Naroa Punjab Book Fair Girls.jpg

Nava Naroa Punjab

A project of Pippal
Pippal logo shanny black red.jpeg Gurmeet Kaur
ROSWELL, Georgia, US
$141pledged of $20,000 goal
$141goal: $20,000
3donors
Yes tax deductible
Ongoing
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Baba Guru Nanak tells us that life exists because of water - “ਪਹਿਲਾ ਪਾਣੀ ਜੀਉ ਹੈ ਜਿਤੁ ਹਰਿਆ ਸਭੁ ਕੋਇ" He teaches us to respect our air, water, and earth as we would our Guru, father and mother. He emphasizes over and over in Gurbani that the creator resides in his qudrat: "ਕੁਦਰਤਿ ਕਰਿ ਕੈ ਵਸਿਆ ਸੋਇ" SGGS:84

We all must care for the environment where-ever we live; yet we can't help but think of Punjab - the land he loved so much.
 
You must have heard by now that Punjab, the land of five rivers, is estimated to turn into a desert by the middle of the 21st century. This is only about twenty-five years away. What it means is that Punjabis will have no access to fresh groundwater and the land will be too hot and barren to produce any food.

Can you imagine the land of Guru Nanak, Punjab, without air, water, and food?

It is already happening. Punjab’s (read hereafter as East Punjab) aquifers are already depleted in some places. There are hundreds of villages in the Fazilka and Faridkot districts that don’t have access to fresh drinking water and people have to buy water procured from canals several kilometers away, sometimes spending a whole day fetching it themselves. There are fruit orchards in southern Punjab that are parching and drying up, destroying the livelihood of many farmers.

Punjab's water and air are contaminating beyond imagination and sick people are resorting to buying not only water but air purifiers. Water coming from tube wells or rivers in many places is loaded with sewage and toxic waste. There are many villages in the Ludhiana district where water has gone poisonous from industrial effluents. A significant population including children are developing cancer, teeth and bone deformity, and even brain damage because of this toxic water. Children as young as ten years of age have gray hair and rotten teeth. Bathinda is already known as the cancer belt of India. Overload of chemicals, radiation, and air pollution from the coal-based power plant has caused a dramatic increase in birth defects, physical, and mental abnormalities.

How have we come this far? What can we do?

This summer I decided to act to do something in my capacity. I spent a lot of time researching and documenting in a simple language, ten reasons that are behind the environmental degradation of Punjab. I wanted to make the new generation aware of them and give them action items to work on each of the reasons -- individually or in communities. I also included information on people that are actually making a difference in the identified areas; the end product -- a 40-page illustrated booklet that sums up the environmental crisis in Punjab. 

We were able to print 5000 copies of this booklet in Punjabi and are in the process of contacting different environmentally conscious minds and asking them to create workshops and distribute these booklets. We are also distributing them free-of-charge in schools, libraries and working with a farmers organization to propagate the message. I am also working on the English version.  
 
My hope is that by creating an awareness and empowering the youth, we are able to at-least sow a seed of reversal of this damage. 

In the coming year we aim to print 10,000 more copies of the Nava Naroa Punjab booklet to educate Punjab about the situation in order to effect a change. 

I hope you will support this cause and together we can at least create the much needed awareness and instill a responsibility for the change. 

Gurmeet Kaur 
www.pippal.org

  • 05/06/2023

    Earth Day Celebrations in Guru Ka Bagh

    Dear Supporter

    Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

    You will be thrilled to see how the Nava Naroa Punjab booklets were used to create a dialogue on environmental conservation in an entire school just a few days back. 

    This past summer, with the help of the Naroya Punjab organization, we printed and distributed 5000 booklets to various individuals and groups who are working hard to reverse environmental degradation in Punjab. One of the recipient was Meharban Singh Ji, a native of Amritsar who is an environmentalist at heart and a former Professor at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and currently lives in British Columbia. 

    On Earth Day 2023, Sahibzada Baba Fateh Singh School students, Guru Ka Bagh, Amritsar, participated in a discussion based on this book, led by Meherban Singh Ji, and pledged to act.

    Punjab today is facing a severe environmental crisis, and its every individual's duty to understand the threats and act. This booklet gives simple understanding and actions everyone can take to do so. 

    Many thanks to anyone who takes an initiative to empower the next generation on this issue. If you are an educator in Punjab, please contact us and we will work with you in empowering your school students. 

