Setting up your Windows XP computer so that you can input Panjabi characters (or other non Roman character sets)

Hi,

I found out how to set a computer up so that you can input Punjabi straight from the keyboard, without using any clumbersome codes.

Here are the steps required to setup Panjabi as a language on your Windows XP computer.

Step 1

Make sure that you are running Windows XP.

Step 2

Open 'Control Panel'

Step 3

Make sure the view of the control panel is in 'Classic View'.

Step 4

Open 'Regional and Language Settings'

Step 5

Click on the 'Languages' tab at the top of the window.

Step 6

Make sure the checkbox labeled 'Install files for complex scripts...' in the 'Supplment Language support' section is ticked.

Note: You will get a confirmation message after ticking the check box.

Step 7

Click 'Apply' and then 'OK'

Note: You may be asked for the 'Windows XP' CD after clicking 'Apply' depending on your set up

Step 8

Restart you computer

Step 9

Open 'Control Panel'
Make sure the view of the control panel is in 'Classic View'.
Open 'Regional and Language Settings'
Click the 'Languages' tab
Press the 'Details' button
Press the 'Add' button in the 'Installed services' section of the window that appears
Choose 'Punjabi' from the list of languages
Press the 'OK' button

Now you should have support for Punjabi.

If you want to start typing in Punjabi first use the key combination 'Alt + Shift' to set you computer to Punjabi mode (You can tell if you are in Punjabi mode by looking for a 'PA' in the bottom right hand corner of your screen rather than the 'EN' for English) and then just start typing.

For example: ਸੁਖ (Sukh)

Jo Bole So Nihaal - The Film - No If, No But, Just Crap?

There has been an interesting discussion about the film ' Jo Bole So Nihaal ' on SikhNet

First of all I would like to make it clear that I have not seen the film and I wouldn't class myself as a proper Sikh i.e. I have not taken amrit, I trim my beard, I eat meat. ( As I read this it looks bad) but I am constantly learning about Sikhi.

Here is my humble opinion

In my opinion the title of the film should not be ' Jo Bole So Nihaal '. This is because the film looks like a typical masala film with all that goes into a masala film ( sex, item numbers, girls in skimpy clothes). This can clearly be seen in the promos. This type of film cannot be reconciled with ' Jo Bole So Nihaal ' as a title which is a Sikh War Cry and has been misenterpreted too many times in Bollywood films already.

The director of the film, Rahul Rawail, who is born into a Sikh family, says that the films' title is apt because the heros name is Nihaal Singh.

With a title like ' Jo Bole So Nihaal ' I was expecting a religious film with a message like some films I remember wacthing as a kid ( Dukh Banjan Tera Naam, Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai, Guru Maneo Granth) Although these films were by no means perfect, they did have good intentions and showed Sikhism in a beautiful light.

Other people have said that the film continues the worrying trend of portraying Sikhs in a bad light. For example they are shown to be stupid, simpletons etc. I have to say that the promos do suggest that point of view. However this cannot be verified until I see the film.

I can understand how people get frustrated when they see yet another film where a person who looks like a Sikh is shown in a negative way. I feel that they do have a point but they have to look at the real world where we so called Sikhs are doing numerous things that are against Sikhism. We have to be realistic and understand that the media will depict people as it see them in real life. All groups will have good and bad people in them.

However we must not allow the media to mould the image of Sikhs so that it is contrary to real life.

A more important issue to me is the way the media portrays the Sikh religion as a whole. I will try to explain what I mean by this. If a ' Proper Sikh ' is shown to be doing something that is against Sikhism, then this can be more dangerous than when a ' Trim Singh ' or ' Mona Singh ' do something that is against the religion. For example in some films ' Proper Sikhs ' are shown to be idol worshiping. The act of idol worship is totally against the principles of Sikhism

If you have seen the film ' Jo Bole So Nihaal ' please post a comment on what you think about the film generally and how you felt about the film from a Sikh point of view.

If I have offended anyone please accept my apologies.

What if Guru Ji came to stay

This is a really thought provoking poem.

What if Guru Ji really did come to stay with us
(It could be said that he is always with us and we just choose to ignore him).

How would we treat him.

Would we try to hide things from him?

Would we be glad when he leaves?

Here is the link. Nihang Singhs Blog

Let the blogging begin...

Hi Everyone,

Just thought I should start blogging so that I can tell other people about all the daft ideas that I have and what I think about.

About me:

Name: Sukhjit Singh
Nationality / Ethnic Origin: British / Sikh
Location: Bradford, England

I will post more soon