Dear Editor,
My only previous camp experience was at the age of 14. It was my first time away from home and my main memories of it are of homesickness and the near-continuous playing in my dorm of Elvis Presley’s hit record “Heartbreak Hotel,” At age 50, I, a non-Sikh, went to camp again, this time to the Sikh Youth Federation Camp at Proud Lake, Michigan both to do Sewa and to learn and came away with an entirely different type of memories.
The day of arrival after being assigned dorms and choosing bunks, all student-participants were given a test of Punjabi skills which helped to group us in Punjabi classes by ability, not age. ‘The next day, classes in Sikh history, Kirtan, and Sikhi, as well as Punjabi commenced. I attended two classes for students 14-21 which encouraged discussion. I was interested to listen as the young people grappled with the problems of adjusting to being a part of American society while maintaining Sikh identity both outwardly and within themselves.
My post-Guru history class was with students ages 10-13. The instructor was able to maintain the young people’s interest while imparting interesting and exciting stories of Sikh heroes. These were interspersed with explanations of Sikh philosophy on a level these youngsters could understand. Supplementing these classes and Punjabi class was a late afternoon lecture, often with a guest speaker.
In addition to the instructors and the camp director (Kuldip “Uncle” ji) there was numerous dormitory supervisors, mothers doing Sewa in the kitchen, and other adults. It was a delight to see how quickly bouts of homesickness in one or another of the younger campers was quickly banished by large amounts of comforting attention from the adults.
As a di Var was an optional opportunity for campers and staff. Morning and evening gurdwara services were compulsory. At these services each camper, by turn, played the Shabad they had learned in kirtan class. I was in awe of the fact that saw and heard teenagers walking to the dorms from gurdwara services discussing points of Gurbani and expressing a desire to take Amrit.
Every afternoon there were three hours of recreation, including swimming, canoeing, and horseback riding. The meals cooked by Rani *Auntie” ji and her staff were both ample and delicious. The beauty of the camp’s wooded setting defies description.
Beyond the classroom, I had many teachers among the staff, all of whom were willing to spend the time to answer my many questions about Sikhi. Though I am mobility-impaired, by the Grace of God, the camp spirit of chardi kallah, and occasional Tylenol tablets from Dr. Amarjeet Singh’s Bhai Kanahya Clinic, I got around.
It is easy to be Sikh in camp, encouraged by devotees of Naam and frequent discussions of Sikhi. It is when the youngsters return to communities where Sikhs are rare and a Kesdhari youth is the frequent target of adolescent derision that the spiritual strength gained by the camp experience becomes important.
As for myself, I came away with the addresses of newly-made friends, improved Punjabi, a week’s worth of wonderful memories, and greatest of all, an understanding of what the words “naam japna” represent.
Georgia E.Rangel Alexandria, VA
Article extracted from this publication >> September 11, 1992
