Colombo 1, National Hospital, Colombo 2, Epidemiology Unit, Colombo 3

Introduction.
The most important and frequently occurring corneal infections are conjunctivitis and corneal ulcers.This study was undertaken to isolate the common bacterial pathogens with special reference to Streptococcus pneumoniae and to test their antibiotic sensitivity pattern. Pneumococcal serogrouping was done to compare with the strains causing invasive infections.

Method.

Total 357 samples from patients with conjunctivitis or corneal ulcers were processed. Culture and identification was done by standard microbiological techniques. Antibiotic sensitivity was performed using Joan-Stokes and CLSI methods. All Pneumococcal isolates were tested for Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of penicillin, and 37 were serogrouped.

Results. ( Pl refer to the picture)

Of 196 isolates, coagulase negative Staphylococcus spp (31.6%), was the most frequent. Of 203 direct Gram stains, 22.7% were smear positive and out of that, 89% were culture positive. For Strep.pneumoniae, routine ABST gave 70.7% Penicillin resistance while according to MIC, 6.5% were resistant and 60.9% were intermediately sensitive. Sensitivity for Chloramphenicol of Strep.pneumoniae, Strep.viridans, and Haemophilus was 97.7%, 100% and 93.1% respectively. Of 37 pneumococcal isolates which were serotyped, 12 isolates were 19F (32%), 6 isolates were 23A, and 4 isolates were serotype 3. Three were non-typeable.

Conclusion.

Coagulase negative Staphylococcus spp was the commonest isolate. Positive direct smears are valuable in treating patients empirically. Except Pseudomonas spp, >90% isolates were sensitive to Chloramphenicol. Of pneumococcal serotypes causing external eye infections, 56.8% were vaccine constituents and vaccine related ones.

o Part of this research has been presented in the annual academic session of college of ophthalmologists, Sri Lanka, in October, 2008.

o Financial assistance given by the Epidemiology Unit, Colombo, through SAPNA project is acknowledged.

Preparedness of Nursing Officers of sentinel hospitals in the Western Province of Sri Lanka in response to a Possible Influenza Pandemic

2009-08-27T04:14:00.000-07:00

Building capacity of health workers is a key element in epidemic preparedness and response. A hospital based descriptive cross sectional survey was carried out to describe the capacity of nursing officers in sentinel hospitals in the Western province of Sri Lanka in their preparedness and response to a possible pandemic influenza. A pre tested self administered questionnaire , a likert type attitudinal scale and a desk top pandemic excercise were used to describe their training status, knowledge, attitudes and competencies in relation to pandemic preparedness and response.

Though the majority (95%) had recieved training on infection control during their basic nursing training (85%), participation in training sessions on emerging and re emerging diseases(13%), emergency response (23%) and pandemic influenza (23%) was low.

The proportion of nurses with an adequate knowledge on the cause, mode of transmission, sign and symptoms of avian/pandemic influenza was very high(>85%). But the same for definition of pandemic, treatment and role of vaccines was very low(<50%).Despite a majority being trained on infection control. knowledge on standard precautions (19%) , transmission based precautions ( 0.3%) and isolation of patients (13%) were poor. Overall knowledge was significantly higher among particpants of pandemic infleunza training sessions(p<0.05)and those who had a service more than 10 years(p<0.05).

positive attitudes were recorded for being an important member of the rapid response team, extending their services in a pandemic,providing supplementary services, reducibility of the professional risk by protective measures and self ability in performing expected duty in a pandemic. Negative attitudes were highlighted for having to work in poor facilities, needing to abandon work for safety of them and family and the percieved inadequacy of training on infection control.

Overall competency of the nursing officers(27%) as well as more specific competencies such as isolation of patients (<20%), proper handling of dead bodies(<27%) and decontamination of infected materials (42%) were found to be critically poor.

the study highlighted the need for refresher in service training on infection control and more specific training such as those on emerging and re emerging infectious diseases, epidemic preparedness and response for upgrading the knowledge of nurses. Desktop and simulated excercises are recomended for enhancing the competency of nurses in emergency response to a possible pandemic influenza.These training programmes , provisions fro personal protection and improving facilities for infection control will enable eliminating elicited negative attitudes of the nursing officers to their role in a pandemic.

Key words:capacity, knowledge, attitude, competency, nursing officers, Sri Lanka

Road side wisdom- all inclusive in the meal package

2009-08-21T04:06:00.000-07:00

Advices to the general public is very common. In a society like SL, it starts at home. Then it is given at schools, religious places. TV and Radio also have programs to bombard people with advices of a variable nature. Contrary to these conventional method,a bizarre yet an innovative mode of advising the passengers was found in a road side boutique on the way from Kesbewa to Kalutara ( New Kandy road). First set of advices in the first picture includes

1.laziness leads to slavery

2.Patience is responsible for achieving many things.

3. Being angry destroys self and others.

4. Being frank makes humans noble

5. experience generates a new man.

6.Thoughts and aspirations cannot be imprisoned.

7. Love is the flower blossomed in the garden of life.

The second set of advice in the second picture includes

1. foolishness is a severe disease.

2.Joyous smile is the best cream for a face.

3.Tranqualised mind is the best medicine for a sleep.

4. Man is excellent, poisonous and extremely poisionus

5. A man without a shame is a walking dead body.

The third set of advices in the third frame entails;

1. Be careful of the friend who flatters you rather than the enemy who attacks you

2. A modest woman is a goddess.

All these advices are included in the meal price. No VAT and other levies are added on. Next time when you are off to the South of Sri Lanka, just don't miss these free of charge advices. cheers.

Amazing trip to Soweto, South Africa

2009-08-20T22:49:00.000-07:00

Difference of two worlds. Still Soweto is very much behind the metropolis JOBURG. Arts on the body of two towers in the picture are terrific. I love SA, Joburg and even Soweto despite the risk for any outsider. Gun culture is very much alive they say in Soweto.

Amazing memorial to Hector. He will eternally live in the hearts and minds of South Africans. He and others sacrificed their present for the future of South Africans in partcular Blacks, coloreds and Indians.

The visit to Hector pieterson memorial was really memorable. We had the opportnity to see his sister who is working in the library. The child who carries Hector in that world renowned picture ( Top left).

This was my companion in the bus to Soweto. Soweto means the South Western township. It is the craddle of anti apartheid struggle. I am fortunate to be there as we supported the struggle of Bikos as school kids. It was a dream coming true for me. Hope, SA politicians will improve the life of Soweto kids. They may not let go the talents wasted. Education, rugby, cricket, soccer. So many avenues. On the way, the guide showed us an outlet of a chain of malls. Indeed the outlet @ Soweto. the owner was a milk delivering lad from Soweto. He is enormously rich today. A good lesson for many kids in Soweto.

Tribute to a great soul

2009-08-17T04:58:00.000-07:00

Just turned the telly on during the weekend for the routine dose of news. It broke the news of the death of a literary giant of our time ; Mr. Sarathchandra Jayakody. The news was a shocked one for me as he was from the very area where I was born and brought up. Though I had bumped on to him onece or twice, he knew who I was and literary pieces that I had written years back to Divaina. It has been nearly now five years that I have stopped writing to papers due to my hectic schedule and professional comitments. He still wanted me to contribute as he thought my writing in mother tongue was good. Indeed a great complement for an ordinary soul like me to recieve such a honor from a great man. If he is a jumbo, I am an ant. So commencing writing is the best honor that I would be able to bestow on this great soul.

He was such an educted soul that he led a modest way of life . Anyone will hardly believe, I reckon. That is against the background in which today with a little knowledge people try to be pseudo intelligentsia. He was excellent in English, singhala and Sanskrit, so they say. Many sought his support in transalting sanskrit. His features in singhala newspapers were palatable to read. They dealt with village life that we cherished as kids. Our villages have now become semi urban areas. But he used to bring nostalgic memories of yesteryears. He lived in that dream. Though the opportunity was there to migrate to an urban area, he lived in handapangoda as a village folk. He was in his roots and never did he forget his roots. This suddenly flashed in me while taking lunch today, a colleague told how another colleague use a FAB outlet as a landmark to enhance her/his social status. In a world with empty people of that nature, you are a complete man ; a rare breed indeed. May you attain the supreme bless of Nibbana

Our clan does not have a knowledge that goes beyond the law of nature

2009-07-07T03:36:00.000-07:00

A speech by Dambane Gunawardane summarized by R Meepitiye Seelarathane thero

Picture of a veddha from the panaramio.com. The original is available at www.panaramio.com/photos/original/1477242.jpg

Associated with the green vegetation and wild animals, the life style of veddhas was an independent one. Traditional wealth of knowledge and culture of Veddahs, who were born, bred and dead in jungles were built on the shaping of the nature. However, with the time being, as a result of so called development, progress and deforestation, homelands and cultural practices of indigenous people have been subject to drastic changes. Very recently, the academic staff and students of the department of language and cultural education of the Sri Jayewardenepura University visited Dambana with a view to studying the nature of the current veddha tribe and their association with the nature. This is a summary of the speech of Dambane Gunawardane. The original article in sinhala was prepared by Rev. Meepitiye Seelarathane thero. This appeared in the newspaper “Lanka” on 10 May 2009. We translate this to English and republish for the benefit of non sinhala speaking readers to enhance their wisdom from that of the indigenous communities such as veddha tribe,

I have returned to Dambana having gone to Colombo from Dambana as a university student. Why did I return to Dambana after being graduated? Dambana is a very remote village. The word Dambana reflects our primary status, rustic nature and undeveloped status. Then why do we return in search of this undeveloped status? This is incomprehensible as development means moving forward rather than taking steps back. Why we returned is itself an issue for us. Why do people return in this manner? Why do the majority think so?

The word “Veddha” itself is derogatory. Because of the derogatory nature of the word “Veddha”, since of late, people have been using the word “Indigenous” in place of Veddha. .This alien word is being used because of this perceived derogatory nature. The word “Veddha” entails three reasons to be perceived as derogatory: Being dirty, not being literate (not knowing anything) and killing animals.

When we remember veddhas, it reminds us that they are people who kill animals and eat. They are very dirty and they do not know anything. These three things come to the fore front. On surface, we do se these three reasons. When we look at these superficially, being derogatory is transpired to be reasonable since only when we penetrate deep into, we see what reality is. They are apparently dirty, apparently not knowledgeable. They do not know what big shots do. True, the current crop of children knows certain things. Cellular phones and kind of things are used. They use even computers .But our elders do not know these things. Truly enough, they apparently do not know anything.

They kill animals for flesh, though it is rare today. Earlier our fathers used to kill animals everyday. That is true and not a lie. From that point of view, there is nothing in it. First issue is killing animals which is a bad act. It is not worth for anyone, a human in particular, to kill an animal. Animals cannot think too much. Therefore, when they are hungry, they kill another animal to appease hunger. But in contrast to animal, humans are an emotional lot. A collective that can think to a great deal. As such, when an animal is killed, when an animal cries, humans feel it. They are supposed to feel the sorrow. An animal does not die at once. It cries, struggles, shouts, attempts to flee. Blood is shed, skin is severed. A man cannot be senseless when he sees all these. Lets say that an indigenous people do not understand this phenomenon. But can a developed man say so as developed means he has developed his senses further. But, if you ask a developed man what he ate, he will respond “ Oh I have not eaten flesh, I have eaten rice “Just leave the whole plate of rice a side and take one grain of rice. Think how many animals have been killed to produce this one grain of rice, first when clearing the ground, then setting fire to weeds, ploughing the earth, applying and due to the toxic effect of agrochemicals and fertilizers. So when calculated in this way, millions of animals have been killed to produce a grain of rice. These animals are not large ,visible animals. They may be unapparent, tiny animals. A heap of such grains we call rice. So, can you calculate the number of animals killed by humans who are more developed than a veddha ? Veddha kills one animal for one meal. Sometimes, it is not for his but for the meal of the entire village. They had a methodology to share the kill. A cave was inhabited by several families. One clever chap goes hunting and kills after contemplation. Say two go into the jungle and if they intend to come tomorrow, they will not kill a deer or sambhur even they collide on to hunters since they cannot finish eating the flesh of the animal. So they track until a fitting animal to their need is found. That is the veddha’s method. Only when they return home, do they kill an animal adequate for the need of family members. For one meal, never do they kill two animals. This is the act of said , undeveloped, unknowledgeable and dirty humans. But developed , trekking on the moon, humans kill millions of animals for one meal. Who is morally more developed ? more humane ? more important man ? These are unapparent phenomena . Those phenomena are not seen by the naked eye. A person who studies needs to study these. It will show whether those humans who are derogated have inhumanness or they bring destruction. If we destroy millions of animals for a meal, what will be the outcome if we live 100 years. These things continue without being seen by us. They add a piece of meat of a killed animal to the heap of rice. Then add a boiled egg without letting the embryo a chance to develop. Who did this? The one who is sensible and overflowing with love, affection and compassion. Why are not those feelings generated ? Feelings are there to be generated. May be as said sometimes, they may be compassionate about humans, not compassionate about animal though. But how does one believe when he sees what happens in the society or the way wars are fought. Let alone others, are there qualities such as feeling equality, unity, sorrow of the others at home and giving a hand at least to those at home. There is an enthusiasm with the word “ Humans”. Though enthused, the real truth is that humans are the least developed animals in the world.

We are great destroyers of the world. Without us , this world is enormously beautiful. We humans have greatly destroyed the world. The acceleration of the destruction is development. Earlier one tree was felled with an axe per a day
Whereas now with the development, a machine will need five minutes to fell a tree. We think our world is developed in terms of technology. So what did we do? We have accelerated the destruction. We do so by what we learned . The degree to which I destroy is inadequate. I need to expand it. Acquiring more resources means a great destruction. My home means a place with accumulated great destructions. The plate of rice that I eat is a small fruit of a great bio destruction. When we compare what we collect and destroy to collect the same, we are satisfied with the small grain of our gains and the mountain of destruction. This is the kind of situation which the world is in today. This is the perspective which you should come to Dambana from. Dmbana is not all about that village but about ancient world, being rustic and rural.

What is this that I am doing as a human ? What is the outcome of this? If the destruction continues in this manner, what will happen to the destroyer ? He will be cursed. If you approach secretly to any developed man and ask “are you contented ?”, or say that he is transpired to be so, his answer will be “ What content, I live with great difficulty “.

The self inflicted destruction returns to trouble once again, worries and irritates the sub consciousness of the destroyer. You live not for your self . You get the feeling that to make you live , it is prudent to deprive many animals of their right to living. That makes you feel uncomfortable. Under a shade of a tree, one of our kinds chewing a betel is smiling. He hardly has areca nut or betel leaves. But he doesn’t feel dejected. His mind is trouble free. He has not been involved in a great mess to anybody. Nor has he taken someone else’s property. Free. That is life. What one gets by doing the destruction and by being a part of the nature under the tree is the same.

What we obtain from birth to death is satisfaction. When one reaches the moon , he is satisfied. The same satisfaction is obtained when one of our kind digs a large root or tuber . So both have done the same. This is the reality of the world and that is why you need to return to Dambana, being rustic or rural. Inside those, you need to have your studies. Inside the study, you need to find things of your life. The difference in your life is the certificate or awards that you receive and not the paper that testifies that you have a BA,MA or PhD. That is only a piece of paper.

Within all these studies, you understand the nature of your life, contradictions of your life, how your life should be, if your life is subject to any transformation. Getting through an exam or not is not a big deal. It is just a matter of a profession or job which is irrelevant to life as we are able to initiate a physical transformation with all these. To make an inner change , none of these things is relevant.

The other reason is the fact that we do not know anything. Being knowledgeable means the knowledge to deprive somebody of his rights. According to the law of the nature, any given animal has no rights other than the right to take food till stomach is full, right to protect the life, and right to reproduce. Though there is the right to take food till stomach is full, the right to rob and possess someone else’s property, and depriving someone else’s right has not been provided. Every animal has preserved that right. This has been violated only by humans. A bird picking berries on a tree does not claim the right for the tree. It lets other birds to pick berries. Humans have only defined borders for their possessions. Who gave this right to us ? It has been formulated by us and not the nature.

The right that was accorded to me by the nature is that I am free to live anywhere. It will be mine till I continue to live. Once I leave, it is no longer mine. This right has been formulated by humans. With the time being, humans have formulated rules and regulations, possessed things belonging to others, generated their own power and made attempts to get all factors under their ownership. Knowledge means this effort to possess every thing by humans through rules and regulations and powers that enable them to possess properties of others. Our own kind doesn’t have this knowledge. But, the knowledge essential for living is possessed by our own kind. That is the knowledge to dig a root, to find a honeycomb or to protect themselves from scorching sunlight, rain or animals. We don’t have the knowledge of possessing something belonging to others or that is beyond the nature. Had we acquired the other type of knowledge , then we would have inflicted a huge destruction. I am the first graduate from the veddha tribe. By having obtained the degree, I have committed something that leads to destruction. My degree has helped me to distance myself from the nature and not to be with it. Degree provided me an opportunity to dissociate from the nature. It gave me impetus to do so. Nothing else.

The other reason is the purity. How beautiful are wild animals? The deer here is pure. But never has it used soap. To the extent that you are exposed to the nature, there is nothing called being dirty. Being dirty emanated from being hidden from the nature. When in unison with the nature, there is nothing called being dirty. No need to cleanse in particular. The cycle of cleansing is engrained in the nature itself. We are not a group of people just fell down from the sky. This earth, water, wind are in us too. We derive energy from earth, wind, trees, sun and moon. We hide from all these. Having a roof over our head prevents us from being exposed to sunlight. Clothes make sunlight fall on them and not on the body. That causes diseases, this and that, in humans.

Do wild animals get sick ? Do they have hospitals ? Do they seek care of midwives in delivery ? No. We too had this energy. We live refusing and having shielded ourselves from all these. But what was our objective? Living in comfort. This is the biggest joke. We built air conditioned rooms having shielded ourselves from the nature to live in comfort. Didn’t we? Did we live in comfort? No.

We had to be in hospitals. But animals in the wild did not do any effort and to date live in comfort. If we are searching comfort, then this is the wrong track. If we are in search of joy, satisfaction or humanness, then this is the wrong track. This does not mean that we as veddhas too live as it was before. We are too moving with mistakes. Indigenous tribes, veddha tribes mean not the tribes that used to be earlier. We are also a lot that has to follow the destructive world. But that minute beauty is visible to us. With the existing situation, that is also enough. Seeing that beauty is seeing Dambana.

2008-07-15T03:17:00.001-07:00

Surveillance of rotavirus diarrhea: A new frontier for the mature EPI in Sri Lanka
( Abstract of the presentation made at the Rotavirus symposium in Istanbul, Turkey, on 3-4 June 2008 )
Wijesinghe PR1 , Batuwanthudawe R1, Galagoda G 2, Abeysinghe MRN1, De Silva S3, Nyambat B4, Kirkwood CD5, Kilgore PE4
Correspondence – Gunathilake@khalsa.com
1Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health, 2Medical Research Institute, 3Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, Colombo, Sri Lanka; 4International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea; 5Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.

Background
Over the past several years there has been a dramatic decline in diarrhea-specific mortality rates and diarrhoea-related case fatality among infants and children in Sri Lanka. Despite this reduction in deaths, diarrhoea-specific morbidity continues to impose a heavy burden on the health care system with diarrhoea ranking as the 6th leading cause of all in-ward admissions. Though diarrhoeal diseases continue to be a public health problem, aetiologic diagnosis is infrequent. As a result, the proportional morbidity and the local epidemiology of rotavirus diarrhea is not well-known. , surveillance was initiated with a view to estimating the proportion of diarrhea due to rotavirus and describing local epidemiology of rotavirus diarrhea among diarrhoeal admissions of under five children in the premier paediatric hospital in Sri Lanka.

Methods
Fecal specimens were collected from all diarrhoeal admissions from children less than 5 years of age in the diarrhoeal treatment unit (DTU) and inpatient hospital wards during a 24-month period. Specimens were frozen at –20 °C and rotavirus testing was performed (IDEIA rotavirus enzyme immunoassay, Oxoid, United Kingdom). Rotavirus positive specimens were analysed by RT-PCR genotyping assays to determine the distribution of rotavirus G and P types. Relevant data were collected from parents using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and surveillance data were entered into a standardized database management system.

Results
Overall, the proportion of rotavirus among [ 1179 total diarrheal patients tested] all-cause diarrhea admissions was 23.9%. Rotavirus diarrhea was most common among children in the age groups of 6-11 (37%), 12-23 (23%) months. Rotavirus diarrhea patients were hospitalized throughout the year, however, the rotavirus peak from January to March was consistent with the pattern of increase in all cause diarrhea admissions. Although 65% of rotavirus diarrhea patients had vomiting, the duration of vomiting was <3 color="#ff0000">Conclusions
A significant proportion of diarrhoeal admissions proved to be due to rotavirus and occurred mostly in children below 2 years of age. These data, despite their limited generalisability, will help policy decisions to introduce rotavirus vaccines to the mature Sri Lankan EPI in the future.

Curriculum Vitae

2008-06-06T01:53:00.000-07:00

Dr.Pushpa Ranjan Wijesinghe (MD, MSc, MD)
271/6, Samanala Mawatha,
Galagedera , Padukka ,Sri Lanka
00 94 11 2831799, Gunathilake@khalsa.com

EDUCATION

Doctor of Medicine (Community Medicine) – 2005
Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo
Thesis: Pharmaceutical Consumption among adults, private pharmacy services and implementation of Drug Regulation in a selected urban and rural district in Sri Lanka

Master of Science (Community Medicine) -2000
Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo
Dissertation: Evaluation of Rubella Immunization Programme in Polonnaruwa district in Sri Lanka

Doctor of Medicine (General Medicine) -1994
Order of people’s friendship state medical university, Rostov on Don, Russia (Former USSR)
Basic medical degree

Post Doctoral Training -2006
A requirement for Board Certification as a consultant in Community Medicine in the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine

Institutions where training was completed:
University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand,
“Public Health South” of the Otago district health board, Dunedin, New Zealand A visiting staff member attached to the
Department of Preventive and Social Medicine of the Otago University New Zealand
Pharmacovigillance centre
Pharmacy School of the Otago University
Public Health section of the Otago District Health Board
“Med safe” -Dunedin

Responsibilities/ courses followed
A member of the Pharmacy practice Research group and conducted the research project on “ Medicines advertising on New Zealand TV “
Audited post Graduate courses: Health Economics, Occupational safety, epidemiology and
biostatistics
Pharmaco-epidemiology and pharmacovigilance at the New Zealand pharmacovigillance centre
Involvement in planning, implementation and monitoring of preventive health programmes at the Public Health South of the Otago district health board

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Medical Officer – Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka
Period: 2005 to date
Responsibilities:
Consultant Epidemiologist in the Ministry of Health
Surveillance of communicable diseases
Planning, implementation and monitoring of control of priority communicable diseases
Planning , designing and conducting research for formulation of immunization policies
Ensuring disaster preparedness and initiating outbreak response
Involved in enhancing capacity of public health staff

Medical Officer - Anti Leprosy Campaign, Ministry of Health
Period: 2003-2005
Responsibilities:
A member of the policy planning team for integration of leprosy into the General Health Structure
Epidemiological analysis of the Leprosy status in Sri Lanka
Planning monitoring and evaluation of leprosy control programmes,
Conducting training modules for different target groups on detection and management
and control of Leprosy,
Editor of the News Letter of the Campaign
Lecturer in Community Medicine, Department of Community Medicine at the University of Colombo ( Doctoral training )
Period: 2001-2003
Responsibilities:
Teaching Basic Epidemiology, Research Methodology and Medical Statistics for undergraduates in Medicine
Supervising field attachments of Family and Community Medicine of undergraduate Students
Curriculum development for community medicine stream

Medical Officer of Health (MOH) and Divisional Director of Health Services (DDHS), Lankapura, Ministry of Health, North Central Province of Sri Lanka
Period: 2000-2001
Ministry of Health, North Central Province of Sri Lanka
Responsibilities:
Middle level Management of public health activities and staff
Planning, monitoring, co ordination, implementation and evaluation of Primary Health care( MCH, Immunization, occupational, environmental health etc) in a defined health division( MOH area)

Medical Officer in Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Base Hospital, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka
Period: 1996-1998

Internship for Medical Officers as a requirement for registration as a Medical Practitioner in Sri Lanka,
Period: 1995-1996

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Current research works:
Co principal investigator of the study estimating the Annual Risk of Tuberculosis Infection in Sri Lanka funded by the Global Fund For AIDS,MALARIA,TUBERCULOSIS( GFAMT).
Co-principal investigator for the study (clinical trial) assessing the safety and Immunogenicity of the JE live SA 14-14-2 vaccine among Sri Lankan children sponsored by the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH-USA).
Sri Lankan co-coordinator of the South Asian Pneumococcal Surveillance Network Alliance (SAPNA) sponsored by Pneumo ADIP
Coordinator of the Rotavirus Surveillance project among Sri Lankan children” project sponsored by International Vaccine Institute(IVI).
Coordinator of the Hib surveillance project in Sri Lanka sponsored by the HIB initiative
External Consultancy:
Consultant for the WHO project of “ multi-disease surveillance project" in tsunami affected areas” in Sri Lanka

Temporary advisor for the WHO SEAR for the workshop on planning for the deployment of Pandemic influenza vaccine WHO SEARO , New Delhi India, 14-18 September 2009

A member of the Epidemiology unit which conducted the “Health Review “for the North Western Province for the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Bank.

Other collaborations :

A member of the team of the Anti Leprosy Campaign which was involved in leprosy elimination activities in Sri Lanka in collaboration with Norvartis International

Reviewing submissions for Journals
Peer reviewer for the “Journal of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicines and Hygiene”, United Kingdom

Memberships
A member of the National Influenza Technical Evaluation Committee (Sri Lanka)
A member of the National Advisory Committee for Leprosy Elimination ( Sri Lanka)
A member of the inter sectoral thematic group on vulnerability and adaptation for preparing the second national communication on climate change. (Represented the health sector)

Participation in international workshops/symposia

Expert forum on "influenza : Global update and local challenges" organized by the Influenza Foundation of India at the Taj hotel , New Delhi, India, on 7th October 2009
The regional workshop on planning for the deployment of Pandemic influenza vaccine organised by the WHO SEARO , New Delhi, India, 14-18 September 2009
South East Asia Regional training course on pharmaco vigilance, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 28 September – 02 October, 2009 organized by the WHO SEARO
Bi regional meeting on JE control and prevention , Bangkok,Thailand on June 8-9 in Bangkok organized by the WHO SEARO.
WHO/PneumoADIP/HIB initiative surveilance investigators meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa, 4-6 March 2009.
8th international advanced course on vaccinology in Asia-Pacific regions held at IVI, Seoul, Korea 5-10 May 2008.
2nd meeting of National Influenza Centres in the Western Pacific and South East Asian Regions held in Tokyo, Japan, 21-24 April 2008.
1st International symposium on Pneumococcal vaccination in Asia Pacific held in Seoul, South Korea, 12-13 December, 2007
6th Asian Rotavirus Surveillance network (ARSN) workshop held in Thailand ,3-4 December ,2007
South Asian Pneumococcal Network Alliance (SAPNA) annual Investigator’s meeting in Mahabalipuram, India, 21-22 September, 2007

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Batmunkh Nyambat, Sengee Gantuya, Ranjith Batuwanthudawe, Pushpa R. Wijesinghe, Nihal Abeysinghe,Geethani Galagoda, Carl Kirkwood, Nada Bogdanovic-Sakran, Jung Oak Kang, and Paul E. Kilgore. Epidemiology of rotavirus diarrhoea in Mongolia and Sri Lanka, March 2005-February 2007.Journal of Infectious Diseases.2009:200( suppl.1)

Wijesinghe PR, Norris P. Increased advertising of medicines on New Zealand television since 2001. New Zealand Medical journal. Volume 121, No .1271, 04, April, 2008.

Wijesinghe PR, Settinaykae S. An analysis of the pattern of detection of leprosy patients by institutions in the General Health Services in Sri Lanka after the integration of leprosy services into General Health Services – Leprosy review, volume 76, No.4, December, 2005.

Wijesinghe PR, Jayakody RL. Seneviratne R De A. An assessment of the compliance with Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) by private pharmacies in a selected urban and rural district in Sri Lanka. Pharmaco-epidemiology and .Drug Safety. 2007; 16:197-206

Wijesinghe PR. Obesity: A wake up call for developing countries too. British Medical Journal 2006; 333:809 (14 October),

Wijesinghe PR, Wijesinghe TS. Evaluation of rubella immunization programme in Polonnaruwa District- Journal of the Community Physicians of Sri Lanka, Volume 5, 2000

Wijesinghe PR, Banduthilake C, Wijesinghe TS. Rapid assessment of the quality of services in rubella immunization provided through the Primary health care Network in Polonnaruwa District - Journal of the Community Physicians of Sri Lanka, Vol. 6, 2001

Siyambalagoda, R. R. M. L. R., Perera, P. A. J., Wickremasinghe, A. R., Sumanaweera, N. P., Wijesinghe, T. S., Soyza, D. N. N. de, Maniwannan, S., Wickramasinghe, W. K., Wijesinghe, P. R. Hemoglobin levels among pregnant women in the Polonnaruwa district-The Ceylon Journal of Medical Science, vol. 46, 2003

Wijesinghe PR, Jayakody RL. Seneviratne R De A. Development and validation of a scale measuring perceived access to medical care. Journal of the Community Physicians of Sri Lanka, Vol. 10, 2005.

Research submitted for consideration for publication
Integration of leprosy services into the GHS in Sri Lanka: Overcoming challenges in a remote district. Leprosy Review (Accepted for publication)

Self medication and it’s predictors in a selected urban and rural district in Sri Lanka. Pharmaco-epidemiology and drug safety.

Other activities:
Co- editor of the manual “Zoonotic Diseases “prepared by the Bio-diversity department of the Ministry of Environment, Sri Lanka

Contributor to the manual “Guide to prevention of teen suicides” published by the Ministry of Health of the North Central Province, Sri Lanka -1998
Translation of the manual “ Fact sheet on infant feeding “ to Sinhalese language for Primary Health Care workers published by the Ministry of Health of the North Central Province , Sri Lanka- 1998
Editor of the Newsletter “From segregation to Integration” published quarterly by the Anti Leprosy Campaign

Scientific contributor to the “Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin “of the Epidemiology Unit.

Contributor to the action plan for integration of Leprosy services into the General Health services in Sri Lanka prepared by the Anti leprosy Campaign and Norvartis Foundation for Sustainable Development, Switzerland.

Visiting lecturer to the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, Colombo for courses leading to masters and doctorates

Advisor for the course module of Pharmaco-epidemiology and pharmacovigillance for the postgraduate course, MSc community medicine at the PGIM

Visiting lecturer to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo, Kelaniya and Sri Jayewardenepura universities for undergraduate courses in medicine and nursing

Dissertations supervised

Preparedness of nursing officers of sentinel hospitals in the western province in response to a possible influenza pandemic ; Dissertation submitted as a partial requirement for the degree of MSc ( community Medicine ) to the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine – 2008

Presentations/abstracts

Wijesinghe PR. Transition from mouse brain derived vaccine to live JE SA 14-14-2 vaccine in Sri Lanka. Presentation made at the Bi regional meeting on JE control and prevention on June 8-9 in Bangkok, Thailand organized by the WHO SEARO.

