Summer Solstice 1973 - Photos
Apr 5th, 2007 by Siri Ved Kaur
I spent almost all of last Saturday scanning old photos. Pictures are fading, albums are falling apart, everyone in my family lives in a different city, and I thought if I scan them in, they’re sure to be preserved and easier accessible for all my family and also for all those interested in the early days of 3HO and Sikh Dharma in the west.
Every Solstice celebration includes an evening entertainment program each night. This evening program is what I remember most clearly from the Summer Solstice of 1973 in the Pecos Mountains of New Mexico. For several nights in a row we had music competition, with the sangat of each main ashram/region leading us in some of the most spirited song and chanting I had ever experienced! The Broadway Ashram, from South Central Los Angeles, won the competition (judged by the clapping and cheering of the audience). It didn’t really matter who “won” because we all won such a powerful charge of energy, spirit, and elevation.
Although I don’t have a “story” to tell about this solstice, the photos certainly do. If you have a memory to share about Solstice, please add it to the comments, or submit! Now, enjoy the photos….
Two hundred Sikhs of the Guru took vows to serve as ministers of the Dharma in this minister ceremony held at Summer Solstice 1973.
Shakti Parwha Kaur’s birthday always falls during Summer Solstice Sadhana and it is a chance for us to honor her and also for her to speak. Here she does so, with Bibiji just to the left, and Waheguru Kaur and Sat Simran on the right.
Here’s the Broadway Ashram from L.A., led by Krishna Kaur. I don’t remember the names of the fellows on the left. That’s Nirangkar Kaur (still of L.A.) on her right.
Above: Here is a view of children’s camp
Here’s the Espanola sangat, with L to R: Hargobind S, Wahe Guru S, Jimmy Longo (Bahadur S), Raghu Rai K, and that’s Sahib Amar K playing the viola.
GuruGun K wears her very first turban. When I walk the land at Ram Das Puri, I always remember the generosity and grace of Guru Gun Kaur and send her love.
The San Diego, CA sangat, L to R are: Guru Kirtan K, Sat Kirn K (now of NY), and Guru Kirtan S.
Gurumeet Kaur, then of L.A., now of Espanola.
Guru Singh and Siri Ved Singh "help" Diane up.
This one got in the scanner crooked! Siri Ved Singh and I called this "home" during solstice. We slept in the back of the VW and used the tent for everything else. I believe that’s Guru Singh’s truck (with the Adi Shakti) next door.
L to R: Guru Shabad S, Guru Dass S, that’s either Guru Dass K or Sat Kartar K… with back to camera maybe Livtar S? but we’ll never know for sure. Far right I think is Guru Trang S.
Gurujohn Singh (Hartford, CT) tells us all a bedtime story one night at the close of the evening program.
Gurushabad S (Montague, MA) on left. Can you identify the man on the right?
Guru Trang Singh and friends, then of Baltimore, MD, switching out guitars after breaking a string.
Leading chanting during a tantric hailstorm are L to R: Yogiji, Krishna K, Siri Ved K, Kirn Jot K. I’m not sure of who’s in back, but I think I see Nirangkar K on left and Sherry ? on far right.
Our Puerto Rican sangat. Gian Singh is on the far left (thank you Satsimran!) In back is Kartar Kaur, and on right is Guru Dass Singh.
Krishna Kaur drove out to solstice with Danny and me. Here she is, sleeping in the back of our VW squareback.
More of L.A. singing, Above is Guru Singh flanked by Krishna K and Guru Dass. Left is L.A. sangat, from L to R: Guruliv S, Guru S, Siri Ved K, Krishna K, and Kalista K.
Massachusetts sangat led by Guru Shabad S (L) and Amar S (R) in front. L to R in back: Guru Dass K, Chris Killam (Sat Kartar S), Mangal (Susan), and Ram Rang Kaur.
Above, Nirinjan K, Hari Har K, and Ganga Bhajan K lead the D.C. folks. Below, Nirinjan and Hari Har. In back (between NK and HHK) is Guru Nam Bhajan K (Claudia).
Above and below: the Phoenix sangat takes off!
Just back from a yatra to the Golden Temple, Sat Kirpal K, Ram Das K, Ganga Bhajan K, and Sat Kirn K lead beautiful Gurbani Kirtan (which back in 1973, was pretty new to most of us). That’s Bibiji on the far left, I think.
Sat Peter S and Ganga
Sat Purkha K gives Sat Purkha S a back rub during a tantric break.
Above: Sid and Jean Francis.
