All the campers participated in this tournament held on 13 July, 2006 involving games like Carom, Table Tennis and Rope Competition. The track events had to be cancelled due to bad weather. All the participants were thrilled before the tournament took off. Group A, B, C & D’ (boys and girls) took part in the tournament. All the events were neck-to-neck competitions. All the participants were putting their best efforts. Group ‘A’ comprised the age group 6-9 years, group B 10-12 years, group C 13-17 years and group D 19-23 years. The participants played with full concentration and the referees ensured a fair play.

The winners of the tournament were:

Carom (Boys):

Group ‘A & B’

Group ‘C & D’

Table Tennis (Boys)

Group ‘A & B’

Group ‘C & D’

Rope Jumping Competition (Girls)

Group ‘A’

Group ‘ B’

Group ‘C’

Group ‘D’

Table Tennis (Girls)

The campers are trained in Yoga by the fellow camper Himmat Kaur, an American Sikh. The Yoga sessions are held regularly for the campers to enable them keep good health and concentrate in their learning. Prior to the Yoga sessions, Himmat Kaur told the campers about the following benefits of Yoga :

Physiological Benefits: Improves sleep, posture, dexterity skills, excretory functions, eye-hand co-ordination and reaction time. Increases energy level, endurance, cardiovascular efficiency, respiratory efficiency, breath-holding time, grip-strength, immunity, muscular flexibility, muscular strength, galvanic skin response and EEG-alpha waves. Decreases pain, pulse rate, blood pressure and EMG activity. Normalizes weight, endocrine function, gastrointestinal function and stabilizes autonomic nervous system.

Psychological Benefits: Improves concentration, attention, mood, depth perception, mind/body neuro connection, memory, learning efficiency, balance, steadiness and cognitive function. Increases somatic and kinesthetic awareness, self-actualization, well-being, self-acceptance and social skills. Decreases/eliminates depression, hostility and anxiety.

Mid-Camp program was performed by the children of the Akal International Youth Camp on 16 July 2006. The Gurbani Kirtan started at 10:00 am. All the campers were dressed beautifully. The boys were dressed in White and Girls in Blue. The ceremony took place in the Darbar hall. All the children were very excited as this was the first time they were going to perform in front of a huge gathering. They were to perform the shabads that they had learnt in the camp. Some children performed shabads and the others recited poems. The people were amazed to see the enthusiasm of the children. They were amazed to see the skills of the children that developed in just 10 days.

The children learned playing different instruments here in the camp. They displayed their skills while reciting Kirtan and poems. The instruments like Tabla, Harmonium, Sitar and Taus were used by the children. All these shabads and poems were taught to them by the teachers at the camp.

The ceremony was attended by a large number of sadh-sangat. Baba Iqbal Singh Ji was also present in the Ceremony along with the other dignitaries.

The campers recited shabads very enthusiastically. Children recited poems with a lot of zeal performing body actions taught to them by the gurmat teachers. Their enthusiasm was appreciable.

After the Kirtan by campers, Baba Iqbal Singh Ji delivered a speech in which he appreciated the courage of all the children. He praised the children that they have learnt a lot in such a short time. He exhorted all campers to do service to the humanity by adopting different kinds of seva. He explained the significance of doing Sewa and encouraged all the campers to make Sewa a part of their daily life

He appealed to Sangat to make their children learn more of Gurbani, moral values and Sikhism.