Abeysinghe MRN, Wijesinghe PR. Landscape of new vaccines for JE: Country level strategies for introduction. Presentation made at the 13th International Congress on Infectious Diseases (ICID) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 19-22 June, 2008.

Wijesinghe PR, Batuwanthudawe R, Galagoda G, Abeysinghe MRN, Niyambat B, Kirkwood CD, Kilgore PE. Surveillance of rotavirus diarrhea: A new frontier for the mature EPI in Sri Lanka. Presentation made at the 8th international Rotavirus symposium in Istanbul, Turkey on 3-4 June, 2008.

Wijesinghe PR, Wickramasinghe G. Influenza surveillance in Sri Lanka. Presentation made at the 2nd meeting of National Influenza Centres in the Western Pacific regions and South East Asian region, Tokyo, Japan on 21-24 April, 2008.

Wijesinghe PR, Karunaratne K, Abeysinghe MRN, Batuwanthudawe R, Guruge K, Steinhoff M, Thomas K, Kesawan L. Surveillance of pneumococcal invasive disease in Sri Lanka under the South Asian Pneumococcal Network alliance. Presentation made at the 6th international symposium on pneumococci and pneumococcal diseases in Reykjavik, Iceland on 8-12 June, 2008

Kulkarni P, Thomas K, Steinhoff M, Laitha K, Balaji V, Rijal B, Sharma P, Nhuchche T, Gami F, Singh A, Thorson S, Murdoch D, Pollard A, Adhikari N, Lewis J, Karunaratne K, Abeysinghe N, Wijesinghe PR, Batuwanthudawe R. Epidemiology of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Nepal, Sri Lanka and India: An update on 3 years of SAPNA surveillance (Nov 2004- Dec 2007). Presentation made at the 6th international symposium on pneumococci and pneumococcal diseases in Reykjavik, Iceland on 8-12 June, 2008.

Wijesinghe PR, Mazaitzewa T. A case study on “Porphyria” in the 48th annual academic sessions at the Rostov Medical University, Russia in 1992

Wijesinghe PR, Jayakody RL, Seneviratne R De A. Self medication practice and predictors in a selected urban and rural district in Sri Lanka. At the 25th Anniversary Academic sessions of the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine of the Colombo University.

Wijesinghe PR, Jayakody RL, Seneviratne R De A. Validation of a scale measuring access to medical care in an urban and rural area. At the 10th annual scientific session of the College of Community Physicians held on 29th October 2005.

Abeysinghe MRN, Palihawadane P, Wijesinghe PR, Thissera H. National Avian Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan

Presentation made at the 1st meeting of National Influenza Centres in the Western Pacific regions and South East Asian region, Melbourne,Australia on 1-4 May 2007.

Wijesinghe PR, Abyesinghe MRN.Introduction of New vaccines to the National Immunization Program:Link between Epidemiology & Microbiology.Guest speaker in the symposium "Stage is set for a strong link between microbiology and epidemiology : a few stories of success at the annual scientific sessions of the Sri Lanka College of Microbiologists, 2008.

Wijesinghe PR. Chronic Renal Disease in Sri Lanka. Is population screning a feasible option? Guest speaker at the nephrology symposium at the annual scientific sessions of the Sri Lanka Medical Association, held in Colombo,Sri Lanka on 18-22 March 2009.

Wijesinghe PR. Adaptation to the threats of climate change: health care and disease. Guest speaker at the workshop ‘Mainstreaming Climate Change for Sustainable Development in Sri Lanka: Drafting a Strategic Plan to Coordinate National Action' at Hotel Amaya Lake, Dambulla Organized by Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) in collaboration with Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources and Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO 0n 19-21 August 2009.

Wijesinghe PR. “H1N1 pandemic influenza. Is epidemiology distinct from seasonal influenza” guest speaker in the symposium of Pandemic Influenza at the annual scientific sessions of the Sri Lanka College of Microbiologists on 10th and 11th September 2009.

Piyasiri D.L.B., Chandrasiri P., Wijesinghe P.R.Bacterial pathogens associated with conjunctivitis and corneal ulcers with special reference to Streptococcus pneumoniae. presentation made at the free paper session at the annual scientific sessions of the Sri Lanka College of Microbiologists on 10th and 11th September 2009.

Abstract presented atr scientific sessions on the eve of the 25 th anniversary of PGIM

2007-04-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

Practice and predictors of self-medication among urban and rural adults in Sri Lanka

P R Wijesinghe, R De A. Senevirathne, R L Jayakody

Introduction: Self medication is practiced in all communities to varying degrees and information about it in Sri Lanka is scarce.

Objective: To describe the practice and predictors of self-medication in a selected urban and rural area.

Methods: A community-based cross sectional survey of 1800 adults, selected by stratified, multi-stage, probability proportional sampling procedure was carried out in Gampaha and Polonnaruwa districts. Medication use was modeled as a function of predisposing, enabling and need variables.

Results: Self-medication was practiced by 12.2% urban and 7.9% rural adults (p<0.05). A majority had self medicated for acute onset conditions of short duration (urban-58%; rural-67%) and conditions perceived as non severe (urban-55%; rural-64%).

Fewer number of symptoms, perceived low acceptability of services and being a member of a small household emerged as significant predictors of self-medication in the urban sector. Inability to afford medical care, perceived higher technical competence of the pharmacy staff and fewer number of symptoms were significant predictors in the rural sector.

Conclusion: Prevalence of self medication, which is higher in the urban sector, is lower than the estimates reported for developed countries. Adults self medicate mainly for conditions of acute onset, short duration and less severity. Although medical services are available, poor acceptability of services prompted urban individuals to self medicate. Inability to afford medical services and perceived higher technical competence of pharmacy staff prompted rural individuals to self-medicate.

NATURE OF GREETINGS EXISTED IN SINGHALA VILLAGES

2007-02-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

Acceptance and rejection are concepts common in the animal world. The patient performance of this act differentiates man from the rest of the animals. Acts of the nature of greetings, respects etc are seen in all human societies. There are multitudes of these traditional acts in villages. They have found roots in our heritage by inheritance. They have enabled the cohesion of everyone in a village by friendliness . Preserved to date, methods of greetings in our villages have facilitated maintenance of professions, greetings , improvement of sociability and recognition of individuals. Sounds, voices, words, gestures are acts which are entailed in greetings. When a person was met in our villages, these acts were performed. When some one was met, they were greeted with AYUBOWANDA ( Please have a long life) . He was smiled upon. However, if the person who was met deserved rejection, spitting was done with a high voice to diplay denial. With a dejected face, looking at another direction in opposite of the face of the unpleasant person was another method of displaying contempt. On the other hand if the person was pleasant and deserves greetings, the question was asked “ Where are you going in the udanekke( morning) Ginimaddahane( mid day), Hendekore ( evening). If the person deserves more respect than the self, obviously, as a mark of respect, turban or the loin cloth or the towel on the shoulder is taken off and held in the hand. Though it has been erroneously interpreted as a sign of fear, this was an act of displaying friendliness or sociability. Being scared was demonstrated by getting themselves off the roads and bowing their heads in veneration . Greetings with two palms facing each other is a common act of greetings today. However, it was performed for members of the elitists in our villages. This has been certified in verses of the MALYAHN KOLMUR

Etha epita deepankara mula sita budu bawatama devinova lakka
Metha kapata budwenda patahgen thapase niveradi sil rekka
Buth nerthayen rangamadalata gos watakara deviyo mura rekka
Natha deva mtahu buduwana swamita kavikiyanda venda behe dekka

In recitation of deva varuna ( description of quality of gods), permission was sought having played udekki( a kind of drum) whereas Kolmura reciters greeted to the flower seat by bowing their heads. In exorcising bad omens, while reciting verses, patient was greeted with wiping of the patient from head to toe by theNON BURNING end of the lighted candle( this is called pandama which is made up of several layers of clothes and the end is made wet with coconut oil) , sprig of flowers or sprig of fresh leaves. Simultaneously. The reciter greets with collected palms saying “Awada Ayubowewa”. In some cases , two virgins or adolescent males or virtuous two grand mothers sat on either side of the patient to greet the patient by wiping the body .

An invitation to any good act would be performed by handing a sheaf of betel and explaining the deed in villages. Any person who steps on to another person’s house was greeted by the house owner having stepped out his house and gone forward to meet the visitor. Spreading the mat on the veranda displayed his willingness to accept the visitor. On his exit, accompanying him to the gate was another means of greeting. If the visitor is unacceptable, it is conveyed by having taken the mat which was spread on the veranda or leaned against the wall to the inside of the house. Another way of greeting those who come to a house is by giving them a jug of water or casket of betel and other ingredients for chewing.

Kids have been trained to get up when an elder steps into the house. When a pleasant person comes, as gesture of his acceptance, mats are cleaned by shaking however much they are in clean states, wiping dusts off chairs and benches by a clean piece of cloth in a way visible to the visitor. Covering seating by a white piece of linen is called PIRUWATA DEMIMA . Prelates are made to travel upon white sheets of linen. In alms giving, they are enabled to walk on white spreads from the gate to the door and then their feet are washed and water is wiped off. Prelates are seated on an elevated seat. The same procedure had been adopted for VIPs in a village. Having those who deserved veneration seated on elevated seating while those who venerate remaining in lower levels was yet another way of greeting by our people. When elders talk not disturbing them, being disciplined while going in between them were courteous manners. Seeking permission when comes to a place or leaving the place is explained by this verse of paddy harvesting.

Ehenam vigahata godata yamalla ( Then quickly get off the field)
Ethi hetiyata mada soda ganila ( Get mud cleaned as things are available)
Inata andina salu pili enda palla ( Get dressed with dresses for waist – refers to sarong-lungi)
Awasara genumen pitawa yamalla ( Having sought permission get off the field)

There were manners related to having head gears and footwear. While entering a place of veneration, headgears and foot wears are removed. When making an invitation, it was done with both hands with head being covered by a towel. .Sheaf of betel is accepted in the same manner as well.

In our villages there were several ways of veneration. In the upright position veneration of the lord Buddha and gods with palms facing each other and having them placed on the forehead was called DOHOTH MUDUN DI WEDIMA. Veneration in lying position with forehead, hands, elbows, knees, ventral surface of the feet contacting the earth is called Danda Namaskar. Veneration of parents and elders is done by touching the head on the feet of the elders. Some paint oil on the feet of elder .When children excel , their hands are massaged with cooked hot kevum( a kind of oil cake) . Feet of parents are also massaged. In front of prelates ,sheets of linen are spread before worshiping. Some do kiss feet at this moment.

In a funeral, casket containing the corpse is entered into the makeshift crematorium and people travel around the crematorium thrice towards the south.. Sometimes this is done with the coffin with the body being carried out by the pall bearers. This is yet another way of venerating the expired person.

When a visitor makes a visit, immediately he is offered water, allowed to sit down and asked about how he is doing before inquiring the reason why he made the visit. There are reciprocal gestures to greetings. When some on greets, head of the person who greets is touched and told “May the Buddha’s or god’s grace upon you my son/daughter and the parents blessings “ When some one who from an other village stayed overnight returns , he is offered foodstuffs , fruits or vegetables at home. This is a gesture to consolidate the friendliness.

In traditional games acquired from generations to generations like angam fights, manners were strictly adhered to. Placing hands upon the shoulders, touching the chest with chest , showing points were some of those gestures. Bowing head, raising hands, exercises with legs were also greeting methods. In stage shows , worshiping earth, performances with hands and legs also are means of greetings.

Lighting lamps also is an act of veneration( greeting) .In both auspicious and inauspicious , this would be performed by villagers. Having selected the location, moment and time, this act was performed. Fur and eight angle worshiping, worshiping after remembering parents and teachers when drugs are ingested had also been among ways and means of greetings/venerations which have been preserved in our villages. It is the belief of the author that the adoption of these greeting methods which were used for a better society then helps betterment of the society today.

This article was written by A P B Illangasinghe of Maminiyawa of Sri Lanka to Meewitha supplement of the Divaina Newspaper on 04.02.2007.

LAST POST FROM OTAGO UNIVERSITY- AN ACCOUNT OF A VISITING ACCADEMIC

2007-02-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

The earliest memories of New Zealand goes back to my very early days and it was synonymous with multitude of brands of milk imported from NZ .Stretched up to the horizon, stunningly beautiful, green pastoral lands with grazing cows depicted on these television advertisements were the images that were created whenever the name “ New Zealand “ was uttered to me in my early years.
The bond with NZ was further strengthened by watching touring Black Caps with legendary names like HADLEES. My next stage of introduction to NZ was via my college which had a very rich and strong rugby and cricket tradition from British colonial era . We were demonstrated videos of ALL BLACKS matches just before the college’s annual Rugby encounter against Trinity College. Then the weird tribal dance ( HAKA) performed by ABs was a unique Kiwi cultural marker that was attractive and prompted us as kids to watch and play rugby matches, sometimes foolishly imitating HAKA. But, never in my life did I dream at that stage that I would be able to join the prestigious Otago University as an academic.
It all started, just after my doctoral thesis, when I wanted to complete an overseas appointment to fulfil a requirement of the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine in Colombo before being board certified as a medical specialist in Public Health. It may seem bizarre that a medical person was attached to the pharmacy school. The simple explanation is that my research interests were in PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY and I simply wanted to bridge these two disciplines Thus, I ended up being attached to the Department of preventive and social medicine while working with Dr Pauline Norris as my overseas supervisor.
Dunedin was also not a new place for me; physically I had not visited the place before though. As a cricket and rugby fanatic, Carisbrook Oval in Dunedin was synonymous with Lords or Twickenham for that matter. So, subconsciously, I was elated that I was going to a place which was known to me in some ways than any other location. Later, it was proved to be the correct decision as my stay in the Pharmacy School and overall in the UNI was thoroughly enjoyable. It was so potent that I am sure with the passage of time, those nostalgic memories will keep me down to a certain extent.
The first semester flew really quickly as I was immersed in a dual load of work from both schools. Visiting the University pharmacy with Petty Napier to familiarise with Good Pharmacy Practice in NZ was pretty useful for me as it was one of those areas that I researched in SL. In hind sight , it was a pleasurable experience in comparison to what I encountered in pharmacy inspections for my doctoral thesis. Petty was jovial. So were the other staff. There were more inquiries on my native land than my inquiries about Pharmacy Practice in NZ. However, Petty took me through the legislation and procedures in a nutshell which enabled me to grasp late bombardments of information that I was exposed to when I started my appointment with MEDSAFE on drug regulatory activities.
Simultaneously, I stepped on to a controversial domain i.e DTCA in NZ with Dr Norris as a part of my research. We researched in to medicines advertising in NZTV and their health related claims and compliance with NZ regulations. Our findings will soon be published. But , quite interestingly, as a result of prolonged, exposure to TV in the analysis of data , I started watching countless numbers of soaps, reality shows like NZ and American Idol which, back home, I would have found hard to entail in my favourite list due to lack of time. Definitely, it seems like an occupational hazard for an academic who hardly finds any time even for high quality programmes of information, entertainment and education under normal circumstances. However, It was really interesting and richly rewarding working with people like Vickey, Stuart, Pauline etc in the Pharmacy Practice Research group .
During my stay, I was able to be a part of the New Zealand Pharmacovigillance centre .The experience that I gathered will be enormously useful for my routine work as the monitoring of Adverse Effects of drugs and vaccines is currently being carried out by the Unit I am attached to in Sri Lanka. Additionally, I worked with Denise Martins, the Southern Medicines Control officer of the MEDSAFE. It is with a deep sense of elation that I mention that these professionals went out of their way to accommodate all my requests related to their respective disciplines
In hindsight, I was really privileged to be a staff member of both the Medical School and Pharmacy School. It gives me a kind of satisfactory feeling that I was able to bridge two different academia and disciplines. The wealth of knowledge that I gathered was enormous. More than the benefits, I would be glad to contemplate on relationships and rapport I built with countless numbers of academics and non academics of diverse backgrounds in both schools. It is worth remembering the excellent time that I had with all those wonderful people. Those wonderful memorable, colourful and enjoyable brief stay that I had with all those wonderful people will linger eternally in my mind. Dunedin and Otago university is more like a second home to me now. Just before concluding this account ,let me remind that Dr Norris instructed me not to miss one other thing which I pen here lest I should forget.
Dunedin offered me the opportunity to meet the Sri Lankan test cricketers when they were down here in the summer. The rapport went to such an extent that these demi god like figures hardly contactable in SL, accepted our invitation for a dinner. It was also a novel experience in terms of behaving with superstars like Murali and Sanath. In Dunedin, I met one of my all time sports heroes, Jeff Wilson the Black caps and terrific ALL BLACKS winger. It was memorable too as Jeff was also from the South and one of the graduates of Otago University.
All these wonderful experiences sum up one thing: My stay in Dunedin and more precisely, at the Pharmacy school could not have been more terrific than this. I take all these wonderful memories with me and let me conclude this with a quotation from the Lord Buddha in Pali ;
Piyehi Vippa Yogo Dukko
Which literally means “separation from the loved ones is always a cause for sorrow”.

( PREPARED FOR THE NEWSLETTER " CAPSULE")

HAKA- MANIFESTATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DOMINANCE OVER OPPONENTS

2007-01-31T14:41:00.000-08:00

In today’s professional sports arena, victory means the ultimate objective of any team in a contest. The greatness is determined by the consistency of better results produced over a significant period of time. In this background, given the equality of skill and technique levels, mental component has come to the fore as the determining factor of the sporting success. It has acquired such an important level, Aussie cricket legend Steven Waugh believes that the skill level of cricket matters only 10% in the success while more importantly mental status comprises the rest 90%.

Many teams adopt multitude of tactics to boost their mental confidence while extreme measures such as sledging are used to disrupt the equilibrium of opponents. Any person who is a fan of All conquering All Blacks rugby team may be aware the use of a different tactic by ABs to intimidate their opponents even before the game is kicked off. The method used by all blacks to ensure their psychological dominance over opponents is the tribal war cry called HAKA

Haka is performed by hand, feet, legs , bodily voice and concluded by protruding tongue and mimicking the slashing of the throat. This blending of these parts convey their completeness, challenge, welcome, exultation, defiance or contempt of the word . Haka has been defined as a disciplined and emotional expression of the passion, vigour and identity of the race. It has been identified as a message of soul expressed by word and posture.

There are versions of haka performed in NZ. Familiar to rugby fans KAMATE version is believed to be the interpretation of the 19th century warrior chief TE RAUPARAHA who was famous for his ruthless slaughter of Maoris in the South island. Kamate of ngeri style is described as a short free form where dancers interpret as they feel. The other version, PERUPERU is a style for true war dance performed with weapons and high jump with legs folded under at the end. If you happen to be a tourist in the North island, definitely you may be able to witness the performance of this version by Maoris in their native costumes with painted or tattooed faces. It is a spectacular view that raises ones hair on seeing the performance.

Rangi pakia
Kamate Kamate
Ka Ora Ka OraKamate Kamate
Ka Ora Ka Ora
Tenei Te Tangata
Puhuru Huru
Nana E Tiki Mai
Whaka Whiti Te Ra
A Hupane A Hupane
A Hupane Kupane
Whiti Te Ra!

Translation

It is death It is death

It is life It is Life

It is death It is death

It is life It is life

This is the hairy man Who caused the sun to shine again for me

Up the ladder Up the Ladder

Up to the top

The sun Shines!

GOOD PHARMACY PRACTICE IN SRI LANKA

2007-01-24T13:36:00.000-08:00

In a flourishing market economy, private providers have started to play a dominant role in Provision of pharmaceutical care. In such a scenario, the state’s objective of providing safe and Efficacious drugs to the consumer may loose to maximisation of profits by the private provider.The role of profit maximisation is more often associated with the risk of low quality of the practice at private pharmacies.

Policy analysts have identified mechanisms such as regulation, advocacy and monitoring as mechanisms to liaise with private providers. The state lays down rules, regulations and enforces such legislations through a legitimate body. In Sri Lanka, the relevant legislation is the Cosmetic Devices and Drugs (CDD) Act No27 of 1980, amendments No 38 of 1984, Act No27 of 1987 and Act No 12 of 1993. Cosmetic Drugs Devices Regulatory Authority (CDDA) exercises the enforcement of the act for the state. It is the duty of the authorised officers to ensure the provision of safe efficacious drugs to the consumers. In addition to the Food and Drug Inspectors (FDI), Deputy Provincial Director of Health Services (DPDHS) and divisional public health authorities such as the Medical officer of Health (MOH) have been specified by the CDD Act as authorised officers.

In order to provide safe and efficacious drugs to the consumers at the pharmacy level, it is imperative that these officers ensure the compliance with Good Pharmacy practices (GPP) by the pharmacy staff. GPP is defined as “the practice of pharmacy aimed at providing the best use of drugs and other health care services and products by patients and the members of the public”. It emphasises that the welfare of the consumer is the prime concern at all times.

The elements of GPP can be categorised in to seven broad groups: licensing, physical environment of the pharmacy, order in pharmacy, storage of drugs, and maintenance of cold chain, dispensing and documentation. A recent study carried out in urban areas of Gampha district and rural Polonnaruwa district has focussed on the status of compliance with the GPP at retail pharmacies.

A substantial floor area is a pre requisite for issuing recommendation for licensing of a pharmacy. Though a floor area of more than 120square feet is a pre requisite for recommendation for licensing, It has been highlighted that this has not been adhered in certain occasions. Inadequate floor area of pharmacies presents problems such as difficulty in movement, lack of space to fix a wash basin and for proper placement of refrigerators. Improper placement of a refrigerator may adversely affect the maintenance of the cold chain thereby perishing lifesaving drugs while inadequate space to move about may influence the efficiency of dispensing medicines.

Another pre requisite for issuing a licence for a retail pharmacy is the availability of a water supply with the requirement of a wash basin with its location in an easily accessible place. According to the study, this has been poorly adhered to in majority of pharmacies in the study areas. Some pharmacies did not have spacious premises to locate a wash basin while the reason for non availability of a wash basin in certain pharmacies which had adequate space was mere ignorance of this requirement. It was elicited that the reason for recommending license without fulfilling these pre conditional requirements was to improve the access to drugs. However, it is clear that such a move drastically reduces the quality of pharmaceutical services offered by the pharmacies.

Drug regulation 43(b) specifies that the premises shall have proper storage conditions for preserving the properties of drugs. In Sri Lanka, the average room temperature exceeded300C and this had been observed in majority of inspected pharmacies. Installing air conditioners was affordable only to a handful of owners of large-scale pharmacies. The High ambient temperatures of the pharmacy interior pose a problem for drugs that should be kept within 15-25 0C. The question of the efficacy of these medicines arises as a result of prolonged exposure to these temperatures exceeding 250C.Testing of these samples is thus essential to ascertain the quality failure.

Another issue that was highlighted in the pharmacy study was the inadequate coverage of an alternative power supply to be used in an event of prolonged power failure. Of the pharmacies which did not have an alternative power supply, almost all did not have an alternative arrangement to move vaccines and other drugs that needed a storage temperature between 2-8 C in an event of a prolonged power failure. This presents an inherent danger in terms of providing efficacious drugs to the consumers as Pharmaceuticals that need a storage temperature between 2-8 C are found in majority of pharmacies. Vaccines for human consumption were also available in more than two third of inspected urban and rural pharmacies while veterinary vaccines were available only in 1/3 of the pharmacies.

The commonest vaccine that was found in private pharmacies in both urban and rural district was the Tetanus Toxoid. Two thirds of the pharmacies had this vaccine. In rural pharmacies, other types of vaccines were not available. This reflects the low demand of vaccines in the private sector due to the better access to vaccination in the public sector. This was almost similar in the urban sector. However in a handful of pharmacies in the urban sector, Oral Polio, Measles Mumps & Rubella(MMR), Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenza
B (Hib) vaccines were available.

Though the maintenance of the temperature was an important aspect of ensuring the potency of vaccines and drugs, the temperatures inside the refrigerator exceed 2-8C in majority of pharmacies. Thermometers were not available. Recording of the temperature had been carried out only in exceptional cases. Since pharmacies are business premises, drugs, food and beverages are stored together in the refrigerator. As a result, the space of the drugs food and beverages took up more than50% of the total space in refrigerators in many pharmacies. Frequent opening of the refrigerator and the warmth of food and beverages cause the temperature to rise within the refrigerators affecting the potency of the drugs. Non availability of water bottles and icepacks also increase the temperature within the refrigerator. Additionally, practice of compact storage of vaccines, drugs, foods and beverages cause poor circulation of air between drugs and vaccines.

In majority of bigger pharmacies, the drugs had been stored even in doors of the refrigerator exposing them to the room temperature whenever the refrigerator was opened. However, smaller pharmacies do not stick to this due to the small numbers of vaccines and refrigerated drugs in their refrigerators.

All these observations suggest the questionable potency of drugs and vaccines available in pharmacies. In Contrast to this, in the public sector, there is a well established system of monitoring of Cold Chain. Cold Chain monitors indicate the need for quick use or discarding vaccines. There are hierarchical officers who monitor the cold chain ensuring the efficacy of the vaccine.

In Sri Lanka, as the majority of pharmacies are situated facing to motorable roads, dust is very common. However, the contamination with dust can be minimised by adhering to the practice of shutting down doors of shelves after transactions. In certain pharmacies, there were expired drugs contrary to the regulation 46 (b) of the CDD Act. The finding is suggestive of some deficiencies: inadequate or infrequent inspection by authorised officers, owners/staff not willing to have regular inspection of shelves and removal of expired drugs and non availability of a system to identify slow moving drugs when the expiry dates are close. The other danger is that the slow moving expired drugs especially when not dispensed in original pack can be sold to the clients.

The other biggest concern was the non availability of a proper mechanism to destroy expired drugs. The expired items are discarded to the rubbish collection in many pharmacies and subsequently removed by garbage disposal units of the local bodies as only a handful of drugcompanies collect expired items. This contravenes the Regulation No.72 of the CDD Act which specifies that any drug which fails to confirm to the specified standards or the storage life of which has expired shall be destroyed under the supervision of an officer authorised by the authority.

The CDD Act has clearly specified its objective of providing safe and `efficacious drug supply to consumers. The Sri Lankan experience demonstrates that there is a divergence of the service provider’s objective of profit maximisation from the objective of the CDD Act. As pointed out by health policy analysts, regulation and monitoring remain the core mechanisms to approximate these two objectives. Many of these deficiencies can be corrected within the current system. In order to effectively implement these regulatory mechanisms, routine monitory mechanism should be strengthened with introduction of targets for the officers involved.

It is imperative that more focus should be on the storage of drugs including cold chain items. At the district level, the services of the Regional Epidemiologists can be used by the Deputy Provincial Directors to improve maintenance of cold chain at private pharmacies. Regional Epidemiologists are specially trained by the Epidemiology Unit to supervise maintenance of cold chain in curative and preventive institutions in the public sector. As the CDD Act specifies the Medical Officer of Health as an authorised officer, he can also be utilised for this purpose. Independent monitoring of the elements of GPP by MOH in addition to the FDII will be an additional measure to improve the provision of efficacious drugs to consumers. As the disposal of bio waste remains a problem in relation to drugs, it is timely to consider a central low-cost model bio-waste plants at district levels. Mechanisms need to be worked out to collect and safely dispose of expired drugs under the supervision of authorised officers at the district level.

( AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE WEEKLY EPIDEMIOLOGICAL REPORT-WER OF THE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL UNIT OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH CARE, SRI LANKA)

ANCIENT WISDOM

2007-01-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

Knowledge or wisdom? just read this Red Indian verse and decide yourself.

Only after the last tree has been cutdown
only after the last river has been poisoned
only after the last fish has been caught
Only then will you find that money can be eaten

( CREE INDIAN PROPHECY)

RICE : SOME INTERESTING FACTS

2007-01-21T15:22:00.000-08:00

They say it is a bad habit to read while one is eating. So said my strict mom and dad .From the earliest ages of my formative years of upbringing, I was stuck with this bad habit, sometimes it may seem useful though. Having persisted with the same still as an adult, I recently found some interesting facts about rice on the back of a packet of rice based breakfast( RICIES) . The facts are amazing and I reckon even for a second you will not imagine how interesting these facts are. In particular, if you are brought up in an environment where rice plays an integral part of your life, these facts may appear very thought provoking. My roots go back to rice cultivators and during our childhood, say three four decades back, as kids we were involved in rice farming to the maximum. We joined manual tillers in tilling the muddy, dark, sulphur smelling at times earth, harvest collectors in collecting plants with a sickle and the funny part of it was leading animals( Buffaloes) over the spread of collected, rice plants with the crop to separate seeds from the plant. This was the era well before tractors and harvesting machines were not in use. Many of the kids who grow up today do not know what these experiences were like. For us , it was sheer fun doing all these stuffs. Like elders, we loved simulating their acts of lying on discarded dried paddy plants after seeds had been separated. Even to a minute, we did not contemplate on the terrible itching that occurs in our skins. Today, whenever, I see paddy fields, my earliest nostalgic memories keep flowing to my mind.

Here are those interesting facts about rice:

In China they typically greet with “ Have you had your rice today”

Almost half of the world’s population eats rice (about three billion)
Ground boiled rice can be made into glue
Rice farming is older than the great grand mother of your great great grand father – about 10000 years
After a framer plants rice, it takes 105 days before he can harvest it
Some time rice is planted by dropping from air
Rice is a source of carbohydrates to feed one’s brain
Did you know your favourite car Toyota means BOUNTIFUL RICE FIELD, and Honda means “ THE MAIN RICE FIELD
If a rice plant is cared for properly, it can live 20 years
It takes 5000 litres of water to produce one kilogram of rice
Rices are packed with B vitamins that help release energy from food intake

MAORI LEGEND ON ORIGIN OF LIFE

2007-01-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

Maoris believe their settlement in Aotearoa ( THE LAND OF THE LONG WHITE CLOUD) occurred in 8 AD. According to a Maori legend, all life originated in a still night from primordial parents, RANGI NUI, the sky father and PAPA-TU- A NUKU , the earth mother. These were in a tight embrace and derived enormous joy from one another’s company .This tight embrace left their children to move violently and suffocate between their clasped their bodies for eternity Their eldest sun( TANE) the god of forest pulled himself free of the grip of their parents in the darkness . Over a long period of time he forcibly pulled their parents apart and separated them. He lifted RANGI in to the sky and covered his nakedness with the sun, moon and stars Tan created many trees and lakes strewed across the vast expanse to cover mother’ nakedness. She was covered with fauna and flora . However, the grief of separation from the mate caused RANGI to weep and tears started to flow from his eyes filling the surface of PAPA with oceans and lakes. As a result, the earth and sky remains separated today so that life can find it palace in between.
Another son, TIKE formed a figure of a human out of sacred and red sand and chanted a KARAKIA ( ritual incantation) to create MARIKORIKO the first woman. He consulted WAI MATU HIRANGI, the wise river. Their union produced great Maori people. Another son hauled up enormous fish out of sea that turned into the North Island .His boat and anchor weight became South and Stuart islands .