Below: Sikh Vows
Siri Shakti’s daughter Jaime demonstrates her ventriloquist skills as Wahe Guru S watches.
Lining up for tantric. Our only shelter is the clouds. Zinc oxide was the rule of the day (we didn’t have sunscreen creams back then that blended in).
West Virginia sangat leads the chanting (Left and below)
I love this photo, despite the damage to it. This is SSSji with Vikram Singh’s first daughter , Preetam (or is it Pritham Bhagoti?)
SSSji gives an interview.
WaheGuru!
It’s totally inspiring to see these photos. The one that really touched me the most is the picture with the Guru in the tent and the sangat outside up in the mountains.
My Pitaji said that he went to a solstice in the Pecos, maybe it was this one?
Thanks for sharing all the great pictures and stories.
Actually, I get them a little mixed up. 1972 was mendocino (where I first met your mom), I think 1973 and 1974 were Pecos, 1975 was Jimez Mtns where we bathed in the stream, and I believe 1976 was the first one at Ram das Puri?? Ya’ll please feel free to comment and correct!
thanks for sharing
That was my 1st solstice and it was so hot, I will never forget it. Guru Nam Bhajan Kaur is the name you were looking for behind Ganga and Nirinjan. Great photos.
Sat Nam Siri Ved Kaur,
How young we all looked! I can fill in a few names for you.
Espanola: That’s me on the far right playing the viola, Gurmukh Kaur is next to me in the back, and I think the person behind the microphone playing guitar is Jimmy Longo/Bahadur Singh from Albuquerqe.
The picture above the one of Gurujohn: (l-r) Gurushabd Singh (Montague, MA), with Guru Dass S., Sat Kartar K. (??), Livtar Singh (??), Sat Peter Singh in orange turban (??). We’re just guessing because it’s hard to see their faces.
Gurujohn picture: Guru Dass S. is to the left of Gurujohn S.
Mass. sangat: Front row - We think the woman with glasses is Guru Dass K. (then her name was Sat Pat Want Kaur). To the right of Gurushabd is Amar Singh (my future husband but we didn’t know it at the time). Back row: Chris Killam (Sat Kartar S.), Mangal (Susan) and Ram Rang Kaur.
Harbhajan S’s mom was Claudia, or Guru Nam Bhajan Kaur.
We’re pretty sure that 1974 was in Jemez (not Pecos). That’s the Solstice we got engaged and I joined the Khalsa String Band. The rest is history.
It’s good that you’re getting all this history down before we are all too senile to remember anyone’s name or what happened where.
Love,
Sahib-Amar Kaur
I loved seeing these old photos. I was in the Boston Ashram
and Albuquerqe new mexico Ashram from about 1971-74
The teacher of Boston Ashram(sat karim Singh) ?
The teacher of Albuquerque ashram in Old town Was Bahadur singh. Does anyone now where they are now. They were good friends and I lost contact. Also miss those old kahlsa songs from early 70’s Any info of how to contact any of these
ashramites from that time period ??
Elise
I didn’t know either Karam Singh (Boston) or Bahadur Singh (Abq). If someone else does, please let Elise know.
I DONT KNOW I EVEN QUALIFY TO THANK YOU FOR SHARING THESE GREAT PIX .
I MUST SAY U ARE NOT JUST GREAT PPL , BUT GREAT SOULS , WHO REALIZED WAT THEY SHUD B DOING .
AND I M FEELING SOMETHING HOLLOW DEEP INSIDE , MAY B a THOUGHT has paralysed me , ‘that i shud read ur posts from the first one , that i think i might hav missed a lot like this post’.
well GOD HELP ME WID THAT.
GUR JAISA NAHI KO DEV , JIS MUSTAK BHAGG SO LAGA SEV.
u r surely a great sourse of inspiraion for kiddos like me .
THANKS SO MUCH
amar
The late Gian Singh is the person to the left of Gurudass Singh from the Puerto Rico sangat. Jaimie is the name of Siri Shakti’s daughter. I can’t remember the name of her dummy though!
Sat Nam….these are so great. Thank you Bhainji! I think we were still in Jemez in ‘76. I had a little one, Kirpal Singh in tow, and expecting his sister Bhagvati. The car and tent thing was the thing to do…I remember the Khalsa vows at 8 mos pregnant and the last one to receive Amrit with our large group……we were pretty ‘toasty’, under the beautiful skies at the high altitude…..and I was completely in absorbed in bliss and the blessings….. Thank you for taking the time to share these. Wahe Guru….
Oh Siri Ved. Thank you so much for posting these wonderful pictures. I laughed out loud sharing in the fun and joy that you all had. Wahe Guru.