     



    ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਵਾਤਾਵਰਣ ਦੇ ਘਾਣ ਦੇ ਕੀ ਕਾਰਣ ਹਨ?
    ਸਾਡੀ ਆਬੋ-ਹਵਾ ਨੂੰ ਬਚਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਹਰ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਕੁਝ ਨਾ ਕੁਝ ਕਰ ਸੱਕਦਾ ਹੈ।
    ਇਸ ਕਿਤਾਬਚੇ ਰਾਹੀਂ ਅਸੀਂ ਦਸ ਇਹੋ-ਜਿਹੇ ਕਾਰਣਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਜਾਣੂੰ ਹੋਵਾਂਗੇ, ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਕਰਕੇ ਅਸੀਂ ਇਸ ਮੁਕਾਮ `ਤੇ ਆਣ ਪਹੁੰਚੇ ਹਾਂ ਕਿ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦਾ ਪਾਣੀ ਮੁੱਕ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ ਤੇ ਆਬੋ-ਹਵਾ ਬੁਰੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਪਲੀਤ ਹੋ ਚੁਕੇ ਹਨ.
    ਇਹ ਸਾਰੇ ਕਾਰਣ ਆਪਸ ਵਿਚ ਇਕ-ਦੂਜੇ ਨਾਲ਼ ਜੁੜੇ ਹੋਏ ਹਨ। ਨਾਲ਼ ਹੀ ਆਪਾਂ ਵਿਚਾਰਾਂਗੇ ਕਿ ਦੋਸਤਾਂ, ਪਰਿਵਾਰਾਂ ਤੇ ਪਿੰਡਾਂ-ਮੁਹੱਲਿਆਂ ਨਾਲ਼ ਮਿਲ਼ ਕੇ ਇਸ ਬਰਬਾਦੀ ਤੋਂ ਬਚਣ ਲਈ ਕਿਹੜੇ ਉਪਾਅ ਕੀਤੇ ਜਾ ਸਕਦੇ ਹਨ।
    ਪੂਰਾ ਕਿਤਾਬਚਾ ਇਥੋਂ ਡਾਉਨਲੋਡ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾ ਸਕਦਾ ਏ.

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/446391740796392/permalink/446405037461729/
    ਵਾਤਾਵਰਣ ਸੰਬੰਧਿਤ ਸੱਜਣ ਤੇ ਅਦਾਰੇ ਇਸ ਮਾਮਲੇ ਵਿਚ info@pippal.org 'ਤੇ ਲਿਖਣ। ਇੱਥੋਂ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਿੰਟ ਲਾਈਨ ਵਾਲ਼ੀ ਪੀ.ਡੀ.ਐੱਫ਼. ਮਿਲ ਜਾਵੇਗੀ, ਤਾਂ ਕਿ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਇਹਦੀਆਂ ਹੋਰ ਕਾਪੀਆਂ ਤਿਆਰ ਕਰਵਾ ਕੇ ਹਥਲੇ ਕਾਰਜ ਨੂੰ ਅਗਾਂਹ ਤੋਰ ਸਕੋ।

     



    Thank You,

    Gurmeet Kaur 

    www.pippal.org 


    #ਅਸੀਂ_ਹੀ_ਬਚਾਉਣਾ_ਹੈ
    #ਅਸੀਂ_ਹੀ_ਬਣਾਉਣਾ_ਹੈ
    #ਨਵਾਂ_ਨਰੋਆ_ਪੰਜਾਬ

  • 02/03/2023

    Maboli and Mata Dharat

    Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa 
    Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh 

    Feb 21st, International Mother Language Day, is right around the corner. I am always excited about this day and month and hope you will be too. 

    Unfortunately, with so much instability going on in Punjab - the land of our language, and given the mass exodus of Punjabis to the west, Mother Language and Environment, the two fundamental building blocks of our identity keep taking a back seat. With everyone out to exploit Punjab to its end, Punjab today needs our engagement more than ever. 

    With our limited resources and capabilities but unlimited potential, we are experimenting with new ways to engage the students in Punjab to inculcate a love for the Punjabi Maboli and the air, water, and soil of Punjab with the content we have created. In the past few months, we have engaged close to a hundred school children in storytelling from our books, talked about the environmental degradation of Punjab, and inspired them to create artwork around it. We have awarded them the Nava-Naroa-Punjab booklets and presented their school with folktales books for libraries. 

    Since our human resource potential is limited, in the last quarter, we partnered with several on-ground organizations working with children and donated our books so they could reach more students. Some of our partners include Sikh Aid and Sikhi Awareness Foundation. We have also supplied our Nava-Naroa-Punjab booklets to the Zira Morcha, Punjabi Lokdhara group, SohanGarh Natural Farms, and several others working individually to create an awareness of the environment. So far, five-thousand booklets have been printed and distributed in Punjab. 