TUATAHI TE KORE

KATAHI ANO TE PO

TE PO NUI

TE PO ROA TAE NOA ANA

I NGA WA TINO PO POURI TONU

A! KA TA TE ATA

A ME TE ATA

I UNINEI WA NOA IHO O NGA KORE

I TE TINO KOPA O PO POURI ANO

I TIPUA O TATAU MATUA MATAMUA

KO RANGI-TE MATUA RANGI

KO PAPA-TE MATUA WHENUA

FIRST CAME TE KORE -THE NOTHINGNESS

THEN WAS TE PO THE NIGHT

TE PONUI THE GREAT NIGHT

TE POROA THE LONG NIGHT

AND IN AND ON THROUGH MEASURELESS AGES

UNTIL AT LAST TE ATA THE DAWN

AND WITH THE DAWN

OUT OF AEONS OF NOTHING

AND OUT OF THE VERY WARMTH OF AGE OF DARKNESS

EVOLVED THE PRIMEVAL PARENTS

RANGI THE SKY FATHER

AND PAPA THE EARTH MOTHER

DRIFTING OFF INTO THE DREAM TIME

2007-01-16T17:42:00.000-08:00

Rise from this grave
Release your anger and pain
As you soar the winds
Back to your homelands
There, find peace
With our spiritual mother, the land
Before drifting off into the dream time

(Quoted from the grave yard stone of Australian aborigines located in the Queen Victoria gardens in Melbourne)

Analytically, I admire the writer for identifying the pain and anger of the natives for the disruption of equilibrium that existed centuries. Their way of life was turned upside down, landscape was changed forever and some had to get rid of their lives so precious to their near and dear ones. Amazingly, though, the writer displays the elements of humanity in his blood by advising spirits to manage the uncontrollable anger and intolerable pain in the aftermath of a great injustice. Soothingly, he gives out the message to find everlasting peace in still untouched, harsh but virgin lap of the mother- Land. One of my favourites and no wonder I copied it from the moment it captured my eye.

VISITING MURIHIKU IN AOTEAROA

2007-01-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

Our journey, down south, went through the small southern city of Gore. On our way towards Invercargill, we did not make a stop over in Gore. It was intentional since the next day we were supposed to visit Jayantha’s home for the lunch. Directly we drove down to Invercargill, the southern most city of Aotearoa ( New Zealand). Invercargill is called the capital of MURIHIKU in Maori which means the tail end of the land.

Like Dunedin, IC has preserved its essentially Scottish heritage. Many of the streets bear names of Scottish rivers. The city has a lot of Victorian architecture if one is particularly concerned about architecture. From my professional point of view, IC hospital was an attractive site. I was told that there are numbers of Sri Lankan doctors working in the hospital as permanent staff as well as post graduate trainless from our very own Post Graduate Institute of Medicine. We met Dr. Viraj who happened to be a graduate from the medical academy in Moscow. It was a couple of years before I finished though. He was not known to me at that time though I had faint memories of Viraj. Just prior to his migration , he talked to one of my registrars about his impending visit to NZ when I was a trainee anaesthetist in the National Hospital of Colombo. He was a senior anaesthetist then at the NHSL. Who says world is a bigger place ? Technological revolution has made world a closer place to access than it was a decade or so ago. No wonder, I met him in the furthest corner of NZ closer to the South pole quite unexpectedly after a decade .

Ours was a busy schedule. We did not have enough time to skip from one site to another. Everything was made in a haste. This was not a sight seeing tour per se. Nor it was a planned trip. We started late from Dunedin and by the time we got to IC, it was too dark as it was the winter. We stayed at Raja’s place and next day, travelled to BLUFF , the furthest point of the South Island. We were able to climb up the hill to visit a look out point towards Stuart Island .This place was informative as it displayed a lot of historical information on IC , uniqueness of indigenous fauna and flora and the devastating effects of pests introduced by European settlers to the island. Some people who were with us had the slightest interest in these information . One has to bear it up when you acct collectively though, sub consciously I regretted the opportunity to store some information in my brain. I once again realised the importance of travelling with companions or peers having same sort of interests. We were able to spend only a couple of hours at Bluff since we were expected for lunch at Dr.Jayantha’s .In that way, we were pretty unfortunate to visit places of interest in IC. Though we missed, there are some places, any visitor to this peaceful city should visit.

The Art of Christopher Aubrey was in display when we were there. Christopher was a new generation of amateur artists who documented NZ country side in later part of the 19th century. His paintings are reported to reflect aspects of European colonisation of NZ. European settlers at work, deforestation, paintings of freshly constructed buildings are few of his areas of art works. Southland museum and art gallery is quoted in many travel guides as a place worth visiting in IC. The museum displays tuatara, the world’s only living relative of the dinosaurs that roamed the earth 220 million years ago. These living dinosaurs are a unique feature of the Southland museum. Closer to the museum, Queens Park is an ideal place for a retreat.

I have another interesting place in IC. That is the rugby stadium of the Southland rugby team. Invercargill is the birth place of one of my heroes, Jeffrey Wilson. Jeffrey was a double international. He first represented NZ in cricket. His greatest moment was scoring 44 runs to beat Aussies when all odds against Kiwis as a 19 year old cricketer. Later he realised the dream of any New Zealander of being an ALL BLACK. Jeffrey was one of the all time great ALL BLACKS and NZRFU should be grateful to him as he was instrumental in placing the full stop for WRC rugby.WRC rugby was a business manoeuvre similar to Kerry Packers division of the cricket world in 1970s. He played as a phenomenal winger with legendary Jonah Lomu. Jeff was a die hard Otago and Highlander player. Our common link is through the Otago university as I read in his autobiography that he pursued a course in UNI as an all black. Additionally, I am a highlander fan as well. After his retirement, he came back to represent cricket for NZ. In a match against the world XI, he captured 3 wickets for six runs. Jeffrey’s dream was short lived when he was sidelined from action in 2006, when a chronic ankle problem acquired as a result of rugby troubled him. Even visiting his birth place was a joy to me as a die hard rugby and cricket fan.

On the way to IC, another interesting place is the private house of a collector who has buried oyster shells brought from all over the globe in walls. A fascinating past time. Is not it?
On our way back, we made our stop over in Gore for the lunch. Gore is a small, rural city in New Zealand with the Hokonui hills in the backdrop. It is well known in the world as the capital of trout fishing, however smaller and rural the city may seem . From October to March, Gore district apparently becomes an international venue for anglers to pit their skills with the local brown trout. The last inter tribal wars were recorded to have occurred in Gore. Gold discovery and illicit whiskey industry were other aspects which have places in the history of Gore. Drive from Dunedin to Gore through stunning landscapes is amazing and spectacular. Peony roses, rhododendrons, roses, magnolias and bulbs are in abundance with brilliant colours due to the combination of richness of the soil, magnificence of the climate and the light. Among other things, Hokonui Moonshine museum, Eastern Southland art gallery, Gore fishing museum project are some offers to visitors which we were unable to visit during our brief stay in Gore.

MY RETREAT AT OTAGO PENINSULA

2007-01-14T16:32:00.000-08:00

It has been almost one year since I set foot on this beautiful part of New Zealand to pursue my post doctoral training at the University of Otago. I was told that there was a holiday retreat just a few minutes away from the hustle bustle of Dunedin. However, commitments at the University and my spending winter vacation in Australia did not allow me to make a visit to these beautiful places in the Otago Peninsula. However, I set aside all my activities and spent a whole day in the charming beauty of the peninsula as soon I will be off New Zealand shores.

Otago peninsula stretches along the southern edge of the Otago harbour. The drive is a fascinating and scenic one along lush green pastures typical of New Zealand. Parallel to your drive on your left side is yet another similar drive on the other side of the lagoon leading to the port Chalmers. Countless numbers of small bays, rugged hills and volcanic landforms are luxuries so near to the City but yet so far removed from it. Once , Dunedin is gradually removed from your scene, the attractions which emerge before you are enormous.

The best description of Otago Peninsula has come from Sir. David Bellamy. He describes OP as the finest example of eco tourism in NZ. It has human dwellings but unlike in many places, it is still not polluted probably because of the low population density.

The biggest attraction of course is the remarkable range of wild life. Miles ahead of famous look out points for wild life, we managed to have a glimpse of a Zeal basking in the sunlight. As Dunedin weather is so unpredictable, just keep your eye on for the best forecast and a sunny day is just the sort of ideal day to experience the beauty of the OP.

If you are in Dunedin and need to spend the whole day in OP without the responsibility of leaving a vehicle behind, there is a bus in the morning which operates to the Harrington Point ( HP) which is nearly 2 KMs from the Furthest end of the OP. Walking from HP to Taiora Head (TH) is quite enjoyable. Royal Albatross centre is situated at the TH . Visitor centre has various guided tours to see Albatross and of course a souvenir shop to grab souvenirs. If you are lucky, you may be able to view huge Royal Albatrosses.

TH is the only inland natural habitat in the world. It is the only place where albatross breed in a mainland and still visible for human. These birds once paired, they pair for life unlike humans in some of whom the marriage lasts for days, months and sometimes a few years. Breeding takes place every second year and in between they take a year holiday at sea. Rearing takes 12 months and Royals breed only in NZ. Eggs are laid and changed over in November , guarded in March to June while near fledgling occurs in August. Chick are fed by slurry of regurgitated food .Food is transferred in CROSS BILL action. .A 30 minute quality time is spent with chicks. The brochure of the centre says these birds have been creatures of reverence , superstition and wonder for centuries. Earlier seafarers have believed the souls of their dead captains took the form of albatross to wander oceans forever.

You may visit Fort Taiaroa , where the underground fort houses the only completely restored Armstrong disappearing gun in the world. This has been in place since 1880s to pacify a possible onslaught from heavily armed Russians in the South Pacific. Just below the centre, sea lions can be seen in abundance. Some time these guys can be aggressive. One chased after me as a protest against the effect of flash when I attempted to take a photograph. There are other centres like NATURE’S WONDERS and Penguin colony where one can see wild life.

If one is interested in Maori Culture, a MARAE is situated in OTAKOU. It is just a few hundred meters inland from the coastal road. Marae and the church is very attractive but you may be disappointed to a certain degree if you have been to a better Marae in the North Island. There are lots of walking tracks if you want to take a stroll along pastoral lands . Many of these lands belong to individuals who have been kind enough to allow visitors to feel the beauty of the OP.

The other attraction is the Larnarch Castle which is situated closer to the Company bay. One has to climb up the hill by a vehicle or can stroll up a walking track of 3 KMs to the castle. It is supposed to be the only castle in NZ. My colleague, Stuart from UK was against using the term of Castle for this as he believes “Castle is a place built by royals and for defence purposes. However, I am not a linguistic specialist . Nor I am a historian. But, the garden of the castle is really nice to spend a day.

This castle was built in 1870 by William Larnach who was an Aussie banker who came to Dunedin lured by the wealth which followed the gold rush. He lived in the castle with 3 successive wives till 1898. His life has ended in a tragedy when he took his own life in the NZ house of parliament. His children sold his property which changed hands several times and was abandoned twice. It was purchased and restored by current owners, the Barker family in 1967.Castle and surrounding has a land area of 14 hectares. Garden has a cupola from the sailing ship “ZEALANDIA” installed in 1927.

The central raised lawn with trees planted in 19th century has a marble fountain installed from Pisa, Italy in 1930. Flowers evoke the country garden era before the 1st world war. Scottish thistle , the national emblem of Scotland can be found in the castle . Vibrantly coloured perennials are planted in the Holly Hedge garden with NZ grasses and southern hemisphere shrubs. Marble bath was sold and used as a horse trough in a neighbouring garden but current owners have relocated it in the due place. ROCK GARDEN has been rediscovered after a visitor has informed the owners how he laid out it and was upset that his work has been obliterated by self-sown trees. Temperate rainforest, patterned garden Methane plant and south seas garden are other attractions in the garden. A days visit to this spectacular and magnificent garden is a rich experience and is worth for the entrance fee.

My retreat in the OP was really enjoyable. I feel like going there more often. Hectic schedule at university does not allow such luxury though. Soon, I will be off NZ shores to my sunny country. Memories of OP will definitely linger in my mind. The only other similar account that vividly describes a similar feeling that comes to my mind is John Denver’s COUNTRY ROADS. As the saying goes in Dunedin tourist circles, I WILL TAKE NOTHING BUT PHOTOGRAPHS, LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOT PRINTS

ROYAL ALBATROSS CENTRE WEBSITE: www.albatross.org.nz/

LRANACH CASTLE WEBSITE: www.larnachcastle.co.nz

AN INNOVATIVE IDEA

2007-01-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

Among many traditional new year greeting cards recieved by me , this card sent by Anjana was the most fascinating one for me. It reflects the rich and ancient cultural heritage of Sri Lanka.

LEPROSY REVISITED FIVE YEARS AFTER INTEGRATION OF LEPROSY SERVICES INTO THE GENERAL HEALTH SERVICES (GHS) IN SRI LANKA

2007-01-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

Sri Lanka has been in the fore front of the elimination of leprosy, which has been extant since ancient time, as a public health problem in the world. It reached the elimination target of less than one case for 10000 population, a half decade before the year targeted by the WHO. Though the country has achieved a significant progress in this regard, few more issues remain to be settled in the final phase of its elimination. Current strategies addressing these issues are consistent with the global strategy for further reducing the leprosy burden and sustaining leprosy control activities outlined by the WHO which aims at addressing the remaining challenges that endemic countries are likely to face in providing services to people affected by leprosy under conditions of low prevalence.

To overcome these challenges, Sri Lankan Ministry of Health took a bold decision to integrate leprosy services carried out by the vertical campaign to the hierarchical institutions in the General Health Structure( GHS) in 2001. This strategy was adopted with a view to detecting and managing still remaining leprosy cases in the population and providing a better and easy access to these services to patients in a low prevalence scenario in the country. Furthermore, this was seen as a cost-effective approach of providing services for the ministry in a changing epidemiological situation.

Global leprosy situation

Leprosy is no longer a public health problem in a vast majority of countries in the world.
The global registered prevalence of leprosy at the beginning of the year 2006 was 219826 cases. There were 296499 new cases detected during 2005. .According to the WHO, there was a 27% decline in newly detected cases in 2005 in comparison to the preceding year. However, our region, South East Asia was the biggest contributor to the global leprosy burden. Sixty eight percent (201635 new cases) of the global case load was reported in the South-East Asian region. The lowest number of 3133 new cases (0.01%) was reported in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Worldwide, there has been a declining trend in newly detected cases during the period spanning from of 2001 to 2005. This decline was 38%. The percentage decrease for African, American , South East Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, Western Pacific regions were respectively 7.6%, 2.5%, 70%, 34.2%, 3.7%. The most notable decline in new cases is reported from the South East Asian region.

There were six major endemic countries namely Brazil, Congo, Mozambique, Madagascar, Nepal and Tanzania, which had not been able to reach the WHO elimination target by the end of 2005. Registered prevalence of Leprosy in Nepal was 1.8/10000 while New Case Detection Rate (NCDR) was 2.27/10000 population in 2005.

Seventeen countries had reported more than 1000 new cases during the year 2005.These countries accounted for 94% of the new cases detected globally. Though, Sri Lanka has reached the WHO‘s target of elimination, it occupied the 14th position in terms of the number of new cases detected during the year 2005. India’s contribution of 161457 (54.5%) new cases was phenomenal in this list.

One of the important parameters for a leprosy epidemiologist is the proportion of Multi Bacillary (MB) cases among newly detected cases .This varied from WHO regions to region. The highest proportion (94.3%) was reported from the Philippines while the lowest was from Comoros in the African region which was 22.6%. The other important parameter from the transmission point of view of the disease is the proportion of children less than 15 years among the newly detected cases (Child rate). Comoros in the African region had reported the highest child rate of 39.1% while Argentina had the lowest reported rate of 1%. Grade II disability rate which is the indicator of delayed detection of leprosy was reported to be the highest in Benin (21.7%) followed by China (21.3%). Federated state of Micronesia reported the lowest disability rate of 0.8%.

Sri Lankan situation.

Since integration of leprosy services into the GHS, diagnostic, treatment, MDT distribution and rehabilitative services have been fully taken over by the hierarchical institutions in the GHS. Organisation and implementation of the leprosy elimination activities at the field level are within the jurisdiction of the respective Provincial Health Ministries.

Recent analysis carried out by the ALC reveal that there is a statistically significant drop in the trend of newly detected cases at the Central Leprosy Clinic(CLC) indicating the effect of the integration. It reflects the gradual taking over of the case detection and treatment by the institutions in the GHS. Currently, the CLC caters mainly to the people residing in the Colombo Municipal area. Among the institutions in the GHS, institutions above Base Hospitals have been instrumental in detecting more than three quarter of cases every year since integration. This is consistent with the existing trend of bypassing minor health facilities for other disease in Sri Lanka. Another striking feature in pattern of detection of leprosy in the GHS following integration is the significantly increasing proportion of leprosy cases detected at hospitals with specialised dermatological services. However, in remote districts where specialised dermatological services were not available, the role of lower echelon institution such as Central dispensaries in detecting cases was noteworthy of mention. The comparatively higher proportion of Grade II deformities among patients detected in lower echelon institutions suggests the detection of cases hidden in the community mainly in rural areas until the services became more wide spread and accessible as a result of the integration.

Epidemiological situation

Prevalence of leprosy has been nearly unchanged in the five year period from 2000(0.68/10000) to 2005(0.65/10000). The absolute number of newly detected cases was 1924 in 2005 in comparison to 1700 in 2000. NCDR was 8.9/100000 and 9.6/100000 in 2000 and 2005 respectively. There has not been substantial decrease in the number of new cases detected during the five year period with the reported figure being around 2000 cases. Sri Lanka, despite its elimination of leprosy as a public health problem occupies the 14th position among the 17 countries which reported more than 1000 newly detected patients annually. Nearly half of the newly detected leprosy patients (44.5%) are reported from the Western province followed by 15% in Eastern and 12% in Southern province. Five districts (Colombo, Batticaloa, Polonnaruwa, Matara, Ampara) have consistently reported a prevalence above the WHO elimination target

There has been a clearly visible trend of a reduction in the deformity rates in comparison to 2000.The relevant rate was 5.7% in 2005 while it was 9.8% in 2000. This reflects the reduction of pool of previously undetected, hidden cases in the community and the relevance of shifting to NCDR (incidence) as a more appropriate epidemiological measure of quantifying the disease than the prevalence.

There were 803 (43%) multi bacillary (MB) patients in 2006. Increasing trend of the detection of MB rates augers well for the control of disease as early case detection and treatment with MDT remains the cornerstone of leprosy control. The child rate has been in the range of 10-12% during the five year period. Exceptionally higher rates in endemic Batticaloa (18%), Ampara(10%) and Colombo(14%) districts suggest the continuing transmission in these regions. However, one caution in interpreting these data is the possibility of over diagnosis of child cases.

Challenges for the future

Though Sri Lanka has achieved the elimination target at the country level, the sub national level elimination remains a high priority considering the consistent detection of nearly 2000 new patients annually with higher concentration in some districts. Integrated approach is the most cost effective approach to address the remaining problems and therefore, strengthening and sustaining the provision of quality leprosy services at institutional level in the GHS is essential. It ensures the easy access of services to patients closer to their homes.
Re-registration and recycling of previously detected patients still occur in certain areas. This has to be corrected as it may affect the quality of data. The other important problem is the over diagnosis of hypo pigmented patches in children. It is a known fact that sometimes diagnosis of leprosy may be difficult in children leading to over diagnosis. Validation of the diagnosis and support of the dermatologists to the medical officers in peripheral institutions in better diagnosis may prove to be handy in this situation.

Though many of the patients are cured without sequalae , some may not be so fortunate. Lepra-reactions occur in a few patients after the MDT and relapses may occur from time to time. These patients need timely intervention as negligence may lead to disabilities such as nerve impairment and permanent loss of the function of the nerve. These patients need the specialists support in referral centres. Neglecting such patients leading to permanent disabilities may impact negatively on the programme in a low prevalence situation. Improvement of the quality of life of these patients remain the biggest challenge to the ALC in a low prevalence scenario. Identification of mechanisms of counselling and provision of services to these long suffering patients stands out high priorities for district leprosy managers.

The global strategy for elimination of leprosy is based on further monitoring of MB rates, child rates and deformity rates even in a low prevalence setting. It is essential to estimate the hidden prevalence based on the delay in case detection to successfully launch programmes to detect possible remaining cases in the community. However, in Sri Lanka, the lack of the culture of local level data analysis and targeted intervention on the basis of evidence remain a big obstacle to further expand leprosy elimination activities. This lack of culture and non availability of REs have forced compulsory involvement of the ALC in planning and execution of leprosy elimination activities even after integration in certain areas.

Careful considerations of these challenges are essential to further consolidate gains achieved so far and to reach the goal of the campaign to achieve elimination of leprosy at the sub-national level.
References
1. W.H.O. Global leprosy situation-2006. Weekly Epidemiological Record, august 2006, August. Also available on URL: http: www.who.int/entity/wer/2006/wer8132.pdf
Wijesinghe PR, Settinayake WAS. An analysis of the pattern of detection of leprosy patients by the General Health Services (GHS) in Sri Lanka after the integration of leprosy services into GHS. Leprosy Review. 2005; 76: 296-304.
3. World Health Organization. Report of the inter country meeting of the National Programme Managers of Leprosy Elimination at Kathmandu, Nepal on 6-8 January, 2005.WHO/ICP CPC 600.
4. Anti Leprosy campaign. Annual National and District Leprosy Statistics in Sri Lanka. Central Leprosy Clinic, NHSL, Colombo. 2000-2005.

A SAD REALITY IN NZ CRICKET

2007-01-10T16:12:00.000-08:00

Currently, it has been debated as to why Black caps have performed pathetically in the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka. In hindsight, SL deserved a lot more than what results reflected at the conclusion of the tour. For, statistical purposes, records go as drawn test, twenty twenty and ODI series. But, in all three formats, SL were well ahead of BC in their own den.

One of the excuses that touring teams, bar all conquering Aussies, make is the home advantage of the home conditions to the hosts in the face of a defeat. It is extremely heartbreaking that BC were not able to manipulate extreme cold conditions prevailed in NZ and consequent movement off the seam. It is a well known fact that SL are poor tourists in terms of results achieved off their shores. Only other occasion that they fared well was against one off test victory against Kiwis and coming from behind victory in a 3 test series against Rammez raja’s Pakistan by Arjuna Ranatunge’s team just prior to historic world cup win. To their credit, SL performed creditably well in England and now in NZ. Mahela must be a happy man with the results so far.

In the first test , SL have to blame themselves for being 50 runs short. Had they have these runs on the board, the outcome would have been 2-0 in favour of SL . In 20-20, had they not rested Vaasy and Murali , the result would have been 2-0 . Much anticipated ODIs exposed the inefficient, fragile middle order of BCs. Two games that they won went down to the wire. Had not it been for Trevor Franklin heroics and last ball four of Mason, SL would have gone home as not sharers but outright winners of the trophy. I felt sorry for Auckland crowd. Aucklanders always come to the Park and support cricket in this fanatically Rugby Union crazy country. Their passion is matchable to the vociferous crowds of other EDEN the EDEN GARDEN in cricket obsessed India. They deserved more than the meagre total put together by 11 kiwis.

There will be lot of excuses as POMS and BC are well known for those. But, for the longevity of the summer game in NZ, administrators need to learn from mistakes like their counterparts in Rugby did in 1990s when they continually lost to Wallabies. Quality of batting is apparently a big headache for them. This aspect has been highlighted by Allan Donald in his Autobiography. According to him, Kiwis and POMS are reluctant to move away from their comfort zones and as a result, have performed miserably. This is quite contrary to Aussies and proteas who quickly acclimatise to conditions which may be strange to them. As Aussies point out, they take all positives out of negatives. Reluctance of Kiwis and POMS to tour subcontinent and WI while happily touring AUS and SA has been quoted as their soft corners. Australia , on the other hand, keep raising the bars, adopte fresh approaches like conditioning programmes of the nature of boot camps in Queensland etc.

Having come to the conditioning policy, I reckon one area that went wrong for Kiwis is the blindly acceptance or copying lessons from Graham Henry’s book. I have got to blame the rotation policy for the poor performance of BC. The move may be wise and rational for a contact sport like rugby where injuries do tend to occur every now and then. Cricket though a team game, it’s success depends on individual performance of a collective. In rugby, you need 15 people to make a ball move. In cricket, collective efforts of individual brilliances make the difference. Under such circumstance, how wise is the decision to rest your number one batter and number one fiery bowler against who SL have displayed their fragility? .

Even if rotation policy is the panacea, Graham Henry can do it as he has got a very talented and ruthless army. Even if the top 36 are left out of competition, he will have another 36 to crack opponents . Such is the player base and the passion rugby has in NZ. The question that comes to my mind is “ Is Bracewell be able to find such luxury in NZ at the moment ? The great majority of star players of the current crop BC ( perhaps except Flem and Bond) are just ordinary players who are no where near the rest of the players in the best league. This prompts Bracewll to use his handful of important resources wisely. He shold have used his limited troops to condition them for the World Cup, against SL in the current series. Hopefully, sane counsel may prevail and BC will fare better against their arch rivals “ Aussies. It is no wonder that some Aussies are already interested in not the winner, but the team that will qualify for the finals. It is our belief that BC will fight it out for the pride of the nation and the dying interest for cricket in NZ

It is sad that the summer game is dying in NZ. The era of Hadlees, Cooneys, Chatfields and Crowes are just nostalgic memories and cricket fans miss 1980s (golden era of the game in NZ)a lot. Like in Rugby union and league, the future of the game lies in South Asian Kiwis, Islanders and Maoris with greatest respect to Pakehas. Administrators need to popularise the game among non pakeha population as well if NZ desires to be a potent force like trans Tasmen neighbours,Australia. Victory has so many fathers while defeat is an orphan. The only way to save cricket dying in NZ is success at consistent basis and it will be the only remedy for NZ cricket.

Religious life brings a lot of happiness

2006-12-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

I happened to listen to the morning show today while getting ready to go to work.The topic was fascinating .They talked about the spirituality and benefits of being religious. It certainly looks bit weird in the material world.However, for those who attempt to survive the onslaught of the materialistic volcano, this may sound like pleasant music.
Research show that those who are religious tend to be free of anxiety.They are less likely to be addicted to drugs and alchol. Their marital longevity is far higher than the others while they derive enormous satisfaction from a prolonged harmonious marital life. All these lead to a stress free life extending their survival. Sounds excellent. doesn't it.

Low caste Hindus and their dilemma

2006-10-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

Tens of thousands of people are due to attend a mass conversion ceremony in India at which large numbers of low-caste Hindus will become Buddhists.
The ceremony in the central city of Nagpur is part of a protest against the injustices of India's caste system.
By becoming Buddhists low-caste Hindus, or Dalits, can escape the prejudice and discrimination they normally face.
The ceremony marks the 50th anniversary of the adoption of Buddhism by the scholar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.
He was the first prominent Dalit - or Untouchable as they were formerly called - to urge low-caste Indians to embrace Buddhism.
Similar mass conversions are taking place this month in many other parts of India.
Several states governed by the Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, have introduced laws to make such conversions more difficult.

http://newsvote. bbc.co.uk/ 2/hi/south_ asia/6050408

My comment :
The news feature sheds the light on existence of the injustice which Sikh Gurus fought against in India. Castes were openly looked down upon in Sikhism which was a dharma that entails universal love for mankind. However, as it is reported in certain news items, some nominal Sikhs are also ,contrary to guru’s bani , immersed in caste quagmire. A person who accepts the caste concept cannot be a Sikh. One of the social values of Langar is also shunning the concept of inferiority of one being from another. In today’s context, practice of caste philosophy can be determined as a violation of human rights and a form of oppression similar to holocaust experienced in Nazi Germany, Bosnia or Darfur. Caste is a distal determinant of wellbeing and subsequently, it is a determinant of “Health”. Deprivation of health of a person is reciprocally affects the so called superiors in a society as well. From an economic point of view, Caste philosophy has a societal cost as well. Thus, it is quite clear, like Guru’s prophecy, from modern scientific view also, shunning caste philosophy has an importance as it can directly affect the society. Caste is the modern form of slavery abolition of which needs the concerted efforts of everyone. The gurus foresaw its menace. As Sikhs, when we eneter the guru’s abode( Harmandir at Amritsar) via its four entries, it symbolises the path for liberation for all four castes ( Brahman, Kshatriya,Vaishya and Shudra) by following Guru’s path. Shunning this out dated concept is essential for an emerging economic giants like India as it may be an unshakeable stumbling block for India’s socio-economic leap towards the developed world

AN ADDITION TO A PREVIOUS NOTE

2006-10-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

A. G Kirpal Singh was born a sikh and he went on to represent India in Test cricket.He was added to the list of Sikh test cricketers in a previous note in this blog.However, there was one fact that was not known to me up until reading the piece " A lot in a name by Ramachandra Guha very recently.

This is what I came to know from Mr Guha's article :

"Before Yohana converted to Islam, a man from Madras (as it was then known) was the only cricketer to have played Test cricket under two religious affiliations. This was A.G. Kripal Singh, who made his debut for India in the mid 1950s as a bearded, turbaned Sardar and returned to the Test team some years later as a clean-shaven Christian. Where the Pakistani changed faith owing to the influence of his team-mate Saeed Anwar, the Indian had a more personal reason — it was in order to marry the woman he loved. Yousuf's name change is visible in the record books, although sometimes missed by the commentators. Did the other fellow also change his name? The scorecards suggest he did not, for, before and after his conversion to Christianity, he played under the name of "A.G. Kripal Singh". However, a Madras cricketer I know, and who was a contemporary of Kripal's, claims that while he did not change his initials, he did change what they stood for, "Amritsar Gurugobind" becoming "Arnold George"

While respecting Mr Amritsar Gurugobind's freedom to be Arnold George for his love, I made this note so that any person reading the list of Sikhi cricketers will know that he no longer remains a believer of sikhism.Further writes Mr Guha :

" More than two thousand men have played Test cricket. Yousuf and Kripal remain the only two to have played while practising two different faiths. Some others have changed or modified their names while retaining their commitment to their ancestral religion."

Link for the original article :

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/09/24/stories/2006092400190300.htm

GURU TEGH BAHADUR- MARTYDOM FOR INTER FAITH AMITY AND LESSONS

2006-10-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

Author paying his respect at the Gurudwara

Religious freedom has been a thorny issue for believers since ancient time. Perhaps the worst period in this regard in the Indian subcontinent might have been during the era of Aurangzeb. Having imprisoned his father Shah Jahan and assassinated his own brothers, Aurangzeb was in an upbeat mood.. His subsequent objective was to convert entire Hindustan to Islam . This has been seen as a move to cover up his sins and to mobilise support of his co religionists.

He waged this war against non Muslims in many ways. This has been similar to many of the methods used by western missionaries in converting poor souls in the Indian sub continent today. Firstly he made peaceful overtures; secondly he offered money; thirdly he threatened punishment and lastly he tried to cause dissension among them. When all these measures failed, he resorted to forcible conversion State terror was unleashed on non Muslim masses through his governors. Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh temples were destroyed . One such destroyed gurudwara was Buriya in Khizrabad pargna of Sirhind and a mosque was built upon the Gurudwara.

Differential and excessive taxation of Hindus was a method used for forcible conversion. Anyone supporting non Muslims were mercilessly executed even if they were true followers of the prophet Mohamed. One puppet executioner of Aurangzeb was Sher Afghan Khan, the Emperor's viceroy in Kashmir. His relentless campaign was to execute Kashmir Hindus who were not willing to accept Islam. This was the moment when Hindu Brahmins sought the advice of Guru Tegh Bahadur. Though the legend says that there was a super natural voice ordering them to seek the advice of guru, the logical reasoning behind this move was the supreme confidence that the Guru has been able to have even in the minds of non followers of his religion. Secondly, it reflects the acceptance of him by masses as a person capable of influencing the situation in Hindustan.

