It is sad and shameful at the same time.
Aman Ji ,
I have tried to talk to countless people almost on daily baisis as to understand why people in Punjab drink alcohal so much . I have come to following understanding :
1. There is a BIG perception in Punjab that if you drink alcohal then you are ENJOYING yourself . If you do not you are a big BORE , if you are advising against drinking somebody then you are deemed untouchable , you are not invited to dinners, parties
2. There is not much effort on part of religious authorities to tell people to abstain from alcohal . If the (Sikh) religious authorities put even 10% of the effort they put in on promoting vegetarianism then the results will be all very different . Every time I hear somebody speaking then it is always AANDA,MEAT,SHARAB as if eating eggs & chicken is bigger offence than ALCOHAL . What are SGPC & religious authorities trying to do , I fail to understand .
3. The abstainers are merely trying to save faces in Punjab , sheepishly admitting that they do NOT DRINK as if there is no bigger sin than being an abstainer . Not so long ago ( 1980-1990 )I remember that people used to shun social interaction with a drinker . How drinking has gained so much glory is beyond me , though the role of media cannot be denied .
There seems to be lack of social commitment even among the women who are most affected by alcohalism to defy alcohal , each of the THEKA & AHATA of Punjab is full in the evening , it is a very sad & depressing sight each day as we return home from work .
I have tried to talk to countless people almost on daily baisis as to understand why people in Punjab drink alcohal so much . I have come to following understanding :
1. There is a BIG perception in Punjab that if you drink alcohal then you are ENJOYING yourself . If you do not you are a big BORE , if you are advising against drinking somebody then you are deemed untouchable , you are not invited to dinners, parties
2. There is not much effort on part of religious authorities to tell people to abstain from alcohal . If the (Sikh) religious authorities put even 10% of the effort they put in on promoting vegetarianism then the results will be all very different . Every time I hear somebody speaking then it is always AANDA,MEAT,SHARAB as if eating eggs & chicken is bigger offence than ALCOHAL . What are SGPC & religious authorities trying to do , I fail to understand .
3. The abstainers are merely trying to save faces in Punjab , sheepishly admitting that they do NOT DRINK as if there is no bigger sin than being an abstainer . Not so long ago ( 1980-1990 )I remember that people used to shun social interaction with a drinker . How drinking has gained so much glory is beyond me , though the role of media cannot be denied .
There seems to be lack of social commitment even among the women who are most affected by alcohalism to defy alcohal , each of the THEKA & AHATA of Punjab is full in the evening , it is a very sad & depressing sight each day as we return home from work .
Hmm the whole thing shunning complete social interaction might be too much, but the non-drinkers inadvertently find themselves having orange juice in their parties in pubs/club etc. The whole idea of enjoying with drinking seems to come from the peer pressure thing shown so well in this movie. Getting a degree is no longer a measure of your maturity and self-worth, drinking is. Earlier I never understood why people drank so much, but Gurbani says that people are much happier losing their touch with reality and that is all I see.
- Feb 28, 2010
- 53
- 73
Sat Sri Akal,
My hometown is Chandigarh and now I am settled in Sydney. This is what I think:
Punjab - What does it mean? We use to define Punjab as "the word Punjab is from Sanskrit and Persian words panj (Sanskrit: पंच) and Āb (Persian: آب) that means "five" and "water", respectively, thus PanjĀb means "Five Rivers", which roughly means "Land of Five Rivers".[7] The five rivers are the Beas, Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab and Jehlum"
What have we made it now: " Its still can be defined as a land of rivers, but unfortunately the rivers are made from Alcohol not pure water. This is how I would view Punjab as an outsider, sorry but its a hard core fact.
P PETER SCOTT
U UB STRONG
N NO.1
J JOHNY WALKER
A ARISTOCRAT
B BAGPIPER
Alcoholism is a new sign of being labelled as a Punjabi. If you don't drink then you are an outsider. Where ever you go, any family gathering , any marriage the first thing you will find it Alcohol. If you don't have alcohol in any of your functions, then you are just viewed as someone who is trying to save money nothing else. People will go to Gurudrawra during marriage and the moment they come out you will find them heading straight for the drinks.
Then there is this ever growing problem of drugs, a recent stats showed that at least 50% of Punjab youth use drugs at some time in their life. This is a ridiculous high number under any circumstances. There is nothing in Punjab apart from its amazing history to be proud of now. Youth is ill mannered, people view Punjabi as someone who is ready to fight all the time and have no respect for others.