The schedule of the program was as follows:

Group ‘A’ (Girls)

	"Asi paida hoye haan khande di dhar vichon" Harnidh Kaur Rasnaam Kaur
	"kavan gun pranpati milo meri mai" Inderpreet Kaur Rajkiran Kaur Sherry Kaur

Group ‘A’ (Boys)

	"Dasven guran dian khushian je lainiaan" Khushkarmdeep Singh Gursimrat Singh Amrit Sony Deep Singh Jaskaran Singh Jobanpreet Kaur Navjot Singh Akashdeep Singh
	"Gur gur karat sada sukh paia" Angad Singh Harpreet Singh Gurakam Singh
	"Ram japo ji aise aise" Manpreet Singh Amardeep Singh Akashdeep Singh
	"Kalgidhar panth piare da" Ravjot Singh Angaddeep Singh Amritpal Singh Grewal Manpreet Singh Khalsa Harpreet Singh Khalsa Akashdeep Singh Jugraj Singh Manpreet Singh Gurveer Singh Kiratdeep Singh Jasdeep Singh Jaspreet Singh Gurakum Singh Amandeep Singh
	"Gur mere sang sada hai nal" Amandeep Singh Haramritjot Singh
	"Gur amrit har sukh choia" Jasjeet Singh Karandeep Singh

Group ‘B’ (Girls)

	"Dasven pita de doven chhote lal ji" Gagandeep Kaur Gururoop Kaur Sumit Kaur Navdeep Kaur Kirandeep Kaur Jeevanjot Kaur Gagandeep Kaur Keerat Kaur
	"Gur pure meri rakh lai" Himmat Kaur
	"Mein dastar rahi han bol" Mandeep Singh
	"Bisar gai sab tat parai" Angad Singh Amritpal Singh
	"Thir ghar baiso harjan piare" Gurwinderpal Singh
	"Dassin kalgi valia ve kithe lalan de ne jorhe" Jasjeet Singh Karandeep Singh Haramritjot Singh Guramritjot Singh Sandeeppal Singh Harmanpreet Singh Balkarandeep Singh Amandeep Singh Angad Singh Amritpal Singh Tejinder Singh
	"Aisi maang gobind te" Jaismin Kaur Darshpreet Kaur Gurpreet Kaur Dalbir Kaur
	"Man loche har milan kau" Ravneet Kaur Jaskirat Kaur Charanpreet Kaur Mandeep Kaur Raminder Kaur
	"Mittar piare nu haal muridan da kehna" Shaminder Kaur
	"Tatian lohan te dere lae satgur mere" Group-C girls Group-D girls

Punjabi Speech Competition for the campers was held in Akal International Youth Camp on 19 July 2006. The children were divided into two groups. ‘A & B’ and ‘C & D’. All the campers participated in this competition. The topics for the speech were:

Group A & B

• Guru Nanak Dev Ji
• My Hobby
• My Summer Vacation
• My School
• My Embarrassing moment

Group C & D

• What I learned at Baru Sahib
• Gurmat Camp at Baru Sahib Vs American/Canadian Gurmat Camp
• India Vs USA/Canada
• My vision of future
• Life sketch of Guru Gobind Singh Ji

All the speakers were required to speak for at least 2 minutes exclusively in Punjabi

Marks distribution was as follows:

• Introduction: 2 marks
• Expressions: 5 marks
• Content: 10 Marks
• Conclusion: 3 marks

The prizes were given by Mr. Duggal and Dr. Sekhon. The event was compered by Mr. Harpal Singh. Er. Amarjeet Singh, Col. Anand, Wing Commander Bindra and Mrs. Paramjeet Kaur were also present on this occasion.

A trip to Paonta Sahib Gurdwara was organized for the campers on 22 July, 2006. Two Deluxe buses departed from Baru Sahib at 6:00 in the morning. All the campers were very excited about the trip. The buses started off with the Jaikara “Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji ke Fateh”. The first stoppage was Gurdwara Shri Dashmesh Asthan in Nahan. Here the children had their Breakfast at 10:00 am. According to the history, Guru Gobind Singh Ji spent eight and half months at this place.

