Baba Gurmukh Singh

He was born in 1888 at Lalton Khurd, District Ludhiana. He studied up to Matriculation at a Church Mission School of Ludhiana and was a school-mate of Kartar Singh Sarabha. In 1914 he decided to go to America. At Hong Kong, he learnt about the new restrictions imposed by the Canada Government. He got a seat in the Kamagata Maru. When the ship reached Canada were not allowed to leave their ship and enter America. After a great suffering the ship sailed back to India with all its passengers. At the Budge Budge Ghat (Calcutta) where they landed, a serious clash occurred between them and the police. Gurmukh Singh escaped but for a short time. Three days later, he was captured at Calcutta and confined in the Alipur jail. After three months he was brought to the Punjab. Though he was placed under orders of internment, who under the influence of Kartar Singh Sarabha and Rash Bihari Bose he made efforts to establish secret contacts with Indian soldiers in some of the Punjab cantonments. But all plans of Gurmukh Singh and his companions went away on account of betrayal of one of their colleagues. He was arrested among the many revolutionaries after the disclosure of the plot. He was confined in the Lahore Central Jail and tried in the First Lahore Conspiracy Case along with others. On being sentenced he was sent to Kala Pani (Andaman Islands). The transfer created in his mind the idea of running away but he preferred to wait for a better opportunity. He jumped off a running train when he was being transferred from Madras to UP in 1922 and escaped to the Punjab. From there, after some years, he proceeded to Kabul via Khybr Pass in company with Teja Singh Swatantar. In 1934 after he came back he was arrested again on suspicion of being in correspondence with Ghadrites and transported to Kala Pani to complete the remained of his incarceration which was now enhanced by six months by way of penalty for his misconduct. He remained in confinement on the Andman Islands till 1945 or so. After that he was transferred to the Punjab and kept in the Multan jail. From there he was released in 1947 on the country's attainment of freedom.

Freedom Fighters of Punjab

Punjab had made great sacrifices in the freedom struggle of India and it is full of Memorials to such martyrs and also to the heroes of INDO-PAK WARS.

Jallianwala Bagh Martyr's Memorial Amritsar:
Unprovoked massacre of peaceful people by Brig-En Dyer had created a watershed in the history of freedom struggle in India when even peaceful leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, instead of asking for dominion status within the British Empire had begun to agitate for complete freedom for India from the British rule. Queen Elizabeth and her husband placed a wreath here on 14th Oct.,1997.

Martyrs: Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru Memorial, Ferozepur
They were such popular heroes that the Imperial Govt. executed them stealthily at Lahore and their bodies were cremated on the bank of river Sutlej almost a hundred km away.

The Sargarhi Memorial at Ferozepur
It commemorates the battle which took place on Samna Ridge of the Hindu Kush and Suliaman ranges in 1897 when 21 soldiers of the 36th Sikh (later 4 Sikh) regiment had died fighting to the last man against a several times greater force of the local Chiefs. The history of this battle is taught in the French Schools and forms part of the 8 narratives of collective bravery published by UNESCO.

Desh Bhagat Hall, Jalandhar
It is a memorial of freedom fighters, also, contains the best library on the subject

BABA GURDIT SINGH
He was born in 1860 at Sarhali, district Amritsar of the Punjab.


BABA GURMUKH SINGH
He was born in 1888 at Lalton Khurd, District Ludhiana.


BABA KHARAK SINGHBaba Kharak Singh was born in 1868 at Sialkot.

BABA HARI SINGH USMAN He was born in 1880 at Baddowal, District Ludhiana.

Beauty Food

There is no doubt that all of us want to look beautiful, slim and fit. One has to exercise sufficiently to look good. But it is important to eat the right kind of diet to look beautiful. There are a number of beauty foods that are healthy and help in enhancing your looks. Given below some foods that you can add to your diet if you want to look beautiful.

