Chaar Sahibzade

A reminder of the past...

Last week, we went to go watch Chaar Sahibzade. It was my husband, little brother kuljeet, little sister harinder, mom, and my nana ji (mom's dad), we were all eager to see the movie. Kuljeet was the most excited one of all, he loves listening to our history and shows a passion for our culture/religion. He previously went to go see Saadda Haq with us too and asked many questions trying to understand what happened. Therefore, I was excited to see this reaction to this movies; especially since it was animated. 

If your not familiar with Sikh history, let me give a brief overview of this film. Guru Gobind Singh ji, our last of ten gurus, sacrificed the lives of his 4 sons aka Chaar Sahibzaade for religion, injustice, and tyranny of the Mughals. 

When the movie started, I immediately noticed that the animated characters were very well done. Each of the Sahibzade were beautifully characterized. Their punjabi was so polite and rich with culture (which I expected). What I didn't except was to be so emotional over an animated movie. I thought if there were actual actors, I would be more attached, but I was wrong. I cried numerous times throughout the movie.

I also appreciated the fact the Guru ji was shown but no one voiced for him. At first, I was a bit skeptical how this would work but when I saw it... I was impressed. It is hard to this but they did a great job.

I'm not going to go into scene by scene to tell you how much I loved it... you just have to see it yourself. Take the whole family, reconnect your kids, little cousins, nieces and nephews with our rich history of sikhism. I love the fact that our future generation now has a well depicted movie of our history. Making the film into 3-D was a great idea, I personally didn't watch it 3-D but that will definitely get any kids attention.

At the end of movie, we left with tears rolling down our cheeks and thinking how distant we have become from our roots. The chota Sahibzade spoke with such pride, confidence, and passion about sikhi that it re-energize us as future generation. My nana ji, who lost his own son during the 1984 attack on the Golden Temple, had puffy eyes and red nose from crying. Kuljeet was left speechless, I think that the movie was so well done that he understood what happened and why it happened, leaving him very more passionate about being a guru sikh.


Great job Harry Baweja! You have two thumbs up and a standing ovation from my family and I. Even chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, loved it so much that he stated no tax will be charged on this movie! Famous actors like Shilpa Shetty, Tabu, Raj Kundra, and Bipasha Basu were all at the launch premier. It took Harry Baweja couple of year to make the film, perfecting and gathering correct information about history... but it was well worth the wait.   

Looking forward for more movies like these to watch with my kids in the future. 

The Next 25

Bucket List

As the New Year and my 25^th birthday approaches, I look back on my life. Where I’ve been, what I’ve done, and what I want in the future. When I think about it, I can honestly say I’m where I wanted to be in life… at this age. I wanted to be married, begin my career path, and start a family. Two of the three are done; I’ve put a hold on the third one.

For the next quarter-century, there are new goals and accomplishments I set myself. I don’t want anything materialist. I want to be able to look back on my life and laugh, maybe cry a little, and have no regrets.

1.       I want to go back to Jamaica (that’s where we went for our 1^st anniversary) and go to Ricks Café… and jump off the cliff! We didn’t jump because neither of us know how to swim. So we decided we would either learn how to swim or bring a life jacket.

 

        2.       Try new food! Both my husband and I love trying new dishes and restaurants. Only thing is my husband won’t try seafood, other than that he will eat anything. Along with trying new food, we are trying to be healthy. Switching to whole wheat, organic meats, and less salt. Anything that will keep us healthy and fit.

    [SAX DC]

 [Marie Belle NYC]

3.       Start a Non-Profit Organization in honor of my grandfather, Jora Singh. He has always been like a second father figure to me. He may not even know how much he means to me. I have learned so much from him throughout the years. Taught me how to be humble, respectable, and a man of my word. I’ve learned about Sikhism from him, Indian history, Hinduism, and more; basically any history I know is because of him. He can’t read or write any language but he has knowledge about everything and anything you can imagine. Therefore I want to start some kind of organization that will let this legacy live on. 

[my husband +Manpal Singh and my grandfather, Jora Singh Gill at my sister's lady sangeet]

 

4.       Be successful. No matter what path life takes me. I want to be successful. Be able to face any difficulties face on and prospers.

5.       Jump off an Airplane. Yes, I know this is crazy but I wanted to do this for a while and haven’t been able to. So this next quarter-century, I want to laugh at the face of death.

6.       Visit new places, countries, islands… just explore. Now that the love of my life and I are married, I want to see new places with him. We already had some fun and adventurous trip and I want to continue it. There is nothing like seeing wonders of the world with your love.

