Pingalwara

Pingalwara Center: A Place for Hope, Health and Happiness

This was a remarkable place, and the story behind it is even more compelling. Pingalwara's formation was sparked in 1934 by Bhagat Puran Singh Ji in Amritsar, Punjab.

For over 14 years, Bhagat Puran Singh tirelessly carried an abandoned, spastic child, usually on his back. The Partition of Punjab in 1947 (to form Pakistan) resulted in massive bloodshed. Millions of people were forced to leave their belongings in Pakistan to cross into India. My own grandparents survived the Partition but lost many of their children on the difficult journey. It was a traumatic and dark period in India's history.

Bhagat Puran Singh went through rough periods, and in 1948 when Pingalwara was taking shape, he stood along the streets requesting money. With the money he managed to collect, he bought food, clothes and medicines for the sick. He fed and bathed them, and took them to the hospital for treatment. He never allowed war, plague, or extreme weather to get in his way, and he continued to pick up stranded people (whether they were infected, sick, dying, etc).

Pingalwara means a house or asylum for the disabled, handicapped or crippled. We learned the Center also houses and takes care of the elderly, abused, people suffering terminal diseases, etc. The Center houses a humble museum dedicated to Bhagat Puran Singh depicting photographs of his early years and his simple belongings. He leaves a powerful legacy, one full of wonder and hope.

It is said that, "...Pingalwara is full of legends that would never make newspaper stories- for they are success stories about people picked up in their infancy from garbage bins, girls abused and abandoned by their families, and those mentally retarded grown-ups normally sent to harsh asylums for their lives" (All India Pingalwara Charitable Society).

Bhagat Puran Singh was well beyond his time. While no one gave attention to threatening environmental issues, he tirelessly advocated against deforestation and soil erosion. He stressed the need for planting trees, preserving natural resources, limiting the use of diesel and gasoline, and leading a good, simple life.

We spent a day in Pingalwara where Dr. Inderjit Kaur (who runs Pingalwara now) graciously provided us with a tour. We saw the main branch where they had living quarters and daily classes for neglected children and mentally impaired women. We also visited the branch just on the outskirts of Amritsar, where they house the school for the underprivileged and the prosthetic and physical therapy center. The employees and volunteers of Pingalwara were hard at work teaching, repairing, building, and providing services to people. We were very moved and impressed with their dedication to Bhagat Puran Singh's legacy. We donated to their cause, and felt that this help would go far. Pingalwara needs these funds and creates a wonderful environment to those who need it most.

Photos

Conjoined twins on all vital organs who can never be separated. Pingalwara Center, Amritsar, Punjab. October 26, 2006.


Young girls at the school for the underprivileged; Child of a mentally impaired woman


Rebecca and cognitively impaired children dancing to Bhangra music


Lovely children in class at the school for the underprivileged


Sweet girl in class at the school for the cognitively impaired


Children having a nice chuckle and drinking their milk


At the Pingalwara old school print shop where people are provided with small employment opportunities to publish Bhagat Puran Singh's manuscripts for free public distribution.


Team with Pingalwara President Dr. Inderjit Kaur (pictured in the blue). Dr. Inderjit Kaur has been wonderfully leading Pingalwara since the passing away of Bhagat Puran Singh in 1992.

Dharamsala to Amritsar

A Surprisingly Arduous Journey

Our journey from Dharamsala to Amritsar was absolute madness. The traffic congestion, road closures, detours, and holiday celebrations in honor of Baba Buddha (1506-1631) made traveling quite arduous.


When we were finally within the Amritsar district, traffic was stop and go. At every interval we had to stop, a group of Sikh boys would practically jump on our jeep to clean it and aggressively offer us beverages. It seemed almost normal to me, but since most of the team members have never traveled in this manner, their reaction was funny. Many of them thought we were being accosted or attacked. I explained that because there is a holiday, everyone is celebrating, and local people offer beverages to passersby traveling along the main road.

We left Dharamsala in the early afternoon but did not reach Amritsar until about 8pm. Our new drivers were terrible and we truly missed our Punjabi-speaking Tibetan drivers. Once we arrived in Amritsar, Tom and his guide Hekani arranged for us to stay at a guest house which was rather creepy. Some team members refused to stay there. So we stayed at a so-called 5 star hotel, the Ritz Plaza which I did not care too much for...but it was the best we were going to get by that point.

Punjab's government needs to consider improving the conditions of their roads and highways, along with more practical design and infrastructure. Perhaps entertaining proposals from wide ranging experts in fields such as engineering and architecture, could serve as the beginning to much needed reform and restructuring.

The highlight of Amritsar is Harimandar Sahib (aka Sikh Golden Temple). It is truly beautiful and unique in architecture. Most impressive is the undeniable feeling of peace one feels sitting at the water's edge near the Temple. I only hope that the administrators of the Temple upkeep its' beauty and prevent tarnish.