After having the darshan of this Gurdwara, the buses headed towards Gurdwara Paonta Sahib. The history of the Gurdwara is that, Guru Gobind Singh Ji spent four and half years of his lifetime at this place. Here he fought the 1st battle of Bhangani. This was the first battle of Guru Gobind Singh Ji against injustice. Sahibzada Ajit Singh was also born here. The children were very excited once they reached Gurdwara Paonta Sahib. They all shot pictures of the Gurdwara and its surroundings. They sat in the main hall of the Gurdwara to listen the Kirtan. They also visited Dastar Sahib, where Guru Gobind Singh Ji used to tie his Turban. This was followed by Gurdwara Kavi Darbar. Gurdwara Paonta Sahib is right on the banks of river Yamuna. The Yamuna is full of serenity near the Gurdwara Sahib. Here, Guru Gobind Singh Ji and his poets used to sit and recite poems. On every Puranmashi (full moon night), the poets visit this place and recite poems in the remembrance of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

The next place to be visited was Shaheed Baba Ajit Singh Library and Museum”. Here the manager told a brief history of Paonta Sahib. After this session, all the campers had their Langar. The children loved shopping outside the Gurdwara. They did a wide variety of shopping in the market adjascent to Gurdwara.

After this, the campers reached Gurdwara Bhangani Sahib at 3:00 pm. This Gurdwara is at a distance of 10 Kms from Gurdwara Paonta Sahib. Here, Guru Gobind Singh Ji fought and won the battle against many kings (Pahari Raaje).

Next Gurdwara that the children visited was Gurdwara Sher Gaah Sahib . The history of the Gurdwara is that, here Guru Gobind Singh Ji killed a white lion, who had been converted to be a man eater. After this the children visited Gurdwara Tir Garhi Sahib.

Dastar Tying Competition for the campers was held on 24 July 2006. All the children participated enthusiastically in the Competition. The children were divided in two sections. Group ‘A & B’ and Group ‘C & D’. The children were putting their best efforts in tying their Dastars. The judges for the event were Dr. Sekhon, Er. Amarjeet Singh and Mrs. Mandeep Kaur.

The name of the Position holders are:

Team A & B

1st: Angadeep Singh, Barinder Singh

2nd: Navjot Singh, Akashdeep Singh

3rd: Jovanpreet Singh

Team C & D

1st: Amritpal Singh

2nd: Angad Singh, Haramritjot Singh

3rd: Karandeep Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Gurvinderpal Singh

"It felt like this was the thing I have been waiting for"

This is the tale of the girl, who lately accepted Sikhism as her religion. She is HIMAT KAUR, an American Sikh. 23 years old Himmat Kaur is attending the Akal International Youth Camp 2006, and also teaches Yoga to her fellow campers everyday.

What made you choose Sikhism as your religion?

I used to go to the religious place with my parents, but never got a good feeling for that religion from my inner self. The teachings in that religion are very nice but the people don’t practice it (majority). So I didn’t like this thing. This made no sense to me. I had a normal lifestyle, I had two Sikh friends who were born and raised in Gursikh families. I had one friend whose father was a yoga teacher, he was also a Gursikh. I visited them and was very much impressed by the lectures that they gave related to Body, Mind and Soul. I started visiting them occasionally, but soon it became a daily routine. I used to feel so energetic after doing yoga. I felt as if a new door has opened for me. He used to tell, "If you want to attain peace of Body, Mind and Soul, then you should know Sikhism more deeply.

He used to give lectures related to Sikhism, and I started taking lot of interest in Sikhism and started to learn things about this religion. Slowly I started going to Gurudwara every Sunday. I started learning Mool Mantra. It just stuck in my mind. Every time I used to recite Mool mantra, I used to feel so good. It gave me all the answers to my questions that were there in my mind. At this time, I was 17. It felt like this was the thing I have been waiting for. My soul had awakened, I was feeling so good. I don’t have words to explain that feeling.

Did your parents support you?