Dya in Paris
Wahe Guru, thank you! I love these photos and the joyous memories they evoke. I’ve been wishing we had some such site to connect through and share stories and memories. Maybe I’m just late on the loop as this is the first I’ve been forwarded, but I’m in now and dancing in the light. I dream about 3HO and my dearest soul connections several times a week and have a storehouse of memories to share. I remember in the early days one of my favorite pastimes aside from chanting to Guru Ram Das was trading stories of “How I came to the Ashram” as there were always remarkable tales which indicated the Great Hand at work in our lives.
But this is about above photos. The thing I remember most about these is the evening of “ashram entertainment night.” We were Ahima Ashram with Nirinjan, Hari Har and myself in the “lead” singing positions. We started out with turbans, singing something appropriately devotional then about one third of the way through burst into a rollicking version of “Working at the Golden Temple”,( in reference to our restaurant), whipped our heads so as to send our turbans flying and started go-go dancing and flipping our pony tails around. As you might recall, Ahimsa Ashram was sort of the geographic base of the Khalsa String Band and it never took much to get Sat Peter into Rock ‘n Roll. I thought it was funny, but boy did I get in a lot of trouble. I remember lectures from Shakti and even Gurushabd Singh. I often got lectured for going just a little too far. Oh well, what to do? Those were the days of “far out” and we didn’t have one gray hair among us. Imagine!
Sat Nam and huge smiles,
Ganga
I am honored to be the first post after such an esteemed seminal high woman as Ghanga Bhajan Kaur. 1973, I was there. As director of the Portland, Oregon ashram and somewhat musically inclined our group competed in the nightly competition and justifiably lost. We did our best but were not the best.
My memories: 1) It was very cold at night. I was on “Security” detail from midnight to 4 AM. Damn neart froze. 2) This was the last solstice that was totally taken on by the Espanola community. They worked for months before, and after, to get it done.
I’d have to take a month to write it all down. Suffice it to say, it was a seminal time in the Dharma. To have been part of it is to have been blessed. I am thankful to have been there.
Does anyone remember the exact location of the Pecos Solstice Site?? THere were cabins then and a rec center and a phone. I went back there in the 1980’s and all that was left was a concrete slab and the phone. THe whole property was sold to the Forest Service. I’d like to go back and visit the site but can’t remember the location.
I loved looking through these photos—the word that comes to mind is ‘innocence’! I didn’t come to 3-HO until 1977 via Ahimsa in Washington, D.C. Those were the days my friends! When I look back on my life, some of my happiest/most content days was time spent with my 3-HO family……and I love you all. I live in NYC now and keep in touch with some family members at the Herndon community. I love you all. Keep Up! Sada Sat Simran Kaur aka Zoe Artemis
Guru Gun Kaur is my mother. I randomly wrote her name in my search and came up with your web site. I remember the solstice site from when I was a child as well as the Ashram and Yogi Bhajan. He gave me my name. Anyway, its been fifteen years since I’ve known from my mother. I doubt very much that you have any knowledge of her whereabouts, but if you have any information that could help me find her I would appreciate it. If you need any proof that my words are true I have fotos and letters from years back that can be provided. Thank you…
Please if any readers have word of Guru Gun Kaur, contact me and I will pass this on to her son. SVK
im a bit confused…
do sikhs prey in an ashram (whats that) or a gurdwara?
Sikhs pray everywhere. The Gurdwara is the name of the Sikh temple, a place where the Siri Guru Granth Sahib presides. See http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php?title=Sri_Guru_Granth_Sahib for a thorough description of this. An ashram is a place of community and spiritual learning. Our communities were and are exactly that. In Los Angeles we had the very first Guru Ram Das Ashram (many more followed around the world). Guru Ram Das, the 4th Sikh Guru, held the throne of Raj Jog, the King of Yoga, and thus the name Guru Ram Das Ashram. It is the center of our community here in L.A. and also is our Gurdwara. But like I said, Sikhs pray everywhere.
blessings
sv
Thanks, Siri Ved Kaur:
This was a surprise and a really fun journey. I echo Ganga’s sentiments, and Zoe’s about how innocent and purposeful we were back then. It was especially fun to remember the rock and roll outrage of “Working at the Golden Temple” and the total uproar we caused (mainly Ganga, Niranjan, and Hari Har Kaur with their go-go dancing). Back iin those days everyone was trying so hard to be holy that we thought it would be a good idea to shake things up a little.
–Sat Peter (aka Peter Alexander)