But why? What is happening in punjab? One simple answer, "Nothing". Yes there is actually nothing happening in Punjab that will save it in long term. Illiterate and corrupt corporate governance has destroyed Punjab. The proud word "Punjabi" is now acting as a taboo for its development. Youth doesn't want to work in agriculture because this is too low for their self esteem considering Agriculture still is its backbone. Not enough education or infrastructure which is the back bone of any prospering state. Punjabi's need to go outside Punjab or India to get a decent job, no industrialization, no investment nothing. You make it alcohol free state and stop NRI investment or money, half of Punjab will die.
So what will save Punjab? Well there is no short term solution. But the focus should be on Education and infrastructure. A competent government and a strong leader. High time people of Punjab realize this or else we need to be ready to lose it. Punjab was divided before and will be divided again if we don't act on it now.
Gurtej Singh
P.S. please can some one with good literature amend the above, I really want to put it on my FB page and spread the word.
Thanks
My hometown is Chandigarh and now I am settled in Sydney. This is what I think:
Punjab - What does it mean? We use to define Punjab as "the word Punjab is from Sanskrit and Persian words panj (Sanskrit: पंच) and Āb (Persian: آب) that means "five" and "water", respectively, thus PanjĀb means "Five Rivers", which roughly means "Land of Five Rivers".[7] The five rivers are the Beas, Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab and Jehlum"
What have we made it now: " Its still can be defined as a land of rivers, but unfortunately the rivers are made from Alcohol not pure water. This is how I would view Punjab as an outsider, sorry but its a hard core fact.
P PETER SCOTT
U UB STRONG
N NO.1
J JOHNY WALKER
A ARISTOCRAT
B BAGPIPER
Alcoholism is a new sign of being labelled as a Punjabi. If you don't drink then you are an outsider. Where ever you go, any family gathering , any marriage the first thing you will find it Alcohol. If you don't have alcohol in any of your functions, then you are just viewed as someone who is trying to save money nothing else. People will go to Gurudrawra during marriage and the moment they come out you will find them heading straight for the drinks.
Then there is this ever growing problem of drugs, a recent stats showed that at least 50% of Punjab youth use drugs at some time in their life. This is a ridiculous high number under any circumstances. There is nothing in Punjab apart from its amazing history to be proud of now. Youth is ill mannered, people view Punjabi as someone who is ready to fight all the time and have no respect for others.
But why? What is happening in punjab? One simple answer, "Nothing". Yes there is actually nothing happening in Punjab that will save it in long term. Illiterate and corrupt corporate governance has destroyed Punjab. The proud word "Punjabi" is now acting as a taboo for its development. Youth doesn't want to work in agriculture because this is too low for their self esteem considering Agriculture still is its backbone. Not enough education or infrastructure which is the back bone of any prospering state. Punjabi's need to go outside Punjab or India to get a decent job, no industrialization, no investment nothing. You make it alcohol free state and stop NRI investment or money, half of Punjab will die.
So what will save Punjab? Well there is no short term solution. But the focus should be on Education and infrastructure. A competent government and a strong leader. High time people of Punjab realize this or else we need to be ready to lose it. Punjab was divided before and will be divided again if we don't act on it now.
Gurtej Singh
P.S. please can some one with good literature amend the above, I really want to put it on my FB page and spread the word.
Thanks
- Jan 31, 2011
- 5,769
- 8,194
- 55
Sat Sri Akal,
My hometown is Chandigarh and now I am settled in Sydney. This is what I think:
Punjab - What does it mean? We used to define Punjab as " the Sanskrit and Persian words panj (Sanskrit: पंच) and Āb (Persian: آب), that means "five" and "water" respectively, thus PanjĀb means "Five Rivers", which roughly means "Land of Five Rivers". The five rivers are the Beas, Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab and Jehlum
What have we made it now? It can still be defined as a land of rivers, but unfortunately the rivers are made from alcohol, not pure water. This is how I would view Punjab as an outsider, sorry but its a hard core fact.
P PETER SCOTT
U UB STRONG
N NO.1
J JOHNY WALKER
A ARISTOCRAT
B BAGPIPER
Alcoholism is a new sign of being labelled as a Punjabi. If you don't drink then you are an outsider. Where ever you go, any family gathering , any marriage, the first thing you will find is alcohol. If you don't have alcohol in any of your functions, then you are just viewed as a cheapskate, nothing else. People will go to Gurudwara during marriage and the moment they come out, you will find them heading straight for the bar.
Then there is this ever growing problem of drugs, recent stats showed that at least 50% of Punjab youth use drugs at some time in their life. This is a ridiculously high number under any circumstances. There is nothing in Punjab apart from its amazing history to be proud of now. Our youth are ill mannered, people view Punjabis as a community that are ready to fight all the time and have no respect for others.
