About Luigi Hari Tehel Singh

I was born on the 27th of September 1996 to an Italian mother and a Punjabi father. I study in Vasant Valley School, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, in class 11. I have a keen interest in politics, History, Geography, music, art, design, architecture, cooking, gardening, poetry, psychology, and Sociology. I have a bad habit of not doing what does not interest me and therefore in school I end up spending most of my time doing some work on my own or helping in the library. I play the Dhrupadi Rabab and I am also a keen sculptor. I love spending at least 2 months every year in Italy with my Grandma.  

19 May 2012

Today, we started our internship with a short briefing about the Anad foundation and its founder Bhai Baldeep Singh. We were asked to research on the various foundation, namely:
What is Anad ?
Its functions / Activities.
About Yaaranad.
Its current activities and projects.
We learned about the functioning of the foundation and about some methods of doing work. Logging, documenting, etc.

We subsequently learned of how to write and apply for a grant, by Mr. K. J. Singh. He then divided us into groups each with a separate responsibility. One group (Uday and Wanhee) would be taking care of talking to Mr. Sheena about the procurement of equipment. The second (Anmol and Himmat) would look at the planning and therefore all the accounts and economic aspects of the foundation. The third group ( Luigi and Kavia ) are to take care of the events and their organizing.

After lunch we had prof. Jagbir Singh and Dr. Ravinder Singh about the importance of conservation and the evolution of human thought through the ages and how hermeneutics, linguistics an poetics are important for the interpretation of an ancient text and its application in todays world. We then ended our day by starting the research that we were given to do in the start.

20 May 2012

Today morning our day started a little late though some of us spent the morning finishing our research. We started with a discussion on the ethics of working. All the things we need to/should/can do and all those things we don’t need to/shouldn’t/ can’t do in a work place. We were told about the importance of practice, and the curiosity to explore extra on any project or subject. Bhai Baldeep Singh ji showed us this importance through many events in his life, and by talking about his grand uncle he told us about the strength a person should have and should develop through time.he talked to us about how making oneself overly available prompts other people to abuse your time and availability, and undervalue you. he then read out a few paragraphs on Heritage conservation and how we can conserve both the tangible and intangible aspects and their importance. After lunch we got down to doing our respective duties and researches and also helping in the organizing of events. We had Prof. Ashok Lal to come and talk to us about the importance of conservation in the context of architecture and its evolution. Being an expert on ‘Green Architecture‘ he told us of the methods employed by the people during ancient and medieval times for keeping places cool or warm . he also gave us some modern methods ( architectural) to keep a favorable environment. After he left we wrote our first report for the first two days of our internship.

21 May 2012

Today we were showed me and my dad’s the collection of swords, daggers and other knives. We were showed my Saif, my father’s Khanda, Sirohi, Bichuha, Sehthi, Pesh Kabaj, Katar, and a Katana. We were told of their history and use. After we got to the basement Prof. Bhagwan Josh came to talk to us about History in general. He told us how we can assess the future by knowing about the past and the problems the people faced in earlier days. After a pleasant discussion and wonderful “dal chawal” we went to Sukhdev Vihar to meet Siddhart who is a very famous painter and artist. He talked to us about how various pigments are collected from different places.and some of the rituals related to their collection. He also told us how he uses the pigments: water, oil, egg gouaches, etc. He then drew his new work for us but then had to leave for a meeting. Some of us left immediately but I had to wait for my dad as he had gone for a meeting as well. while I was waiting I made a small painting of my own.

22 May 2012

Today morning I woke up early and got ready to leave for Sultanpur Lodhi. We had asked for a car to be sent from Sultanpur itself with a luggage carrier on the top so that we could divide ourselves between 2 cars and place the luggage at the top of the car so that the rid could me more comfortable.

To our annoyance though the car did not have a carrier and so we had to stuff ourselves with a whole lot of luggage. We left Delhi at 8:30 am missing the first wave of the slow Delhi traffic. As soon  we left Delhi we stopped at a caffe coffee day for some breakfast. For some strange reason though my class mates started having some strange discussion on the brownies they had been served. the second driver was a very strange fellow and would have some problem keeping up with us, and when we would stop he would just drive on. We stopped for a brief while at Savoy Greens after which we proceeded to Chandigarh. In Chandigarh papa had a funny time looking for the ink cartridge for the printer in Sultanpur. After he got the cartridge we went to my Bhua  ji’s house for lunch. There I met my Grandma and Cousins. After lunch we proceeded to Sultanpur, it was a long drive through the highways but when we took the village roads after Dalla the ride became a lot of fun, we cracked some jokes and enjoyed our time.We reached Sultanpur at around 6:30pm and soon went for dinner at the residence of Mr. Ravinder Rocky who is a poet and a champion athlete. There we met his whole family and Dr. Harjit who would be hosting Anmol, Himmat, and Uday. After dinner we went to our respective residences.