Lisa and I went to the Golden Temple the night we arrived in Amritsar, October 26, 2006.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

A Rare Meeting

Quite a rare opportunity to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama! So many people told me how lucky I was to have this chance. After the meeting, I reflected and thought to myself, "Am I any different now that I have met him? Have I changed in any respect?" I have not changed, but I am motivated to gain more discipline in my meditation (more on that in a later post!). I am also grateful for this opportunity because the Dalai Lama represents many things to me. He is a true spiritual and even political leader. He has done much for his Tibetan people, particularly in motivating them to succeed in the modern world through education while holding on to their identity as Tibetan Buddhists.

The Dalai Lama is believed to be the reincarnation of each of the previous thirteen Dalai Lamas of Tibet (the first having been born in 1351 AD), who are in turn considered to be manifestations of Chenrezig, Bodhisattva of Compassion. Since the Dalai Lama is also considered a manifestation of Chenrezig, he would be the seventy-fourth in a lineage that can be traced back to a Brahmin boy who lived in the time of Buddha Shakyamuni.


Grateful to meet you, Your Holiness!

When asked about his current goals, he replied that he had 2 main areas of focus:
1. The promotion of human values such as compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment and self-discipline.

2. The promotion of religious harmony and understanding among the world’s major religions. He stressed that all major world religions have a similar message on the importance of being good human beings despite any philosophical difference.

What beautiful commitments to strive for and live by! If all religious leaders or religious groups thought in that respect and lived by such practical values, the world would not be in such a crisis.


The Dalai Lama has a strong presence. I recognized his strength of mind, character, and intelligence. He speaks several languages, has been all over the world successfully promoting the Tibetan cause, and is the spiritual leader of the Tibetans! Some of his many successes include:

* Awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent struggle for the
liberation of Tibet.

* First Nobel Laureate to be recognized for his concern for global environmental
problems.

* Has travelled to more than 62 countries!

* Has received over 84 awards, honorary doctorates and prizes in recognition of his
message of peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal
responsibility and compassion.

* Has also authored more than 72 books.

He has held special meetings with presidents, prime ministers and royal families, and has also held dialogues with the heads of various religions.


Here is Tom, who arranged for us to meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Tom has been a champion for the Tibetan cause, and has donated much of his time, research and funding to aid projects in Dharamsala. Every year he sends law students to Dharamsala to teach Tibetan students human rights courses.

Dharamsala, Part II

Education in Dharamsala

We were fortunate enough to interview directors of various Tibetan schools, nunneries and the Transit School. When Tibetan refugees arrive in India, they are transported to the refugee center. They await their rare meeting and personal blessing from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

After the blessing, younger refugees are placed in the Sherub Gatsel Lobling School (Tibetan Transit School) where they have the option to remain for up to five years. The school has approximately 700 students. There they are taught a trade, language skills, technical training and education along with food and board. These young refugees have the option to stay the five years or leave earlier. After their time at the Transit School, either they go to a regular school, begin working, or are placed in one of the many Tibetan centers all over India. Some go back to Tibet so that the Tibetan culture is preserved and the aim of independence is never forgotten. I was impressed with their organization and outreach to the International community.

We interviewed the Director of a Tibetan and Indian school in Dharamsala who is a very excited about the work he does with the schools. Because the school is a mix of Tibetan and Indian students, he stressed ongoing cultural exchanges during childhood. This ensures a mutual understanding between ethnic Indians and the Tibetans. He told us the Indian government has been good to the Tibetans and allowed them to freely live in Dharamsala, while allowing them to preserve their culture...in many ways better than in Tibet. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has aided his people well, and people all over have been generous to the Tibetans out of care and concern.

School children taking a break at the Tibetan cultural festival. Tibetan school girls out for a walk.

Dining hall for primary school children

Overall, my findings led me to conclude that Dharamsala schools are in fairly good condition, and are constantly being improved and modernized. We learned that Tibetan schools and the new villages that are propping up in the region are funded heavily through international philanthropy. Funding also comes from the Dalai Lama Foundation, Tibet Administration and other standard governmental aid.

There are clear differences between the needs of Indian schools and the Tibetan schools. The pressing needs of many Tibetan schools included: improving the building structure of some schools, better benches, softer mattresses, and more nutritional food. However the many poor Indian schools had very critical needs such as an actual structure, walls, non-dirt floors, stationary, books, and other basic essentials. The manner in which the Tibetan government in exile has created, maintained and modernized their school system should serve as an example to many Indian states that have been unable to do the same for their own schools.

Kids in their music class excited to see us!
Tibetan girl dressed for her art and music class.