Guru Tegh Bahadur’s determination and fearlessness should be a guiding light to any Sikh who wants to take a leaf out of Sikh history. These two qualities were reflected in his address to Kashmir Brahmans .He told them to convey this message to Aurangzeb

“," Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru is now seated on the throne of the great Guru Nanak, who is the protector of faith and religion. First make the Guru a Musalman and then all the people, including ourselves, will of our own accord adopt the faith of Islam."

A mighty emperor like Aurangzeb too misunderstood his message having taken it as an easier task .His reasoning was that the conversion of one person was easier than many and following it devotees would convert themselves en masse. This is similar to the belief of super powers that the change of an unfavourable regime would mitigate all threats emanating from that state of concern. What followed was well recorded history. This whole story unfolds yet another significant evidence of Guru’s inter faith tolerance : He was joined by his muslim friend by the name of Saif-ul-din to visit the emperor. That once again substantiate his recognition among non Sikh masses both Hindu and Muslims. He was a bridge narrowing the gap between these two religions.

On the way to court, he was arrested and produced before the emperor. Emperor promised him perks and privileges in return for his conversion. Here again Guru Tegh Bahadur demonstrated his strong conviction and non desire for material attachments/desires such as wealth and power. Among the three options offered to him after refusing to convert( conversion, performing a miracle and preparation for death), he cast away first two. And accepted the last.

The Guru responded that to show a miracle was against the Will of God and thus he would not consent to the Emperor's proposals and the Emperor might act as he pleased. He was subject to extreme torture. Adversity never made him change his conviction and it was a lesson for the emperor that his mission to convert at the point of sword was a senseless thing. This was an indirect demonstration of how emperor insulted the mankind and human feelings by attempting to force his will upon his subjects. Inhuman torture of his followers Bhai Mati Das( sawing body), Bhai Dayala( being boiled to death) and Bhai sati das ( being roasted alive) were not able to change his resolve. All these martyrs demonstrated the true spirit of martyrs.

Finally when his turn came, he once again demonstrated the emptiness of a life living in lie against the will .
"I will never abandon my faith. I want no honour in this life; I want honour hereafter. The threat of death possesses no terrors for me. For death I am prepared and I cheerfully accept it” these words enraged Aurangzeb . He was sentenced to death and Guru tegh bahadur was beheded for not accepting to be converted to Islam. He died reciting Japji.

I visited in 2000, the gurudwara which stands at the place where he was beheaded on November 11, 1675. It has been described that many Sikh followers among the crowd refused to come forward to give due honour to Guru and it made Guru Gobind Singh to instil the sense of being sikhi and bravery among Sikh brotherhood by initiation of khalsa. Another belief is that Bhai Jaita dashed out of the crowd and instantaneously took away the holy head of the Guru to Anandpur with full honour.

Lakhi Shah Labana was a famous contractor in Delhi and he was also a follower of the Guru. He emptied his carts laden with lime near the Red Fort, taking advantage of the darkness and the carelessness of the Mughal sentries, and with the help of his sons, Nagahiya, Hema, Harhi and his friend Dhuma, whisked away the sacred body of the Guru, in one of their carts. Apprehensive of the government reprisal, Lakhi Shah and his sons then built up a pyre inside their own house and set fire to it. When the body was duly reduced to ashes, they cried out that their house had caught fire and called upon their neighbors to assist them in extinguishing it. Next day they collected the Guru's remains and buried them in a copper vessel called 'gaggar' in the earth under his funeral pyre. On this spot there stands a Gurdwara, Rakab Ganj, near Parliament House in New Delhi.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was a real martyr for his religion. His holiness lies in the fact that he sacrificed his life for downtrodden and oppressive people not considering even for a minute that they were Hindus and not Sikhs. What he valued was the well being of mankind. His religious tolerance was engraved in that fact that his friends were Muslims and he supported Hindus when in need. Fearlessness, strong conviction, and performing the right thing despite the ill consequences made him a treasured character in the world history. His bravery was a guidance for the tenth Guru to organise the Sikh brotherhood which travels endlessly several years after Guru Tegh bahadur’s sacrifice to the community

CAN THESE GROOMS BE CALLED SIKHS ANY MORE

2006-09-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

Todays post is based on the story of this family.

Rupinder Kaur Chahal, with her mother Jagjit Kaur and father Gurdev Singh in their home in Deenashabib, hasn't seen her husband for 19 months. Groom Beant Singh Chahal is living in Calgary.
Photograph by : Ted Rhodes, Calgary Herald

This week was a fascinating one as we expected the verdict of ball tampering issue in cricket, then the AFL grand final ( yes, blokes from non footy playing nations outside OZ too are excited about this great game) and NRL grand final. But more than anything else what shook me during the week was the issue of Rupinder Kaur Chahal reported in the Canadian media. Having read this information and on the basis of previous reports, the question that I asked myself was " Can we call the these perpetrators sikhs simply because they were turbaned?

Historically, when a new religion was formed out of existing , it was natural that there could be manifold remnants of previous religions of the newly converted followers being added to the new community. But, in this process , it was necessary to shed negative and harzadous practices. The essence of a code of conduct ( Rehat Maryada) for followers emerged as a consequence of this kind of events. Discrimination against gender was so prevalent in the Indian society that specifically gender equity was promoted by sikh gurus. Sikhs were able to hold their heads high as sikhism was the only indian religion which promoted gender equity other than Buddhism. It has been recorded in sikhi literature that women were required to be held in the highest possible position as they were the ones who gave birth to kings, soliders or any person of might having had them in their womb for ten months. The sikhi approach to this existing issue was "how come women be inferior if they were to bear kings in their womb". Contrary to existing practices of hiding faces of women by a piece of cloth( Fardah)( Guru AmarDas banned Purdah) or confining them to the back yard when some one came to the house, sikh women were encouraged to be in the company of the male counterparts of the household in receiving guests.Thus, gender equity was openly preached in Sikhism.

There were many Hindu customs among the new followers of Sikhism and obviously there were repercussions of those considered to be negative upon the core values of the new religion( Sikhism).Among them, shedding away of Hindu influenced negative nuptial procedures was of significant importance. Having understood the magnitude of the damage that can be exterted upon the core Sikhi values , Guru Ramdas, introduced the Anand Karaj,the Sikh wedding ceremony literally meaning " BLISSFUL HAPENNING". Guru Ram Das emphasising the importance of a nuptial bond says ""They are not said to be husband and wife who merely have physical contact only. Rather they alone are called husband and wife who have one soul in two bodies". Guru Amardas was instrumental in banning socially unacceptable practice of SATI . Thus,Guru Amar Das occupies a special place in the Indian Sub continent in the same rank with Lord Buddha for uplifting the status of women and promoting gender equity.

Anad Karaj has an enormous social value. It symbolises the encapsulation of two souls as a one ( ONE LIGHT IN TWO BODIES) and from that moment the two souls travel together in search of the Amrit(Bliss). However, it is very sad that the meaning of the concept is loosing ground among the followers of the great religion in the face of western materialism.Sanctity of a marriage has been commented by Premila Kapur.She wrote "Marriage is a Sanskara and as such it is a sacrament and a religious bond which cannot be broken under any circumstances. Ideally, it aims not only at the individual's biological, emotional, social and spiritual fulfillments and development through union with a person of the opposite sex, but also at the development, fulfilment and welfare of the family, and through it of the society and mankind". (The Changing Status of The Working Woman in India, Vikas Publishing House, Delhi, p.6, 1975 )

Sikh nuptial requirements are clearly laid down and there are important points that should be adopted by a sikh family in a nuptial ceremony. They are :

Both partners must be Sikhs.
Marriage is a partnership of equals.
No consideration is to be given to Caste, Social Status, Race or lineage.
No Dowry is allowed.
No day is considered holier than any other; No astrological considerations are to be made; No superstitions are to be observed in fixing the date of the wedding.
The religious ceremony to take place in a Gurdwara or home of the Bride in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib
The religious ceremony must NOT take place in a hotel, wedding palace or Banqueting Hall.
Burden of the cost of the wedding to be shared as equally as possible

Going through the codes, one will feel as to why Guru Ramdas wanted to re organize a sikh nuptial code.It is obvious that the existing practices were obstructing the social development with too much emphasis on gender discrimination.However, it is sad that even in the modern era, the sheded practices dominate in the society of both resident and non resident sikhs. As reported from Punjab, our holy land, many NRI sikhs come back in search of brides in India, marry young women, seek pleasure in their company, demand money and leave the poor souls behind. Perhaps, the western kind of life style that they have seen from their western counterparts may be the reason for playing hide and seek games with poor souls in the land of their forefathers. Latest, pathetic story of the "beautiful princes", Rupinder Kaur Chahal is only a tip of the ice berg. The only question that I need to ask is if they are dowery hungry hindus( with appology to hindus living a dharmic life) in the Sikh Panthic form. Are we loosing our Sikhiness?

Bhai Gurdas writes, “ Seeing other women, do not cast a lustful eye on them, instead consider them as your mother, sister and daughter.” The impact of this concept was so powerfully engraved in Punjab that it has been noted that a sikh in turban was trusted more than any body by women in Punjab as they were certain that a Sikh in Khalsa will not lay their hands upon a women for lust.I could remember a person telling a lady planning to visit USA, to look for a Sardar taxi driver and assuring her that she was definitely safe in a sikh man's hand. Will we have the same kind of recognition in the future if the trend of the nature given below will be followed. It is a point to ponder for the Sikh community all over the globe.

Read the story of Rupinder Kaur Chahal as reported by

Valerie Fortney; With Files From Michael Roberts, theProvince., Calgary Herald

Broken vows and shattered dreams

Each year, thousands of men from Canada, the United States and Europe return to India in search of a bride, promising to whisk them away

Her name means "beautiful girl" in Punjabi. Yet for Rupinder Kaur Chahal, her life feels anything but. The shy 25-year-old resident of Deenashabib, a plain village in the Moga district of India's Punjab state, says her life is over before it's even begun.
"I have nothing to hope for, nothing to do," the graceful young woman whispers as she lowers her head, tears dropping on to her baby blue salwar kameez, also known as a "Punjab suit."
Sitting in the dusty courtyard outside her family's humble stone house, an emaciated cow grazing in a stall next to the room where she and four other relatives sleep, Rupinder explains the source of her misery. A newlywed, she hasn't seen her husband, a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) living in Calgary, for 19 months.
"He promised he would come for me in three months," she says. "Now he is saying it will take seven years to get me into Canada."
Rupinder's story is an all-too-common one in the Punjab, the northern Indian agricultural state bordering on Pakistan that is home to 24 million, two-thirds of them followers of the Sikh religion.
Each year, thousands of men --some new immigrants, many of them sons of 1960s immigrants to Canada, the United States and Europe -- return to the land of their ancestors in search of a bride.
Young Indian women are paired up with NRIs, the couples finding one another through village matchmakers, relatives and the full-page matrimonial ads found in every local newspaper.
Once a suitable match is found, they typically marry in India, the weddings grand events with often several hundred guests.
The majority of these young women are later brought to countries like Canada, the U.S. and Britain, where they start new lives and families of their own.
But in recent years, far too many of these young women -- a good number of them from Punjab state -- have been left behind, waiting months, even years, for their husbands to send for them.
Some never do, and these young brides, having given up their virginity and their dowries to a husband who then disappears, are treated as social pariahs. The children of these marriages also get their share of scorn, with many, especially in the smaller villages and rural areas, labelling them the progeny of an illegitimate union.
Their parents are often left near-penniless after selling off their land and liquidating much of their net worth to get cash and jewelry.
The long tradition of dowry in India, in which the bride's family is required to hand over a substantial amount of money and gifts as an offering to the groom -- often worth thousands of dollars, in a country where 47 per cent of the population lives on less than one dollar a day -- was outlawed in India in 1961.
But the under-the-table practice, many observers say, is even more popular today than in earlier times.
The family of Rupinder Kaur Chahal, the pretty 25-year-old who feels her life is over, now has no dowry to offer any other potential mate. Their daughter, living in a kind of marital limbo, has nowhere to turn. After a large wedding only months earlier, she's not supposed to still be here, in the home of her parents. Her continued presence in her village is a social stigma for both bride and her family.

http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=e5fd484b-22e5-4f49-9fbe-dc3bc057e2a7

Mental strength, Aussie sports and examples

2006-09-24T00:48:00.000-07:00

Sportsmen have to be tough. "Going gets tough and tough gets going". This Billy Ocean song re vibrated in my mind as I read the article "How spirit of Kokoda has put mongrel into Swans" in the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. I always loved being tough and once you became mentally and physically sound, you never tended to disintegrate so easily come what adverse events.

Aussies are again in the front seat in inculcating the behaviour of using various situations to be tough in order to conquer the world.Stevan Waugh went to the war memorial to inspire players. Now comes the news from sydney as towhy footy team swan never looked back after their players were inspired by infamous Kokoda Trail.The man behind this latest inspiration was Sydney co-captain Brett Kirk's grandfather Wally Moras . After having treked over this trail, Kirk was so determined to make its presence felt in their game.

It had made them men.It gave them more determination on the field, the attitude of never give in.Moras inspired the other players reminding them of the trail and it has yielded remarkable results."I think they learnt from it that you always carry on, you never give in" added Moras.

Just judge the impact of this on the behaviour of the players in the words of Kirk to the author of the article , David Sygle."It taught me a lot about mental and physical strength and what the human body's able to endure, to push your way through. But also about what other people have sacrificed for us to be able to live the way we do."

Two conclusions can be made from this simple example:

Being physically and mentally strong can bring immeasurable amount of results

secondly, the inspiration may come from little things that we ignore in our past or what our elders did.

Physical and mental strength are pivotal in our sikh way of life as Gatka and conquering mind are integral parts of our belief.That is why sikhs are trained to be physically and mentally sound.This is the greatest investment a human being can make in his lifetime.

Read the article on the story of Kokoda trail inspiration

http://www.smh.com.au/news/afl/how-spirit-of-kokoda-has-put-mongrel-into-swans/2006/09/23/1158431951118.html

MONTY,MEDIA,SLEDGING,SOLUTIONS FROM FOOTY

2006-09-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

Monty Panessar saga continues. English media continues to torment the latest sikh wonder with possible onslaught with racial overtone from the crowd in Australia. It is true that no one escapes the harsh reality of Autralian cockiness and hard nut traits of Aussies. It is the very quality that has made them such a successful bunch in cricket plus many sports. I am bit sceptical about the same toughness in Wallabies, the national rugby union team. One has to be really appreciative of the way Aussies play Cricket,Rugby both union and league and of course my favourite AUSSIE RULES FOOTBALL.

Today, I laid my hands upon a book on Steve Waugh, the most professional sledger of our time. He is my favourite sports icon and I cannot disagree with his position on sledging.Steve does not want to define it as sledging.According to him " It is mental disintegration and a quality cricketer has to have ability not to be mentally disintegrated with all extant factors including verbal on slaughts.He says "It is not only your skill in sports .It is your mental soundness as well. I fully agree with him. If you are rock solid, you 've got to be able to withstand any pressure and consequently it will make you a success.If you are a lamb, how can you play five day tests.It will not be a test.

I happened to watch the Aussie movie "Moon the other night" (if my memory serves me right, the name is correct. ). In the film which took place in 1930's, the landowner having lost her daughter gets down a number of trackers to go in search of Emily, the daughter.Having seen a native Australian among them he openly protests against having a black tracker in his farm.He openly protests against him.This is a kind of sledging is n't it?.But, that man was gracious enough to help the depressed wife of the landowner to trackdown the corpse of Emily with his acquired skills in tracking things in the wild bush. What is conveyed in the film is accomplishment of your mission , not being carried away by advesre things that do occur in your surroundsing.

Asians really are worried by this tendency mostly. Carribeans are not really trubled by this at all. However, Carribeans of Indian ancestry were not immune as suggested by Sarwan-McGrath drama.This should not take racial overtone as this is a common phenomenon in Australia even when Aussies play each other.

When Swans played the West Cost Eagles in footy, O' Loughlin was not scared by voicferous Eagle fans. "I can shout louder than you... "Swan Michael O'Loughlin turned up the volume as he came close to a bunch of Eagles supporters. ( Click the link for the picture at REAL FOOTY

www.realfooty.theage.com.au/ftimages/2006/09/10/1157222391246.html)

Last week before being landed on the ground by Swans in the first preliminary final, Fremantle Dockers had high hopes to reach the grand footy final.They were well known for aggressive and fast play while tormenting opponents, adding excitement to this wonderful game. Niggling is the word that they used for this kind of game.The tactics swans planned to use was not being fazed by the niggling of Western Australian Dockers.Josh Carr of Dockers, on the other hand, was ready to go ahead with his niggling kind of business in the footy field.Carr said he got a laugh when his opponents were upset by his tactics.The kind of attitude players coming to Australia should strive to cultivate if they are to be succesful in down under is encapsualted in this quotation of swan player BOLTON."[Niggling] is a part of it [the game], it's good fun. I think they [the Carr brothers, Josh and Matthew] enjoy it and it's what gets them to play their best footy and if that's what one player has to do to play well, it doesn't worry us. We just have to keep focused on the game."

As I believe, Monty should not make the crowd behaviour or the sledging a big mess .The best thing is to leave them aside as if he has not heard them at all and get on with his business.As a sikh it won't be a big problem for him.This pacifying approach is the right one as suggested by Kiwi great Sir Richard Hadlee who said the other day that this tip given to him by Ian Chappel made him a successful player in Down under.

Monty -The Man Behind the Mask ( Sydney Morning Herald)

Reports that Monty Panesar is on the verge of cracking up at the prospect of facing "Aussie hate mobs" are wide of the mark, writes Alex Brown.

MONTY Panesar will be savaged by Australian crowds, maybe even racially abused. They'll taunt him and tease him and torture him until there is nothing left but tears and a tattered patka. That is what awaits Monty Panesar, if you believe the myth being perpetuated by the English media.
But there's a problem with all of this. A rather significant one. It's complete hogwash. Makes for good headlines, though.
What is really in store for Monty? Warmth, most likely. And cheers, even if a good portion of those are of the Bronx variety, probably following a fielding effort that Benny Hill could have based an episode around. No harm in that.
Still, this isn't the message getting through to England. This week, The Sun reported that Panesar was seeing a sports psychologist " … to prepare for the Aussie hate mob". Which makes sense. Good naturedness, after all, doesn't make for saucy tabloid reading; not like a tired old stereotype, anyway.
The far more likely, if less sensational, scenario is that Panesar will become the crowd favourite of the summer. And a chat with England's rookie spinner during the week only reinforced this notion, first forged over the English summer, during which he artfully spun his way though the Sri Lankan and Pakistani batting line-ups - and clumsily offered them reprieves in the field.
When Panesar talks, it's with modesty bordering on the apologetic. When he bowls, it's with the flight and aggression that inevitably makes for engrossing contests; the kind of attacking spinner Australians admire. And when he fields and bats, he does so with the earnestness-to-skill ratio that once made Eric Moussambani the toast of the Sydney Olympic pool. In other words, Panesar is a wave to the crowd away from becoming the ultimate cult hero in Australia.
What, then, to make of his traumatic stints on the leather couch, rocking back and forth in the foetal position, with Steve Bull, England's team psychologist?
"He has spoken to us generally about what happens on a tour," Panesar told the Herald. "It hasn't been anything in-depth and has been pretty light-hearted."
But isn't he losing sleep over the prospect of playing before the "Aussie hate mob", most of whom commute from Ramsay Street to cricket stadia on roo-back and leer menacingly from behind cork-dangling swagman's hats? All to the tune of Locomotion?
"In general, I look to take energy from crowds that are passionate about cricket," he continued. "When you're in front of huge crowds, it's obviously a big motivation. I hope that most people in Australian cricket support the game in the right way. No one wants to see things that aren't right in the sport. In India, the crowds were big with a lot of people very passionate about the game. I hope it will be like that."

Hmmm. Not quite the angst-ridden response Fleet Street had you primed for.
For the sensationalists, Panesar is tough work. He's too damn nice, too soft spoken. When asked his thoughts on the recent comments made by Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting, both of whom said they would target England's rookie spinner this summer, Panesar's response is disarming for its complete lack of ego.
"It's just flattering that they've heard of me," he said. "Nothing that they've said will stop me from sticking to my game plan. But they are people who have achieved so much in the game. They are world-class players, more than anything, so for them to know me is great."
Though his endearing modesty may suggest otherwise, the list of those who know Panesar doesn't begin and end with Gilchrist and Ponting. Panesar's on-field success - 27 wickets at 26.85 against a pair of teams renowned for their skill against spin - earned him household-name status last English summer and won over a once-doubting England coach, Duncan Fletcher, who went so far as to label him the best finger spinner in the world. Murali might have something to say about that, though.
But whereas his unique version of left-arm orthodox enthralled English crowds, it was Panesar's unassuming nature and often comical fielding performances that secured him cult status. And by season's end, the 24-year-old had transformed from a fringe figure to one who rivalled Andrew Flintoff for prominence, plastered across the nation's newspapers, magazines and television screens.
Suddenly, the public wanted to know more - everything, anything. About Monty the family man. About Monty the first Sikh to play cricket for England. About Monty the everyday guy who spent much of the previous pre-season working voluntarily on a Canadian farm. Monty Inc.
"It was something I really enjoyed," he said. "At every Test venue, people came in new kinds of fancy dress and wearing patkas. There was a mask of me that people could download off the web, and it was quite amazing to look up into a crowd with that looking back at you. It just goes to show that the profile of cricket is rising in this country."
Of course, with reputation comes expectation. And Panesar, with just 10 Tests to his name, now stands to play a leading role in the most anticipated Ashes series in decades. "I've been lucky in the sense that I am around players who have just won the Ashes," he said. "There is a lot you can learn from their experiences. I was in Australia with the Academy team last year. The ball bounces more than in England.
"I'll look to gain more knowledge from guys like Ashley Giles and others who have toured Australia before and are more aware of the conditions."
And the hate mobs.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/monty-the-man-behind-the-mask/2006/09/22/1158431904069.html

MIGRANTS IN MOTHERLAND AND ADOPTED COUNTRY

2006-09-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

I love globe trotting.But I and my wife have decided whatever the outcome may be Sri Lanka is gonna be our home.

In July, I was travelling the bredth of Australia before coming bck to New Zealand where I am currently following a course in Public Helath Medicine. I was able to be in close contact with some singhalese expatriate community.As a researcher, I was able to note the diffrential behaviour of Sri Lankans when they are in a foreign country and back home.

1. Many of the expats were very cautious in driving in Aus and NZ. They all comply with road rules( Sri Lankan English) to the perfection.Backhome, the same blokes cannot wait a minute just after the green traffic lights start flashing after red.The vehicle in front is warned by the horn of the vehicle. Here they are willing to wait years without noise.

2. Many whom we met do not drive after drinking.Either the son or wife sit behind the wheel after traditional SL parties with liquor.

3. Parking is strictly limited to parking lots. Even for a moment, they do not forget to " PAY AND PARK" sign to make the payments.Backhome, the same guys park wherever they prefer.Forget about the parking fee.

4.They never drop you off at the place you want to get off.Your are asked to wait till they find the right place.

5. Some refered to SL as NARAKADIYA and openly questioned as if we were mad to go back to the country.

This reminded me an e mail sent to me regarding why we remain poor.

It says that the difference is the attitude of the people, framed along the years by the education & the culture in their countries but they change attitude as soon as they migrate.the same lazy blokes who were hell bent on rights and privileges not the responsibilities become responsible citizens contributing to the productivity of the new country.

Sociologist say these are the qualities they lacked in mother country and follow in adopted country

1. Ethics, as a basic principle.2. Integrity.3. Responsibility.4. Respect to the laws & rules. 5. Respect to the rights of other citizens. 6. Work loving.7. Strive for saving & investment.8. Will of super action.9. Punctuality

HARBHAJAN DESTROYS WINDIES WHILE MONTY TAKES TIPS TO TORMENT AUSSIES

2006-09-20T23:34:00.000-07:00

Harbhajan was in fine form with bat and the ball in Malaysia.

Dravid on Bhajji
Dravid was also full of praise for Harbhajan, whose superb spell with the ball was preceded by a gritty 37 with the bat. "One of the positives to come out was the way Harbhajan batted," he said. "We give our lower order a lot of batting, and that was stressed during the camps in Bangalore. It's nice to see that some of that has paid off, at least in terms of Harbhajan, if not anyone else. When you're playing with just six frontline batsmen, you're taking a bit of a gamble and if people like Ajit and Harbhajan can contribute, which they're capable of, it makes a big difference."

Prince Lara on Bhajji

"He tries to get wickets and is always a good attacking bowler in one-day cricket"

http://wwwc3.cricinfo.com/ci/content/image/260099.html
Monty gets ready to torment Aussies. He is reported to have sought support from a sport psychologist.

Monty feels the heat by Robert Craddock in Courier mail

CROWD villain Sir Richard Hadlee has passed on life-changing tips from Greg Chappell to England's Monty Panesar as he prepares to enter a lion's den called the Australian summer.Panesar, a gifted left-arm spinner but poor batsman and shambolic fieldsman, is seeing a psychologist in a bid to handle the crowd taunts sure to flow his way by the truckload in his debut Australian Test match summer.
New Zealand's champion paceman Hadlee believes Panesar is right to seek specialist help but feels the timeless advice Chappell gave to him in the mid-1980s is as good as any for a cricketer under siege.
"Greg took me aside and said I was over-reacting to the crowds and if you antagonise them or show them they are getting to you it will only get worse," Hadlee said from New Zealand yesterday.
"In the early days as a young puppy I overreacted.
"Greg said forget about the distractions and do your talking with the ball – and at the end of the day there there more Test wickets for me against Australia than any other nation. I think it worked out pretty well.
"He said the only thing I had to remember was that if they had a go at you they rated you and at the end of the day it was a compliment.
"Basically he said 'just settle down'. Those comments became a tower of strength to me."
Hadlee initially was unnerved by the abuse – particularly the infamous "Hadlee's a wanker" chant – and tried to tackle the problem head-on in his News Limited column by questioning the way Australian parents were raising children capable of hurling such abuse.
It was not until Chappell firmly advised him to do his talking with the ball and show no sign of weakness that he found he could cope.
He admits it wasn't easy.
"It's a question of how you deal with it," he said. "It is easy to say ignore it – and that's the right advice – but it is difficult to do when it's in your face.
"I can understand why Panesar would seek a psychologist. I would have used one if they had been travelling with the team when I was around.
"It was a very difficult time for me around 1980-81 but after that it was payback."
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,20446638-5003413,00.html

HARBHAJAN MATURITY AND SIKH PHILOSOPHY

2006-08-22T01:17:00.000-07:00

World is not a perfect place. Anything can happen at anytime at any place.However, life goes on like a river that flows eternally sprinting accross and leaping over obstacles that lie ahead its path. The need for allowing the life to take its own course was philosophically explained by one of the two permanant test players of sikh origin in the world, Harbhajan Singh.In an interview with the Indian daily "Indian Express" after the bomb explosion in Colombo which helped the South African cricketers to avoid a double onslaught from Lankans and in form Indians.

"Hours after the bomb blast in Colombo, around 2 kilometres from your hotel room, you were out on the road taking a walk. What does that tell the world about Harbhajan Singh?
• I went out simply because I know that if such things have to happen, it can happen anywhere. There’s nothing so brave about it that I went out and showed how courageous I was. It’s just that if it’s written in your destiny that something has to happen, it will happen. If it’s in your room or outside. I was in my room the whole day, feeling bored, so I just decided to go out, see what’s happening outside. "

Aren't these words reflecting the barvery one expects from a khalsa man? It was a matter of proving courage that millions of his forefathers displayed in the great land mass PUNJAb.He stressed the Wahe Guru's will that is embedded in one's destiny.Like any other sikh, Harbhajan treasures the simple approach to life which ultimately brings the tranqulity to the mind conquering which is important for a sikh.A life lived according to the path shown by Gurus is worth many times than living a century in a non virtuous way.

We all know Harbhajan is a bad tempered guy at times.I saw how he arguetd with the quarantine services in NewZealand where he was fined 200 dollars on the spot.Here, he shares his inability to tolerate the wrong doing and justifies the revolt. Is n't that also a quality that he has inherited from the khalsa.The kirpan ( sword worn by a baptised sikh) symbolises the intolerance of injustice by a baptised sikh. A true sikh is not afraid to do the supreme sacrifice for the justice. Guru's have exhibited this quality several times even before khalsa was organised.The case of Guru Tegh Bahadur standing for Hindus in Kashmir was one such example.

What I treasure most as a sikh is the positive nature and non animosity towards a person who competes with you for a position. We both have to fight for a place and choice has to be made.This choice may be single.In my career I have come accross several such occasions and never in my heart I felt bad about the other guy simply because he was choosen.True, when we were naive, we get the feeling of jealousy but when you become mature with deep penetration in to the amrit of sikh dharma, those things tend to evaporate.Harbhajan also looks at this from a matured point of view.He tells the world that he strives hard to be the best but then if he was dropped to facilitate the entry of Kumble, he accepts it on the basis of the contribution Anil has offered to the team.It is really refreshing to hear such a pleasant approach to competitors from players.It is my firm belief that the sikh upbringing must have infused this in to Harbhajan.But he describes his never say die approach when the chance is up for grab.

"here’s this good line. Khudi ko kar buland itna, ki har taqdeer se pehle khuda tumse pooche, bata teri razza kya hai. Make yourself so strong, that you become an automatic choice in the team(Harbhajan) "

It is amazing how mature he is. He says that he prays but not a lot. But for me the whole sikh philsophy of life is embedded in the following line of statement of his interview. A player will play for 10-15 years.In life there is much more than that.When you hang up your boots, you should not be remebered as a great cricketer, but also as a good man.If he is not remebered as a good man , all what he has achived turn to be useless.Is n't it the operational sikhism? universality of its application? I felt like reading verses of Guru Granth sahib having analysed Bahji's interview. Itis really refreshing to have Monty and Harbhajan as true role models for not only sikh kids but for many from the subcontinent . Just spare a few minutes for Bahji's interview by Ajay Shankar of the Indian Express.

http://indianexpress.com/sunday/story/11012.html

MONTY IS NEITHER CHICKEN NOR LAMB

2006-08-20T00:37:00.000-07:00

Comes the Ashes, Mr Buchnan, you will be able to test if Monty is chiken or Lamb.Over centuries, many had been trying to see if sikhs were chicken without an iota of success.Greatest warrior saint ,Guru Gobind Singh formed his Khalsa soliders and made them as tough as iron.They are chicken in terms of their love for mankind . But when they were forced to the wall in an injustice, slikhs were never afraid to offer the supreme sacrifice for the right thing, be it for the religion or the country in which they live.The same may apply for Monty as a devoted sikh.He should be ready to offer maximum to the cause he has devoted his whole life. Today, the objectives have changed from what Guru Gobind singh ji set out, but the sacrifice of sikhs will come in many forms among them sacrifice for the love of sport is one. You will be able to see for your self if the tactics Aussies adopt to unsettle the opponents will work in the case of Monty as he is a one who has been nurtured in the sikhk tradition.Do not mistake a sikh's compassion and love for a weakness. It will definitely boomerang as a pumped up sikh is really threatning.Taunt at Monty will back fire in the form of vicious spin which as far as my little cricket knowledge tells me is hardly palatable for your world conquering cricketers.It is an open secret that you still struggle against sri lankan leggies if Murali is laeft a side. This thoughts sprang in me when I read your comment in the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD.