23 May 2012

Today morning we visited the Sainik school in Kapurthala. It was constructed in  the late 20th century by Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala. Architecturally it is based on the French palace of Marseilles.

We met the headmaster CDR. Rakesh Dhaland the principal Col. Sudhanshu Arya who was kind enough to give us personally a tour of the palace. We were showed the dining hall which had not been touched upon much and there were still many of the original artifacts and furniture. Many of the mirrors and windows had been made in Italy and many of the gates in England. We visited the drawing room where we saw many of the objects the maharaja owned. There were some artifacts from Japan, some from China an some from other places in India and other countries. Th Diwan had now been turned to the library for the school. On the floor was the emblem of the royal family with the words “PRO REGE ET PATRIA” inscribed in Latin. Which when translated read “for the king and the homeland”. All the steps used to be covered by a blue carpet with the royal insignia stitched onto every step. we also saw the billiard room where there was an old piano and a scoreboard. We were also shown  an old music player which is a mechanical pipe organ which would play music with the help of the old punched paper tapes.

After we left the palace we went to  meet the supreme superintendent of the police Mr.Mann, after which we went for lunch at the house of one of the foundation’s member trustee Kiranjeet Bawa. We also went to the office of the district commissioner Mrs. Alaknanda Dayal.

On the way back to Sultanpur we were shocked to find 3 acres of huts burnt to ash. We had passed the same location in the morning and it was all fine, I was amazed that in half a day 3 acres were burnt. Many of the women who were at work and had just come back were shocked to tears at finding their house burnt to the ground. The only thing left was one green watermelon which was in the midst of the disaster but survived it without a scratch. We reached back at the office and started writing the report of the day. we went fro dinner at the house of Dr. Harjit Singh’s house, where we spent a lot of time chatting on the roof.

24/05/2012

Today we spent the day in the Qila. We had aloo-puri for breakfast, and then spent the whole day typing. We first finished writing our reports and then we were also asked to write a brief introduction to ourselves. I learnt a lesson after being reprimanded on not being able to write good detailed reports. BBS gave us a short lecture on being non-violent during whichever arguments we would have as there had been instances of violence between the group. For lunch Raju made us a wonderful dal-makhni, which we all enjoyed. After lunch we continued with our work. Once we had finished some of us were given some more work to do. Kavya and Uday were told to make an Excel sheet of all the students who had registered with the Anad Conservatory. While Wanhee was asked to send an email to Mr. Sheena so as to remind him to reply to our previous email asking him to advise us on the equipment we should get for our programmes. I helped Kavya and Wanhee in doing their respective duties. After we finished at around 5:30 pm we had a lot of fun. Uday and Himmat rode the bike around the Qila. I practiced playing my Rabab for a while after which we were told to get ready to go out for dinner. We didn’t know where we were going till the time we reached the destination with Dr. Harjit leading our car caravan. It was a wonderful house in the middle of the fields that had been all planted with a brilliant crop of Maize. It was a very nice evening with a very hospitable family. They served us Watermelon, Melon, Mango, Chikoo, and Banana, which were all very sweet and nice. All of us kids were introduced to the boys and girls of the family and soon we were all having a lot of fun. Some of were taken on a tractor ride and Uday and Himmat drove the tractor as well. Dinner was served quite late by which time we were all very hungry as well as tired. Also here we were served with dal-makhni with the addition of cholle. The next day it was going to be Anmol’s Birthday and so we had secretly ordered a cake to be sent to the Qila. To our surprise his father had also sent another cake previously during the day, which if we had known about before would have saved my father some trouble of getting a shop specially opened for us after it had already closed for the day. We reached the Qila at approximately 11:30pm and so spent some time in the lawn in front of the office. At quarter to 12 we all moved to the house where we took out the cake and had a quick party of sorts. We then called the day a close at around 1:30 am.