7.       Do something of Sikhism, on behalf of my Late Shaheed Chamkaur Singh Dala. It may seem like we aren’t that religious, but you are wrong. One of the reason I love my husband is because how passionate he is about Sikhi. And being a martyr’s niece, I have the same passion like mama ji (mom’s brother). I also want this legacy to live on. I’m so gratified to be known as his niece. Both my husband and I are willing to anything for Sikhi. I guess time will tell us what exactly we will do.

 [my favorite picture of my mama ji and mami ji (uncle & aunty) and me in Agra, India.] 

 [Picture of them during the 1984 Golden Temple Attack. (Sikh genocide basically...)] 

8.       Start a family. The Ghuman family. I want to have kids by the age of 30. I want to be a young mom and be able to as much as I can with them. My husband only wants two kids but I want four, just like me and my siblings…so I guess this is yet to be determined.

9.       Make an impact on our parent’s life. I believe no matter where life takes you, you need to thank the parents that brought you into this life. I want to give back to my parents that have done so much for me. Same thing with my husband, I know he wants to give back to his mother that has done so much for him. It don’t have to be materialist; a gesture of kindness.

10.   Remarry the love of my life again! Either 25^th or 50^th anniversary I want to remarry my husband. Redo the wedding celebrations, the fun, and the excitement. I know most of you may think… how you know you will still be married to him. Well, I have a gut feeling our love will only get stronger with time. (wink)

 [+Manpal Singh  and I on our wedding day =]

 

So this is what I want for the coming years. I know some may take more time than other but I’m willing to take my time in making it happen. I’ve already done the topically bucket list, like get a tattoo, road trips, and party until 6am. I’ll probably do those again with my husband. Maybe add a few more goals later on. Who knows…?

Happy New Years! 2014! The year of the Horse!

Lasers! Lasers! Lasers!

The Age of Lasers

Lasers, it seems like everything you want done can be done by a laser. Lasers offer variety of skincare treatments. For example: optical procedures, hair removal, spider veins treatment, skin resurfacing treatments, and more treatments are being introduced. However, the thing with laser are you have to very careful and know what you are doing.

When you pick out an office/med spa ask questions. ALOTS of them!

• Are they licensed? [Most states require laser tech to be at least esthetician if not master esthetician or physician. There are some exception to this depending on practice, a physician may allow experienced medical staff to perform procedure. Again its depends on state and practice] 
• Where they got their training?
•  How long have they been doing the treatment/procedure?  
• What are the side-effects?
• Is my skin type suitable for the procedure/treatment?  (Take note: Dark skin type need to be extra careful with this! Because most lasers are not for skin type four and up. Check what Fitzpatrick scale is your skin type. However new technology does allow procedure to be perform on darker skin type.)
• Is there any medication to avoid pre and post treatment? [Some procedure may require you to discontinue any medication that makes you photo sensitive. Ask you technician and review your medication with them]

These are just some of the basic questions. Depending on the treatment being performed, there are other questions you may ask.

This is a Fitzpatrick Scale below. It allows laser techs and estheticians to classify skin type. Ethnicity also is something the laser tech has to consider. For example, I have Indian origins but my face color is much little than a topically Indian, so the technician is going to factor in my ethnicity. My ethnicity is what determines how my skin will response to the laser. I am a skin type 4.   

Once upon a time... it all started...

Introduction to my life!

 Hello! Hi! & Sat Sri Akal! Yes I am a Sikh-Punjabi Medical Aesthetician. I have been born and raised in Virginia, USA!

I have not always like skincare or beauty but little did I know that I would be writing a blog because I am so passionate about it!

Junior year in high school, I started attending Monroe Technology Center in Leesburg, VA for Cosmetology Classes. I had a great teacher that I will never forget, Mrs. Dee Edmond. (RIP she has passed away this summer of 2013 fighting Breast Cancer) Not only was she a big part of my change in personality but appearance too, setting my foundation in the world of beauty.

After finishing and getting my cosmetology license, I realized that I have more of a passion for skin. I went to a local aesthetic school where I completed my basic and master aesthetic course. I attend all skincare, laser, and training seminars that were available to me to get all the knowledge I could about skin. Kept up to date with the latest technology and ingredients for proper skincare as they are important in this field

 Me! Back in 2007

There you go! That is a glimpse of my background! I will post more about me later. However I will be focusing on skincare products, makeup, laser, technology, and anything else that is related to the beauty field! And of course about my crazy fun Punjabi married life!!