"AUSTRALIA coach John Buchanan admits England's latest bowling find, Monty Panesar, will have a torrid time during the Ashes series in what may end up being his tour from hell."

In the same article , it was highlighted that Cricket Australia has warned crowds and players not to go overboard with their taunting of Panesar after a string of unacceptable recent incidents involving Australian players, cricket identities and crowds and a growing perception that the 24-year-old Sikh will be targeted. Recently, this trend has been identified as a growing cancer in Aussie cricket by non other than Aussie sports writers.Not only coloured players, but Proteas white players were at the recieving end in the not too past.We know the mistake of Dean Jones which by all apparent evidences was made in a light hearted manner.It is a repetition of the mistakes of the past if the crowd will use Monty's khalsa appearence for their target.Australia is no longer white only and it is a model of multi culturalism.Many people from the subcontinent have selected this place as their residence.A countless number of sikhs toil hard in OZ and any kind of this taunt might injure feelings of these sikhs. Cricket Australia should be commended for the timely action taken by emphasising that racism of any kind will not be tolerated.Buchnan has said ""Spectators need to understand that the anti-racism obligations apply to them as well. If you commit any of these offences you can be ejected, banned from re-entry and possibly charged.We've had enough incidents of [racism] around the world. Hopefully that sort of thing won't occur."

Coming back to cricket, Monty may be branded as a comic character when he bats and fields.But both these areas have improved since of late and even great Murali was not spared by Monty in the last test against Sri Lanka.Aussie crowd can test a new player as they usuall do.But if they wish to try out a player who look different and termed as comic by the press, it will be the biggest mistake.What Sajid Mahamood proved to his Pakistani British was now a history. I am too confident Monty's performance will definitely place him on top of the popularity in the crowd.

Monty is not the first sikh cricketer to be in Australia.Navjot Singh is a great entertainer who has provided much joy to Aussie pacies and the crowd alike.Harbhajan has been a revelation against Aussies.He was the thorn in the Auusie side in their famous tour to India under great Steve Waugh. Like his predecssors did I am too confident that Monty Panessar will bring enormous joy to thousands of Aussie fans in the Ashes.He proved several points to his sceptical coach Fletcher. Come Ashes as you said ""He'll be tested out here from outside the fence, by the spectators and by the team in the middle. I doubt he would expect anything else." . He will come out of this test with flying colours like the flying sikh MILKA. As the SMH title says " He faces baptism of fire in Ashes". As a baptised silkh into Khalsa, it is our hope that he will display his fire power in the Ashes. In my life, I have two individuals whose path I would love to tread on.One is my mentor, Guru Gobind Singh.In my sport world , my hero is Steve Waugh who inspired me a lot.I know for sure Monty will follow the footsteps of the former without any doubt.If he will take a leaf out of Stevie autobiography, toughness in Aussie will be peanuts. Good luck Monty.

Monty faces baptism of fire in big Ashes test
David Sygall and Will Swanton
http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/monty-faces-baptism-of-fire-in-big-ashes-test/2006/08/20/1155408076967.html

Sportsmen of our stock

2006-08-15T18:06:00.000-07:00

Greatest sikh sportsmen.The Australian newspaper' The Age" presents a list and a small biography of great sardars excelled in many sports. Earlier I compiled a list of all sikh test cricketers who played todate. This has included other sports personalities also. Quite intersetingly among them is the Fijian Golf legend Vijay Singh who though does not seem like a practising sikh has a sikh ancestry. Just have a look at those turbaned warriors.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/great-sporting-sikhs/2006/08/12/1154803143471.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2

http://www.sikhnet.com/sikhnet/news.nsf/News-Archive/D583700937BD4C5E872571CA0075A20E

Monty's meteoric rise to fame has given a golden opportunity for the community to establish its identity in the western world in the era of Bin Laden and Al qaeda.Many sikhs have been mistaken for muslims and have been targeted for hate crimes. At least, when Monty is roll his arm, cricket lovers will come to know that there is a religious group who wear a turban.they are sikhs and not Muslims.

Paralels are being drawn between Monty and great sikh sportsmen.this is the second article written o the said topic in this week.just read it and enjoy the sikhs in sport.

Marvellous Monty joins the Singhs of praise

Frank Keating Tuesday August 15, 2006The Guardian

Monty's not a one-off. Sporty Sikhs decorate the legend. On Thursday, more than three decades on, another 24-year old patka-wearing Sikh, mystically gifted, comes to The Oval to weave his spells. Bishen Singh Bedi was the very same age, and I savour the thrill of enchantment at my very first sight of him twirling his softly supple southpaw slows alongside the gasometers that midsummer of 1971. The preening choc-caps of Surrey were on their way to another county championship but that day, against the Indian tourists, successively one by one their batsmen - Stewart, Younis, Roope, Storey, Intikhab, Long, Arnold - were dispatched to the hutch, shaking their heads in baffled embarrassment at the Sikh's placidly lethal cocktail of curve and loop and spin.

I could revel more in the bewitching spinmeister because, for the next five summers, I beat a path to watch his serenely captivating bowling for Northamptonshire. Is it something in the air at the matey old County Ground because it is also the home paddock of England's Monty of the moment - 24-year-old Mudhsuden Singh Panesar? Half close your eyes and in uncannily evocative outline, Monty could be resplendent ol' Bish wheeling away down there: two peas in a pod, two pearls in the same shell.
If Panesar has, of a sudden, so delighted English cricket, he has warmed, too, the proud community of some half a million fellow Sikhs in Britain. Panesar speaks of his pride in his roots and his faith. Like Bedi, he wears the ancient religious symbols, the metal bracelet and, in his patka, the lock of uncut hair bound in a tiny comb inlaid with a silver sword. "Some of our successful Sikhs in Britain, alas, see continuing with such accoutrements as a hindrance, but Panesar has been an inspiration," says Indarjit Singh, editor of the Sikh Messenger.
Historically, us Brits were led to believe that the Sikhs were big brawny fellows, square-shouldered, strong-armed and strong-willed for sport or battle. Despite a couple of mentor Bedi's recent star pupils - the lulling lefties Maninder Singh and Harbhajan ("The Turbanator") Singh - traditionally, we conjectured, Sikhs were not guileful in the arts and crafts of spin and made only sturdy pace bowlers or bold and bonny batsmen. I remember fondly, for instance, the strapping Sikh, Balwinder Sandhu, deceptively quick, who set in train India's day of days at Lord's in the 1983 World Cup final by at once clean-bowling Gordon Greenidge for next to nothing; and, of course, as a boy I read of how Amar Singh, in India's first ever Test match in 1932 at Lord's, dismissively swept away Sutcliffe, Ames, and Hammond - after which (in the days when quotes were quotes) the latter, England's champion Wally, ruefully pronounced: "He came off the pitch like the crack of doom." As for lusty Sikh batsmen, I recall vividly how Navjot Sidhu, bearded chin and kestrel's eye, took a fierce Test 100 at Madras off Graham Gooch's England on the 1992-93 tour.
A Sikh prince was almost founding father of Indian cricket, certainly its first regal patron. The Maharajah of Patiala was devoted to (in reverse order) wine, women and cricket. He organised the first tour of cricketing Indians (mostly Parsees) to England in 1911, and hired such luminaries as Wilfred Rhodes and George Hirst to spend winters coaching his Test player son, Yuvraj. Side by side with the rise of cricket, of course, was hockey. Phenomenally, India were Olympic hockey champions seven out of eight times between the Games of 1928 and 1964 (losing only in the 1960 final to Pakistan); those immortal sides, imperishably embedded in sporting lore, were peppered with no end of immortal Sikhs - Udham Singh won four successive golds, Balbir Singh scored nine of the team's 13 goals in the 1952 tournament, Randhir Singh Gentle scored a double hat-trick six in the 1956 final alone. Singhs of Praise, indeed.
I was 17 when I saw my first celebrated Sikh sportsman. The Daily Express called Milkha Singh "the Turbanned Tempest" when he spreadeagled the 440-yards field at the 1958 Empire Games in Cardiff. Wow, he went thataway! Two years later, Milkha was fourth, by a blink, at the Rome Olympics in the, still, best ever 400m final when every runner broke the 46-second barrier and the first two (Davis of the US and Kaufmann of Germany) obliterated the world record.
As a teenager, Milkha had lost his entire family in the horrors of partition but now, home a hero in Kashmir and to encourage Indian athletes, he offered the equivalent in rupees of £3,000 to anyone who could break his Olympic time of 45.73 secs. All of 38 years later, in 1998, a Sikh policeman Paramjeet Singh claimed to have beaten it by 0.03 of a second at a local meet. Sensing a timekeepers' plot, old Milkha flatly refused to pay up. Well, sporting Sikhs are sticklers for accuracy and shrewd with it. Two qualities which make for priceless spin bowlers.

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/columnists/story/0,,1844880,00.html

Singhs who have played test cricket up until today.......

turban warriors in test cricket world... in Ranjan's sikh and cricket

blog

http://ranjanwij.blogspot.com/2006/04/turban-warriors-in-test-cricket-world.html

My scientific contributions

2006-08-15T02:14:00.000-07:00

Listed below are some of my contributions to various public helath journals in Sri Lanka and abroad

Evaluation of the rubella immunization programme in the Polonnaruwa district. P.R. Wijesinghe and T.S. Wijesinghe -Journal of the Community Physicians of Sri Lanka
http://www.medinet.lk/journals/slccp/2000/evaluation.htm

Cervical cancer screening-Is DNA test for HPV the remedy
http://www.epid.gov.lk/pdf/VOL%2033%20NO%2022%20English.pdf

Good Pharmacy Practice in Sri Lanka
http://www.epid.gov.lk/pdf/VOL%2032%20NO%2043.pdf

An analysis of the pattern of detection of leprosy patients by institutions in the general health services in Sri Lanka after the integration of leprosy services into general health services.Wijesinghe PR, Settinayake S. Leprosy Review
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16411509&dopt=Abstract

Investigation of the meningitis outbreak; More questions than answers
http://www.epid.gov.lk/pdf/VOL%2032%20NO%2040.pdf

Changing epidemiological pattern of Malaria in Sri Lanka
http://www.epid.gov.lk/pdf/VOL%2032%20No%2030.pdf

Paradox of ethics - Rapid response to British Medical Journal
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/333/7569/621-c#142601

Obesity- Wake up call for developing world too-Rapid response to British Medical Journal
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/333/7569/640#142741

A sikh boy's love for the game

2006-08-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is what his captain A.Straus wrote in Telegraph

They say that first impressions count. When Monty Panesar walked through the door to the National Academy building in Loughborough, shortly before leaving for India last winter, I was not sure what to make of him.
I knew he could bowl, having played against him a few times, got out to him more than once, and spent endless hours listening to John Emburey praising to the rafters his pure action. What I did not know, however, was Monty Panesar the man.
There were a number of question-marks that had preceded his selection for the tour and I was eager to find out whether his batting and fielding would be strong enough to allow him to survive at the top level, and more importantly, whether a quiet, shy bloke like Monty would have the character to perform under the pressure that accompanies Test cricket.
As we convened in the gym for a pre-tour fitness challenge, it was announced that Monty and I would be partners. He would encourage and cajole me through the numerous strenuous exercises that we had to overcome, and then I would attempt to do the same for him.
I duly huffed and puffed my way to the finish, registering a decent time, with Monty trying as best he could to keep me going while my legs and arms turned to jelly.
Although Monty looked reasonably strong, I didn't really expect him to be much good in the fitness stakes and I prepared myself to offer every bit of motivational gobbledegook that I could think of to get him over the line.
He started off fast, too fast, I thought. Obviously the guy was keen to make an impression but he was overdoing it. "You have got a long way to go Monty, don't peak too soon," was my advice. He didn't reply. In fact his eyes had glazed over in concentration and my words were hardly registering.
If anything he picked up the pace and continued in a frenetic manner right up to the finish of the gruelling challenge, registering the second quickest time of the day, only fractionally slower than fitness freak Liam Plunkett's.
This was not a left-arm spinner in the Phil Tufnell mould. Watching him in the nets after the gym session, it was clear that he did need to improve his batting and fielding but it was also clear that he was not content to rely on his bowling to get in the team. He had a work ethic and a desire to improve.
Since that first training camp it seems as though the world had gone Monty crazy, and why not? His bowling, both on the first tour to India and this summer, has been right out of the top drawer. His natural bounce and pace make it hard for batsmen to come after him and his massive hands seem to be able to impart an unnatural amount of turn on the ball for a finger spinner. He has been a constant attacking threat and two five-wicket hauls in his first nine tests show that he has troubled some of the world's best players of spin.
The reason that he has turned into a cult figure, however, is not solely due to his bowling performances. A couple of fielding mishaps brought him to the attention of the English crowds at the start of the summer, but people have warmed to him because every time he goes out on the pitch, he looks like he is living his dream. A wicket brings him the same unadulterated joy that a little kid shows when he has just received the birthday present he has been waiting 12 months for.
A batsman plays and misses and Monty looks up to the heavens as if waiting for divine intervention to make his dream perfect. Even when he throws the ball in from the boundary, he studies its path back to the wicketkeeper with the absorption of someone who wants to remember every moment.
It has become abundantly clear that he is completely and utterly in love with the game. The fervour that he showed during the fitness challenge is more than matched by his practice routines. He will be on the ground earlier than anyone, getting Matthew Maynard to hit catches to him. He will then bowl through most of the net session, before staying out long after most of the guys are back in the comfort of the dressing room, working on his batting, learning new shots, and perfecting those he already has. He does this not because he is motivated by the pots of gold that a long international career can lead to, or a wish to be famous, but purely because he likes nothing more than the game of cricket.
Around the dressing room, it has taken a little while for him to overcome his natural shyness but as the weeks go on, we have come to see a thoughtful, humorous side to his personality. He is constantly trying to glean information from his team-mates. "What was it like to bat against him? Or "How do you look to play the spinning ball out of the rough?" Then he listens to the replies with a wide-eyed wonder.
There are going to be many tests for the England cricket team over the coming months and Monty will have to deal with harsh Australian crowds and attack-minded batsmen. It is not going to be easy for him to be successful in a land where even the likes of Muralitharan have struggled, but I believe his interest, dedication and, most of all, love for the game will eventually prevail.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2006/08/13/scstra13.xml

MS Pannessar - Monty the strangler by Simon Hughes in Telegraph

It was not the most salubrious location for Monty Panesar, English cricket's new pin-up, to meet his public: a bit of scrubland on a Luton council estate. But, as part of Npower's urban cricket initiative, that was exactly the point - to raise awareness about the game in blighted areas of England's towns and cities. And at least the star attraction didn't have to travel far. His parents' house was barely two miles away.

Positive spin: Monty Panesar
On a rough patch of grass the man now known as The Montster gently turned his arm over to an assortment of junior players, many from his old club, Luton Town. Most were of Asian origin and confessed to usually supporting India, "but not when Monty's bowling." It's obvious that his performances can have as much impact on the two million British-born Asians as Andrew Flintoff had on all those white middle-class kids this time last year.
Funny what a difference 12 months makes. In August 2005 it was Freddie this and Freddie that, and he couldn't even pop down his local Cash 'n' Carry without it becoming a major news item. It would still be a story now, but only because he'd made it that far without crutches. Back then, Panesar was watching the Ashes on telly while quietly plying his trade for Northamptonshire. He'd got in the county side in mid-season and was successful until he got his comeuppance against Australia in mid-August, taking one for 192 from 42 overs as Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke sought to rediscover some form before the fourth Test.
Fear not, this is a different Panesar from last year's model. Still with the same spinner's rudiments, the high arm, the swivelling body and the long, supple fingers, but a sharper, shrewder, more confident character to boot. One of his left-arm spinning predecessors for England, Phil Edmonds, used to depart the dressing room each day exclaiming "Oh well, I suppose I'm going to bowl immaculately again today." Panesar has done so, on a variety of surfaces from Nagpur to Nottingham, completely justifying Duncan Fletcher's assertion - once it was prised out of him - that he is the best finger spinner in the world.
Panesar, being as un-Edmonds as you could imagine, won't have it, of course. "It was a nice thing for Coach to say but there are other excellent finger spinners - Daniel Vettori, Harbhajan Singh - and they've taken 200 Test wickets. I've just started." And he played down his chances of emulating Flintoff as BBC Sports Personality of the Year. "It's flattering to be associated with such things. It would be one of my proudest moments, but there's a long way to go yet. I'm just concentrating on my bowling."
That's no understatement. Concentrating on his bowling is what he does. And on his batting and his fielding, too. Rarely has there been anyone before who practises as hard and as earnestly, every day, come fair or foul. He's industrious almost to a fault, whether it's additional batting practice, or to specifically work on his sweep stroke on the outfield against the fielding net, or to take an extra 20 of those awkward flat-driven catches which dip at the last moment, or to wheel away for 10 minutes each end on a practice wicket when everyone else has gone in. He's invariably glistening with perspiration when he returns to the dressing room before play. He must keep a few changes of patka in his kit bag.
Before this summer's Tests, Panesar took me to his old school, Stopsley High, on the other side of Luton. He hadn't been back for a few years and was warmly received by his old teachers who remembered him as a quiet, solid student and a fledgling left-arm fast bowler. But in his mid-teens he found he couldn't muster sufficient pace to be effective, "so I tried spin." Three years later he was playing for England Under-19s captained by Ian Bell and was filed as "one for the future."
Such a tag should be issued with a health warning. It's a guarantee of future anonymity for most. Panesar credits his development from that point to Rodney Marsh at the England Academy. "I used to think that to get batsmen out you had to bowl magic balls. But at the Academy Marsh helped me to realise that building pressure is the way. He taught me a lot, gave me cricket sense I suppose."
The philosophy has served him well. "I've improved as I've gone on this summer, learning not to be too aggressive but to bide my time. The responsibility of being one of only four bowlers has helped. I prepare myself for long spells - I know I'm going to have to bowl 20-25 overs a day, so I know I must be patient."
And the feature of his bowling - apart from his leaps of exultation at taking a wicket - has been his control. From the first over he bowled on Test debut in Nagpur (a maiden) to the last at Headingley (a wicket-maiden) he has manacled a succession of world-class batsmen to the crease and rendered most of them scoreless, never mind genuinely bowling many of them out (Tendulkar, Dravid, Yousuf, Younis and Inzamam for starters.) He yields an average of 2.5 runs an over, which is not only actually better than Shane Warne (2.64) nor vastly inferior to Muttiah Muralitharan (2.39), but is also a feat in itself amidst the helter skelter of Test match run rates.
MS Panesar: not so much The Montster as The Strangler

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2006/08/11/schugh11.xml

Monty and Saj, they ain't heard nothing yet

Kevin MitchellSunday August 13, 2006The Observer

Two days after his Headingley heroics, Monty Panesar was in the news again, lionised as British sport's 'poster-boy of multiculturalism' on a trip back to Luton to sell cricket to a mixed ethnic audience.
But the nation was looking elsewhere. Even as Monty charmed the kids of his home town, Thursday's bulletins were flooded with news of 24 suspects being arrested for allegedly plotting 'to commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale'. As some newspapers pointed out helpfully, they were 'all British Muslims'.

Monty is not a Muslim. He is the son of Punjabi Sikhs, but those drawn towards convenient stereotypes still see him as: funny-hanky-on-head, Asian kid, they're all the same. Despite that, he's had a wonderfully warm reception from the fans, even the notorious former Western Terrace at Headingley.
And there was a moment towards the end of England's second innings last weekend that went largely unnoticed, when Panesar batted with Sajid Mahmood, the Bolton-born son of Pakistani Muslims. It was a rare sight, not considered exceptional, though, and, in its quiet way, indicative of Britain's growing enlightenment about race and religion.
But later, when the tailenders turned to their day job of bowling, the crowd split into two distinct factions: there was hardly a spectator among the 16,000 who did not revel in Panesar's deeds. He seems incapable of making enemies. Mahmood, however, came in for some unsavoury stick from a group of Yorkshire-reared Pakistanis. Traitor, they called him, and reject.
The fast bowler simply cupped his ear in the direction of their jeers on his way to taking four wickets to help secure England's win over Pakistan. He was English, and proud of it. He even joked that it might have been his father, Shahid, who came to Britain as a 10-year-old in 1967, who started the chanting.
It soon could get heavy, though. Mahmood's blinding if sometimes wayward pace and Panesar's mesmeric spin will ensure both are on the plane to Australia in November, and there they will be plunged into an examination of their character considerably tougher than anything they have so far experienced.
Nasser Hussain was almost poetic in his description of Panesar the other day. 'He's had a lot of love,' he said, 'a lot of affection.' But Hussain, a tough and pragmatic individual who cared little about popularity during his distinguished career, suspects Monty will not be so loved Down Under. 'Fielding on the boundary at the MCG,' the former England captain added, 'that's going to be a different ball game.'
There is no escaping the fact that Panesar will be targeted. He is the new Phil Tufnell, who never failed to wind up the Australians. Panesar's problem is his niceness. If they perceive any weakness, they will pounce on him. Mahmood, big, fast and physical, looks as though he can take care of himself. He has a quick man's snarl, as he demonstrated at Headingley. But Panesar is only one dropped catch away from ridicule, on both sides of the boundary.
This is not an imagined fear. The West Indians have long complained that the Australians' sledging goes beyond accepted limits. Darren Lehmann infamously called a Sri Lanka player a 'black cunt' in Adelaide three years ago. Muttiah Muralitharan has been branded a chucking cheat there, and the opprobrium has not been restricted to the technical. The South Africans complained about racist remarks in the crowd last winter. I've heard it there myself when a friend, objecting to a late-afternoon diatribe against India in Melbourne, was greeted with a vicious, drunken 'Fuck off, nigger lover.'
Last week Dean Jones, the former Australia Test player now earning a living as a commentator, was sent home in disgrace from Sri Lanka for saying, 'The terrorist has got another wicket,' when the South African Hashim Amla, a devout Muslim, took a catch. Like Ron Atkinson here in 2004, his insipid defence was that he thought he was talking into a dead microphone. He apologised and yesterday the former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said Jones 'is not a racist' and 'must have made the remark in a lighthearted manner'. Which totally misses the point; if it was lighthearted it represents an insidious acceptance of racism.
The Australian author and former cricket writer Malcolm Knox created a storm in the wake of the Lehmann embarrassment. 'I was taken to task for "inventing" trouble where none existed,' he wrote. 'Yet I'd seen racism with my own eyes. On a tour to India, I heard two Australian cricketers call the locals "niggers". I saw Australian cricketers coming across Indians sleeping on a railway platform in Jamshedpur and nudging them awake with their feet to take a happy snap.'
He had spoken to Indian-Australians who supported India, not Australia, because they had been excluded from school and club teams. It was a mirror of Mahmood's experience at Headingley - with a crucial difference. 'While English sporting clubs struggle to harmonise different cultures,' Knox said, 'Australian clubs fix the problem by leaving non-whites out.'
Every right-thinking person will be disgusted if Panesar and Mahmood are racially abused, but one Australian player, in particular, will know what it feels like. Jason Gillespie, who is descended from the Kamilaroi people of northern North South Wales, is proud of his Aboriginal roots. He was puzzled why some English drunks two Ashes tours ago insisted on asking: 'Where's your caravan?'
Last summer, the 'Pikey' chants dimmed. There were a few idiots, but they were isolated. As Knox says, assimilation is far in advance in the UK.
It upsets fair-minded Australians to admit it, but racism is a lingering problem there. It has manifested itself in so many ugly incidents at cricket grounds recently that the International Cricket Council sent India's solicitor-general, Goolam Vahanvati, to investigate. He concluded that racial abuse by spectators on South Africa's tour last winter 'could not be explained away as being the result of drunken behaviour'. It was, he said, 'premeditated, coordinated and calculated to get under the players' skins'.
He added: 'There is a grave problem in Australia relating to crowd behaviour, particularly drunken spectators.'
The ICC will issue guidelines for the tour when they meet in October. Maybe the chants will start to fade. Maybe then the likes of Murali, Monty and Sajid will feel free to enjoy their cricket there, even on the boundary at the MCG.

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cricket/story/0,,1843757,00.html

Monty who? An unknown in PunjabBy Ashling O'Connor

WHILE some Pakistan cricket fans have labelled Sajid Mahmood a traitor for playing for another country, Monty Panesar’s emergence as a match-winner for England has been greeted with gracious indifference in his ancestral home of India.
The Luton-born Sikh, whose family hails from Punjab, is virtually unknown in the land of his forefathers, despite recent performances

More of a fuss has been made in his country of birth than his country of derivation of the fact he was the first Sikh to represent England. His story is more relevant to the emergence of a multicultural Britain than a country trying not to relate everything it does to its former colonial master.
The biggest cricket news of the past month in the industrial city of Ludhiana, about 200 miles northwest of India’s capital Delhi
where Panesar’s paternal grandparents still live, related to the arrest for opium possession of a former coach of the district cricket association.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,426-2307797,00.html

Figurehead? I'm just a Luton boyBy Matthew Syed

Our correspondent on Monty Panesar, a shy young man who would rather be called a spinner than a politician
TEN minutes into an interview with Monty Panesar yesterday, it occurred to me how patronising it is for us to expect sportsmen who just happen to be dark-skinned to articulate the merits of multiculturalism. How absurd it is for us to demand that a finger-spinning Sikh (or, for that matter, a pugilistic Muslim) hold forth on British race relations or the all-too-present threat of religious terrorism.
As I probed the poor lad on these non-cricket imponderables, his face slowly contorted into an expression of bemusement, as if he suspected that he had turned up to the wrong interview. “I don’t really think about stuff like that,” he said. “It all sounds a bit too deep for me. I just like to concentrate on cricket

But do you not, I persisted, feel any special responsibility as the first Sikh to make it into the British sporting spotlight? “I have not thought about that either,” he said. “All I am really focused on is getting things right on the pitch when I get selected for England.” The 24-year-old sounded like that kid in Jerry Maguire, who kept saying: “I just want to play football.”
This is not intended as a criticism of Panesar but of those of us, like myself, who indulge in this form of inverse racism. We would not expect Andrew Flintoff to express an opinion on, say, religious tolerance, so why do we demand it of Panesar? “I think that multiculturalism is, you know, OK,” he said (eventually) in desperation, hoping that it might steer the interview on to a question actually related to his sport.
“It’s good for Britain when people, you know, live in a multicultural situation.”
Panesar is an ordinary Luton boy who happens to tie both his hair and batsmen in knots. He is not an intellectual or, for that matter, particularly religious. He is simply passionate about cricket and understandably thrilled that his wicket- taking, kangaroo-jumping, catch-spilling antics have catapulted him into the national spotlight and made him the frontrunner for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
He has not, however, allowed the adulation to turn his head. “My popularity has probably gone up,” he said with characteristic understatement (he uses “probably” to qualify almost every answer). “But a lot of the interest in cricket is because of the Ashes. Things are on the up for me but they could easily go down again, so I try not to get ahead of myself. My friends do not think that the fame has changed me but they are impressed that I am actually playing for England.”
When I asked him the extent to which his religion has shaped his attitude towards his sport, I was again struck by the matter-of-factness of his reply. “It probably helps me with my cricket,” he said. “I keep my hair covered and go to the temple, but it is all pretty low-key. I do normal things like any other young person in this country. Cricket is the most important thing in my life — nothing has made me more happy than being selected for England.”
After half an hour he was sufficiently relaxed to indulge in a bit of banter and to start posing questions of his own. He asked what kind of music I was in to and giggled when I confided a secret admiration for ABBA and Level 42. “I’m into RnB,” he said. He went on to tell me that Penelope Cruz is the most attractive woman in the world (I snorted), that The Green Mile is the greatest film (I scoffed) and that Hilary Swank is the best actress (I nodded sagely).
Panesar, who was in Birmingham to present kit to a local cricket club as part of the Barclays Spaces for Sports scheme, was starting to look completely at ease. He put his feet up on an adjacent chair and gave a belly-laugh when I ridiculed his assertion that he had not yet started to think about his upcoming speech at the BBC awards night. “You will have to see on the television,” he said. “Assuming I win.”
Only when I asked him about his personal life did he clam up once again, betraying the fact that he is no longer someone who can talk without inhibition. “I don’t want to go there,” he said when I asked if he had a girlfriend. Not wanting to hurt my feelings, however, he continued rather charmingly (if naively): “I don’t mind telling you so long as you promise not to print it.”
I was left with the impression of a shy young man who will be misunderstood by anyone who thinks that dark skin and a patka are indicative of an informed opinion on the issues of race and religion. He has rightly been hailed as an icon of modern, multi-ethnic Britain. But does that give the British public the right to demand that he perceive himself as anything other than a Luton boy done good?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,426-2307789,00.html

The Panesar and Mahmood effect quick to take hold
By Stephen Brenkley
Published: 13 August 2006