• Apple Cider Vinegar: This vinegar has a number of healing properties and it makes the skin soft and supple. Apple cider vinegar is concentrated with enzymes and these help peel off dead skin cells. It breaks down fat and helps food digest properly.
• Carrots: Help to maintain the outer layer of the skin to prevent premature aging. It works just like Retin A.
• Cheese: Make a slice or two of hard cheese a part of your diet. Cheese helps to prevent bacteria from growing in the mouth and prevents cavities. Choose between Swiss, cheddar or Gouda.
• Citrus Fruits: These fruits hold the skin cells together by forming collagen. Collagen cannot be added to the skin topically and hence fruits and juices must be made an integral part of your daily diet.
• Cranberries: These berries keep the urinary tract lining healthy.
• Garlic: Helps to combat wrinkles and restores tissues.
• Nonfat Yogurt: Is high is calcium and helps to keep your smile white and your teeth cavity-free.
• Sweet Potatoes: These potatoes are full of vitamin A and vitamin A is known for being an anti-wrinkling agent. The result of eating this vegetable is smoother skin.
• Tomatoes: This vegetable does wonders to your skin. Tomatoes are rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium.
• Wheat Germ: To get rid of pimples efficiently include two or three tablespoons of wheat germ in your diet. You add this to your cereal, yogurt and cottage cheese.

Here are some general tips about a beauty diet:

• Vegetables: you should have three to five servings of vegetables daily. Include one serving of raw, leafy greens.
• Do not have more than three-ounce servings a day. Take off all the fat. Try to include two servings of turkey or chicken and a serving of fish a day is ideal.
• Fruits: Have two to three servings everyday. ½ cup of chopped or sliced fruit is one serving.
• Dairy: Have at least two servings daily. One serving is eight ounces of milk or yogurt.
• Fats: Salad dressing, cooking oil, butter and mayonnaise should be limited to two servings a day.

Eat these foods for beauty and follow the beauty diet and you will notice that over a short period of time you are looking better than you did before.

Tips To Look Young

No matter how old you are you would like to look young and smart. There are a number of beauty tricks that can take the years off you. These beauty tips will make you look young and you will start feeling young too. Read the simple tips given below for a younger and smarter look:

• Wear your hair below your chin. Side-swept bangs and hair just below the chin will make you look younger.
• The shade of lipstick you use can add or take off years. Do not use lipsticks in shades of brown.
• After you are thirty do not over pluck your eyebrows, as they may not grow back as quickly as they did earlier.
• Get your teeth whitened. Get the stains of coffee, tea or red wine removed and you will look much younger.
• Stand straight and erect. This will make you look a lot thinner and look younger too. This will also increase your confidence as well.
• Get a good night's sleep. If you do not sleep well your eyes will look puffy and your skin will look shallow and dull and your face will sag.

Cause of Dark Undereye Circles

Our face attracts the most amount of attention. Therefore, we pay most attention to the way our face looks. We take special care of our face, its skin, its appearance and we try to present our face in the most beautiful manner we can. In a person's face, it is the eyes that catch the attention of the observer. If the eyes are beautiful the beauty of the face is enhanced. But a problem that a number of women face is dark circles under the eyes. When a woman has dark circles under her eyes, no matter how beautiful her eyes are their impact is diminished because of these dark circles. If we understand the cause of dark circles then we may be able to deal with them and treat them if possible. There are a number reasons for dark circles under the eyes. Given below are some of the common causes for the unsightly dark circles.

• Heredity: Dark circles under the eyes can be an inherited trait. If you have dark circles, then it is likely that other members of your family have dark circles too. The skin under the eye is very thin. When blood flows through veins close to surface of the skin it can produce a bluish tint. If your skin is transparent then the darker the circles will be. Transparent skin is also a inherited trait.
• Exposure to Sun: Exposure to sun especially during the summer months can make the skin under the eyes look darker. This is true for dark skinned people as well. Suntans are caused by an increase in the natural pigmentation of the skin, as a result of exposure to the sun. This increase in pigmentation is drawn to the surface. This applies to the skin under the eyes as well.
• Allergies and Eczema: Any infection of the eye that leads to itching can contribute to dark circles as rubbing and scratching the eyes darkens the skin. People who suffer from hay fever will notice that dark circles appear when the allergy is at its height. Certain food allergies can cause dark circles too.
• Medication: Any medication that dilates your blood vessels can cause dark circles under the eyes. As the skin under the eye is delicate an increase in blood shows through the skin in the form of dark circles.
• Nutrition: An improper diet, an unbalanced diet or lack of a nutritious diet can cause dark circles under the eye.
• Tiredness and Lack of Sleep: A lack of sleep or excessive tiredness can cause the skin under the eyes to become pale, thus, making the blood flowing under it visible.
• Pregnancy and Menstruation: During pregnancy and menstruation the skin becomes pale and the veins under the skin become visible.
• Age: As you grow older there are greater chances that you will have dark circles and they may become more prominent and permanent. If there are too many folds in the skin under the eyes, it will make the dark circles more prominent.