But why? What is happening in Punjab? One simple answer, Nothing!. Yes there is actually nothing happening in Punjab that will save it in the long term. Illiterate and corrupt corporate governance has destroyed Punjab. The proud word "Punjabi" is now merely a taboo for its development. Our youth have no wish to work in agriculture because this is deemed below them, considering agriculture is still the backbone of Punjab. There is not enough education or infrastructure, which is the foundation of any prospering state. Punjabis need to go outside Punjab or India to get a decent job, no industrialization, no investment nothing. If you make it an alcohol free state and stop NRI investment or money, half of Punjab will die.
So what will save Punjab? Well there is no short term solution, but the focus should be on education and infrastructure, a competent government and a strong leader. It is high time the people of Punjab realised this, or else we need to be ready to lose Punjab as we remember it. Punjab was divided before and will be divided again if we don't act on it now.
I am no english master, but I hope that suffices
My hometown is Chandigarh and now I am settled in Sydney. This is what I think:
Punjab - What does it mean? We used to define Punjab as " the Sanskrit and Persian words panj (Sanskrit: पंच) and Āb (Persian: آب), that means "five" and "water" respectively, thus PanjĀb means "Five Rivers", which roughly means "Land of Five Rivers". The five rivers are the Beas, Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab and Jehlum
What have we made it now? It can still be defined as a land of rivers, but unfortunately the rivers are made from alcohol, not pure water. This is how I would view Punjab as an outsider, sorry but its a hard core fact.
P PETER SCOTT
U UB STRONG
N NO.1
J JOHNY WALKER
A ARISTOCRAT
B BAGPIPER
Alcoholism is a new sign of being labelled as a Punjabi. If you don't drink then you are an outsider. Where ever you go, any family gathering , any marriage, the first thing you will find is alcohol. If you don't have alcohol in any of your functions, then you are just viewed as a cheapskate, nothing else. People will go to Gurudwara during marriage and the moment they come out, you will find them heading straight for the bar.
Then there is this ever growing problem of drugs, recent stats showed that at least 50% of Punjab youth use drugs at some time in their life. This is a ridiculously high number under any circumstances. There is nothing in Punjab apart from its amazing history to be proud of now. Our youth are ill mannered, people view Punjabis as a community that are ready to fight all the time and have no respect for others.
But why? What is happening in Punjab? One simple answer, Nothing!. Yes there is actually nothing happening in Punjab that will save it in the long term. Illiterate and corrupt corporate governance has destroyed Punjab. The proud word "Punjabi" is now merely a taboo for its development. Our youth have no wish to work in agriculture because this is deemed below them, considering agriculture is still the backbone of Punjab. There is not enough education or infrastructure, which is the foundation of any prospering state. Punjabis need to go outside Punjab or India to get a decent job, no industrialization, no investment nothing. If you make it an alcohol free state and stop NRI investment or money, half of Punjab will die.
So what will save Punjab? Well there is no short term solution, but the focus should be on education and infrastructure, a competent government and a strong leader. It is high time the people of Punjab realised this, or else we need to be ready to lose Punjab as we remember it. Punjab was divided before and will be divided again if we don't act on it now.
I am no english master, but I hope that suffices
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This is an issue I am passionate about. I don't understand why more fuss isn't made about this. Vegetarianism is such a huge thing yet it is alcohol that does the damage. When will Sikhs wake up and prioritise :whatzpointkudi:
There is some sort of fuss going on at my home. I never had a drink. My dad drinks socially. My relatives (including cousins) do drink and some of my dad's friends are bad drinkers. So we were talking about my marriage and I had made clear there will be no {censored}tail party or drinks at reception. Now and then my parents come down to the talk of having a {censored}tail at least, a month before. I don't owe anyone a drink 
And I don't want another Sikh marriage down the pipeline with a drinks party. I want people to know that there is no alcohol near a Sikh household. Though it may not be really true. Atleast I can put a stop at my own wedding. It has really become an emotional issue. My dad is sad and thinks I don't listen to them.
And I don't want another Sikh marriage down the pipeline with a drinks party. I want people to know that there is no alcohol near a Sikh household. Though it may not be really true. Atleast I can put a stop at my own wedding. It has really become an emotional issue. My dad is sad and thinks I don't listen to them.
- Jan 31, 2011
- 5,769
- 8,194
- 55
Congratulations on your marriage veerji!
I am sure you will find the balance between a sad dad and making a point motherlylove and I mean that most sincerely mundahug
I am sure you will find the balance between a sad dad and making a point motherlylove and I mean that most sincerely mundahug
Stick with it! It's really good to hear about your plans. Good luck kaurhug
- Feb 28, 2010
- 53
- 73
The worse part if that none of our so called spiritual or political leaders have done done nothing about it.