Initially, my mother thought it was a temporary phase in my teenage and will go away as the time comes, but I was committed and then she also realized it that I was committed to Sikhism. When I told my mother that I have started yoga, she also accompanied me to the yoga classes, but it demanded a lot of concentration and discipline. She was not feeling comfortable after a couple of days, but she never said anything to me because she knew I was on the correct path. Sometimes she feels insecure for me, but when I sit with her and explain every thing, she becomes normal. She knows I am in the safe hands. Sometimes my elder brother makes fun of me, but he is also very caring. Now all my friends and family members have accepted me and I am very much happy about it.

How all did this process start?

When I went to University, I didn’t have friends. For the first two years, I felt very lonely. In the 3rd year, I met a friend Gurvinderpal Singh. He is a very nice boy, and very much into Sikhism. Gurvinderpal introduced me to Dr. Sekhon* and Dr. Sekhon started teaching me Gurmukhi. Although I had interest in Gurmukhi, I could only read it with the help of a translator. Dr. Sekhon helped me a lot in learning Gurmukhi. I feel it is the presence of the Sangat that made me come close to Waheguru. The message of Waheguru is delivered through Sangat only. I started reading Gurbani and pronounce the words correctly.

How did you find India?

Generally, I found weather in India very hot, but surprizingly Baru Sahib is very cool and peaceful. I liked the Indian Airports. and the people are very nice here. This is my first visit to India.

How did you come to know about the camp and tell us your experience here?

Gurvinderpal Singh is my friend and he is attending the camp for the last two years. He always used to tell so many good things about the camp, what all they learn, do so many good things; I always used to listen to him and wished to come to Baru Sahib to attend the camp, and today I am so lucky to attend the camp.

The teachers here are so amazing, I am learning a lot here. I was very scared to perform Kirtan in the Darbar Hall, but all my teachers encouraged me and I did it. This is one of the biggest achievements for me.

The food is very nice in the camp, the weather is good, I have learnt Kirtan, Playing Gatka, learned a couple of Shabads, learned to play different instruments. I teach Yoga to all the campers every day. All other campers are very nice to me. They are very helpful, they are eager to learn new things, like me.

I love the dress code very much. I like wearing Dastar.

It was a very nice experience talking to Baba Iqbal Singh Ji. It was amazing, I can't expain that feeling in words, it was simply fabulous. I would definitely come next year for the camp.

“IF WE ALWAYS REMEMBER WAHEGURU, THEN KNOW THAT EVERYTHING THAT IS COMING IS COMING FROM HIM.”

“WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHEGURU JI KE FATEH”

A Gurmat Quiz was held in Akal International Youth Camp on 25 July 2006. The participants were divided into two groups, 'A & B' and 'C & D', and in four teams viz, Amul, Atul, Abhai and Ajai. The Quiz started off at 8:00 pm and concluded at 10:00 pm. The Quiz was attended by Dr. Davinder Singh (Principal, Akal Academy), Dr. Neelam Kaur (Vice Principal, Akal Academy), Dr. Sekhon, Er. Amarjeet Singh and Mrs. Paramjeet Kaur. It was a very closely fought competition. There were 4 rounds in total. All the children were putting in their best efforts with great concentration in the competition. The audience was cheering for their teams.

The format of the quiz was as follows:

Round 1: Question and answer round, (House wise)

Round2: Picture Round (Identify the Sikh history shown in the picture)

Round 3: Audio Round (Identify Gurbani ‘tuk’ from Nitnem/Gurbani)

Round 4: Flag Round (Random Questions)

The names of the participants were:

Group A & B

Ajai House: Gagandeep Kaur Jathoul, Gurroop Kaur, Navdeep Kaur and Sumeet Kaur

Abhai House: Gurpreet Kaur, Gagandeep Kaur, Jeevanjot Kaur, Harkiran Kaur

Amul House: Kiratdeep Singh, Manpreet Singh, Angadeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Gurbhej Singh, Guramritjot Singh, Gursimrat Singh, Akshdeep Singh

Atul House: Amritpal Singh, Brinder Singh, Ravjot Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Gurekum Singh, Navjot Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Jaspreet Singh

