The Amazing Story of Pingalwara and Bhagat Puran Singh in Punjabi

Pingalwara was the name given to a humble house for the destitute in Amritsar in northern Indian state of Punjab. In the early 1900's, it was an original idea of the founder, Bhagat Puran Singh to cater to the needs of people who had been rejected by society. It was an ad-hoc facility for the disabled; the mentally ill; the dispossessed; generally for people who were no longer accepted by anyone in society. Bhagat Puran Singh built this institute literally single-handed with the ideals of his mother as his driving force; the message of Gurbani as a beacon and the generosity of the Punjabi society as his safety net and hunting ground. He begged; worked as hard as he physically and mentally could; resorted to whatever options were available to care and provide for his "patients" just like a father or mother would care and provide for his children. No barrier or hurdle could stop him in his effort to care for these "community rejects". He left no stone unturned to bring some dignity to the lives of individuals who had no one in this world except this saint. He brought hope and respect to these people who have been rejected by their families and friends because of their terrible disabilities. At present, Pingalwara has seven branches, one each at Chandigarh, Sangrur, Jalandhar, Goindwal, Mananwala and Pandori Waraich, in addition to the head office and main branch at Amritsar. In all these branches, there are 1700 inmates In addition to looking after these inmates, Pingalwara is running 5 schools, 2 dental clinics, an ultrasound centre, an eye clinic, an artificial limbs centre, a physiotherapy centre, a sewing and stitching centre, etc. etc. All these services and facilities are provided free of cost. In addition, Pingalwara has got its own printing press where a lot of literature is printed and distributed free of cost for spreading awareness about social, religious, health, environmental and other national problems, etc. among the general public. Awareness is also spread for conservation of natural resources such as petrol, diesel, coal etc. Pingalwara has developed its own nursery where saplings are provided to the public free of cost. Pingalwara is also running two agriculture farms—one each at Banganwali (Distt: Sangrur) and Dhirekot (Distt: Amritsar) where natural farming and related research are carried out with a view to presenting a model for the farming community to emulate. In these farms, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, weedicides, etc. are not used. It has also one dairy-farm of about 150 cattle heads. The daily expenditure for running all the said projects and taking proper care of the inmates is to the tune of Rs. three and a half lacs. For all such activities, Pingalwara totally depends upon charities pouring in from various quarters throughout the world. The institution is presently being managed by a seven-member registered society with Dr. Inderjit Kaur at its head as Patron President. Channel Operated by @BrainBugs