Beauty Diet

Your diet contributes a great deal towards making you beautiful. Therefore eating a proper healthy diet is important to keep looking beautiful. Given below are a number of food items that you should include in your beauty diet.

• Almonds: These nuts are known for their anti-aging properties. They contain a lot of vitamin E and have a high amount of fatty acids that help to keep your skin supple. Almonds also contain antioxidant selenium. Do not too many of them as they will add calories. A handful is enough.
• Protein: To keep nails strong and moisturized by eating plenty of protein. Protein helps in the build up of keratin. Keratin is the substance that makes up nails. Skinless, boneless chicken breast, lean turkey, tuna and beans are rich in proteins.
• Vitamin B: Food that is rich in vitamin B makes your hair shiny. Important sources of this vitamin are eggs, milk, green vegetables and poultry. Silica is important to keep your hair elastic, shiny and healthy. Raw oats, cucumber skin, onions and bean sprouts are rich in this mineral.
• Fish: Eating oily fish like salmon that contain omega-3 fatty acids will help hydrating and nourishing skin.
• Zinc and Calcium: Both these minerals help in eradicating pimples. Zinc is found in oysters, turkey, seafood, eggs and milk. Calcium is no doubt good for your bones, but helps in clearing your skin too. Calcium rich foods like skim milk, low-fat cheese and yogurt. These foods not only remove pimples but reduce wrinkles as well.
• Vitamin C: Vitamin C helps in the build up of collagen, which reduces wrinkles. When your skin has more collagen your skin retains its elasticity and wrinkles take longer to form. Kiwi fruit is the best source of vitamin C. Other good sources are oranges, mango, honeydew and papaya.
• Vitamin E: Vitamin E is known to ease the swelling and redness associated with sunburns. Swelling causes the stretching of skin that in turns leads to wrinkle formation. Eat plenty of peaches and blueberries to increase the build up of vitamin E in your body.
• Vitamin C and Iron: Vitamin C and iron together help to reduce the dark circles under your eyes. Eat skinless chicken and red, yellow and orange peppers. These are rich in both and will help in reducing dark circles.
• Water: Drink as much as water as you can. Water removes the toxins from the body and refreshes your skin and makes in glow. Water hydrates your skin and keeps it supple.
• Tomatoes: Tomatoes contains skin-caner-fighting antioxidants: beta-carotene, vitamin C and lycopene. Eat tomatoes in any form and you will ingest these antioxidants. To increase the body's absorption of lycopene cook tomatoes in a little olive oil.
• Apples and Celery: To remove stain from the enamel of your teeth eat crunchy foods like apples and celery.

