Wings of Desire – Breaking the Norms and Shinning Outright

When the time is right,

The efforts shine bright and

Bigger the aspirations,

Better is the way forward.

When I was born to the family of mine, I had no idea what was in store for me in this amazing world called ‘life’. Being a girl child from a not - well to do family, I could imagine myself behind the social norms that would confine me to my home doing household work with my aspirations and aim in life stay buried deep inside me.

But destiny had different plans for me. I was the chosen one, I was the one who was given a chance to live my dream and taste what success is like. The Kalgidhar Trust through AIRWE Baru Sahib picked me up, helped me grow each day spiritually and mentally. It was not easy for me to adapt to the good things that were happening to me, I fought a fight within me, a fight with my conscience that said I will not excel, the fight with myself to prove who I am, the fight to reach out to my ultimate goal.

The further I was going, the brighter I could see myself living my dream. The desire in me to excel, to not be just another name, pushed me to join Baru Sahib. From that very day, I experienced what a blessed child would have. I feel blessed and possess the power to have a say in whatever I do, I am the decision maker. I too was bound with the social evils, but I let them go and took a hand in hand with Akal Academy. Now, I have learnt how to fight for what is right for me. I don’t look back to where I was; I take inspiration from where I am and plan for where I will be. I am being groomed to be a teacher and this is where I am looking forward across the fence where I am working for the rural education and bringing in a positive change. I am here to excel and I dream for a better and brighter world ahead.

~ Deeksha Singh,

~ New Delhi, 30th Aug 2013

Woman Entrepreneur Rattan Kaur Chawla looks back and extends her love for her alma-mater

Just received a below testimonial from one of our Akal Academy Alumni, Baru sahib student Rattan Kaur Chawla.

It is quite pleasant to hear from her after a long time. Her words just made our day today!

We, all members & volunteers thank Rattan Kaur Chawla with all our heart for taking out time to express her love for Baru Sahib.

God Bless!

Akal Academy Baru Sahib was a turning point in my life. I can say I was given a new life and rebirth of my soul. Coming from an affluent family in Delhi, I was much pampered at home. This was the time when my mother decided that I needed some urgent attention related to education. She decided that I had to be sent to a hostel. The topic of Akal Academy came up when my uncle suggested to my father that he has already sent his daughter to Akal Academy and told him all the good qualities of Akal Academy. My parents were really impressed after visiting Akal Academy Baru Sahib though I was not sure if I would be able to take up the challenge to study in there. But, then my parents persuaded me and there was no looking back after that. 

I adjusted very well to the environment, everyone's love and affection at Baru Sahib made me stronger everyday. I wanted to spend my entire life at Baru Sahib as it was so peaceful and divine. A divine power attracted me to the place. I achieved a lot in the four years that I spent at Baru Sahib. I think this knowledge of four years was more than I had gained in nineteen years of my life. A very important thing, which I feel today I learned from Baru Sahib, was the qualities of self-motivation and discipline from the routine activities during my stay at Baru Sahib. 

I was always encouraged by all the staff members at Baru Sahib in everything. It gave me immense confidence. I participated in most of the sports and enjoyed my stay at Baru Sahib thoroughly. I could not stay back in Baru Sahib after my 10th class as I had interest in commerce stream, which was not offered at Baru Sahib at that time. So, I had to move back to Delhi for my further studies where I joined G.D Goenka Public School. 

Further, to fulfill my dreams, I went to Australia in Griffith University Gold Coast for my Bachelor of Business. The great experience at Baru Sahib made my stay easy in Australia. Currently, I am handling my family business (Fun ‘N' Food Village at Delhi, Nagpur, Dubai, Taskent). I am leaving for Dubai to work and pursue my MBA in University of Wollongong, Dubai which is actually a branch of Wollongong University of Australia. It will be a great honour for me to assist Akal Academy in anyway I could. 

In the end, I would like to express thanks and gratitude to everyone at Baru Sahib who had the faith in me to be what I am today. I would by no means forget each moment spent with everyone at Baru Sahib.  

My message to all the students at Baru Sahib, “We humans are special creation of God worth far more than any earthly treasure. So, we should make the best use of our life."