Ajai House: Ravideep Kaur, Jaismeen Kaur, Dalbir Kaur, Charanpreet Kaur, Jaskirat Kaur, Daraspreet Kaur, Gurpreet Kaur

Abhai House: Rajkiran Kaur, Sherry Kaur, Himat Kaur, Inderpreet Kaur, Shaminder Kaur, Raminder Kaur

Amul House: Gurvinderpal Singh, Haramritjot Singh, Sandeeppal Singh, Amritpal Singh, Amandeep Singh

Atul House: Angad Singh, Karandeep Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Balkarandeep Singh, Gurjinder Singh

Winners:

Group A & B: Atul House (I), Abhai House (II), Ajai House (III), Amul House (IV)

Group C & D: Ajai House (I), Atul House (II), Amul House (III), Abhai House (IV)

The Amrit Sanchar took place on 26 July 2006. This was a very big achievement for the teachers and the organizers of the 3rd Akal International Youth Camp. They were the ones who made the young campers know the importance of Amrit and its values. The children were very excited, as they were to get the blessings from the ‘Panj Pyaras’. The ceremony started at 2:00 pm and lasted till 6:00 pm.

After the Amrit Sanchar Ceremony, the campers got the blessings of Baba Iqbal Singh Ji where he appreciated these campers for following the path shown by the Gurus and exhorted them to be the role models for others.

The following 17 campers got the blessings of The Almighty at the Amrit Sanchar Ceremony and became a part of KHALSA family:

1. Manpreet Singh Dhaliwal
2. Angaddeep Singh
3. Gurbhej Singh
4. Kiratdeep Singh
5. Jaskaran Singh
6. Balkarandeep Singh
7. Hamamritjot Singh
8. Guramritjot Singh
9. Gurakum Singh
10. Amritpal Singh
11. Jaskirat Kaur
12. Charanpreet Kaur
13. Dalbir Kaur
14. Ravinder Kaur
15. Ravneet Kaur
16. Gurpreet Kaur
17. Himmat Kaur

This was one of most awaited event by all. It took place on 27 July 2006. The Basketball match was conducted between the campers and the students of Akal Academy, Baru Sahib. Both the teams have been attending strenuous practice sessions for the last couple of days. The girls played their match in the morning. The match started at 8:00 am. Both the teams were putting their best efforts to get the ball and score as many baskets as they could. They were putting their sweat in the game. It was a tough fight between the two teams.

As we all know, luck favors the brave, so it happened again. The girl campers won over the girls of Akal Academy. The match was attended by Dr. Sekhon, Col. Anand, Dr Neelam Kaur (Vice Principal, Akal Academy), Er. Amarjeet Singh and Mrs. Paramjeet Kaur. The prizes were given by Col. Anand. Gold medals were given to the Campers and Silver medals to the Academy students.

Boys' match took place at 5:30 pm. It was a very close match; both the teams were putting their best efforts. Akal Academy boys, 'the unbeatables' took the lead and eventually won the game.

It was a 4 quarter, 40 minutes' game. There were 2 referees for the game, one from the camp side and other from the Akal Academy. The referees made sure a fair play. Both the camp teams were coached by Dr. Surjit Singh Pohar.

After the match, the medals were given to the boys by Dr. Sekhon. Gold medals were given to the Akal Academy Boys and Silver medals to the Camp children.

The participating campers were:

Girls

• Navdeep Kaur
• Inderpreet Kaur
• Shaminder Kaur
• Rajkiran Kaur
• Sherry Kaur

Boys

• Angad Singh
• Guramritjot Singh
• Haramritjot Singh
• Sundeeppal Singh
• Jasdeep Singh

After one month of a novel learning experience in 'The Valley of Divine Peace', finally came the time of the closing ceremony of the 3rd Akal International Youth Camp 2006. On 29 July 2006, the children of the camp performed the closing ceremony of the camp. The children were dressed beautifully. The girls were dressed in White and the boys in Blue. The whole environment was very touching. The campers were to show their skills that they had learned from their teachers in the month long camp.

