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sikhchic.com's Macauliffe Manor: High, Happy, Healthy

by RAVINDER SINGH TANEJA

 

 

As we approached this small rural community 90 miles north of Toronto, a large welcoming sign greeted us with a logo that read: “High, Healthy, Happy”!

Hmm-mm, I thought to myself! Always looking for puns and the double-entendre, I wondered if High and Happy had anything to do with sikhchic.com’s relocation to Mount Forest, Ontario (Canada).

History has it that the community renamed itself Mount Forest after it came to light that it actually sat on the high ground near the headwaters of the Saugeen and not the Maitland River as previously thought!

Figure that out.

Pulling up in front of the Church building that houses sikhchic.com and its resident “hermit” (as he calls himself), I remarked to my wife on the eccentricity of a recognizable Sikh in rural Canada living in a converted Church and running an online magazine billed as the “premier site on Sikhs and Sikhism, their Art & Culture, Poetry & Ideas, Personalities and Events, from across the Diaspora.”

My wife agreed, but for entirely different - and laughable - reasons. Knowing her propensity for the irrational, I wasn’t surprised when she said, in Punjabi, “lokaa(n) da jaman teh maran wee othe-yee,” wondering about possible hangovers of any inauspicious vibes from all the funerals that likely took place there.

But then, T. Sher Singh is anything but conventional.

We walked into the Church building through the side door to be greeted by the man behind sikhchic.com and the resident “hermit” at Macauliffe Manor, named to honor Max Arthur Macauliffe, the “matchless scholar of Sikh Lore,” who died, destitute and abandoned, in 1913. This was a tribute to a man who loved the Sikhs and Sikhi, and gave them a masterful six volume work on their history and religion - but who was, in the end, deserted by them.

I have always admired the design and colorful layout of sikhchic.com - not to mention the broad variety of its coverage. Now I know why. A quick glance around made it obvious that this was a Sardar with broad interests, a refined taste and an aesthetic sense - a bit of a rarity in Sikhs, who self-deprecatingly claim agriculture to be their only culture.

The place reflects Sher’s eclectic tastes and his travels across the globe. Church architecture with its beautiful stained glass windows, interspersed with Sikh art, native American-Indian totem poles, Turkish metal works and Buddhist artwork, make for a unique ambience where the global and the local harmonize seamlessly.

The altar still has a table but the cross has been replaced by a laptop. No sermons, just sikhchic.com sending out daily reading pleasure to Sikhs across the globe.

I must admit that while I appreciate nice things, I am a peasant when it comes to art appreciation. As Sher explained the background of the various artifacts (as any avid art collector would do), I smiled inwardly because it reminded me of an incident many years ago.

At the time, I was a graduate student in upstate New York, moonlighting as a domestic and dinner companion to an elderly lady from the so called “polite society” old money, Mayflower and the Social Register.

Her house looked like a museum, with paintings of many masters adorning the walls - Picasso, Miró, Monet, and van Gogh. She casually mentioned to me one day that the Miró on the wall behind her needed adjustment. I quickly started looking for a mirror on the wall and finding none, blurted out, “what mirror?”

We had a good laugh and Dorothy tried (unsuccessfully) to educate this Singh in art appreciation.

Macauliffe Manor would be incomplete without books of which there are plenty - spread across the entire space, strategically placed so that one could always reach out for one.

As we chat through the afternoon and into the night, Sher’s motivation in acquiring the use of this Church complex - through the help of a generous benefactor and supporter of sikhchic.com - becomes clearer, and less odd.

Actually, it starts to make eminent sense.

He explains to me his desire to use Macauliffe Manor as a multi-functional Sikh Center while housing the operations for a daily online Sikh magazine - sikhchic.com.

One thought centers around an ongoing internship program that sponsors youngsters to come to Macauliffe Manor for a two-week apprenticeship, learning how to run a magazine - all free of charge, including board and lodge. This would help create a pool that could carry forward the magazine or even start new ones.

