Ever since I started this blog 6 years ago, I didn't just want to share problems or issues at airports, but I also wanted to find a way of solving them. One of the biggest problems I have time and time again is getting my salai through my hand luggage and it's something that I finally decided to try and rectify by designing a travel friendly salai. You can purchase one of these salais here, or, if you want to save money or design your own, read this article to find out how to make one yourself.

En los últimos meses, los agricultores de la India han estado protestando y esta semana las protestas se han vuelto más difíciles. En este breve post intentaré hablar sobre qué son las protestas y por qué están sucediendo.

Music is a core part of Sikhi, and having learned the harmonium from a young age, it's something that fascinates me. However, the vast majority of Sikh music you hear today uses neither the traditional instruments of the Sikhs, nor is it sung in the way the Gurus intended the compositions to be sung. This point, as well as the evolution of Sikh music, is beautifully explored in a new documentary on Amazon Prime called the Sikh Musical Heritage - the untold story. This article is my review of this award winning documentary. 

Currently in India, we are witnessing the largest protests in human history. These are economic protests by farm workers against billionaires, a nationalist government and corporate exploitation. On a human level, these protests are for the individual livelihoods of millions of farmers in Panjab, Haryana and across India.

​I've previously written about the cause of the protests (and you can read about them here), so today, as the protests develop, I want to clear up three misconceptions; (1) the farmers are illiterate and don't know why they are protesting, (2) these new bills are beneficial, and (3) Panjab is the only state protesting.

The farmer's (kisaan) protests in Northern India are reaching a climax, and I'm going to try and summarise a complex movement as simply as possible in 500 words for audiences outside of India that might be curious as many have families back in Panjab that might be affected.

I recently did a podcast on understanding cultures and travel with Australian travel and lifestyle show Priya's Heart.

I spoke about my experiences travelling the world, the places I enjoyed - and those that I'd rather forget. I also spoke about some of the issues I've experienced as a Sikh in parts of the world where Sikhi isn't so well known, including getting taken to a police station in Peru, having a sniffer dog go through my luggage in Bangkok and having an argument with a security guard in the airport in Madrid.

It's the most in-depth discussion I've done so far, as I talk a little about my background and beliefs, as well as describing why I started this blog almost 5 years ago and why I think it continues to serve an important purpose.

You can listen to the full podcast here.

Don't forget to follow The Travelling Singh on Instagram @thetravellingsingh and you can also follow Priya Sharma (who conducted the interview) on Instagram @priyasheart.

When I heard a temporary exhibition housing priceless artefacts from Sikh history would be opening in the summer of 2018, I can't tell you how excited I was. Having spent a lot of my time in museums around the world (and you can read about it in the travel section of my blog), the opportunity to see Sikh history from a Sikh perspective isn't something that comes around very often. Here I review my visit to the Brunei Gallery in London to view the Toor Collection, and the Empire of the Sikhs exhibition.

I fell in love with Catalunya the first time that I visited. The people of Catalunya remind me of Panjabis in so many ways. Their openness and welcoming nature is coupled with a fierce independence and cultural identity that is remarkably similar to Panjabis, and Sikhs in particular. The relationship of Catalans with the Spanish state is also similar to the relationship of Panjabis with India. Both regions have elements of a shared history with their respective states, but differences in language and culture effectively make them a nation within a nation.

I returned a number of times to Catalunya, including attending a Summer School at the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, and each time I felt an increasing attachment with the area. Not only do the Catalan people remind me of Panjab, but the city of Barcelona has a large Panjabi population, and I was surprised to see just how many Sikhs now call the city their home. Even more impressively, I spoke to the Giani of a local Gurdwara who told me that not only do the locals treat them with respect, but they actually attend the Gurdwara in large numbers on weekends as part of yoga retreats where they learn about, and respect the Sikh belief system.

It's this love for Catalunya that had me so interested in the recent Catalan independence referendum, a vote that highlighted to me many similarities with the independence movement for Panjab in India.

On 18 April 2017, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Theresa May announced that she would be calling an election on 8 June 2017. This follows a General Election in 2015, just two years earlier.

The Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011 had removed the power of the Prime Minister to call an election at the drop of a hat, or when conditions were favourable to the governing party. Under the Act, elections would be held every five years unless the House of Commons voted by two thirds to the contrary. With the spectre of Brexit hanging over the country and the opposition party in disarray, Theresa May decided this would be the perfect opportunity to strengthen her position both domestically and in terms of negotiating the withdrawal from the EU.

Unfortunately for her, as the campaign season kicked off, she began to show signs of weakness, no matter how many times she said she was "strong and stable", whilst the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn somehow got his sh*t together and began closing the gap in polls. Now, for all intents and purposes, the question isn't whether the Conservatives will win, but by how much they will win, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go out and vote.

I'm not telling you who to vote for, you should do the research and make an informed decision. However, for the Sikh community to prosper, we need to become more politically engaged and therefore I will say; go out and vote.