Rattan Chawla,

Class X, 2000 Batch 

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES

Ever wondered what tomorrow means, other than the dictionary meaning? Well in dictionary tomorrow just means 'a day after today'. The actual meaning of tomorrow is nothing but "a mystical land where 99% of all human activities, aspirations, dreams, motivations and achievements are stored". We humans have a habit of putting off our respective works for tomorrow. When given a task, all we say is "keep it there, on the table, I will do it tomorrow" but what if tomorrow never comes? Incidentally, no one can explain you better than Manpreet Kaur.

Manpreet, born to Chaman Singh, a carpenter who barely manages to stay afloat with his family expenses, she was brought up at a non-descript Hondla Kalan village in Mansa, Punjab, which was formerly a part of Phulkia Sikh Dynasty. Mansa is said to have been founded by Bhai Gurdas who hailed from Dhingar and is situated in the cotton belt of Punjab and popularly called the "Area of white gold".

Manpreet was a class tenth pass out from PSEB and is presently a student of AKAL INSTITUTE OF RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT, Baru Sahib a Free Teachers Training program run by The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib. She has completed her foundation course in the first year of her stay at Baru Sahib and would be appearing for her Class-XII exams. Having scored a brilliant 89% in Maths in the Terminal exams, shows that she is a smart girl who is willing to learn.

Manpreet is concentrating on increasing her English vocabulary and studying science and social science regularly. She said that these are important to her because she wants to learn a lot and become something in life. She keeps on reading more and more English books for better clarity and understanding. She is highly goal-oriented and wants to try out new things and wants to work hard on both the paths ie. Scholastically and co-curricular activities.

Manpreet is beautiful, quite tall and has qualities that delight the senses and especially the sense of sight. She is inspiring and capable of eliciting wonder. She wears a gentle calm smile and is delightful and charming while being extremely dedicated and hardworking individual. One can depend on her completely for some specific tasks and she too excels in those tasks effortlessly with responsibility and has an obligation to do something as part of a role assigned to her. Thus she will never fail to fulfill the hopes or expectations of someone. She respects the system and portrays the same. Moreover, many a times she faces the disappointment of her companions because sometimes she has to comply her duties by disagreeing them or by even going against their wishes. For her, her duty is just another way to reach god.

Holding the identity of a true 'Punjaban', she believes in God to a greater extent. She wakes up the warden on time for the daily important time of the day "Nitnem". Manpreet despite being young herself and away from home; imparts a motherly feeling to all girls. She does not gives up and tries to work on each step, whether it is in the class or out of the class. She is a gifted learner and is one of them who never shirk from any responsibilities. Her curiosity factor is high and she gives in her best to learn new things.

Being human, the only areas of concern for Manpreet is that she sometimes struggles with her language skills and also has to learn to use her energy and enthusiasm in a more constructive manner.

Manpreet's areas of concern will be corrected in some time since she is talented and hardworking. Another distinctive feature of her is that she is extremely spiritual and always praises god. One day she will become a very good teacher at an Akal Academy and we know that someday, somehow what she has always wished for will come true. It may not always be the exact package but it will always be, what GOD thinks is best for her.

Salute to The Kalgidhar Trust who finds sponsors for helping deprived girls like Manpreet find a place of respect in the society!

You too can help a girl like Manpreet today, find several ways by Clicking Here

~ Harshika Maakan, Rajdhani College, 

~ New Delhi, 24th Aug 2013

AN ORDINARY GIRL ON AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY!

“A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of productive thoughts, events & outcomes; and in some cases, like a catalyst, it sparks off extraordinary dreams. It is a small thing that makes a big difference, redefining our attitude.”

The above thought catalyzes my mind as I witness a superlative evolution of a mindset amongst a batch of rural girls that I am currently training, under a Free Teachers Training program, working with a Himachal Pradesh based NGO; The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib.

A simpleton from Sangrur, Punjab, Manpreet Kaur, got herself enrolled for the foundation course in 2011. Bold & confident, she settled down in the one-off club as she joined. Having lost her father at a tender age, Manpreet made books her best friend. Whilst her mother made efforts as the sole breadwinner for the family, she could clearly notice the blaze that was fiercely springing within Manpreet; as they say a mother’s eyes can read our hearts, so she made every effort & put forth every support to get her enrolled at  the Akal Institute of Women Empowerment to ensure her skills and dreams get nurtured.