Another possibility with immense potential would be to hold a periodic caucus of Sikh chairs in North America - or of those involved in Sikh Studies in the diaspora. For one thing, Sikh academics in the diaspora can come together in a non-academic setting for an exchange of ideas; for another, they can encourage a conversation about broader and vital Sikh issues.

More importantly, it will allow them a chance to mingle with the larger community and heal the fracture (perceived or otherwise) that seems to separate them.

Then, there's the thought of a similar caucus of Sikh politicians - municipal, state/provincial and federal/national - from across the diaspora.

Even the location, which I had questioned as I drove into Mount Forrest, began to make eminent sense.

It doesn't take long to realize that despite it's rural ambience, it sits in the heart of fascinating options, all within a short driving distance of the Manor.

Mount Forest is just 90 minutes away (driving) from urban Toronto, yet it is an idyllic world away - a perfect spot for a spiritual retreat. A little over an hour from the Toronto airport.

The world-famous Stratford Shakespeare Festival (Ontario, not Avon) is but an hour away in the other direction.

Ski-hills are the same distance, but northwards.

For children, Wonderland (Canada's version of Disney World) is less than an hour-and-a-half drive.

Niagara is a couple of hours, and on the way, another world-renowned theatre festival ... The Shaw Festival.

Seven different waterfalls adorn the undulating countryside, each within a short drive.

All of this, smack in the middle of sprawling Amish/ Mennonite farmlands! 

And so on goes the list ...

Macauliffe Manor has the expertise and the willingness. What we lack is money. To be sure, money - or lack of it - is central to many Sikh initiatives that I know of and work with. My thought is that we should create an endowment and launch an aggressive long-term fund raising campaign. The goal: $10 million in the next 3-5 years.

Am I dreaming? Or is it do-able? And is it worth doing?

My answer: No ... Yes ... and Yes.

Your thoughts?

 

July 11, 2011

Conversation about this article

1: I.J. Singh (New York, U.S.A.), July 11, 2011, 2:08 PM.

A great site for the Macauliffe Center - with promise of much hope and achievement, consistent with its name. I hope we remember that despite his excellent, enviable and memorable service to Sikhs and Sikhi, Macauliffe died a poor man; the Sikh community gave him meager financial support. The non-Sikhs had no reason to support him. I hope we learn from his life and remember the Biblical injunction that "from those to whom much is given, much is expected."

2: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), July 11, 2011, 6:01 PM.

"Jih parsaad baseh such mander/ tisey dhi-aay-ay sadaa man andar/ jih parsaad garih sang subh basnaa" [GGS:268.16] - "By His Grace you dwell in the palace of peace, meditate forever on Him within your mind. By His Grace, you abide within your family in peace." A perfect tribute to Max Arthur Macauliffe, a true Sikh: "Kaho naanak sabh tayree vadi-aa-ee ko-ee naa-o na jannai mayra." [GGS:383.12] - "Says Nanak, this is all Your greatness, no one even knows my name." Thanks, Sher ji, for keeping that tiny flame alight that portends to turn into a blazing flame. May your hermitage ever remain a thankful place of peace and meditation.

3: Gurmeet Kaur (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.), July 11, 2011, 10:26 PM.

Would one be taught to write like T. Sher Singh? When do the internships open?

4: Roop (Reigate, United Kingdom), July 12, 2011, 3:57 AM.

Well done, T. Sher Singh!

5: Kanwal Prakash Singh (Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A.), July 12, 2011, 7:53 AM.