25/5/2012

Today morning we had Missi Rotis for breakfast made by my aunt and Raju. We did not do much work today morning except for sitting around and think of how we should spend our time. I was also able to spot a baby monitor lizard in our back yard. After lunch we went to a cloth mill at Nakodar called the Raj Duree Factory. This factory specialises in the production of Durees, which are a type of thick cloth used either as a carpet or a bed cover. At the mill we were shown two types of looms, the handloom and the machine loom. We were told what the various components of a basic loom are and the instruments used to weave a cloth, for example the 1. Sakhni, which is also known in English as a Woven. 2. Naal, which is a boat like tool in which the string is placed and then it is passed through the threads. This is also known as a shuttle. 3. Bujji is a piece of a peacock feather used to hild the woven in place in side the shuttle. Therefore it is also known as a stopper. After the tour we told the owner, Mr. Jain that we were planning to weave a duree for the school. He gave us the possibility of getting it made at the factory, as it would take less time. We agreed to that and then got down to decide what colours we should use. The house colours seemed to be the most suitable as they would represent all the students of the school. We chose the colours and handed them over to the weaver. After that we sat down to have some coca cola while the cloth was being made. In about half an hour the duree was ready. We had also been shown the old instruments used to work a hand loom and the owner, Mr. Jain was also kind enough to gift us those instruments. I felt that this visit really showed us the evolution of human intelligence and ingenuity: From early forms of weaving to the marvels of the industrial age. The power looms were really impressive; they seemed very complex but were based on relatively simple principles. The design on the cloth was recorded on wooden sheets with the help of holes punched into the wood.

After the visit to the factory we headed to Jalandhar to celebrate Anmol’s birthday by watching a movie at PVR cinemas at the MBD mall. We decided to watch MIB 3 (Men In Black 3). The show was at 8 pm and so we had dinner from 7:30 to 8 pm at the gigabite food court. Sharp at 8 we headed for the cinema when we entered the hall and heard the sound in Hindi I thought that the advertisement was still running but when I looked at the screen I was shocked at the fact that we were watching the movie in Hindi. I immediately thought to myself, “what a bore!” More over we hadn’t been informed that it would run in Hindi. The movie was nice but I guess I would have to watch it again to enjoy it better. After the movie we headed back to Sultanpur. We picked up Uday’s luggage from Dr. Harjit’s home and brought him back to the Qila as him and Wanhee would be leaving the next morning at 4:30 to catch the train at Jalandhar to go back to Delhi. Me, Wanhee, Kavya, and Uday sat in the office for some time writing our reports of the day after which we all went to bed in our respective rooms.

26 May 2012

Today morning Uday and Wanhee left for the Jalandhar railway station at around 4:30 am. I woke up reasonably early (at around 5:30 am) and headed home at around 6 knowing that Raju would be home by that time. Strangely though today Raju was not there and so I had to go and disturb Pinder who was still sleeping in his house. I successfully got the keys for the house and opened the main gate of the house. Usually I would have found Amit up by this time but strangely I found myself to be the only one awake. Nikki Bhua ji as usual was having a walk in the garden after which we chatted for a very long time. Apparently no one was in a mood to get up as everyone emerged from his or her bedrooms at around 9:30 am. I had my breakfast at around 8–o-clock, after which I got my hair combed by Bhua ji right after I finished eating. The day started off extremely slowly as even papa who was to give us instructions was not up and about till about 9:30 am. We were then told to prepare the descriptions of the photographs we had captioned, though that work was interrupted with the arrival of Mr. Sonia the journalist who came to talk to us about the programme and what we learnt in the past few days.

After the interview I came back home, as food was nearly ready. When I reached there I found that Shine, the architect had already arrived and was having a shower. We had some very nice Tinde for lunch, which strangely no one except me ate.  After lunch Shine gave us a little talk on photo mapping and the project we were starting, which was to take photos of some of the buildings inside the fort and then make a presentation. We had just gone out of the office to start the shooting when Baldeep ji came to have talk with the interns of the Anad Foundation.

When we finished with our little talk, it was around 6 pm. We know started taking our photographs. Amit and me decided to be in one group so we both took some photos individually and together.

After the sun set Amit, Amar and me played football with some of the boys who came to learn from Papa. We played a lot and also enjoyed our time even though the match was too easy and we won with the score 20-5.  In the mean time Papa and the other interns went to Jalandhar to pick up Mamma. By the time they came back we had already had dinner and were spending some time chatting with Shine.