    I hope you will enjoy this video clip from our engagement in a few schools in the Patiala district. Watch the slide show

    I also wanted to take this opportunity to educate on the importance of the International Mother Language Day.


    ਸੰਯੁਕਤ ਰਾਸ਼ਟਰ ਗੁੱਟ (ਯੂ.ਐੱਨ.ਓ) ਵੱਲੋਂ 21 ਫਰਵਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਮਨਾਏ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਮਾਂ ਬੋਲੀ ਦਿਹਾੜੇ ਬਾਰੇ:


    21 ਫਰਵਰੀ 1952 ਦੀ ਘਟਨਾ ਮਾਂ ਬੋਲੀ ਨਾਲ ਇਸ਼ਕ ਦਾ ਇਤਿਹਾਸਕ ਦਸਤਾਵੇਜ਼ ਹੈ। ਜਦੋਂ ਢਾਕਾ ਯੂਨੀਵਰਸਿਟੀ, ਜਗਨਨਾਥ ਯੂਨੀਵਰਸਿਟੀ ਅਤੇ ਢਾਕਾ ਮੈਡੀਕਲ ਕਾਲਜ ਦੇ ਪਾੜ੍ਹਿਆ ਨੇ ਜੋ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਸਮਿਆਂ ‘ਚ ਪਾਕਿਸਤਾਨ ‘ਚ ਉਰਦੂ ਤੋਂ ਬਿਨਾਂ ਆਪਣੀ ਮਾਂ ਬੋਲੀ ਬੰਗਾਲੀ ਲਈ ਮੁਜਾਹਰਾ ਕਰ ਰਹੇ ਸਨ, ਉਦੋਂ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਦੀਆਂ ਗੋਲੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਸ਼ਿਕਾਰ ਹੋ ਆਪਣੀ ਮਾਂ ਬੋਲੀ ਦੀ ਹੋਂਦ ਲਈ ਕੁਰਬਾਨੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਗਏ। ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਹੀ ਸਮਿਆਂ ‘ਚ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਮਾਂ ਬੋਲੀ ਦੇ ਸਪੂਤ ਅਪਣੇ ਸੰਘਰਸ਼ ਨੂੰ ਕਾਮਯਾਬ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਰ ਸਕੇ। ਯੂ.ਐੱਨ.ਓ ਨੇ ਬੰਗਾਲੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਮਾਂ ਬੋਲੀ ਨੂੰ ਲੈਕੇ ਕੀਤੀ ਕੁਰਬਾਨੀ ਦੀ ਇਸ ਤਾਰੀਖ਼ ਨੂੰ ਮਾਂ ਬੋਲੀ ਦਿਹਾੜੇ ਵਜੋਂ ਅਹਿਮੀਅਤ ਦਿੱਤੀ।

    ਯੂ.ਐੱਨ.ਓ ਮੁਤਾਬਕ ਇਸ ਸੰਸਾਰ ‘ਚ 7000 ਭਾਸ਼ਾਵਾਂ ‘ਚੋਂ 50 ਫੀਸਦੀ ਅਪਣੀ ਕੁਝ ਪੀੜ੍ਹੀਆਂ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਹੋਂਦ ‘ਚ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੋਣਗੀਆ। ਆਓ ਆਪਾਂ ਅਹਿਦ ਕਰੀਏ ਕਿ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਮਾਂਬੋਲੀ ਸਾਡੀਆਂ ਆਉਣ ਵਾਲ਼ੀਆਂ ਪੀੜੀਆਂ ਵਾਸਤੇ ਜਿਉਂਦੀ ਰਹੇਗੀ।

    International Mother Language Day has been observed yearly since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The date represents the day in 1952 when students from different educational institutions such as Dhaka University, Jagannath University, and Dhaka Medical College demonstrated for the recognition of their language, Bengali, as one of the two national languages of the then (East) Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka (near High Court), which is the capital of present-day Bangladesh. 

    We salute all who have lived and died, loving and honoring their mother tongues. The martyrs of 1952 Bangladesh who died for the Bengali language are in our hearts this month and more. 
     
    I hope you will celebrate this important month with us and do something profound to honor our beautiful and rich mother language - Punjabi. I also hope you will enjoy the beautiful resources we have created to celebrate Maboli Punjabi this month and every day of the year with your children -- be it our books or audiobooks or youtube videos of hundreds of children performing on our books.
     

    Yours truly,

    Gurmeet Kaur
    www.folktalesofpunjab.com
    www.pippal.org 

Name Donation Date
J. K. $10.00 May 2023
J. K. $10.00 February 2023
Anonymous $10.00 January 2023
Taranjeet Singh Bhatia $100.00 January 2023
M. S. $11.25 January 2023

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