The whole ceremony was a memorable one. The children performed their best. No one could believe that these children have learnt so much in 4 weeks. The courage of the children was highly appreciable. All the people were amazed to see these young children's performance. The campers displayed their skills on Tabla and stringed musical instruments (Tanti Saaz). They recited Gurbani Kirtan as well as songs of valour.

After the performance of campers, the students of Akal Academy Baru Sahib performed Kirtan followed by the students of Gurmat Sangeet Vidyalya. They recited Gurbani on stringed musical instruments like Taus, Sitar, Guitar etc. as well as Harmonium and Tabla. They also greeted the newly arrived campers from England. After that Bibi Ram Ratan Kaur along with the other campers sang the “Song of the Khalsa”.

The mementos were given to all the campers by Dr. Manmohan Singh Atwal. Outstanding achievements trophies were awarded by Dr. Balwant Singh Sekhon to the campers. After that Baba Iqbal Singh Ji gave Siropa to the sewadars who served selflessly for the success of the Akal International Youth Camp.

Mr. Mohan Singh (from England) appreciated the concluded camp's participants' courage and asked the newly arrived campers from England to try and learn as much as possible in the forthcoming youth camp.

After this Baba Iqbal Singh Ji praised the campers for their endeavour to learn gurmat and was happy for their upliftment as an individual for treading the path of gurmat shown by the Gurus. He told all the children not to forget whatever they had learnt from the camp and try to apply this learning in their daily routine and become role models for others. He hoped that the campers would attend the next year's camp too.

The closing ceremony was attended by Dr. Manmohan Singh Atwal, Dr. Balwant Singh Sekhon, Mr. Mohan Singh, Dr. Davinder Singh (Principal, Akal Academy), Dr. Neelam Kaur (Vice Principal, Akal Academy), Er. Amarjeet Singh and Mrs. Paramjeet Kaur.

SCHEDULE

	Tabla Performance Group 1: Jaspreet Singh Sandeeppal Singh Gurveer Singh Gurbhej Singh Manpreet Singh Gurjinder Singh Group 2: Jasdeep Singh Barinder Singh Amritpal Singh Kiratpal Singh Balkaram Singh Harmanpreet Singh Ravjot Singh
	Uch Apar Beant Soami Harpreet Singh Gurakam Singh
	Kise Kaum Di Shakti Je Vekhni Hai Gurbhej Singh
	Rog Gia Prabh Aap Gwaia Manpreet Singh Akashdeep Singh
	Aisi Preet Karuh Man Mere Amandeep Singh Haramritjot Singh
	Ai Satgur Parupkari Group A (Boys): Khushkarmdeep Singh Gursimrit Singh Amrit Sony Jaskaran Singh Jovanpreet Kaur Navjot Singh Akashdeep Singh
	Sawan Saras Mana Angad Singh Amritpal Singh
	Joti Jot Rali Karandeep Singh
	Ussar Rahi Khooni Deevar Harnidh Kaur Rasnaam Kaur
	Deh Shiva Var Mohe Ehe Angad Singh Navjot Singh
	Mera Baid Gur Gobinda Sherry Kaur Inderpreet Kaur Rajkiran Kaur
	Dinan Ki Pratipal Kare Nit Himmat Kaur
	Simar Mana Ram Nam Chitare Jaismin Kaur Darshpreet Kaur Gurpreet Kaur Dalbir Kaur
	Dhan Dhan Puttran De Dania Group B (Girls): Gagandeep Kaur Gururoop Kaur Sumit Kaur Navdeep Kaur Jaskirandeep Kaur Jeevanjot Kaur Gagandeep Kaur

15. Ham Kookar Tere Darbar

• Ravneet Kaur • Jaskirat Kaur • Charanpreet Kaur • Mandeep Kaur • Raminder Kaur

16. Kar Kirpa Karo Prabh Daat (Tanti Saaz)

• Raminder Kaur • Shaminder Kaur • Charanpreet Kaur • Dalbir Kaur

17. Nikle Chamkaur Vichon

Sant Attar Singh Ji and his divine associate Sant Teja Singh Ji followed the footsteps of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and envisioned the way to universal peace by imparting spiritual education along with conventional scientific education. As a result, a chain of 22 Akal Academies have been established all over Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh in Northern India.