An ardent lover of non-fiction books, Manpreet carries a bold attitude that sparkles and shows through her eyes. Besides her groove at academics, we observed an astounding power of memory in her. She has an exquisite capability to remember things & apply logic, permutations and combinations to finish her work in any possible way. Not only does she learn her lessons well, but also helps professes others, conceptually & logically explaining others in a swift manner.

“We are not here merely to make a living for ourselves, but to enable the deprived to live more gracefully, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement and to enrich the world”, explains Manpreet, as we interview her. Her assistance and an ever-helpful attitude towards other girls, especially her friend Sangeet, is amazing. She supports her in her studies & helps her enhance her reading & writing skills. For herself, she polishes her skills by reading books, almost every day. 

With the third year down the training course, Manpreet’s elevated outlook & aspirations have only expanded, which made it evident to us that like her exclusive mindset, she is certainly set to standout herself from others, perhaps several others, not only at the institute, but beyond.

Not much to our surprise, we discovered that Manpreet harbors immense interest to be an Astronaut, she is already doing a rigorous search to zero out on all the available academic paths she needs to be on for the same.   

The teacher training course which prepares her for a career at Akal Academy, in fact, seems to have been only a stepping stone for her aspirations or rather a fundamental that seems to have unlocked her brain that is bound to go limitless.

It feels happy & satiated to have come across her, to have served her, supported her & having set ablaze her motivation to get going to reach for the sky. She may or may not become a an Astronaut, but surely we learnt that achievement is not always success, it is an honest endeavor, an effort to do the best possible under any and all circumstances & Manpreet’s perseverance towards life is surely leaving an example, an impression, an inspiration, for all of us & others she is destined to travel with, in her journey to the stars.

~ Gurleen Vedi, B.A (HONS)-English

~ Mata Sundri College For Women, New Delhi

~  8th Aug 2013

When God is by your side… things get Right!

Many of us have had experiences wherein we felt existence of god’s glory & the representation of his Being. They say “He upholds the universe by His all-powerful hands & His grace upon us can never be under estimated”. When He is by our side, everything turns all right. We become a new person all of a sudden & new avenues begin to open up for us & all we are required to do is praise, worship & follow his paths as swiftly as he himself carves them for us. Similar is the story of Balaggan village’s Gurpeet Kaur. We see her destiny being carved out for her out of nowhere by no one, but Him. Daughter of an penniless farmer Gurdev Singh, Gurpreet is an unsophisticated girl, who grew up in a gloomy environment of a gender critical district of Gurdaspur in Punjab. One can only sense the difficulties of her life, growing up in a society known for its women inequality & discrimination. Understanding these challenges may be way beyond our confined imagination, which remains all absorbed into city life.

Gurpreet is currently pursuing Free Teachers Training Program at  AKAL INSTITUTE OF RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT - Baru Sahib under the aegis of The Kalgidhar Trust, where she voluntarily applied & got selected an year ago after matriculating from PSEB (Punjab Board). 

Besides preparing for her 12th exams, Gurpreet is practicing hard, to excel in English. She is able to easily read books, which help her working out new sentences & improving her vocabulary & speech. She intends to learn from every activity that surrounds her at the institute, from playing knowledgeable games to classroom activities with her peers. Every activity adds to her knowledge that helps her understand & discover plentiful of other aspects of life, that she would be devoid of otherwise. Gurpreet always tries to be involved in productive activities & learn something out of them. 

Though she has completed her official part of reading & writing, as defined in the course module, but a inquisitive Gurpreet stays fascinated, her thirst for knowledge is perpetual and infectious.

In addition, Gurpreet works hard on her vocabulary, speaking skills with special focus on writing topics & reading books. Her subsequent goal is to improve her speaking skills &  practice writing; as a hobby that she can follow through her life. She is cheerful & happy about her good performance at the readers theatre. In the midst of her pursuit of interests, Gurpreet strikes a decent balance at academics alongside by scoring an effortless 75% in Maths whilst sparing most of her time polishing skills that she is prepared to take up professionally  