May this beautiful setting named after a great British Sikh scholar of the nineteenth century and envisioned and nurtured by an "enlightened Sikh hermit" of our times be always a place of peace, learning, and study of the Sikh faith, culture, spirit and community. May this place, and others like this that exist or emerge in the future, be places where all divisive rancor is left outside our "church" doors and we vigorously engage in the discovery of our true identity and mandate of our faith: follow the universal message and commandments as taught by our Gurus and Guru Granth Sahib. May we allow the Light pouring though every beautiful spiritual and cultural stained glass window and light up the panels of our own minds and spirits to tasks that reinforce dignity and sanctity for all that we see and encounter, and all that is blessed to humanity by way of ideals, faiths, cultures and sacred traditions. The Sikh faith proclaims: All Creation is the repository of the Divine Light; Humility and Sweetness are the highest virtues; Serving in the truest sense (seva) is a mandate to know and honor God; Justice and Dignity for all living beings are about recognizing and celebrating Oneness in our shared humanity. Sikhchic.com and its guiding light, T. Sher Singh, and many scholars, contributors, and commentators invite us daily to focus on these ideals and on the myriad forms, fields, and forums of human creativity to express our wonder and ecstasy through the arts, poetry, music, and veneration of those who have and are leading the way. Thank you, T. Sher Singh ji, for your vision and wisdom and for helping us see new unimagined ways the power of ideas. We may be seeing the creation of a magnificent Damdama Sahib West, a gathering place of scholars and students in search of Truth and to advance human understanding in the rustic and rolling landscape of Mount Forest in the heartland of Canada. Congratulations, blessings, and thank you.

6: Ravinder Singh Taneja (Westerville, Ohio, U.S.A.), July 12, 2011, 2:18 PM.

Very gratifying to see the appreciation for what Sher has done in Mount Forest. But as I said, we need money to sustain and grow these initiatives. For that we need your help. I am not a fund raiser but, like you, appreciative of what sikhchic.com brings to all of us on a daily basis. So please offer some thoughts on how we could raise some funds. Thank you.

7: Brijinder Singh (New York / U.S.A.), July 13, 2011, 10:02 AM.

So T. Sher Singh ji is the Great Oz behind the curtain? Thank you for the wonderful work you do, sir. I would suggest widening the webpage to create more ad space. You can charge a monthly fee for the ads, which should come from businesses, organizations, political candidates, or other websites that share sikhchic.com's ideology and are sympathetic towards the Sikh cause.

8: Gurmeet Kaur (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.), July 14, 2011, 12:50 PM.

Ravinder Singh ji: here's where you will hear a dead silence and I will tell you why. You are reaching the audience (1% Sikh population in the diaspora) who is already stretched in supporting the many community initiatives that we see today. The other 99% have yet to be reached. So the first question is how to make such a project appeal to the generous but not highly educated ones? The second question is - will it be even worth it to spend time doing that? Will they understand the value of putting their dollars in something they do not understand? My 2 cents fund raising idea would be to a) Get a grant from the government of Canada under multicultural education category, etc., and then b) Use the community dollars as sustainment budget (once our community sees the value they will support it). It's probably going to be a do-able task to hire a good student intern to write a winning grant application.

9: Brijinder Singh (New York, U.S.A.), July 14, 2011, 2:42 PM.

During my undergraduate studies, I established a Sikh Student Association in my college, with the goal to educate students around the campus about Sikhism through community service projects like blood donations and food-drives for the homeless. I walked around the campus to get signatures from anyone I could, and took my paperwork to the dean to get the club established. That was the easy part. The hard part was getting people to show up for the meetings, pay their dues, and participate in the activities. After one semester, the dean shut down the club because we were so inept that he did not think our club was worth allocation of school resources. I like Gurmeet Kaur ji's idea about obtaining a grant. However, I would advise you not to put your hopes into the community coming together to support your cause. If you do, I fear you may end up like Mr. Macauliffe.

10: Manjeet Shergill (Singapore), July 15, 2011, 5:51 AM.

I'll donate dollars and cents. Will be in touch.

11: Devinder Singh (India), July 15, 2011, 9:56 AM.

How about floating a not-for-profit company that pays out no dividends but utilizes the profits to further the objectives of sikhchic.com? The business will make money by lending to 'community' owned enterprises that will not be inheritable, in keeping with the Khalsa ideal of Wund Chhakna, that has its base the idea of 'non-possession'. sikhchic.com itself is a community enterprise, isn't it? Donors will be easier to find as they will be shareholders and therefore have some control over the use of funds, with some serving on the board.

12: Ravinder Singh Taneja (Westerville, Ohio, U.S.A.), July 16, 2011, 6:55 AM.

Thank you, Gurmeet ji, Devinder ji and Manjeet ji, for your thoughts and input. These are excellent suggestions and I hope to keep readers informed through this column.

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