We all sat together for some time exchanging news after which Amar and Amit took their belongings and moved in with me at Pinder’s house.

27 May 2012

Today we were told to wake up at 5 am to finish taking the photographs of the monuments in the fort. I was up by around quarter to 5 and started shooting the photos by 5:15 am. I happened to be the only one up at that time and at 5:30 am; Shine also woke up to see if anyone had arrived. He was not very pleased to see that no one turned up but at the same time expected this to happen. By the time I had finished at 6:30 am the other interns arrived and started to take their own photos. I personally learnt that at around 6:30 am there is a very good light at the Qila of Sultanpur Lodhi as some very good pictures were shot by me at that time. I finished taking the photos at about 7 am and then I went to have my breakfast. After breakfast I spent some time practicing some archery though due to the breeze I had trouble getting the arrow on the target. At 11amwe all left for village Sichewal where there was a festival going on. Baldeep ji was asked to sing there for half an hour so we all got ready to leave. We also carried a few instruments: Rabab, Pakhawaj, Tanpura, and the Dilruba. There were many people at the gurudwara and also a lot of security as the Chief Minister of Punjab; Sardar Prakash Singh Badal was to arrive in a short while. We were taken to a room where Pinder, Kulwant, and I tuned our instruments and then we moved on into the main a big hall where they had seated the Guru Grant Sahib in the front. We moved to a side where we unpacked our instruments after which we were asked to come on the stage where Baldeep ji had already taken his position. I enjoyed my self as I usually do when I perform with Papa. We sang some nice compositions of the 5th Guru in raga Sarang and also Basant. After the Kirtan I took my Rabab back to the room, and as I was doing so the CM arrived with his whole entourage. After we kept the instruments in the room I went back to the hall with Amit to get Himmat, Anmol, Kavya, and Mamma for Lunch. The Lungar was really very good. I especially enjoyed the Chole and the Jalebi. After lunch we sat in the room relaxing for about half an hour after which Papa came to pick us up and take us back. Pinder’s car did not start and so we had to adjust in 2 cars.

When we reached Sultanpur we went through our photographs but before we could start with our presentations Shine had to leave he was getting late to catch the bus to Delhi from Jalandhar. After he left we started writing our reports of the day but we were soon called for an early dinner at 7:30 pm. After dinner we came back to the office to finish our reports but I was not able to as I had been having a strong headache and at that very moment made me feel really weak and restless.

28 May 2012

Today morning Papa, Kavya, and Mamma went to Chandigarh for the award ceremony of the Sangeet Natak Academy. As Mr. BN Goswami was not been able to attend the ceremony in Kolkata he was given his award in his residence in Chandigarh. Papa left Himmat, Anmol, and me some work, which was to catalogue all the tools used by the luthiery department of the Anad Foundation. It was a very tedious work, which even when I tried my best I was not able to finish. I ended up having a heat stroke, which gave me a very strong headache and dizziness. I was not able to work after that but sadly in my absence Himmat and Anmol did not care to carry on the work.

29 May 2012

Today I woke with a milder but more persistent headache. I was not able to get to work till about 10 am. Also today Papa had to go out of town. He went to Patiala in the morning to meet an artist but instead of Kavya he took Anmol and Himmat with him. When I got to the workshop in the morning me and Kavya started to redo the cataloguing of the tools. We were able to finish around 80 tools till 1 pm after which due to the heat my headache increased and so I had to stay in bed till 4 pm. After which I sat down to finish my report.

30 May 2012

Today BBS had to go to Chandigarh again to sing at a Bhog ceremony. We had to stay and finish cataloguing the tools. In the morning I was not able to get to work immediately as I was still not too well though after some time I went to the workshop get everyone to work. As soon as I got there I got everyone inside the workshop and we started out work. We had finished three drawers the day before and we had 11 drawers of tool left. At first Kavya and me started work but after some time also Himmat and Anmol joined in though they soon got annoyed and left. We continued work for some time after which Kavya got tired and went to the office we know had only 8 drawers left for which Amit, Amar and Jatinder helped me. After lunch I fell asleep till about 3:30 pm due to a strong headache. After my mother left at 4 o clock for the station in Jalandhar we were given more work. This time we were split into 2 group: Himmat and me, and Kavya and Anmol. Himmat and I were told to catalogue all the stencils of the instruments that papa had made. I quickly took out all the stencils that I found and then put them in order of instruments. I then quickly left the workshop, as I had not been feeling well at that time.