”I was not too pleasant a personality initially”, reveals Gurpreet as she tells us about her life before joining ETT course. She is known for her distinct leadership traits at the institute. And we were curious to ask her about how she does it? she smiles & replies “I have been an impulsive & angry person for the most of my life. Before I joined here, I was short tempered, so much so that I would fight with my sister almost everyday at home & no one at home would dare to put me down. I could not meet the terms with anyone”. She is often referred to as  “the angry young girl” at her village, she tells us secretly. She admits & realizes that it is God’s grace that was bestowed upon her enabling this transformation. She has become calm, composed & finds peace under the guidance of God, she says. Her path to serve God’s people emerged as she learnt to practice spirituality & understand the hidden peace that resides within us at her institute; from an arrogant first bencher, she turned into a patient listener. even if it is the last bench. She feels her life started all over again, like a re-birth. She gradually has become a coveted companion to everyone, and a great follower of faith in god. Having started to believe in God by dedicating her life towards good of others, this sudden change in her was unexpected & pleasantly surprising for everyone around her & even for her family, who heartily thank & appreciate Baru Sahib’s efforts in arranging for her sponsorship that is transforming her life in a way so beautiful that they could never imagine. Gurpreet now shares the clan of goal oriented & God lovers. Her desire to change, do something productive & push it further with faith; made her a better person. Since all the true followers of God have to pass the hurdles & obstacles set by Him, Gurpreet’s fate is no different. Different only is in her will-power & capability to absorb. Perhaps, we feel obstacles are for good & make us even stronger & better, if we keep the courage to never stop. Her hard work & dedication almost came to a standstill when she had to leave the Institute due to some family issues. Her dreams of becoming a Teacher at some Akal Academy seemed distant. Her mother needed her, hence she left the Institute to support her family. But in no time, destiny brought her back in action. She returned, better than ever, with a defined focus to serve others ensuring that girls like her have a better future, enabling them to claim transformation through Education. She pledged to give whatever it takes to serve as much as she can, as many as she can, to become a teacher after completion of the course. Each life is exclusive & touches us for a reason, Gurpreet, certainly has given us a beautiful learning, that no matter what we want, we can achieve what we crave for. All is takes is courage. Courage to take our steps in the right direction. Courage to stick on the path we choose. 

If we are determined enough, there isn’t anything that can stop or halt us. When we know that we are on the right path, God himself comes for help to bail us out of every situation. 

He ensures that we reach our path, because when God is by your side, everything is possible!

~ Harshika Maakan (Eco-Hons.), 

~ Rajdhani College, Delhi University, New Delhi

~ 8th Aug 2013

The Girl that Grew Wings!

Khiala Kalan is a sleepy village in gender-critical district of Mansa, with its own sets of challenges like patriarchal mindset, female feticide, discrimination against girls, drug abuse and rampant alcohol abuse. Happy a.k.a Harpreet, a bubbly, effervescent young girl from Khiala Kalan lived a childhood no different from other girls of her time. She came from a conservative lower-middle class Hindu family, in a society typically infamous for its women inequality.

She is one of the few rural girls who managed to get through schooling, proving their competence to their families, maintaining singular focus & motivation throughout, defying all the odds & pressures that pull down most others mid-way.

She scored a decent 75% in her 12th Board examinations, which earned her respect at her village, but being knowledge fancier, Happy seemed fascinated with her goals that she silently carried in her heart.

 They say “if you desire for something with pure & whole-hearted intent, then the entire nature conspires towards carving the path for you”. Just as Harpreet had begun to nurture her fervent desire for learning further; destiny revealed the next piece of jigsaw in her quest, a random friend happened to tell her about the Free Teachers Training Program run by The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib.

“Though the dots seemed to be connecting, but it was not at all as easy, as that sounds”, tells us Harpreet breathlessly and fluently, as she confidently goes through a feedback interview with us. Apparently, we were fascinated to arrange this interview, after noticing her superlative proficiency in English; which she acquired in just 4 months of her 3 year training program without having any significant prior knowledge of the language.

Apparently, she reveals that her parents were initially opposed to the idea of letting her be away from home & for further education. Also, they had reservations about her joining Baru Sahib, being a Hindu herself. But ever since they visited Baru Sahib and saw the environment with their own eyes & knowing about Sikhism as an epitome of all religions; their doubts evaporated and they felt comfortable, secured & happy about seeing her pursue her dreams there.

 Harpreet, though not baptized into Sikh way of life, loves & lives by the ways of a true “learner” i.e. a Sikh. She is part of reciting the five divine routine scriptures of the faith. She voluntarily asked to be renamed to Harpreet Kaur & carries herself piously in uniform attire that is respected at the institute.