Two contrasting images may endure from the final day of the Headingley Test of 2006. They reflect cricket, the society in which it is now played (wasn't it ever thus?) and demonstrate how far both have come and how far there is to go.
One was of Monty Panesar more or less completing his adoption as a national icon, a devout Sikh, the son of Hindi- speaking immigrants who has high-fived his way into hearts and minds. The other was less wholesome. It was of Sajid Mahmood, a Muslim, like Panesar the England-born son of Asian immigrants, being roundly abused as a traitor by Pakistan supporters in the crowd. If it was a small element, nobody should doubt the malevolence.
Both responded impeccably after their significant parts in victory. Panesar, whose rise has been as meteoric as any English cricketer, insisted amid a media scrum in his home town of Luton on Thursday that he was keeping his feet on the ground and that his faith helped him to be a more disciplined cricketer.
Mahmood said the abuse became personal from one section of the crowd. In keeping with his relaxed and relaxing nature, he also managed to make light of the taunts, suggesting jocularly that his dad, Shahid, might have instigated them. He was also asked by other Pakistan fans in the crowd to pose for photographs afterwards.
Rudra Singh has been uplifted by the overwhelming response to Panesar, and deeply disappointed by what happened to Mahmood. An immigrant from Lucknow who played one-day cricket for India, he has been a professional in the Lancashire leagues for 20 years and a cricket development officer for more than a decade. Singh has been at the sharp end.
"I was surprised Saj was given that abuse, and it shows it can still be very much part of the system, them and us," he said. "But I also know there has been so much change in the last five years: a merging of cultures, certainly as far as cricket is concerned. The way people every-where have related to Monty shows as much as anything that they care about the quality of the cricket."
Many cricketers of Asian stock have played for England. Only Nasser Hussain, the son of an Indian father and an English mother, had a durable career, and he virtually shunned his Indian background and religion. As he wrote in his autobiography, he only ever spoke a few words of his dad's native language, did not know whether it was Urdu or Hindi, and "religion just never featured in my life".
Panesar and Mahmood are different. Not only is their faith important to them, but they look to be around to stay, unlike recent Asian cricketers to have played for England such as Usman Afzaal, Aftab Habib and Owais Shah. This is a significant shift, because it means the England team will change probably forever. There is an opportunity here. It is a tall order for a mere sport, but cricket can help bridge divides.
Singh is convinced of its role. "Time is the key as in so many things," he said. "It started slowly. People from ethnic minorities were reluctant to take part in mainstream cricket clubs 20 years ago, the clubs sat back meanwhile and tended to take an attitude of 'look, we're not doing anything wrong, anybody can play'. But now there is much more real understanding. A lot of clubs depend on Asian youths to keep up their playing membership, but up here Asian families are coming out more into society, in this case cricket clubs."
Both Panesar and Mahmood resist the notion that they are role models, or that their presence in England's team can play some small part in helping society progress. Panesar said: "I just want to play cricket for England. I don't think of role models; I used to look up to Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart. If people are getting inspiration from what's happening that's good for cricket, but I just concentrate on cricket and not beyond. I don't focus on the role of Asians in British society."
Mahmood has been slightly more forthcoming on a delicate but relevant topic. "As a family we mixed pretty well with every-one. Religion is important and it's a big part of our family. As soon as I got into county cricket I wanted to play for England. I think some kids support Pakistan because their parents do. You follow your parents a lot, but that might change in the future."
Rudra Singh has tangible evidence. "As recently as six or seven years ago, when I wanted to create interest in the schools I would ask Wasim Akram or an ex-Pakistan player from one of the leagues. But now a Lancashire player is much bigger news. That has been a remarkable change."
Singh is still concerned about leagues and clubs who while supperficially open to all are not. "There are still some people who want to just run Asian cricket, but how can they survive? I can tell you that a bridge has been built and more traffic is going over it."
Singh fears another problem. "We're losing Asian youths to football more than anything else. I dread the day when we have the first [high-profile] Anglo-Asian Premiership footballer. That will be the testing time."
Two contrasting images may endure from the final day of the Headingley Test of 2006. They reflect cricket, the society in which it is now played (wasn't it ever thus?) and demonstrate how far both have come and how far there is to go.
One was of Monty Panesar more or less completing his adoption as a national icon, a devout Sikh, the son of Hindi- speaking immigrants who has high-fived his way into hearts and minds. The other was less wholesome. It was of Sajid Mahmood, a Muslim, like Panesar the England-born son of Asian immigrants, being roundly abused as a traitor by Pakistan supporters in the crowd. If it was a small element, nobody should doubt the malevolence.
Both responded impeccably after their significant parts in victory. Panesar, whose rise has been as meteoric as any English cricketer, insisted amid a media scrum in his home town of Luton on Thursday that he was keeping his feet on the ground and that his faith helped him to be a more disciplined cricketer.
Mahmood said the abuse became personal from one section of the crowd. In keeping with his relaxed and relaxing nature, he also managed to make light of the taunts, suggesting jocularly that his dad, Shahid, might have instigated them. He was also asked by other Pakistan fans in the crowd to pose for photographs afterwards.
Rudra Singh has been uplifted by the overwhelming response to Panesar, and deeply disappointed by what happened to Mahmood. An immigrant from Lucknow who played one-day cricket for India, he has been a professional in the Lancashire leagues for 20 years and a cricket development officer for more than a decade. Singh has been at the sharp end.
"I was surprised Saj was given that abuse, and it shows it can still be very much part of the system, them and us," he said. "But I also know there has been so much change in the last five years: a merging of cultures, certainly as far as cricket is concerned. The way people every-where have related to Monty shows as much as anything that they care about the quality of the cricket."
Many cricketers of Asian stock have played for England. Only Nasser Hussain, the son of an Indian father and an English mother, had a durable career, and he virtually shunned his Indian background and religion. As he wrote in his autobiography, he only ever spoke a few words of his dad's native language, did not know whether it was Urdu or Hindi, and "religion just never featured in my life".
Panesar and Mahmood are different. Not only is their faith important to them, but they look to be around to stay, unlike recent Asian cricketers to have played for England such as Usman Afzaal, Aftab Habib and Owais Shah. This is a significant shift, because it means the England team will change probably forever. There is an opportunity here. It is a tall order for a mere sport, but cricket can help bridge divides.
Singh is convinced of its role. "Time is the key as in so many things," he said. "It started slowly. People from ethnic minorities were reluctant to take part in mainstream cricket clubs 20 years ago, the clubs sat back meanwhile and tended to take an attitude of 'look, we're not doing anything wrong, anybody can play'. But now there is much more real understanding. A lot of clubs depend on Asian youths to keep up their playing membership, but up here Asian families are coming out more into society, in this case cricket clubs."
Both Panesar and Mahmood resist the notion that they are role models, or that their presence in England's team can play some small part in helping society progress. Panesar said: "I just want to play cricket for England. I don't think of role models; I used to look up to Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart. If people are getting inspiration from what's happening that's good for cricket, but I just concentrate on cricket and not beyond. I don't focus on the role of Asians in British society."
Mahmood has been slightly more forthcoming on a delicate but relevant topic. "As a family we mixed pretty well with every-one. Religion is important and it's a big part of our family. As soon as I got into county cricket I wanted to play for England. I think some kids support Pakistan because their parents do. You follow your parents a lot, but that might change in the future."
Rudra Singh has tangible evidence. "As recently as six or seven years ago, when I wanted to create interest in the schools I would ask Wasim Akram or an ex-Pakistan player from one of the leagues. But now a Lancashire player is much bigger news. That has been a remarkable change."
Singh is still concerned about leagues and clubs who while supperficially open to all are not. "There are still some people who want to just run Asian cricket, but how can they survive? I can tell you that a bridge has been built and more traffic is going over it."
Singh fears another problem. "We're losing Asian youths to football more than anything else. I dread the day when we have the first [high-profile] Anglo-Asian Premiership footballer. That will be the testing time."

http://sport.independent.co.uk/cricket/article1218838.ece

BEARDED WONDER

2006-08-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

Uniqueness of Monty is his attachment to the religion and stock he belongs to.Monty is a role model for desis living accross the globe struggling hard to understand the identity.Here is a man,British Asian of sikh faith giving hundred percent to the land where he was born . Questions of allegiance are irrelevant.He is 100% British.His returning to his roots for inspiration is phenomenal.

England's new spin-bowling hero Monty Panesar returned to his roots on Thursday and took a wicket with his first delivery.
The 24-year-old left-arm spinner was back in his hometown of Luton, 40 kilometres outside London, where he enjoyed a game with a group of young British Asians on a patch of grass in a housing estate better known for race riots than cricket.
The wickets were painted trash bins, the ball was a tennis ball with tape and the bats were bright red and made from plastic, courtesy of the visiting Urban Cricket Roadshow.
The tall, bearded Panesar, dressed in jeans and trainers, grinned back with the same pleasure he has shown in test matches against Younis Khan, the batsman he removed at Headingley this week with "the best ball I've bowled in test cricket."
"I always dreamt that I would one day play for England," Panesar, the first Sikh to play for England, told reporters. "But I never thought about popularity, or fame. I just didn't imagine it at all. I guess it is just destiny that it is going to be like this."
Panesar, who produced two successive match-winning performances against Pakistan in recent weeks, knows all about life in a tough place like the Marsh Farm estate.
He was brought up by his immigrant Indian father Paramjit, a local builder who specialises in fitting kitchens, in Wardown, a sprawl of suburbia rescued from anonymity by the quality of its cricket ground.
Panesar may follow a line of great names -- including Derek Underwood and Phil Edmonds -- as a classic spinner. But he is unique: a turban-wearing crowd-pleaser, who has worked to improve his fumbling fielding, a modest, almost bashful, man with whom all English cricket fans, but especially the Asian community, can identify.
"VERY SPECIAL"
As he spoke, surrounded by microphones, cameras and tape-recorders, he was prompted to recall his life 12 months ago as England were on their way to a first Ashes series success since 1987.
"Last year, I was just playing for Northamptonshire," he said. "But I was the same as everybody else about the Ashes series. I was so excited. I watched it on television and it was something that was obviously very special."
After taking 16 wickets to date in the series against Pakistan, Panesar is almost certain to be selected for England's defence of the Ashes in Australia.
"I'm not looking too far ahead," he said. "But I know, if selected, that it is going to be very good for my development."
His father arrived in Luton in the 1970s. A devout Sikh, he inspired Monty -- whose full name is Mudhsuden Singh Panesar -- to practise hard.
As a result, Monty won a sports scholarship from Stopsley High School in Luton to Bedford Modern, a fee-paying school with a sports pedigree. From Bedford, he won a place at Loughborough University where he studied computer sciences and continued playing cricket.
He began his career with Luton Indians and then progressed via Dunstable Town to play for Bedfordshire. At 19, he was given a winter place at the national cricket academy.
He moved to county cricket with Northamptonshire, but attributes his current success, in particular, to Australian Rodney Marsh who, during his academy days, taught Panesar the lessons that made him a test cricketer.
"MAGIC BALL"
"I used to think that the way to get someone out was to bowl a 'magic ball', but he made me realise that was wrong, that you needed to keep a tight line, control things, remain patient and use your cricket sense," said Panesar.
"He taught me a lot of cricket sense."
Marsh's down-to-earth approach has also helped the easy-going Panesar. His recent rise to fame has not affected his life, his family or his friends.
"I try to stay level-headed," he said. "Things have not changed a lot. My friends are the same with me and I am still the same old Monty at home.
"It is great to be recognised and it is good for cricket. But it is not something that has bothered me."
As a sporting graduate of Luton's Asian community, he is mindful of his responsibility as a role model.
"I am aware of it, but I am not the first Asian to play for England and I still look at others, like Nasser Hussain, as my role model," he said.
"After all, he was captain and he played 96 test matches. So, I've got a long way to go!"

http://www.supercricket.co.za/default.asp?id=187421&des=article&scat=supercricket/international

Monty and Saj, they ain't heard nothing yet by Kevin MitchellSunday August 13, 2006The Observer
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cricket/story/0,,1843757,00.html

More and More articles are based on Monty his popularity and his religion.This was one such article appeared in Times on line by Simon Barnes

Bearded wonder who searched for the hero inside himselfBy Simon Barnes, Chief Sports Writer

HUMANKIND has a gourmandising hunger for heroes. We seek them in every walk of life. The process of growing up is a procession of heroes: every adult leaves behind a trail of heroes, outworn, outgrown, fallen, half-forgotten, some embarrassing and concealed even from oneself, others admired and respected to this day.
Robin Hood, Odysseus, Ratty, Bagheera, Tonto, Emma Peel, Doctor Dolittle, Lawrence of Arabia, Hank Marvin, M. J. K. Smith, Champion the Wonder Horse, George Best, John Lennon, Bobby Charlton, Wesley Hall, Che Guevara, Ludwig van Beethoven, James Joyce, Modesty Blaise, David Attenborough, Reepicheep . . . just a few of my heroes from school-days. I could fill this page up entirely if I listed all the heroes of my life, and most of the next page as well.

Naturally, one’s relationship with a hero changes in maturity, from fervent worship and an attempt to comb one’s hair the same way to an acknowledgment of a hero’s fallibility and humanity — things which, with a grown-up’s perspective, add to rather than detract from heroic status.
One of the principal reasons for the viability of professional sport — that is to say, sport as something to watch, rather than something to do — is because sport is better than anything else in modern life at providing heroes.
Not role models. A hero is something quite different, a person whose virtues we revel in, whose failures pain us, a person we identify with without seriously trying to become. Wayne Rooney is not a role model. There has not been an epidemic of balls-stomping since the World Cup. No, he is a flawed, failed hero and his search for redemption will enthral over the course, if we are lucky, of the next four years.
But the failure of Rooney to become a hero basking in personal success this year has left a vacuum in national life. Our hunger for heroes abhors a vacuum and so, astonishingly and gloriously, we have the emergence of Monty Panesar as England’s hero of the summer.
His story is perhaps more remarkable than David Beckham’s. Beckham was the man burnt in saronged effigy who became a national hero. It is a story of re-acceptance. Panesar’s was a struggle for acceptance.
A Sikh playing for the England cricket team, with the Kesh or uncut hair, was always going to stand out from the rest. I saw him step into Test-match cricket this spring, in India, of all places, the place of his ancestors for all that he is Luton-bred. And at once, two things were apparent about him. He couldn’t field but he couldn’t half bowl.
The fielding thing seemed to me to stem not from a lack of self-confidence but from an overdose of self-consciousness. Playing for England in India behind a beard of genuine beauty is a hard thing to do and the situation seemed to provoke an attack of the yips. Symptoms included the most hapless dropped catch I have ever seen outside Tewin Irregulars.
But ask Panesar to bowl and all trace of embarrassment vanished. He was at once master of the situation and of his craft. It was an extraordinary contrast: in one moment, all thumbs and please don’t let the ball come to me, the next, facing the world’s greatest players of spin bowling, and it was all come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough. His first Test victim was Sachin Tendulkar.
But his early appearances back in England troubled me. Not because of Panesar but because of the crowds, who seemed determined to make him into a figure of fun. A clown. I found this painful, for I had already found some aspects of the hero in Panesar as I saw him in India.
This was not good-natured banter, it was mockery. And the mockers of this world love to destroy the things that are beyond their reach. His every touch was cheered not to encourage, but to sneer. Panesar played his first Test matches in England in front of boozy Englishmen willing him to fail.
He has risen above this most wonderfully. People came to the cricket wearing false beards and black scarves in mockery; they continued wearing them out of affection and growing admiration. The exoticism of the Sikh became something homely, something to inspire a little cheerful patriotism.
Panesar brought this about in a number of ways. His preference for a black scarf over the traditional patka with top-knot seemed an expression of a personal style rather than the adoption of a uniform. His batting was relieved of its comic-book status when he played a gorgeous slogging tailender’s knock against Sri Lanka, sweeping Muttiah Muralitharan for six in the process. His fielding lost its self-consciousness — he is far from unco-ordinated — and in the past match he held a very decent catch.
But the key to it all has been his primary skill. He has played a crucial role in the winning of the past two Test matches for England, one on a helpful pitch, the other on the least helpful pitch in the country for a spinner. He attacks with relish but he can also give a captain control of one end and thus of a match.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,426-2307795,00.html

Panesar spins his way from possible risk to key figure Mike SelveyThursday August 10, 2006The Guardian
Duncan Fletcher is not a man of extremes. For public consumption he praises conditionally and is loth to criticise; fences are for sitting on, the middle of the road for driving down. His music tastes might stretch to Abba, magnolia be his favourite colour. So, when he talks of Monty Panesar being the world's leading finger-spinner, he might have driven through Damascus on the way home from Headingley. As an unlikely expression of sentiment it is up there with Tony Blair apologising. The conversion from doubter to Monty maniac is almost complete.

Fletcher is a fellow who by habit will look on a glass as half-empty rather than half-full and, since Panesar's elevation to the England side last winter, it is the spinner's shortcomings with bat and in the field, rather than potential with the ball, that have occupied the coach's attention. A brilliant performance in spin bowling's equivalent of Death Valley this past week, attritional in the first innings, aggressive in the second, appears to have swayed the hangdog coach towards the view that he might just have a genius on his hands.
Panesar's six wickets, and the manner of their collection, put to shame the efforts of England spinners at Headingley over the past decade, where they have been as surplus to requirement as a copy of the Talmud would be to Mel Gibson. Since Panesar's debut in Nagpur (strictly on the back of the pre-Test injury to Simon Jones), Panesar has bowled immaculately in differing conditions, gaining Fletcher's approval only grudgingly and always with the same codicil.
Now he has played a significant part in winning successive Test matches and finally Fletcher has loosened his stays and said that Panesar is special. Fletcher praised Panesar's control - a quality he likes. So does a captain, Andrew Strauss more than most at the moment. In the one-day series where his leadership first came under scrutiny the side were mauled by Sri Lanka and there was little he could do about it. At Lord's, too, where he made his debut as Test captain, Strauss was hamstrung by uncertainty in his position. But Panesar's reliability gave him a banker at one end.
Since then Panesar has gone from strength to strength, almost exponentially, until at Headingley he gave an all-round performance of stunning versatility: almost 50 overs in the first innings on a flat pitch at only slightly more than two an over, many of them sent down during Pakistan's record stand against England and involving Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, two of the top-four rated players in the world, and a more predatory effort when where there was some help in the second.
Panesar's place on the Ashes tour, if ever it was in doubt, has been assured. Far from being a risk, he is becoming a key figure. Fletcher saying that there is no better finger spinner at the moment in world cricket is high praise but faint with it. To be rated as such by a former sceptic is an achievement in itself.
The competition, though, it has to be said, is sparse. Daniel Vettori of New Zealand, remarkably only three years Panesar's senior has long had claim to being the best left-armer but a long-term back condition has reduced his effectiveness. South Africa's Nicky Boje is worthy but not in the same class. Ashley Giles has been on crutches. Sanath Jayasuriya a part-timer. There are no others of extended credibility in international cricket. Nor for that matter are there high-quality offspinners beyond Muttiah Muralitharan, a freak and so much more than just a finger spinner anyway, and Harbhajan Singh, who was outbowled by Panesar in India earlier this year. Monty is like a jar of caviar in Mother Hubbard's larder.
If, after the final Test next week, Panesar must gather his thoughts for the challenge in Australia, then he will do so knowing that Fletcher is still not sure about how to force a quart into a pint pot and come up with a side which balances like Blondin on a tightrope.
Success in the past two Tests has shown not only that England can win Tests with a four-man attack but also that they can do so without Andrew Flintoff. Fletcher, though, believes that for the most part -the exception might be Perth - England will need five front-line bowlers, with the consequent decision as to which of his batsmen would miss out.
"We need to find a five-man attack," he said. "That's the key to it. If we go in too often with a four-pronged attack we need a further bowler who can bowl a little bit quicker than, say, Paul Collingwood. If we get on another wicket like Lord's, that's a little bit flatter, we struggle with four bowlers."
So despite everything the implication is that Panesar might not play. In this, though, there is a crucial factor: England hold the Ashes and do not need to win. A draw on a flat pitch would serve well. Besides which, the inclusion of only four bowlers is a strategy that has served Australia well for years and, if Shane Warne has been the difference, it is not trite to say that Panesar is capable of filling that same role.
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/columnists/story/0,,1841137,00.html

Greatness of Hasim Amla and what he offered to Dean Jones for labelling him as a TERRORIST as a true , devout Muslim

"As a Muslim I have been taught to forgive people for their faults, and I certainly forgive the guy for his utterances," Amla said. "What's happened has happened."

WHERE SHOULD A PERSON'S ALLEGIANCE BE

2006-08-09T23:06:00.000-07:00

At last comes the long awaited approval.As reported in the Cricinfo, England coach, Duncan Fletcher who was not sure about the ticket for Monty to travel to Australia finally declared that the British sikh was the best finger spinner in the world. It took a colodsal amount of hard work, sweat and blood for Monty to have his approval that would have been granted to a less talented Zimbabwian little too easily.It is really pleasing to know that Fletchers doesnot want Monty to be a batsman of the calibre of David Gower to be considered to be eligible to join the ashes prey.

The other surprise was the acceptance of Monty and Sajid Mahamood as fully integrated coloured cricketers into the UK society by Norman Tebbit who raised eyebrows some time ago saying that it was the duty of the emigrants to support the country of residence.Whatever the criticism thrown at him, this should be the reality.If one finds solace in living in another country other than his land of birth, it is the duty of the person serve the interests of his adopted country.In this respect, it was very sad that Sajid Mahamood was heckled by the Pakistani supporters naming him a reject and a traitor.One has to understand the fact that Sajid was a British of Pakistani heritage and his allegiance should be to the UK. Fortuntely, Indian supporters do not seem to have been affected by this syndrome.Had they been so too short sighted, Indo carribeans like Kalicharan, Chanders, Sarwan, Kanhai , or Patel duo of New Zealand, Nazzer Hussain or Monty of England, Muralidharan of Sri Lanka, half of the Kenyans, would never have played in India. Quite opposite to what was seen in England, Indians and Punjabis in particular supported Monty in hiss return to the land of his forefathers.It would have given him extra strength to go forward as Indis was the land where he was baptised to cricket.

Narrow thinking always obscures the clarity of the vision of a person,

http://content-nz.cricinfo.com/engvpak/content/current/story/256084.html

"Monty, sports personality of the year" cricinfo

http://blogs.cricinfo.com/surfer/archives/2006/08/monty_sports_pe.php

Mike Selvy on Pannesar

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/columnists/story/0,,1841137,00.html

Monty Best in the world: Fletcher

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/englandpakistan2006/story/0,,1840633,00.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2006/08/10/scbrig10.xml

Derek Pringle on Monty in his column in Telegraph

"Ashes but no sackclothBy Derek Pringle "

Panesar has been a revelation, and while Flintoff recuperates the spinning Sikh has become, if not England's best bowler, then certainly their most dependable. Even coach Duncan Fletcher, so cautious in his praise of the spinner last week, has realised it, admitting as much when he said that Monty was probably the best finger spinner in the world.
His rise, as strike bowler when conditions assist and pressure-builder when they don't, has made a four-man attack a real possibility in Australia, though not one likely to be favoured by Fletcher, who probably sees it placing too much of a burden on Flintoff.
Whatever the plans, and they will be sketches at present, one of them should be to give Panesar a Kookaburra ball to use in all practices from now on. He needs to get used to the different feel, and it is significant, for when he comes to bowl with it Down Under.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2006/08/10/scprin10.xml

New England retain tight grip after Panesar turns the screwBy Christopher Martin-Jenkins, Chief Cricket Correspondent of Times

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,426-2304690,00.html

Panesar heralds new generation to put England in the mood for Ashes writes Angus Fraseer in Times

The pair of British-born Asians shared seven wickets as Pakistan were dismissed for 155 on the final day of the third Test, a performance that gave England an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

MONTY PANESAR
It was always going to take a great ball or a piece of good fortune to dismiss Younis Khan and Panesar produced the former. Pitching on the line of middle and off-stump and clipping the bails on the top of off-stump, it was a jaffa

http://sport.independent.co.uk/cricket/article1217782.ece

This is a thought provoking article from Times
England happy to home in on an Asian revolutionBy Patrick Kidd

Our correspondent observes a growing trend in the national side
A GAGGLE of schoolchildren were watching the under-19 Test match between India and England at Taunton last week and one asked, as the home captain brought on his leg spinner, why there were two Indians playing for England. If he had heard the Essex accent of the former and the clear Yorkshireness of the latter, there would have been no confusion.
When the day ended with Varun Chopra on 95 not out, Adil Rashid having taken eight wickets earlier, someone remarked that “our Indians are better than their Indians”. In fact, Rashid’s father came to Britain from Pakistan, not India, but he has bred a young cricketer who is as Yorkshire as Fred Trueman and being talked up, at the age of 18, as a future England leg spinner who can bat in the top six.

English cricket has many children from Asian families who are capable not only of winning matches but also the hearts of England fans. Monty Panesar and Sajid Mahmood are the heroes of the hour after taking seven second-innings wickets between them in England’s win at Headingley Carnegie on Tuesday. Mahmood should view taunts of “traitor” from some Pakistan supporters as a sign of a job well done.
Similar jibes also had a galvanising effect on Kevin Pietersen when he returned to the land of his birth the winter before last and walloped South Africa’s bowlers.
Panesar, the first Sikh to play for England, has become a cult figure in just nine Test matches, but the crowd’s affection for him has changed as they get to know him. What was once amusement at his clownlike fielding has turned to respect for his match-winning bowling and for his determination to improve his whole game. He is Phil Tufnell with a work ethic.
Several other county players with an Asian background have a good chance of being picked for England. Owais Shah and Vikram Solanki have already had a taste of international cricket and may yet be recalled to the national one-day side while Usman Afzaal had the misfortune to make his Test debut against the 2001 Australia side. The Ali family from Birmingham are doing their fair share of producing potential England players.
Kabir, 25, has played one Test and 14 one-day internationals; Moeen, his cousin, was the captain of England Under-19 during the winter and is a bright batting prospect; while Kadeer, 23, Moeen’s older brother, was a very fine England youth player.
It was at Northampton in 2002 that Kadeer shared a record partnership of 256 with Bilal Shafayat in the under-19 Test against India. In a particularly good vintage, the England team that summer also included Samit Patel and Nadeem Malik, who are beginning to establish themselves at Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire. Of the four, Shafayat is the most likely to make it into the full England side, but his batting has been disappointing this season.
England had a few Asian cricketers when there was no India Test side — Ranjitsinhji, Duleepsinhji and the Nawab of Pataudi — but the start of the new wave began in 1990 when a moody but talented batsman who was born in Madras but went to Forest School in Essex was picked for his first Test. He would captain England nine years later.
Following in the bootprints of Nasser Hussain at Essex is a string of potential future England players. Ravi Bopara, an England A player this summer, is not shy about promoting his ability, but while his medium-pace bowling has become more effective this season, he has not scored as many runs as expected. Chopra made a hundred on his first-team debut this season and has scored 686 runs in six under-19 Test matches, while Jahid Ahmed, a 20-year-old fastmedium bowler, took four wickets against Sri Lanka in June.
Chopra is a likeable young man, who bats in a similar fashion to Graham Gooch, his coach at Essex, but though he lists Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar as his heroes there is no questioning his loyalties. As he said yesterday: “I’ve always wanted to play for England since my dad taught me the game at the age of 6. I don’t want to be thought of as a good Asian batsman, but a good English one.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,426-2306145,00.html

It was really sad to hear Hashim Amla being called TERRORIST by Dean Jones even if it was not meant to be picked up by the microphone. Perhaps religious homogenity in the Aussie team up to now must have been the reason for such a comment by a person no less than Dean.However, what must be borne in mind is the fact that Australia is no longer an anglo saxon monopoly.With the deviation from the white only policy, a huge number of coloured people belonging to various religious faiths are toilling hard in Aussie for the goodness of the great land mass called Australia. Racist attitudes of a minority is really a shame for a great nation which aspires to be a regional leader in Asia Pacific.It was not long ago Sri Lankans, South Afrikans and Hindu West Indians were at the recieving end on the field.It was sad to see Sarwan and Mcgrath brawl. I am not a person against sledging and sledging is essential to test the mental strength of a player.Who else is more competent than my super hero Steve Waugh in this field.But touching somebody's religious convictions is too much and it is a majestic gesture that Dean made a full appology to Hashim.Hashim is a part of history for us who treasure indianess in us as he was the first player of Indian heritage to play for Proteas.

I recently had the opportunity to visit the aboriginal gallery of WA musium in Perth and was able to feel the agony of the aboriginal children of the lost generation. It was an attempt for forcible integration of fair looking native australians to the Anglo Saxon culture.Those who believe in religious homogenity should learn lessons from the history like the story of loss generation.

Read Aussie rejection of Dean's racial comments in Sydney morning herald

http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/jones-drops-us-down-the-order/2006/08/08/1154802888344.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Leave monty alone says Marks

2006-08-08T01:16:00.000-07:00

Though my blog is meant for sikh dharma and sikhs in cricket, it is not purposefully that my thoughts are concentrated on Panessar.The current strugle of Monty for proving a couple of point is common to all of us who have lived or lives in western countries. It is essentially a strugle for proving your worth and capabilities to a crowd which is bent on proving otherwise. I have undergone the same agony in the field of science. However, there was a plus point that we sikhs have.That is the religious values, philosophy, doctrine, way of life that were inculcated in us by our gurus. Those same qualities have proved to be the success of Monty.As I reported in an early note, in his formative years of cricket, Monty sought the wisdom of a sikh scholar in Edmonton, Canada.He returned to England with new , awakened energy.His rising to stardom was phenomenal.Today, when every eyes on him some with suspicion, he has been able to work hard in his choosen field.

There are very few cricketers who expresss being religious and attribute their success to religion. I am not refering to the blessing of a god. But the hard work of concentration based on religious principles. Shivnarine Chanderpaul once explained the success behind his phenomenal concentration ability.It was the recital of mantras in the field to keep the mind focussed on one place.He was trained by a pandit ji in Guyana. Being a religious hindu who treasures the value of his religion Chanders managed to apply the positives of meditation in his craft.As reported by Simon Wilde after an interview with Monty,(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2094-2300484,00.html ) the sensational sikh spinner will be in Canada after the current season to meet the sikh scholar in Edmonton. This humble silkh who is a lesson to all who aspire to reach the stardom has kept sikh traditions alive. As Wilde reported, he would be mixing cements in Canada to build a Gurudwara, the abode of god as a KAR SEWA required of a sikh, harvesting and being with friends away from cricket.This reflects another side of the eastern upbringing.Many Asians fear the loss of culture among their off springs brought up in western socities.But, Monty has been a successful model of integration and remaining who I am in my roots.It was not too long ago this man refused a beer to celebrate the victory in the England dressing room . As his friends say "Man is a vegetarian with untrimmed beard and unshorn hair", essential features of a devout sikh. These qualities inculcated in him might have helped him to be away from the glamour. If he will be successful to keep the balance, we will be lucky to see the best spinner ever produced by England.

The scheduled forthcoming series against Sri Lanka will hopefully provide the opprtunity write more about Harbhajan who has been off the shine in recent times. Turbanator number one will be in action soon in the tri series in Colombo against hosts and proteas

Returning to Monty,Monty has been able to turn the tables upside down.People look forwrad to him now as a matchwinner. Mighty Pakistanis majority of whom are ethnic Punjabis will find the vicious spin by yet another Punjabi born and raised in UK palatable or not.

"Cometh the hour, cometh the Monty" writes Simon Brigs on this new ray of hope in England cricket

"Monty Panesar, the people's champion, has the chance to prove his mettle today. England have a full day to bowl out Pakistan and settle this series with a game to go. On a wearing pitch, the man in the black patka could hold the key" Read more on this Daily Telegraph article

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2006/08/08/scfron08.xml

Come what may be the impression of pessimists, England standing captain STRAUS keeps faith on Monty Pannessar's ability.

“Things are teed up for a pretty good game of cricket,” Strauss, the captain, said. “We’re hopeful because the wicket has misbehaved a bit with the new ball and it’s only going to deteriorate further. It’s important that we expose their middle order early and if Monty [Panesar] bowls as he did in the first innings, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t pick up three or four wickets. I think I’d put us as favourites.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,426-2303045,00.html

Finally, the right advice comes in relation to Monty affairs from the former England off spinner, Vic Marks in the form of " LEAVE MONTY ALONE SO HE CAN PROVE HIMSELF".

He says that he is not going to write on Patka man unless he scores a fifty,takes 5 wickets or pulls off a catch and requests his collegues to do the same.This is how Marks agree with my previous comment on Fletchers attitudes on this great bloke for the sikh diaspora

"Opinion is divided about Panesar. Duncan Fletcher remains remarkably curmudgeonly about him, eager, it seems, to focus on his limitations, pointing out how one-dimensional he is. Everyone else in the world loves him."

Marks goes on to describe how Fletcher is haplessly trying to stem the tide of adoration, deals with his limitations and endears his attempts at working hard on them.He further stresses that Monty seems to be a man of senses and well balance.He concludes that he is the best finger spinner that the country has right now.No more and no less.So his request is to leave him alone.

Read Marks comments on Monty

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/columnists/theobserver/story/0,,1838170,00.html

Biggest compliment from Shane the warrior Warne

Monty can prove a wizard in OzBy Shane Warne
IF I was an England supporter — which I’m not — I would be getting very excited about Monty Panesar. He has a real chance of being successful in international cricket, and by that I mean consistently over a long period, not just in the odd game here and there. To me, he is the new Monty Python: something completely different.
Three things strike me straight away. Firstly, he has that bit of spunk about him. Secondly, he loves bowling. He will need that when he has to bowl long spells on flat pitches. And thirdly, he is very astute at reading a situation. He has good control and when conditions suit, that allows him to bowl faster and still spin the ball.