They are more busy in gaining wealth and name for themselves, and it is also destroying Sikhism.
They are more busy in gaining wealth and name for themselves, and it is also destroying Sikhism.
- Dec 21, 2010
- 3,384
- 5,690
Kanwaljit Singh ji thanks for your post. I have one observation about this topic specially drinking at wedding parties.
What happens is that if one happened to have attended various marriages and parties where one consumed alcohol (say one's dad) and when comes to serve others one states I don't want to reciprocate. I won't serve alcohol, etc. Then people start calling such people cheap and may be justified in so saying. How could they have avoided this is like water under the bridge. Declaring and going alcohol free culturally (birthdays, weddings, etc., like functions) so that others don't serve you and should not expect to be served. This needed to have been done yonder years ago at a personal level by a father so that at the time of children's wedding they don't have to answer for not serving.
I suggest that as a baby step people start instituting cash bars. This will cut back in level of drinking and slowly get people thinking as to the value of paying for such drinks. Secondly could be simply making life easier for your future generations by not drinking in such social functions or settings. Personal drinking I want to treat people as adults so that they have the right to make their own decisions and know the consequences. There are other threads at spn for drinking/alcohol so I don't want to impinge and start that in this thread.
Regards.
It is a bit of vicious circle or Catch-22. Someone somewhere need to break the circle individually. It comes from a decision to not drink and that is a must.
What happens is that if one happened to have attended various marriages and parties where one consumed alcohol (say one's dad) and when comes to serve others one states I don't want to reciprocate. I won't serve alcohol, etc. Then people start calling such people cheap and may be justified in so saying. How could they have avoided this is like water under the bridge. Declaring and going alcohol free culturally (birthdays, weddings, etc., like functions) so that others don't serve you and should not expect to be served. This needed to have been done yonder years ago at a personal level by a father so that at the time of children's wedding they don't have to answer for not serving.
I suggest that as a baby step people start instituting cash bars. This will cut back in level of drinking and slowly get people thinking as to the value of paying for such drinks. Secondly could be simply making life easier for your future generations by not drinking in such social functions or settings. Personal drinking I want to treat people as adults so that they have the right to make their own decisions and know the consequences. There are other threads at spn for drinking/alcohol so I don't want to impinge and start that in this thread.
Regards.
Haha marriage is still being planned and that was a preemptive strike.
At my cousins marriage they had the Akhand Paath one month before the marriage parties so that alcohol can be served in them.
I don't think any cousin or uncle would support my initiative.
Dad says he has non sikh friends who drink. One of them was responsible for kicking his habit.
I said it will be a Sikh wedding.
At my cousins marriage they had the Akhand Paath one month before the marriage parties so that alcohol can be served in them.
I don't think any cousin or uncle would support my initiative.
Dad says he has non sikh friends who drink. One of them was responsible for kicking his habit.
I said it will be a Sikh wedding.
- Feb 28, 2010
- 53
- 73
I was having a heated argument with my dad today. I said Alcohol is bad and punjab should stopping selling it. He taught that I am taunting him as I am not a drinker. He said why are you only picking on Alcohol? There are a lot of other issues to talk about in punjab specially corruption. I said that I am against it as well but this doesn't mean I should ignore alcohol issue. The he said why you eat meat? That involves killing a life. I said even plants have life, will you stop eating them?
I mean this is a much bigger issue, Punjab is not the only state that sells alcohol, I think its down to the overall development of Punjab. Punjabi's are associated with alcohol and are proud of it thats the biggest problem. Education in schools regarding the bad effect of Alcohol may be a first step in right direction specially in village schools?
I mean this is a much bigger issue, Punjab is not the only state that sells alcohol, I think its down to the overall development of Punjab. Punjabi's are associated with alcohol and are proud of it thats the biggest problem. Education in schools regarding the bad effect of Alcohol may be a first step in right direction specially in village schools?
I think this has to come from many, not individuals. Similar circles are there in friendships, relatives and work colleagues. There is praise of alcohol. And now it is no more the weekend thing. There is little or no activism against it.
Drinking is something like lying, only with adverse physical symptoms. When everyone around you is drinking (or lying
) how can a young mind understand what is right or wrong?
Sharaabh is very kharaabh !!
The war on drink in the Punjab has about as much chance as the war on drugs in the west.
I am an outcast and a boring sad life because I don't drink,this is the sad state of the world.
The war on drink in the Punjab has about as much chance as the war on drugs in the west.
I am an outcast and a boring sad life because I don't drink,this is the sad state of the world.
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