Bulleh Shah

Bulleh Shah (1680 – 1757), whose real name was Abdullah Shah, was a Punjabi Sufi poet and humanist. He is believed to have been born in the small village of Uch, Bahawalpur in 1680 in modern day Pakistan. His ancestors had migrated from Bukhara in modern Uzbekistan . At the age of six months, his parents relocated to Malakwal. There his father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a preacher in the village mosque and a teacher. His father later got a job in Pandoke, about 50 miles southeast of Kasur. Bulleh Shah received his early schooling in Pandoke, and later moved to Kasur for higher education, to become a student of the prominent professor, Ghulam Murtaza. Baba Bulleh Shah was a direct descendant of Muhammad peace be upon him, through the progeny of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gillani of Baghdad.
A large amount of what is known about Bulleh Shah comes through legends, and is subjective; to the point that there isn’t even agreement among historians concerning his precise date and place of birth. Some "facts" about his life have been pieced together from his own writings. Other "facts" seem to have been passed down through oral traditions. Bulleh Shah practiced the Sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry established by poets like Shah Hussain (1538 – 1599), Sultan Bahu (1629 – 1691), and Shah Sharaf (1640 – 1724). Bulleh Shah lived in the same period as the famous Sindhi Sufi poet, Shah Abdul Latif Bhatai (1689 – 1752). His lifespan also overlapped with the legendary Punjabi poet Waris Shah (1722 – 1798), of Heer Ranjha fame, and the famous Sindhi Sufi poet Abdul Wahad (1739 – 1829), better known by his pen-name, Sachal Sarmast (“truth seeking leader of the intoxicated ones”). Amongst Urdu poets, Bulleh Shah lived a mere 400 miles from Mir Taqi Mir (1723 – 1810) of Agra.
Poetry Style:
The verse form Bulleh Shah primarily employed is called the Kafi (Refrain), a traditional style of Punjabi poetry used by Punjabi Sufis and Sikh gurus (such as Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh). In Bulleh's time, Sufi poets often did not adopt the classical languages of Persian and Urdu, instead choosing to write their verses in Punjabi, Saraiki, and Sindhi – languages of the commonfolk amongst whom they lived. Although the number is disputed, Bulleh Shah is credited with authoring anywhere from 50 to 150 Kafi, 1 Athwara, 1 Baramah, 3 Siharfi, 49 Oeodh and 40 Gandhan. This appears to be a large body of work; however, this oeuvre is small enough that one could read it all in a few weeks. What is most striking about Bulleh Shah’s poetry and philosophy is his audacious critique of the religious orthodoxy of his day, particularly the Islamic religious orthodoxy. His poetry is filled with direct attacks on those worldly, fake religeous leaders who claim control over religion, to the point of comparing mullahs to barking dogs and crowing roosters.
Spiritual Purification:
Sufis typically spend their lives trying to penetrate the meaning of life while searching for God. Those among them who were poets articulated this exploration through their poetry. ‘Who is the Creator?’ ‘What is the truth?’ ‘What is the meaning of life?’ ‘How can one find God?’ ‘Who am I?’ These are some of the questions Sufis have tried to answer, by dissociating themselves from worldly activity, and moving onto a saintly field where they are no longer bound by conventionally interpreted holy or material boundaries. Bulleh Shah studied Arabic, Persian and the Quran under his traditional teachers. After that, in an attempt to move to the next level (of mystic realization), he searched for a spiritual guide. Ultimately he found his murshid, in the form of Inayat Shah Qadri. Inayat Shah Qadri (or Shah Inayat, as he is referred to in Bulleh Shah’s poetry) was a Sufi of the Qadri order, who authored many Persian books on mysticism. He was from the Arain cast and grew vegetables to earn a living. Paradoxically, Bulleh Shah was of the much higher Syed caste. Yet, in defiance of tradition, Bulleh Shah accepted Shah Inayat as his spiritual master, and subordinated his life to his lower-caste murshid. Much of Bulleh Shah’s verses about love are addressed directly to his spiritual guide, Shah Inayat.
Religion:
Despite being very critical of religion, Bulleh Shah does not denounce religion as a whole. Nor does he appear to be pushing any other structure of thought to supplant religious notions. His ideas, therefore, cannot be placed into the category of secularism or atheism.As he says...I take myself to be the beginning and the end....I do not recognize aught except the One. In reality, Bulleh Shah seems somewhat critical of all persons in authority - including intellectuals, academicians and jurists - who create obstacles and needless complexities for common people in discovering love, and through love, discovering God. Bulleh Shah preaches an uncomplicated conception of humanity, as the common connection through which persons of all faiths, creeds and opinions can attain a superior and more pure existence, eventually coming closer to God.
Humanist:s
Bulleh Shah’s writings represent him as a humanist, someone providing solutions to the sociological problems of the world around him as he lives through it, describing the turbulence his motherland of Punjab is passing through, while concurrently searching for God. His poetry highlights his mystical spiritual voyage through the four stages of Sufism: Shariat (Islamic Law), Tariqat (Observance), Haqiqat (Truth-Essence) and Marfat (Union or God knowledge). The simplicity with which Bulleh Shah has been able to address the complex fundamental issues of life and humanity is a large part of his appeal. Thus, many people have put his kafis to music, from humble street-singers to renowned Sufi singers like the Waddali Brothers and Abida Parveen, from the synthesized techno qawwali remixes of UK-based Asian artists to the rock band Junoon. Bulleh Shah’s popularity stretches uniformly across Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims, to the point that much of the written material about this Muslim thinker is from Hindu and Sikh authors.Read More....