Above: Amarjit Singh sports the Singh Tartan.
People
Tales From Yesteryear:
He Put His Life On The Line, And Won -
Amarjit “Ambi” Singh Kalra
AJAYPAL SINGH
sikhchic.com invites readers to send in stories from their past, or those of their family members and friends -- tales of extraordinary courage and bravery, compassion and generosity, achievement and accomplishment; that is, stories which fell through the cracks and were not recorded properly for posterity, or are now lost in the pages of time.
With your help, we’d like to bring those sagas alive and share them with the new generations. It is our pleasure to present you the following inaugural piece.
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HE PUT HIS LIFE ON THE LINE, AND WON: AMARJIT “AMBI” SINGH KALRA
In 1975, Amarjit ‘Ambi’ Singh Kalra was working as a Controller for Krug Furniture Manufacturing Company in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
One summer day, he was out on his regular lunch-hour jog when, running through a thicket around Margaret Avenue -- not far from where the grave of Pvt. Buckam Singh, the First World War Sikh-Canadian hero, was discovered several decades later -- he heard screams emanating from behind the bushes.
He stopped briefly and then ran to investigate in the direction of the screams. To his utter shock and surprise, he found himself witnessing a male sexually assaulting two young girls, 10-12 years of age.
Ambi pounced on the rogue, and kicked him repeatedly until he let the girls go, who then fled the scene. The latter lived close by. When they reached home, their parents called the Police.
In the meantime, while Ambi struggled with the assailant, another jogger turned up. Witnessing the goings-on, he immediately came to Ambi’s assistance and helped to subdue the criminal.
The Police arrived within minutes and promptly apprehended the culprit.
Not long thereafter, Ambi was honoured by the Board of Commissioners of Police for The Municipality of Waterloo (which includes Kitchener) with a Civilian Citation for bravery.
The certificate dated October 28, 1975 reads:
"In grateful acknowledgement of outstanding services and unselfish assistance rendered to the Waterloo Regional Police Force in the Preservation Of Peace And Order.”
The story is long forgotten and lies buried in the pages of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record. Until now.
Ambi went on to become a renowned entrepreneur, activist and philanthropist, helping build the image of a number of international brands including, inter alia, 1996 Summer Olympics at Atlanta (Georgia, USA), the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer (Norway), The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Hockey Canada.
More recently, the popular clothes lines of Classique Canada and Spirit Born bear his thumbprint.
He also created The Spirit Born Foundation to highlight the accomplishments of Sikhs in the diaspora. In October 2009, he held an exhibition in the Parliament of Canada titled, 'The Spirit Born People: Defending the World.'
December 8, 2015
Conversation about this article
1: Dr Birinder Singh Ahluwalia (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), December 09, 2015, 11:31 AM.
Congratulations, Ambi, on this well-deserved recognition, albeit from several decades ago. I have always admired your enthusiasm and energy. Keep up the good work. Season's Greetings and a Happy New year!
2: Irvinder Singh Babra (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), December 11, 2015, 9:46 AM.
Ambi Singh's story is remarkable, now made world wide by sikhchic.com. It sure will be serving the generations ahead. This .com enterprise, a paperless operation, powered by both Sikhs and non-Sikhs in Canada, is one of the few enterprises with the word Sikh on the masthead. It deserves to carry on further exploring the courageous stories, pics, reports, and more. A make up and make over is also needed to add to its glorious future. Well done, Chardi Kala to the movers and shakers.
3: Deepinder Singh Loomba (Canada), December 14, 2015, 5:39 PM.
Bravo Ambi. Great work you have been doing since. Keep it up.