As a spin bowler you beat the batsman in flight. You have to try to deceive him into getting into the wrong position so the spin can take effect. As a rule, you will not beat Test players off the pitch. They are good enough to work out where the ball is going to land and negate the turn, however many revolutions you put on it.
I always love to see a young spinner making an impression. I think of Monty as another member of our union. He bowled really well to get those eight Pakistan wickets at Old Trafford, my happiest hunting ground in four Ashes series in England. But Headingley Carnegie will be a different test for him in more ways than one.
Over the years, spinners have not done so well at the ground. Conditions tend to favour the seam bowlers. That is why you hear the description of “Headingley specialist”. Having said that, when Hampshire played there earlier in the season the pitch was drier than usual. We managed to score 404 for five to win on the last day.
Pakistan have also had a good look at him and knowing Bob Woolmer he will have hatched a plan (if not two or three). I wouldn’t be surprised if Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf try to get after him. They like to play aggressively. So far nobody has really taken on Monty and it will be a good test of his character to see how he responds.
In the longer term, the selectors have a difficult decision when Ashley Giles is fit. I know I’ve said before that Ashley is a bit negative for my liking at times. I’d love him to go more around the wicket. But he has done well in a different, more defensive role, and you have to look at the whole package he brings to the team.
Think back to the deciding Ashes Test at the Oval last year. Obviously Kevin Pietersen played well, but if Giles hadn’t stayed with him to score 59, I think we could have taken the last couple of wickets, kept down the lead to around 200 and had time to win the game. Ashley took the game from us and you cannot brush over that.
So what about the Ashes series this winter? In Adelaide and Sydney I think England will need to go with two spinners. Panesar and Giles could play together because they are not too similar, but the selectors may want somebody who spins it the other way, such as Shaun Udal or Jamie Dalrymple, who made quite a good start in the one-day games against Sri Lanka earlier this summer, or one of the young leg spinners who are starting to come through.
Australia will be an eye-opener for Monty. Our batsmen are naturally positive and they will try to take him on. As for the crowds, they could go either way. There are always one or two opposition players they take to. On the other hand they always pick out another one or two for mickey-taking, and Monty’s batting and fielding make him a candidate.
Phil Tufnell is a classic example of what can happen. He couldn’t really field and the cheers would start every time the ball went in his direction. Things got worse and worse because the pressure got to him and he kept on misfielding and dropping catches. It affected his bowling, which kept getting smashed around the park.
I can understand why people want to enjoy Monty for what he is and encourage his spin bowling. That’s fine, but in international cricket these days you have to be at least competent in all areas. Even if you can’t take blinding catches in the slips you must be able to stop the ball, hold the bread and butter chances and throw hard.
On the batting front at the very least you have to make the bowler get you out. Nobody will expect Monty to become the next Ricky Ponting, but if he gets a tight defence he can hang around while somebody plays shots at the other end. I’m sure that will come as long as he keeps working hard.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,426-2298556,00.html

Other links on Monty:

Yorkshire upset as the Asian invasion fails to materialise

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,426-2299623,00.html

Fit or not, Monty has key role in Ashes psychological war

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/englandpakistan2006/story/0,,1834761,00.html

Panesar barges his way on to centre stage

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/sport/story/0,,1833392,00.html

'One of the best days of my life', says spin hero

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml;jsessionid=1LSUOXSQXQNAZQFIQMFCFFOAVCBQYIV0?xml=/sport/2006/07/30/scfron30.xml

SIKH sense will pay dividends

2006-08-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

Every sikh who brings joy and reputation to his communty and the country whatever it may be is really a joy. It is a form of sewa a true sikh is entotled to perform. Especially at a time when sikhs are mistaken for muslims and hatread attacks increase, the comming of sikhs as role models and international celebrities will be of paramount importance. It helps us spread the word that we are different religious community and we are sikhs. Currently, Panessar is becoming a national icon in UK. It is a huge relief for not only sikhs but for people of subcontinental origin . It was not too long ago fans with fake beards and stockings as PATKA tried to resemble to him.Read this article which appeared in UK times on SIKH SENSE

Sikh sense will pay dividendsBy Kevin Eason

Bowler’s marketability has no boundaries

CRICKETERS rarely make the cover of a men’s magazine but the stampede to become part of the Monty Panesar phenomenon is gathering momentum. From struggling to make £30,000-a-year with one of England’s poorest county clubs, Panesar could become one of the sport’s highest earners through sponsorship and endorsements.
England’s first Sikh cricketer has a profile that sponsors and marketing companies crave: young, charismatic, successful — and Asian. The lad from Luton, whose family hail from the Punjab, can provide the inspiration for a generation of Asians who might believe that they are excluded from British sport. Panesar has proved that does not have to be the case, which has set the phones ringing at athletes1, his management company. The first was from Esquire magazine, whose frontcover fodder is usually blonde supermodels and footballers, not a shy Sikh cricketer who doesn’t get drunk in nightclubs, is universally liked and seems never to have a bad word for anyone ( May be a good example for some young sikhs in Punjab who are shy to be sikhs ).

But Panesar is different, which is why he is on the brink of a breakthrough. Eddie Tolchard, athlete1’s cricket manager, said last night: “You can understand why people want to be associated with Monty. He is a cult figure and the crowds love him. He clearly has a unique selling point in that he is Asian and appeals to a huge market across Britain that is so far unexplored.”

Given a regular place in the England side, Panesar could find that his earnings potential has no boundaries. Apart from lucrative endorsements, personal appearances that could pay as much as £10,000 a time and sponsor income, such as free cars and watches, Panesar is likely to be sought to promote inter-racial harmony.

Discrimination against Monty ????

2006-07-31T17:56:00.000-07:00

After having questioned the usefulness of Monty Pannessar, Fletcher seems to stay cool after like a true sikh Monty forced them to eat their own words. As I pointed out in the previous posts, a big question mark arises as to if the Native Brits are stiil sceptical about the allegiance of the off springs of Non Britain born individuals.The best clue to such a question is the article on Sajid Mahamood.Before coming to that , let me reproduce the article from CRICINFO on Fletcher satying cool on Monty.

Bob Woolmer says left-armer is the 'bee's knees'
Fletcher stays cool over Panesar
Cricinfo staff
July 31, 2006

The Sunday Telegraph

While the British media could hardly contain their praise of Monty Panesar in the aftermath of the Old Trafford Test, it fell to Duncan Fletcher, England's coach, to pour cold water on the celebrations.
"Monty bowled very well, no doubt about it," Fletcher told reporters. "The wicket really suited the spinner and quite often you get on a wicket like that and try too hard. He bowled a good line and length and spun the ball on occasions a great deal." (With appologies to the cricinfo writers, I make my comments where it is necessary in the content of their article.Have a look at how Fletcher belittles this man's effort. He seems to be giving the idea that Monty excelled because the wicket really suited spinners. Just like a tailor made spin track in the land of Monty's forefathers)
But he then made it clear that Ashley Giles, who has not bowled a ball in anger all summer, was not out of the Ashes reckoning. "Let's have a look at Monty when he bowls on other wickets and let's make a decision when Gilo is ready,"( Still, Fletcher seems to be unconvinced or is his liking for Anglo saxon blood come to the surface.In another article in British press , It was highlighted even if Gilo will be ready, still Monty should tarvel to Down under. How much this man needs to prove his ability.It is no wonder Murali is still not given the due credit after having passed 600 test scalps plus a combined harvest of 1000 scalps in test and ODIs) Fletcher said. "It was a good wicket for Monty to bowl on and he bowled damned well ( Isn't this rubbish also?).
"But what wickets are we going to play on? Would we need Monty on a green top? We have to look at the balance of the side and it's very important that we look at Monty on wickets that don't help him as much as it did today." ( Let him have this chance and I am too confident that he will prove beyond doubt. This is what is instilled in Khalsa soliders by its founder Gobind Singh gurun ji. By the way, Monty has sought the support of Sikh elder who has showed him the way of success through sheer concentration. Traditional sikh ways of life make a person tough and adjustable to any condition. This is the secret of sikhism surviving all onslaughts. The other cricketer who uses similar religious approach to batting is former Windies captain, Chanderpaul)
"I think Monty is a very good bowler, but we have to produce 11 players who can produce two of the departments efficiently, whoever is playing for England," said Fletcher. "I still have slight reservations about his batting and his fielding, but he's an outstanding bowler and doing a job for us because there's no-one else at the moment who can fulfill that role ( Again Fletcher's words reflect his dis containment with Monty.It raises the question as to if he is being used as no suitable option is available?). He needs to work hard at it because if you work hard at your fielding you can really improve that a great deal. It's not easy to turn you into a No.6 batter, but I just think you need to work at those two areas."( That is absolutely correct.He may not be a Lara.But still some contribution is useful tahn nothing . Definitely Monty has to improve his fielding) Giles, capable of taking some sharp catches in the gully, had developed into a handy lower-order batsman with an average just over 20.

Fletcher's remarks were in direct contrast to those of Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach and a former England allrounder.( He may be having a broader view of players having worked with PAKS and Proteas.He transformed Proteas to be a superside.Perhaps fletcher is got to listen to him) "I thought Panesar's performance was terrific," he enthused on Saturday. "He has loop, in-dip, spins the ball, beats people on both sides of the bat without actually having the doosra.
"He is a very fine prospect. If he bowls like this, he could do well in Australia, too, because the wickets are more bouncy there. He's the proper article, the bee's knees."
Woolmer also dismissed claims that Panesar was something of a figure of fun.(I wonder if British media is trying to make fun out of him as they were the ones who first created funny side of Monty.This was picked up by Aussie Media who thought Monty will be an ideal target for them in Ashes. As I wrote in a previous entry, hurt sikh may be really dangerous like a wounded Bengali tiger.consequences may be dangerous for aussies and good for England.Beacues of the approach of British press , Monty is improving at a rpaid pace.This is because his pride is at stake and Mnty the lion is rising like a true sikh)"The crowd might think he's a bit of a joke but we don't think of him like that. What the crowd should do is take him seriously because he's right up there with the classic English spinners. People laughed at his fielding but that looks like it has improved."
Meanwhile Giles, speaking on BBC Radio's Sportsweek programme, admitted he had a fight on his hands. "Monty is the man in possession and I have to get my place back - that's the danger if you do get injured. My recovery is going OK, it is just frustrating. I cannot bowl and cannot run but the rehab is going well. It is going to be another four or five weeks until we reach that point." Giles also paid a generous tribute to Panesar, saying: "Monty is a brilliant technician and works extremely hard. He is able to land the ball in good areas and put batsmen under pressure."
© Cricinfo
I wonder if Britain still is reluctant to accpet contributions of South Asians.Though officially, racism is banned, is there a hidden racisim in top spots against South Asians? I do not know as I am not a Britt.More I read simialr things in British media, more I am convinced that there is such a phenomenon.I may be wrong but still I am sceptical.
There have been many articles which appreciated Monty's contribution as opposed to Fletcher's views
This is what other reputed cricketers in the British press had to say on say on monty's remarkable performances
Derek Pringle on 02.08.2006 in his Telegraph column
Monty Panesar's stirring performance against Pakistan at Old Trafford will have been a fillip for spinners all over Britain. A dwindling breed, mainly due to loss of habitat, they need all the help they can get if they are not to go the way of the Cat's Cradle and spiky rubber batting gloves.
At least that is the view of those with vested interests, like the England and Wales Cricket Board and their recently appointed spin-bowling coach, David Parsons. An off-spinner from the Birmingham League, Parsons has decided to give talented young spinners a helping hand by staging a two-day match on a worn pitch, and they will be the only bowlers present.
As an innovative idea it has a certain curiosity value, though one that smacks of artifice. Spinners need to find ways of surviving on a level playing field with other bowlers, not one tailored to make them look good. After all, England coach Duncan Fletcher said he could not decide if Panesar or Ashley Giles was his number one until he had seen Panesar bowl more on pitches that didn't help him, as opposed to ones like Old Trafford that did.
Panesar roughs up the pecking order
By Derek Pringle
(Filed: 31/07/2006)
A test-match victory against a team as talented as Pakistan, especially one as crushing as that at Old Trafford, is always to be celebrated. But when a young English spinner plays such a prominent role in the win, as Monty Panesar surely did, it should be shouted from every rooftop, something England coach Duncan Fletcher appears reticent to do.
Panesar took eight for 93 in his team's comprehensive pummelling of Pakistan by an innings and 120 runs in the second Npower Test. If he was the greater beneficiary of the deadly symbiosis between himself and fast bowler Stephen Harmison, with whom he shared all but one of the 20 opposition wickets to fall, it was not by much - not when the other bowlers in the match, on both sides, managed to take just nine wickets for 593 runs between them.
On a hard, cracked pitch, he spun the ball sharply enough on Saturday to dominate then dismiss three batsmen in the top 10 of the world rankings - Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan. When that happens you would think the coach would sing Ode to Joy afterwards rather than Ode to Billy Joe.
"Monty bowled very, very well, there's no doubt about it," said Fletcher, suggesting that somebody somewhere did have some doubt. "There was a lot of pressure on him as an individual, but the pitch really suited a spinner.
"I still have slight reservations about his batting and his fielding, which he needs to keep working hard at, but he's an outstanding bowler who's doing a job for us because there's no one else to fulfil that role."
The combination of victory and strong personal contribution brings a huge surge of confidence to players but they still thrive on praise. Yet the difference in tone between Fletcher's 'eulogy' and the one delivered in defeat by Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was as different as flat and sparkling lemonade.
"I was very impressed with Monty, it was a terrific performance," Woolmer said. "He's got a superb loop, nice in-dip, very good pace changes, and he spins the ball when bowling at a brisk 58 mph. That causes a lot of problems for batsmen who don't have time to use their feet.
"Derek Underwood was unique, but as a classic left-arm spinner, Monty's right up there. There's a danger of thinking that he's a bit of a joke because that's the way the crowd treat him, but they should start taking him seriously. He's making a terrific effort with his fielding but English cricket can say - we've got a spinner now."
It might never have happened and there is strong circum-stantial evidence that Fletcher preferred off-spinning all-rounder Jamie Dalrymple in the days leading up to the Test. In the end, Strauss, determined to be his own man now that he has some breathing space as captain, got the team he wanted and was rewarded with a first Test win.
Fletcher is liked and respected by his players, mostly because he shows them loyalty. But at what point does that loyalty, in this instance to the injured Ashley Giles, blind you to new possibilities? Surely Monty's shortfalls with the bat and in the field, improving albeit at glacial pace, will not prejudice his place when he can bowl like he did in Manchester?
"We'll decide who the No 1 spinner is when time comes and Ashley Giles is fit again," said Fletcher, as if issuing the naysayers a challenge. "Let's first have a look at Monty when he bowls on other pitches, then we'll make a decision when Giles is ready again."
Giles is a solid performer with ball and bat and has good hands at gully. He has rarely let England down. The kind of all-round cricketer Fletcher likes, Giles' contributions to England successes have mostly been the sum of those three parts rather than one resounding performance, though he has two eight-wicket and two nine-wicket hauls in his 52 Tests.
Compared with the Panesar we saw at Old Trafford, Giles is a one-trick bowler who tries to induce error by keeping it tight and hitting the rough on or outside leg-stump. Panesar, in contrast, gets many more revolutions on the ball, which is why it dips then grips, and not only the parts of the pitch churned up by bowlers' footsteps.
There is another difference to consider and that is delivering the goods when conditions suit you. When asked about the wear of this Old Trafford pitch and the one used in last year's Ashes series, groundsman Peter Marron thought them very similar. In that match Giles took three for 193, none of them in Australia's second innings.
In Pakistan's second innings on Saturday, Panesar, visibly thriving on the expectation, took five for 72.
Their differing styles complement one another and it is not out of the question that they could play together in the Ashes at spin-friendly venues like Sydney. If Giles is eventually restored to working order, the old pecking order with him at the top cannot. The man in the black patka is No 1 now, and anyone who saw him bowl in Manchester knows it.
Mark Nicholos in his column in Telegraph wrote:
Our new and hungry talent bodes well for the future
By Mark Nicholas
(Filed: 31/07/2006)

"One of the best days of my life," agreed a rather reluctant Monty Panesar at the press conference in Manchester on Saturday evening. Perhaps he should have stepped out a little more. At any rate, now that he is doing so, such days will become habit. Not since Phil Edmonds 20 years ago has an England spinner been this threatening. Panesar really rips the cricket ball from his long and supple fingers, it's as simple as that, and what a gift it is.
To see those dramatic revolutions on that ball and then to see it land perfectly on the seam and react so fiercely is to see the light at the end of a long spinner-less tunnel. Ashley Giles has been an exemplary slow-bowler for England and may well be so again, but Monty is the real deal, the full house of finger spin, the whole bang tweaking match.
He has a good action, a good mind and a good temperament. Clearly, he is brave and thoughtful. He has emerged from the storm of ridicule to be revered. His almost childlike, transparent enthusiasm is an irresistible attraction for an audience that craves a centre for their attention. Here is a sportsman unspoiled, an uncomplicated man who is not afraid of being seen to try hard. He does not field well enough so he works on it till raw. Questions are asked about his batting so he goes to the nets. He will not be diverted by anything except failure. If it comes, he will address that, too.
And our very own English Sikh of Tweak is not alone. Essex boy Alastair Cook is more of the same but without the exotic past and the patka. Cook's devilishly good and strikingly boyish looks conceal a street fighter's attitude. It is no surprise that he cites Graham Gooch as his role model and follows his teaching. "If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail," Gooch loved to say, and Cook was listening.
He bats at No 3 as if it is an opportunity not a curse. The same would apply were he at four, five or six. Yet he has opened all his life, made two hundreds there for Essex against Australia last summer and a hundred on his debut for England in Nagpur from that position. But numbers do not matter to him, at least, not the ones to the left of his name on the scorecard. He cares only for the numbers on the right. He is unflashy and unfazed, an extraordinarily ideal solution for the moment and picture perfect for the future.
The performance of these two exciting cricketers confirms the changing of the guard. No longer is there nostalgic talk of last summer's Ashes or the fear factor overtaking this winter's rematch. England decimated Pakistan without Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff, an achievement that hitherto had appeared unlikely. The team held their nerve and their catches. The batsmen responded to one another like old muckers and two bowlers struck up a deadly alliance. Even the new captain seemed at home with his subtle field placements, calm responses to moments of anxiety, excellent batting against the dangerous new ball and secure reactions at slip.
England must now look forward not back. Chris Tremlett should be brought into the team for Headingley and the Oval. He has found form and fitness more suddenly than a yearling and has the class that just eludes Liam Plunkett and Sajid Mahmood. This is not a cry from Hampshire but from the guts of batsmen who know and fear the threat of steepling bounce on hard pitches. The next three weeks can establish Tremlett's credibility for Australia.
Moreover, these weeks can establish England's confidence for the gruelling months ahead. They leave for the Champions Trophy at the start of October and go straight on to Australia for a full tour that includes a 15-match triangular one-day tournament. At the end of February, they kiss the wife hello and goodbye before heading out to the Caribbean for the World Cup then return home at the end of April to get stuck into the English season in early May. Come September, comes the first Twenty20 World Cup and then a tour of Sri Lanka in October. So if you think they are falling like flies now, think ahead of yourself. It is tiring just writing about it.
Whoever decrees such schedules has no heart for the players or concern for the success of their team. Rather he hears the cash tills ring. If England retain the Ashes and do justice to themselves in the World Cup, it will be in spite of their lords and masters. Thank heaven for the unveiling of new and hungry talents who enter the breach innocently and with unbridled anticipation.
Now having read those two cricketers' view, have a look at what Fletcher has to offer to the turbanator 2
Panesar Test place 'not secure' says Fletcher
By Jon Culley
Published: 31 July 2006
"Let's have a look at Monty when he bowls on other wickets," said Duncan Fletcher
Bob Woolmer, the highly respected coach of Pakistan, declared him to be "the bee's knees", echoing the avalanche of approval that has flowed from cricket commentators since his match-winning performance at Old Trafford on Saturday. Yet Monty Panesar, the spin-bowling sensation of the summer, still cannot secure the unqualified approval of the man who holds the key to his career, the England coach, Duncan Fletcher.
If Stephen Harmison's 11 wickets in Manchester, including 6 for 19 in the first innings, rightly earned the man-of-the-match accolade for the Durham fast bowler, Panesar's 5 for 72 in the second innings was equally vital to England's second Test victory by an innings and 120 runs.
Woolmer, a former England Test batsman, was massively impressed with the way the 24-year-old Northamptonshire player, a classical left-arm spinner, tore through a Pakistan side with some of the best players of spin in the world. Were he in charge, Panesar would be a key player when England defend the Ashes.
Fletcher, however, having opted to play Panesar at Old Trafford after considering Middlesex's spin-bowling all-rounder, Jamie Dalrymple, as an alternative, has yet to be convinced Panesar has the qualities required.
"Monty bowled very well, no doubt about it," Fletcher said. " The wicket really suited the spinner and quite often you get on a wicket like that and try too hard. He bowled a good line and length and spun the ball on occasions a great deal." Whether Panesar has moved ahead of the injured Ashley Giles, a less predatory bowler but a proven asset with the bat and in the field, Fletcher was unsure.
"Let's have a look at Monty when he bowls on other wickets and let's make a decision when Gilo is ready," he said. "It was a good wicket for Monty to bowl on and he bowled damn well. But what wickets are we going to play on? Would we need Monty on a green top? We have to look at the balance of the side and it's very important that we look at Monty on wickets that don't help him as much as it did today."
There were no such reservations from Woolmer, the former Warwickshire and South Africa coach. "I thought Panesar's performance was terrific," he said. "He has superb loop, very good pace on the ball, changed his pace but at a high pace, 58mph."
Woolmer was unsure that comparisons with Derek Underwood, England's last consistent match-winning spinner, could yet be stood up but agreed Panesar is an outstanding prospect.
"Deadly [Underwood] was unique," he said. "But of the classic left-arm spinners, Monty is right up there. He has loop, in-dip, spins the ball, beats people on both sides of the bat without actually having the doosra. He is a very fine prospect. If he bowls like this, he could do well in Australia, too, because the wickets are more bouncy there. He's the proper article, the bee's knees."
Even Giles, a Fletcher favourite, acknowledged his place as England's No 1 slow bowler is under threat as he struggles to recover from hip and groin injuries. "Monty is a brilliant technician," he said. "He gets a lot of revolutions on the ball so it drifts in nicely, he turns the ball and he is consistent. He is the man in possession and I have to get my place back."
"Let's have a look at Monty when he bowls on other wickets," said Duncan Fletcher
Bob Woolmer, the highly respected coach of Pakistan, declared him to be "the bee's knees", echoing the avalanche of approval that has flowed from cricket commentators since his match-winning performance at Old Trafford on Saturday. Yet Monty Panesar, the spin-bowling sensation of the summer, still cannot secure the unqualified approval of the man who holds the key to his career, the England coach, Duncan Fletcher.
If Stephen Harmison's 11 wickets in Manchester, including 6 for 19 in the first innings, rightly earned the man-of-the-match accolade for the Durham fast bowler, Panesar's 5 for 72 in the second innings was equally vital to England's second Test victory by an innings and 120 runs.
Woolmer, a former England Test batsman, was massively impressed with the way the 24-year-old Northamptonshire player, a classical left-arm spinner, tore through a Pakistan side with some of the best players of spin in the world. Were he in charge, Panesar would be a key player when England defend the Ashes.
Fletcher, however, having opted to play Panesar at Old Trafford after considering Middlesex's spin-bowling all-rounder, Jamie Dalrymple, as an alternative, has yet to be convinced Panesar has the qualities required.
"Monty bowled very well, no doubt about it," Fletcher said. " The wicket really suited the spinner and quite often you get on a wicket like that and try too hard. He bowled a good line and length and spun the ball on occasions a great deal." Whether Panesar has moved ahead of the injured Ashley Giles, a less predatory bowler but a proven asset with the bat and in the field, Fletcher was unsure.
"Let's have a look at Monty when he bowls on other wickets and let's make a decision when Gilo is ready," he said. "It was a good wicket for Monty to bowl on and he bowled damn well. But what wickets are we going to play on? Would we need Monty on a green top? We have to look at the balance of the side and it's very important that we look at Monty on wickets that don't help him as much as it did today."
There were no such reservations from Woolmer, the former Warwickshire and South Africa coach. "I thought Panesar's performance was terrific," he said. "He has superb loop, very good pace on the ball, changed his pace but at a high pace, 58mph."
Woolmer was unsure that comparisons with Derek Underwood, England's last consistent match-winning spinner, could yet be stood up but agreed Panesar is an outstanding prospect.
"Deadly [Underwood] was unique," he said. "But of the classic left-arm spinners, Monty is right up there. He has loop, in-dip, spins the ball, beats people on both sides of the bat without actually having the doosra. He is a very fine prospect. If he bowls like this, he could do well in Australia, too, because the wickets are more bouncy there. He's the proper article, the bee's knees."
Even Giles, a Fletcher favourite, acknowledged his place as England's No 1 slow bowler is under threat as he struggles to recover from hip and groin injuries. "Monty is a brilliant technician," he said. "He gets a lot of revolutions on the ball so it drifts in nicely, he turns the ball and he is consistent. He is the man in possession and I have to get my place back."
Monty spins into reckoning as personality of year

Panesar's attacking verve and mastery of his specialist discipline banish fears that his singular talent cannot justify him a place in Fletcher's multi-tasking world
By Jon Culley at Old Trafford
Published: 30 July 2006
'Getting Inzamam was the most satisfying moment because he is such a good player'
Harping on about the decline of spin bowling has been a perennial pastime among the romantics and nostalgics lining the boundaries of English cricket grounds pretty much since the rot set in the 1980s and it is not a subject that much interests Duncan Fletcher, the squarely pragmatic national coach.
In his adherence to a philosophy that awards the greatest value to players proficient in multi-tasking, Fletcher tends to regard two ticked boxes as the absolute minimum require-ment for sustained involvement in the national side, which is why there has been a suspicion that Monty Panesar, for all his talent in one discipline of the game, might pass through the Test arena as merely a passing dalliance.

Coach says Panesar is ahead of his timeBy Neville Scott

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,426-2293891,00.html
Our correspondent talks to Nick Cook about the day he discovered a new talent called Monty
AS THE excitement grew in Manchester on Saturday, 50 years after Jim Laker had bewildered 19 Australia batsmen on the same Old Trafford square, memories were racked for the last time an England spinner had claimed ten wickets in a Test. In the end, Monty Panesar, the man the nation embraces like a joyous, unsullied child, was denied the distinction. But there were, in fact, only two such spinners in more than 31 years, and one of them had been Panesar’s first mentor.
Since Derek Underwood took 11 for 215 in Adelaide on England’s disastrous 1974-75 tour of Australia, only Phil Tufnell (twice) and Nick Cook had managed the feat. And it was Cook, another slow left-armer, who watched Panesar’s first appearance for Northamptonshire’s second XI when, as a 16-year-old, he played in a pre-season friendly against Oxfordshire. That day, at Iffley Road, the passionate Cook told anyone he could find that this boy would play for England.
“It was remarkable. In terms of his action, he was almost the finished article,” he said. “He bowled a yard or two quicker than anyone his age. But he still had spin, bounce and control. His hands were like buckets, and he had massive, massive fingers to wrap round the ball and give it an almighty rip. He had the sort of callus on the first knuckle of the middle finger you’d expect in a spinner 20 years older. This was a boy who’d bowled 60 overs on the bounce playing for Bedfordshire the year before.”
It soon became clear to Cook, who remained coach to the seconds until September 2004, that Panesar, secure within a circle of friends in Luton he had known since childhood, had nurtured the deepest, lifelong love of his art.
“He lives, eats and digests the game — he’s the hardest-working English player I’ve ever known,” Cook said. “You are wary of younger lads doing too much and there were times I’d catch him bowling in the nets to Mike Hussey [the Australia batsman and Northamptonshire’s captain at the time]. I used to race over to stop him bowling all afternoon.”
Panesar’s ability and work ethic were palpable, but there is famously a mental side to cricket that perhaps bears more heavily on slow left-armers than any other specialists. They stand alone, without a pack of fast bowlers to shelter them, they face batsmen intent on murdering spin, and people expect them to win matches whenever the pitch takes turn. And in Panesar’s case, there is also the perception that he can neither bat nor field. Cook has no doubt that the former notion is wrong.
“Technically, he’s pretty solid,” he said. “He has the physical power to hit fours. At county level, I’d always marked him down as one who’d bat at No 8. He’s reasonably athletic so the fielding thing is odd — maybe it’s eyesight or a hand-eye problem. But he’s Tufnell’s polar opposite in their readiness to practise so I’d expect big improvements.”
England clearly have a problem to address in Panesar if he is to be made an integral part of the team. Even on the eve of the Old Trafford Test, it was not certain he would play. And whatever his celebrations in Manchester last Saturday, they would not have included wine, women and song. It might help if it was made clear before Friday that he will bat at No 9 in the Leeds Test, with Matthew Hoggard, a blocker, behind him. Cook will not criticise fellow coaches, but Duncan Fletcher, the England incumbent, has seemed to some to dwell only on negatives.
“When Monty walked back to his mark on Saturday, he knew what he was about,” Cook said. “He was measured and controlled, it was marvellous to see. But you have to be an immensely strong figure to bowl finger spin today. There are bound to be grey days ahead. I just pray people don’t expect the same every match in the Ashes.”

Big interview with Monty

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2094-2300484,00.html

Monty the SIKH and his struggle for recognition

2006-07-30T01:34:00.000-07:00

After being away from computer for nearly a month, today I update my blog.It is a mere coincidence that I once again touch the same topic which I had last commented on.

You cannot never leave aside a sikh.It is just like attempting to keep a rubber ball under water.As soon as the pressure is released, ball will be on the surface.Yesterday was a memorable day from sports point of view. In the country I am resident. Sanga and Mahela re wrote the cricket history by being the first pair to surpass 600 runs in all form of the game. In the country where I am based right now, my favourite ALL BLACKS yet again demonstrated the prowess of their rugby skills by taking a sweet revenge on Aussies who made the Haka a big issue. It was really a thriller and probably the best rugby match I have ever seen in my life.Richi MaCaw was simply brilliant as coach Henry said there was no more to be expected from him.

Then , In England, once again Pannessar forced many critics to eat their words. Is this really hypocracy of the White dominated society? Aren't they still ready to accept the contributions being made by the British of subcontinental heritage. I have highlighted the unreasonable comments made upon Pannesar in my blog and if someone searches the majority of my notes, then he will find all such comments reproduced by me.

He was criticised for his fielding for being sloppy and with the improvement of this aspect comes his uselessness in terms of his contribution in batting. A player mainly selected for his prowess in bowling and especially in an area in which England has scarce resources was harshly criticised for not being worth as a number 11. Monty proved his worth by slamming world's best spinner( as we Asians believe, according to the envious Anglo saxon experts, number two in the world and the cheater and chucker)over the ropes .Monty scored 20 plus in a game where more prominent batters gave in to Murali magic. Still Monty was laughed upon.In the game just concluded against PAKs, He captured 5 wickets and showed the path of victory to a team which was on its knee after having been thrashed by Sri Lankans which they rated just above Bangladeshis by 5-0 in ODIs.

Monty's contribution was significant as Pakistan was a team which was at its ease against playing spinners.Players like Yousuf, Inzamam are real good players of spin.How can you beliitle efforts of a man who has proved his credentials against the three best teams which play spin well.First it was against India, the land of his heritage, then it was against Sri Lanka and finally now it was against Pakistan.