By the grace of God Almighty, Akal International Youth Camp was organized at Akal Academy, Baru Sahib, Distt. Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh, India. The camp was a humble step to spread the divine message of universal brotherhood and peace as enunciated by Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj.

The camp was organized exclusively for the children of USA and Canada. The schedule and curriculum of the camp was prepared by the highly educated Sikhs of USA keeping in view the basic needs of the NRI children and based on the interaction and experience of Baba Iqbal Singh Ji’s tour of various countries. This four week camp lasted from July 3 to July 30 2006. Seventy-one children with age varying from 6 to 23 years attended the camp along with some of their parents and had a chance to get divine experience at the land of meditation, i.e., Baru Sahib. The camp gave an excellent opportunity to the Sikh children to get first-hand experience of their own Culture, History, Language, Gurbani, Kirtan and Gurmat.

The curriculum at the camp was designed to cater the individual needs of the campers. Each camper was evaluated individually and performance targets were fixed accordingly. Greater emphasis was laid on learning Punjabi language and Gurbani in Gurmukhi script. One-to-one coaching was provided to all the children to meet their performance targets. Many of the campers didn’t know Gurmukhi script at all. By the time the camp was over, not only could they read Punjabi but also perform morning Nitnem (All the five banis of Nitnem i.e., Jap ji Sahib, Jaap Sahib, Tav Prasad Saviye, Chaupayee Sahib and Anand Sahib, as also Rehraas Sahib and Sohila in the evening. Almost every camper learnt to recite Gurbani Kirtan (minimum five Shabads).

Children who already had basic knowledge of the Punjabi script and Gurbani Kirtan were given advanced coaching for Asa di Vaar and Kirtan in ragas. Some children learned to play instrumental music including Sitar, Taaus, Sarangi and Tabla. Children were also able to perform Ardaas, Hukamnama from Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Kirtan amongst the saadh Sangat in Darbar Sahib. Children were encouraged to perform ‘fan seva’ with hands, cleaning shoes in Gurdwara Sahib and washing utensils in Guru Ka Langar as per Sikh traditions.

Gurmat discussions were also a part of the daily routine to help children imbibe Sikh values and shed vices like ego, lust, violence and greed. Baba Iqbal Singh Ji, President, The Kalgidhar Trust, had interactions with the children to satisfy there queries about the Sikh Way of Life and enrich their knowledge about Gurmat. Initially many children were found to be very indifferent about Gursikhi but in the course of time; owing to the dedicated and intense training, they became motivated to lead the ‘Gursikhi Way of Life’. Consequently, many of them took Amrit and became Gursikhs. All the campers vowed that they would strive to continue with the routine of Amrit Vela, Nitnem, Rehraas and Sohila as taught at Gurdwara Baru Sahib.

The campers also learnt Gatka (Sikh martial Art) and were taken for trekking across the scenic hills around Baru Sahib. Horse-back riding was one of the major attractions for the campers. Sight-seeing was also arranged. Campers were taken to Paonta Sahib, Anandpur Sahib, Harmander Sahib. Fatehgarh Sahib and various other Historical Gurdwaras. Campers also participated in Gurmat Quiz which enhanced their further knowledge in Sikh History.

A modern infrastructure exists at Akal Academy, Baru Sahib to cater to all the physical needs of the campers to make their stay comfortable. Special chefs were appointed to provide American, Continental and Indian food to the campers. Medical service was provided by the existing hospital and medical staff. Punjabi, Gurbani and Kirtan staff was available in-house.