Harpreet Kaur, is observed to be an exceptional student at the ETT program and a prospective teacher at an Akal Academy. Her enthusiasm, capacity to learn & absorption levels are enormous and she surely is set to soar up high with the wings she has grown.

Commendable is the work of unassuming organizations like Baru Sahib that are plodding on to bridge the gaps between haves and have-nots and the benefactors who choose to sponsor deprived girls like Harpreet.

~ Ramandeep Singh, Student

~ 6th Aug 2013, Rohini, New Delhi

Transformation begins from WITHIN!

India is moving ahead each day, with a new thought on every wing. Gone are those days when religion defined the ethics of our country. Not that the religion is ignored, but it’s just the new age generation twisting & customizing it to suit their needs.

Kalgidhar Trust under the vision of 89 years young visionary of 21st century, Baba Iqbal Singh, has been striving to bring back the true essence of spirituality as was professed through different religions in the past ages, which bounds the society together in the robe of core human values. A  web of 129 Akal Academies spread across 6450 villages thriving by nurturing & rejuvenating young deprived children of the current era, who are learning to grow up into peace-makers, for a better tomorrow, reinstating the primal being of humans.

For the youth, Akal Institute of Rural Women Empowerment located in Baru Sahib in the state of Himachal Pradesh has been able to provide a rural connect in the lives of girls coming from poor families who never imagine the prospects of educating them. The institute is bringing them hope; hope to attain social & financial independence for themselves & their family members.

 This done through conducting strategic “Skill Development & Teachers Training Programs“ for FREE, where any matriculated women gets an opportunity to get herself enrolled. Story of one such girl who realized her dreams in particular, Sharanjeet Kaur, a resident of Veerka village in Punjab; reveals the powerful transformation uprising. Sharanjeet comes from a family where having two meals a day is bliss. Her life uptill her matriculation was amiss, having no goal, no ambition in life. Her family, having turned into an atheist over a prolonged time of ignorance, was opposed  to support for women education.

Sharan, had lost all her hope & there was no one to intervene & fix things. Suddenly, her family turned its decision in her favor! Call it Sharanjeet’s good deeds or the enticement of included accommodation & food with “the FREE Program”, which perhaps would help the family save on her living expenses, that did the trick & landed  Sharan at the Akal Institute of Rural Women Empowerment. This became the turning point for Sharan & her family..

Sharanjeet was an emotional girl initially. She required to be motivated and pushed to step up & grow. Sharanjeet faced dual trouble. Firstly, she couldn’t focus well on her studies and secondly her family didn’t have money to come to meet her.

Sharanjeet felt disheartened and missed her family badly, which further made her studies suffer. But then, destiny took its course & one good day, light approached Sharanjeet’s life too with the blessings of the Divine. Sharanjeet’s father had come down to see her. However this happiness was short-lived. Her father fell seriously ill, bearing a heart attack whilst he was there. Her Teacher came to his rescue by getting him immediate medical attention, and by God’s grace, his life was saved. This incident created space for faith in her father’s heart and made him a believer & an inward thinker. Just few days past this incident, destiny played its second card. This time Sharanjeet fell ill herself and was advised bed rest. She missed her studies for a month & her family realized her importance in the family & the connection they shared with her

They say, if we always keep faith in the Almighty, be it the good or bad times, things will work your way. Fortunately, Sharanjeet recovered through a potentially serious life-threatening condition and came out as an altogether different personality. Now, she became sincere and focused than ever. All those who knew her say that she had a re-birth. One could see this girl cake-walking though hurdles & hard times wearing a smile this time. She also improved on her theatre skills, which helped her throughout and enhanced her abilities to become a teacher.

Transformation and turns in life, approach everyone’s way. Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, only to reveal a pleasant reason, an evolution behind it, each time, be it anything anywhere, the destiny is predefined, exclusively crafted for each of us.

Sharanjeet’s story teaches us a dual lesson. First , hardwork can change our life, second, that faith in the Almighty is where it all begins to happen. Sharanjeet’s family today is religious, believing in almighty’s power, not afraid of what may come their way, for they have learnt to live through it with the spear of faith, with a smile.


~ Harshana Kathpalia, B.Com (Hons.)
~ Hindu College, New Delhi
~ 6th Aug 2013