What else do you have to prove to be considred as a player of the class of the super league? I cannot understand the logic of British newspapers and the cricket Pundits.

MANIFESTATION OF KHALSA SPIRIT

2006-06-05T23:09:00.000-07:00

I wonder if I am writing too much on cricket and on one person, Monty.In my latest posts, I have deviated from writing what I am trained to write.Precisely, Health and more precisely spiritual health and my beloved sikhism. Cricket fever is on in my country.When tabloids ripped the Sri Lankan team off labelling themselves as easy for being hunted by rejuveanted Englishmen, I find hard to concentrate on anything else as do my fellow countrymen.The series give me enormous pleasure as once again Tabloids try rip Monty Pannessar's courage off. I tend to concentrate on him as our other player, Harbhajan seems to be within his shell having not been able to produce an iota of performance that he usually delivers. Every cricketer has a bad patch and one is able to come out of that infertile period quite successfully with a little bit of determination.I believe that thhis is that period of Harbhajan.Very soon we will see the true colours of the Turbanator -1.

Everytime , I go through Guardian or Telegraph columns, I cannot stop smiling as Monty manfests true sikhiness. The otherday, Fletcher had said that if he remains to be a long term member of the English team, He's got to do something more than bowling. Simon Hughes writes in Telegraph that Fletcher said "he's got to make sure he improves his batting and fielding". Writes Simon Hughes " He has done so, looking nothing like the man with feet for hands that he did at Edgbaston, loping around Trent Bridge's green swathe with none of the previous tension in his muscles and fielding everything cleanly". According to David Llewyleen of "Independent" The cheers were ironic, but they would have been music to Monty Panesar's ears. The batting of England's left-arm spinner has received almost as much criticism as his fielding, but he showed he is no mug with the willow when he swept Muttiah Muralitharan over deep midwicket for six before one sweep too many resulted in an lbw success for Sanath Jayasuriya " .His response was typical of a sikh. He gets his eye examined , wears contact lenses in order to improve his fielding the department which he is notorius for. He shed extra sweat in practicing fielding.

Just before the run chase , Monty was optimistic that the target was gettable even if his own observation of the wicket and its support to spinners was the kind of treat Great Murali was waiting licking his fingers. He does his duty having claimed his first 5 wicket bag ( 5-78) which in the presence of bamboozling perfromance of Muralidaran evaporates like dew in the presence of peeping out sun. Primarily selected for his bowling ability what else do you need? This was even emphasised by Duncan Fletcher in the same interview, "He's picked to play as a spinner and do his job as a spinner and as long as he's trying there's nothing more you can ask of an individual."

Then comes the run chase. On a hard , bouncing pitch the tabloid hunters became hunted while their hunted became hunters due to the fiery spell of Murali.Englishmen were falling like 11 pins. But the man who their coach severly criticised as needing to improve in fielding and batting becomes the best batter under prevailing circumstances. He shows his collegues with better vision, even Murali was nothing ( 26 runs). He hammers Murali over the ropes to the delight of his followers who say if all non native British are like him, it 's OK and those who come with stockings as DASTAR and fake beards.

What else do you need from a man who was picked to take wickets. Is n't that the manifestation of the sikhi spirit embeded in all khalsa members by our beloved warior saint Guru Gobind Singh ji. Sikhs are upto any task they are entrusted with. Monty is reported to have met a sikh SANt and his advice was to go and be involved in Monty's passion. As a one who recites Japji, Monty knows the powers of meditation and concentration. As a sikh he should be a hardned bloke. As a result he may not be a soft target as the British Tabloids may think him to be.

Come Ashes, He may be in full blosom. So watch out Aussies.Sledging may release the full sikhiness in Monty the lion

Michael Henderson of Times wrote:

England’s last man( Monty) swept Murali boldly for four and then got more bat on the stroke, sending the ball into the crowd at square leg. What a fine stroke that was! Five wickets, a jaunty little innings and the crowd’s acclaim: this was the best day of his young career.Monty Panesar had hardly presented his handsome credentials, five wickets in a Test innings for the first time, than the Kandy man barged the young Sikh out of the way.

CHANCES ARE UP FOR SIKH KIDS TO GRAB

2006-06-04T22:54:00.000-07:00

Monty is becomming a cult figure in England.As reported by Guardian, there were four men in Hound Road wearing fake beards and stockings in their heads simulating a Dastar. This happens in a moment when he displayed his skill in left arm leg spinners against Lankans having captured 3 wickets. He has the potential to be a weapon in the England's spin department for many years to come if he improves his sloppy fielding.

Panesar future unclear despite Test best http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cricket/comment/0,,1790503,00.html

Monty is confident of chasing a record total by his team mates against Lankans.

"We'd probably like to bowl them out under 300," he conceded. "Anything 350-plus would probably be challenging - but we're pretty confident we should be fine with anything below 350."

On his best test figures to date , sardar says

"I tried to stay patient with myself, create pressure, tried to ignore other factors and do what's best for the team," Read Former England international Derek Pringle column

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2006/06/05/scmont05.xml

Optimism is good because it is a driving factor for anyone to move forward. It is much relevant for Monty as sikhs we are very optimistic, have no nonsense approach and fight till the last moment for a just cause.It is really encouraging to hear this kind of optimism for a diaspora sikh and it does give optimism to the community as we see the qualities being instilled in diaspora kids.

The other day , I read about the sikh lady who got into the UK police force. This should be appreciated as a lead for other sikh women.Sikhism emerged at a time women's rights were severly resticted in the sub continent and Sikhs always stood for Gender Equity. Sikhism and Buddhism are the only religions which did not supress women's rights among the religions that erupted in the Indian Subcontinent . A few days before that the sikh net reported the story of the brave sardarani who petrolled the streets of Kabul being a part of American Contingent. The sikh diaspora is widespread and opportunities are for grab.It is the duty of the kids growing up in many parts of the world to grab these opportunities while safeguarding the rich heritage that their parents passed on to them from the Adi Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

Jo Bolay So Nihal Sat Sri Akal

TURBANTOR 1 & 2

2006-06-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

Wanna know what turbantor - 1( Harbhajan Singh -Bhaji) doing in West Indies ? Just click on these lines .Here he is playing Warri

"Harbhajan Singh wracks his brains over a game of Warri, a pastime that the locals introduce him to. Warri is played in India as well – it's known as Pallanguzhi in Tamil – but, going by the mystified looks, none of the Indians seemed to have heard of it". writes cric info's S.Vaidyanathan
http://blogs.cricinfo.com/tourdiaries/archives/2006/06/a_game_of_warri.php

It is great to see two sikh warriors in action simultaneously in the two ends of the world

Turbanator 1- Harbhajan Singh( India Vs Windies)
Turbanator-2-Monty Panessar (England Vs Sri Lanka)

Turbanator 2 ( MONTY) updates

“The dominant eye had to work overtime and became tired,” Mr Goudriaan said. “That is when your hand-eye co-ordination starts to go down. I noticed he did not seem to be 100 per cent.
“They realised that his left eye was slightly awry. They gave him new lenses immediately. Eyes are muscles and they take a couple of weeks or so to adjust, so hopefully by now he will be all right. It takes more than that to take or drop a catch, but it may be a factor.” writes Richard Hobson of Times in "New look may help Monty's fielding - Times England "
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2205768.html

Do English want to make fun out of Monty ?
Time for Panesar to play catch upBy Derek Pringle - Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2006/05/30/scprin30.xml

Fragile Monty must be handled with care _ Sunday Times

“Go home and concentrate on your cricket, give it your passion,” a Sikh guru once advised Panesar. The passion is unquestionable; a little faith from his own team is needed or the first Sikh to play for England will be remembered more as a cultural than cricketing phenomenon.

It is refreshing to hear that another great sikh individual Bishen Singh Bedi worked with Monty to improve his craft.In the article by Andrew Long Moore in the Times(UK), Bedi has praised Monty's quiet humility and his eagerness to know more of his craft. Bedi has furter added that “With great players, you have to work on their greatness,” .What England need is just not to make fun out of Monty's lapses but to try to get him on the right track in terms of his fielding and adequate batting. Otherwise, it is just letting resources of leg spin run down the drain.There are many British Asians not merely sikhs waiting to follow the footsteops of Monty.He is already a role model not only to British Sikhs but also to Indian sikhs as well. As Longmore suggested, he should be handled with care.

Read Longmore's article

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2094-2200221,00.html

Monty's lapses are no laughing matter
Andrew Miller

http://content-nz.cricinfo.com/england/content/story/248380.html

Sikh Communit & youth Services (UK) on General Hari Singh Nalwa

2006-05-31T18:29:00.000-07:00

General Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa

Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa is regarded as one of the greatest of Punjabi-Sikh generals. During 1881, European newspapers wrote articles comparing him to the great European Generals such as Napoleon, Field-Marshal von Hindenburg and the Duke of Wellington. The British concluded that Sr Hari Singh Nalwa was the greatest of them all. With a limited force of men and materials, he freed not only Kashmir and Multan, but also the state of Peshawar and made them part of the Greater Punjab empire of His Majesty Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Sher-e-Punjab). All people lived in equality regardless of whether they were Hindu, Sikhs or Muslims under the Punjabi-Sikh rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Sardar Hari Singh was a courageous, devoted and farsighted general. He impressed the Governor General of India with his statesmanship when he met him at Shimla in 1831 as an emissary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Early life Hari Singh Uppal, born into a Jat Sikh family in 1791, was the son of Sardar Gurdial Singh Uppal of Gujranwala, West Punjab, now in Pakistan. His father died when he was only seven years old but his mother provided him a good religious education and trained him in martial arts. Observing his mastery in the use of arms, Maharaja Ranjit Singh recruited him to his army and he was made General within a short space of time. When on a hunting mission with the Maharaja, General Sr. Hari Singh Uppal was attacked by a tiger. He smartly defended himself and killed the tiger, this act gave him the title, Nalwa (tiger). General Sr

Hari Singh NalwaÂ’s first major battle was fought against the Nawab of Kasoor, West Punjab (now in Pakistan) who continually launched attacks on the Sikhs in Amritsar and Punjab during the 18th century. Later he participated in the battle against Multan to free the people from the Nawab of the region. General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa demonstrated his superb fighting skills during these battles. Releasing Shah Shuja General Sr Hari Singh NalwaÂ’s next expedition was to Kashmir. He joined two other famous Generals, Akali Phoola Singh and Sardar Sham Singh Attariwala, in obtaining the release of the imprisoned Shah Shuja, the king of Afghanistan. Shuja was ousted by his own brother and he had no alternative but to move to Punjab and seek the protection of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Later, when Shuja attempted to take over Kabul, he was defeated, imprisoned, and detained in Kashmir. His wife requested that the Maharaja once again free her husband. In return, she offered him the greatest and most famous of all diamonds, the Kohinoor. The success of the expedition to bring Shah Shuja safely from Kashmir to Lahore so enraged the ruler of Afghanistan, that he sent his army to take over the fort of Attock in 1813, and oust the Sikhs. General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa, however, led his army to victory against great odds and retained Sikh control over the area. Annexation of Multan The Nawab of Multan, who was governing that state on behalf of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, rebelled against the Punjabi-Sikh rule. General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa was deputed to bring him under control. General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa fought bravely and took over the strong fort of Multan.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh granted him the estate of Gujranwala as a reward for his accomplishment. In 1818, the Nawab again rebelled against Lahore. General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa had to fight a long bloody battle to annex Multan and make it a part of Punjab to resolve the problem forever. Freedom for Kashmiris In 1819, the Kashmiris sent a deputation to Lahore, asking Maharaja Ranjit Singh to free them from four centuries of foreign Muslim rule. Three famous Sikh Generals, including Sr Hari Singh Nalwa, were sent to Kashmir again. After defeating the ruler there, General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa was made the Administrator of Kashmir. He streamlined the whole administration and ensured justice for everyone, which made him very popular with the Kashmiri people. However, his stay there was short lived as he was recalled in 1821 to reassert Sikh control over the western regions.

Retaking Peshawar General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa could never be free from fighting the Pathans and Mughals of Afghanistan. Yar Mohd Khan, who had been appointed Governor of Peshawar, was the brother of the king of Afghanistan. He became disloyal to the Punjabi-Sikh rule and joined his brother, which necessitated sending another Sikh expedition to Peshawar. The Sikh army built a pontoon bridge over the river Attock and challenged the Pathans. At the height of the battle, a contingent of Pathans cut the bridge. When Maharaja Ranjit Singh and General Sr Akali Phoola Singh reached the scene, they found the bridge washed away. They could hear the fighting on the other side of the river. They had no other choice but to take the great risk of crossing the flooded river on horseback. The battle, however, had been won by General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa by the time the Maharaja reached there. The major battle for retaking Peshawar still lay ahead. Thousands of soldiers and Mujahideens (religious zealots) had gathered there to stop the Sikhs from reaching Peshawar. A bloody battle was fought, where both sides were determined to win at any cost. The Mughals and Pathans found the Sikh Army too powerful and beat a hasty retreat to Afghanistan. The Sikhs again took over Peshawar, although they paid a very high price for it. They lost their General Sr Akali Phoola Singh in battle. The Punjabi-Sikh rule was thus established over all the areas of the present Pakistan, Kashmir, and Punjab up to Kabul. General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa as the Governor of Peshawar General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa, as the Governor of Peshawar, relieved the Hindus of the tax which they had been paying since the 17th century. He managed the whole state effectively to bring peace, and stopped the looting of the people by Pathans and Afghans. To maintain order in the state, he established military posts all over the region and built forts at strategic places. The fort of Jamrud was the most famous and it blocked the Khyber Pass, not permitting any army to come across from Afghanistan. The king of Afghanistan, finding himself controlled by the chain of forts built by General Hari Singh Nalwa, was always devising plans to destroy the Sikh administration.

The last battle The Dogras knew every secret of the army and its deployment. Being in charge of the government, they were in a position to misinform Maharaja Ranjit Singh and they did so colluding with the Afghans and British. In 1837, the Peshawar army was back at Lahore for the wedding of Kanwar Nau-nihal Singh, the son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa was on leave due to illness, no senior person was in Peshawar to guide the Sikh soldiers. All of this information was sent to Kabul by the Dogras and the Afghans were told to attack Peshawar. Such a message was very encouraging to the Afghans and the king of Afghanistan immediately sent his army to drive the Sikhs out of Peshawar. After crossing the Khyber Pass, they attacked Jamrud. It was here that Bibi Harsharan Kaur (Sharnagat Kaur) played a heroic role by walking from Jamrud to Peshawar and reporting the attack on Jamrud. General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa, though ill, repulsed the attack, losing his own life due to the betrayal of the Dogras. It was General Sr Hari Singh NalwaÂ’s presence which resulted in the Sikh victory; otherwise, the small Sikh army numbering only a few thousand, was no match for the 30,000 Afghan army supported by civilian fanatics. During this time, General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa sent to Maharaja Ranjit Singh three letters, all of which were kept by the Dogras, they did not let Maharaja Ranjit Singh know of them. Recent research has shown that the Afghans and Dogras connived to murder General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa. This is evidenced by the fact that the person who shot General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa from very close range, was wearing a Sikh soldierÂ’s uniform. By the time help arrived from Lahore, the battle had been won by the Sikhs. Peshawar was thus retained in the Punjabi-Sikh rule, the credit for this going to Bibi Harsharan Kaur and General Sr Hari Singh NalwaÂ’s bravery. General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa was an eloquent statesman and an able administrator. He was instrumental in bringing Kashmir into Greater Punjab under Sikh control and brought peace and prosperity to the people as the Governor of the state. Peshawar, a region of Punjab which had been partitioned from it for eight centuries, was again made a part of it due to the bravery of General Sr Hari Singh Nalwa. He has since been known as the Â“Hero of PeshawarÂ” and was rated as the greatest general of his time. The forts he built there to stop invaders from looting Punjab and Delhi, were effective long after his death. A large part of his successes can be attributed to him being a kind and devoted Sikh, committed to his people and possessing a keen sense of duty and responsibility.

ARCHIVES OF IMPORTANCE _ GD BATHA SAHIB

2006-05-31T18:16:00.000-07:00

From: "Amrit Pal Singh" ap_entrepreneur@yahoo.com.sg

Subject: Gurdwara Bhai Bachhitar Singh ji Ropar

This is just a few meters away from Gurdwara Bhatha Sahib and Bhai Bachhitar Singh was one of the commanders of Guru Gobind Singh ji's army. Phone : 91-1881-226574

Mukh Sevadar : Bhai Jainal Singh : 91-9218183846

History---------BACHITTAR SINGH, BHAI (d. 1705), warrior and martyr, was the second son of Bhai Mani Ram, a Parmar Rajput and devotee of the Gurus. One of the five brothers presented by their father for service to Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), he joined the order of the Khalsa on the historic Baisakhi day, 30 March 1699, and shot into prominence during the first battle of Anandpur against the hill chieftains, when, on 1 September 1700, he was selected by Guru Gobind Singh to face a drunken elephant brought forth by them to batter down the gate of the Lohgarh Fort. As the elephant reached near the gate, Bachittar Singh, sallied forth on horseback and made a powerful thrust with his spear piercing the plate and injuring the animal in the forehead. The wounded elephant ran back creating havoc in the besieger's ranks. Bachittar Singh also took part in actions at Nirmohgarh and Basali and in the last battle of Anandpur. On the fateful night of 5-6 December 1705, when Anandpur was evacuated, he was one of those who safely crossed the torrential Sarsa rivulet. At the head of a flanking guard watching pursuers from the direction of Ropar, he had an encounter with a body of irregulars near Malikpur Ranghran in which he was seriously wounded. He was carried to Kotla Nihang Khan where he died two days later (8 December 1705). You can see in the photo section the entrance of the gurdwara ,his shield , sword , well from where water was taken for his saskar , place of his saskar and remains of the old fort of the Pathans.

From contribution of Amrtit Pal Singh ji to the GD digest

BIRTH PLACE OF KHALSA

Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, Anandpur Sahib, Dist. Ropar .

This is the birthplace of the Khalsa. It was here on March 30th, 1699 that a very large gathering of Sikhs had arrived at Anandpur Sahib as per Guru Gobind Singhs instructions. After prayers Guru Gobind Singh ji stood up with his sword and asked the gathering of thousands, "Is there anyone here ready to lay down his life at my call? This sword of mine is crying for the blood of a dear Sikh of mine." The congregation was shocked and afraid, the third time Guru Gobind Singh ji repeated his call, Daya Ram stood up and offered his head. Guru Gobind Singh ji took him into a tent. The sound of a sword cutting a body was heard and blood trickled out of the tent. Guru Gobind Singh ji emerged from the tent and asked for another Sikh. Dharam Das stood up and volunteered. Again the same episode was repeated. Three more Sikhs offered their heads to the Guru in the same way, Mukham Chand, Himmat Rai and Sahib Chand. After some time Guru Gobind Singh brought the five Sikhs before the congregation dressed in new clothes and revealed to the congregation that he had really slaughtered five goats inside the tent. Guru Gobind Singh ji then baptized them with amrit stirred with his Khanda, The Guru ji called them his Five Beloved Ones and gave them the last name `Singh' which means Lion. Guru Gobind Singh ji then humbly bowed before the Five Beloved Ones and asked them to initiate Him into the Khalsa Brotherhood. 12 of the original weapons of Guru Gobind Singh ji as well as the khanda used by the Guru ji to stir the amrit during the Khalsa baptism ceremony are kept here

Amrit pal ji on Amritsar

Amritsar

A Sikh pilgrim's progress is usually measured by the journeys he or she takes to visit gurudwaras of historical importance. In Amritsar District, the bus is the appropriate mode of transport for such moral and duty-bound excursions. The day begins by invoking the name of the almighty, the Sri Harmandir Sahib, the most hallowed shrine of the Sikhs. Here Sikhs from all over the world spend a few blissful moments and in prayer. Satnam Singh, a driver of the Punjab Roadways, has a pleasant job of taking Harmandir Sahib pilgrims on a daylong journey to historical gurudwaras. The journey costs a mere Rs.2. Lakhwinder Singh, the General Manager of Punjab Roadways in Amritsar, says the gurudwara excursion is not a profit-driven venture. "We have laid down no economic parameters and have no desire to make this a profitable venture. It's a service of love for devotees who want to visit the historical gurudwaras with in Amritsar District," Singh claims. With pilgrims chanting `Wahe Guru', the journey starts towards its first destination, the Gurudwara Kotha Sahib in village Valla. A 15-minute journey and the gurudwara built in memory of the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Teg Bahadur looms for all to see. History tells us that while on his way to Amritsar, Guru Tegh Bahadur reached the village of Valla where people welcomed him wholeheartedly. Gratified by their hospitality the Guru exclaimed "Valla Guru ka Galla" (Valla is the bowl of Guru). Pilgrims halt here for a few minutes to pay their respects to the Guru and then move towards the Gurudwara Baba Bakala. Munching a spicy mixture of dried and fried roasted peas, the pilgrims enjoy the pleasant drive to Baba Bakala's shrine. The shrine is associated with an important event in Sikh history. It may be recalled that before his death, Guru Harkishan whispered feebly `Baba Bakala', thereby meaning that his successor was to be found at Bakala village. On that day, the only Baba there was Baba Tegh Bahadur. However, a trader later discovered the genuine Guru. A beautiful gurudwara stands at the spot where the Guru used to meditate in an underground cell. The next destination is Khadur Sahib, the sacred village where Guru Angad promoted the message of God. A 20 mile-long journey ends up at a gurudwara where weaving loom of a cloth weaver use to stand. History records that Guru Amar Das stumbled into a weaver's pit, while carrying a pitcher of water on his head for his guru Sri Angad Dev. In spite of his fall, he succeeded in saving the pitcher filled with water. The noise of the fall awakened the weaver who suspected a thief had come. When weaver's wife heard a voice uttering `Japji' she remarked that there was no thief but, poor and homeless Amar. When the incident came to the notice of Guru Angad, he was pleased to see that Amar Das was not homeless and lowly and appointed him as his successor. "Our purpose in visiting Amritsar was to visit the Golden Temple, Jallianwalan Bagh and the retreat ceremony at the Wagah joint check-post. But when we heard about the bus service by Punjab Roadways to the historical gurudwaras, we quickly amended our plans, and made a programme to pay obeisance at all gurudwaras," says Gajraj Singh, one of the pilgrims. Traveling a few miles southeast of Amritsar, the bus reaches Goindwal, a small town where two historical gurudwaras, Chaubara Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Arjun Dev and Baoli Sahib, the first centre of Sikhism, have been constructed. The third Guru, Sri Amar Das showed an alternative place of pilgrimage, to Haridwar and Benaras, where God alone was to be worshipped. The Guruji purchased land and constructed a `Baoli' or a well with steps descending to the water. The baoli had eighty-four steps and the dip here is considered most holy. The guru decreed that whoever faithfully and ardently repeated `Japji' on every step; he would be released from the travails of wandering through eighty four lakh births and rebirths. A lunch break follows at the famous community kitchen of Guru Amar Das, where each visitor is offered food free of cost. It is believed that Emperor Akbar also partook of a meal in the langar, before meeting the Guru.

WAR AGAINST MONTY

2006-05-31T16:08:00.000-07:00

Aussies are plotting.It is in their bloods when it comes to sports. Find a weak link and exploit it to the maximum. Drag the victim to a Psychological warfare. Get him down psychologically and make him suffer in performance. Aussie fans are experts in this war.Their journalists declare war when the tours are in embryonic stages.But the strongest who can tolerate this toughness will emerge the winner.This is the greatness of Aussies.They are tough nuts to be cracked.Take Steve, He is a real rock solid guy and a great example to many cricketers. But, if you are soft and weak, it will bring your downfall.

Let me give you some examples. Murali's story was history.He is tormented so much by the irritability of Aussie fans so , now he has expressed " enough is enough". He will not tour down under anymore to feel embarrased by rising waves of shouts " chucker".Then came the turn of West Indian HINDUS. Sarwan was different.Though of Asian Descent, He has the guts of Afro Carribean patriot " Sir Viv Richards".He fought fire with fire. Issue was not prolonged.It died on the spot.

England are the hot blokes on the block. Ageing aussies lost Ashes in England.According to opinion polls, that is the most disgarceful sporting defeat for Aussies.It was intolerable for a sport hardned nation.Prospects are gloomy for a favourable outcome in the Ashes in their own backyard. So, the war has started.They have a target. A soft target, as they presume. Monty, for his poor fielding. The things to come by is in an article apperaed in the AGE.This is how it goes. Fun is all around OZ after the current " MONTY GOES TO LORDS" comedy series against SL.

"ENGLAND'S new left-arm spinner Monty Panesar may sport a turban and be of Indian Sikh extraction but it's not racial taunts from Australian crowds that he should be worried about if, as expected, he is chosen for next summer's much-awaited Ashes series. The tour is still five months away but already the pundits are fearing the worst for Turbanator II because of his atrocious fielding, which is so bad that he is already being compared to two of the worst the game has known — Phil Tufnell and Bishen Bedi. It came under scrutiny during England's just-completed second Test against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston, where he made a series of errors including missing a regulation catch at mid-off to dismiss Lasith Malinga before the Sri Lankan had scored, thus allowing a scoreline of 8-82 to become 141. And every time he touched the ball after that he was cheered, and he got even bigger cheers on the numerous occasions he misfielded. Well, all of this has got England cricket fans shuddering about what awaits him Down Under. Former England captain Michael Atherton, who copped plenty from Aussie fans in his time, is one who fears for Panesar, explaining in his column in England's Sunday Telegraph that if his fielding doesn't improve the Aussie crowds "will hit him with the kind of derision that, in the last decade, they reserved solely for Phil Tufnell". Lawrence Booth, who writes a column called The Spin in The Guardian, took a similar tack. "The Australians will be noting all of this down and resolving to take a single every time the ball goes to Panesar. Unless he's on the boundary, when they will take two."
EVEN the fans are taking the mickey out of poor ol' Panesar. In a special "Monty Panesar Fielding Appreciation Society" address created on a website cricket forum, one writer, " J K Lever" wrote: "Can we seriously take this bloke to Oz? He will get eaten alive by the crowds for his fielding … methinks his throwing arm will be tested at some of the larger grounds in Oz, too. I shudder to think of Melbourne." Personally, we can't wait to see him. By the way, Henry Blofeld already has a nickname for Panesar — he refers to him as Monty Python

http://www.theage.com.au/news/geoff-mcclure/englands-turbanator-to-cop-it-from-oz-fans/2006/05/31/1148956418144.html

Will he be a weak link? May be he is poor in fielding? But, remeber he is a son of " Saint solider GURU GOBIND SINGH JI". He necessarily should have the grit, determination, valour, self respect instilled in Khalsa members by it's founder. Khalsa members will not lay down their efforts, come what adversity. Ashes is a war. Monty has to defend his motherland. Sikhs will lay down their lives to a just, right cause. Will the Aussie fans be able to unsettle the will of a khalsa man by shouting rubbish.

Monty do not worry. Listen to a shabad sung by great aussie sardar" DYA SINGH".Roll your arms what ever cahnt is heard in the stands of the park.No cry is stronger than "

JO BOLAY SO NIHAL ,SAT SRI AKAL"

Photo (C) Getty Images

SEWA- A REQUEST FOR KEERTAN RECORDINGS

2006-05-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

Wahi Guru Ji ka khalsa Wahi guru ji ki fateh

This is a request from sahibsingh100@yahoo.com

Sat Shri Akal

I need help by people from all over this world.I am looking for seva for helping keertan.org site by finding KIRTAN RECORDINGS BY THESE OLD RAGI'S.

BHAI ANGAD SINGH - HE WAS A LONDON RAGI I HEARD

BHAI BHAGWANT SINGH- BELIEVE HE WAS A OLD LONDON RAGI TOO.

BHAI PYARA SINGH- OLD RAGI JATHA VERY FAMOUS-NEED THIS VERY IMPORTANT.

BHAI MOHAN SINGH BOMBAY WALE- VERY GOOD AND FAMOUS RAGI.

BHAI SHAMSHER SINGH ZAKHMI- I KNOW THE SITE HAS ALOT NOW ON HIM BUT IF YOU HAVE PLEASE CONTACT.

BHAI SANTA SINGH JEE- VERY FAMOUS RAGI.PLEASE HELP US BY FINDING RECORDINGS BY THESE RAGI'S AND IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE PLEASE ASK THEM.

OUR GOAL IS TO PUT ALL OLD KIRTAN ON THIS SITE SO THAT PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD COULD LISTEN TO THESE RECORDINGS AND COPY AND DO SEWA.

Sadh sangat ji.

Helping this task is important as it enables any body the access to keertan on line.

Further, it helps the spread of Guru's Bani which is eternal truth

SIKH CRICKET

Ashes will be soon. The English squad will travel to Down Under.Conditions will be tough. More than most , what worries touring teams is the racism of Aussie crowd.

Muttiah Muralidharan was at the receiving end. Then It was the South Africans. The intensity of the issue was such that the ICC had to appoint an independent commision to look into the matter. The report of the commision showed that racist behaviour was not limited to a certain section of crowd and it looked to be organised.Like football racism in spain against world's most exciting black players, Ugly monster is raising the head in cricket as well.

Come ashes, English lions will be in Aussie. Among them there will be Shamsudden Singh (Lion) Panessar . Sardar Monty. He is a crowd favourite in Britain than exciting Kevin Pieterson.Mike Brearly heard people saying " if non indigenous English are like Monty, ther will not be problems '(Read the Guardian article link to which is given below) When the sikh in Dustar comes into bat or is tossed the ball to roll his left arm , he gets a warm reception. But this will be a boo in Aussie.

Aussies are known to target soft Asians rather than giant West Indians of African descent.They know what to expect in return.In recent past, they targetted HIndu East Indian players in the Carribean team. How Sarwan was targetted was history.

A sikh in Guru's recommended garb will definitely be a target. How will he stand up to the task.His sikhiness will guide him through as we assume. A chap according to his sikh codes refused to share a beer to celebrate victory may not find facing hot tempered Kangaroos a difficulty. He is a born lion(Singh). But read this interesting guardian atricle on "Maverick Monty is the Manuel of multiracial Britain" http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cricket/comment/0,,1784808,00.html

Picture from Getty images

England experts are worried about Monty's fielding

http://sport.independent.co.uk/cricket/article620679.ece

http://content-nz.cricinfo.com/england/content/current/story/248799.html

A VISIT TO GURUDWARA

2006-05-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

Gurudwara means the abode of Guru. This is the sikh equivalent of a church for christians, Synagogue for Jews and a temple for Buddhists. Sometimes it is called a sikh temple in English lierature.

Unlike Buddhist and Hindu temples, a gurudwara does not have statues and sikhs do not pay homages to idols.Their veneration goes to Sri Guru granth sahib, a book which has verses from gurus.It includes verses from other religious saints also. Sikhs all over the world consider Guru Granth Sahib ji as their living guru as it contains the path to follow for a sikh.It is enshrined within a gurudwara with all due respect.

Sikhs are willing to lay down their lives for the living guru.The best recent example was reported during the Catrina huricane in New Orleans. In the deluge, devotees risked their lives to save the living guru from being caught in the deluge.

Believers of all faiths can visit a gurudwara provided that they cover their heaads by a scarff.

Harimandir sahib ji ( Photo) at Amritsar, India is the main Gurudwara of sikhs all over the world

Woud you like to visit a Guru Dwara and see its lay out?????

Just log on to

http://www.fairlands.herts.sch.uk/gurdwaratour/start4.htm