Gyan Rajhans -
engineer, administrator, writer, broadcaster, producer
  A profile by

Prashant Ramesh
Globalom Media

One of the prominent and well established South Asians in Toronto, Gyan Rajhans (addressed as Gyan ji) came to Canada looking for an opportunity like many Indians to work hard and reap the rewards. What sets him apart from the rest are the accomplishments and contributions made to the community. This selfless and persevering individual set specific goals and strived to achieve them. 

Gyan ji came to Canada in 1964 on a student visa to do his post-graduate studies at Queens University in Kingston Ontario. Having completed an Engineering degree in Mining Engineering at the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad and a Post graduation at Queens University, he secured a position with the Ontario Ministry of Health. 

In less than ten years he was promoted to Chief of Occupational Health Engineering Services at the Ontario Ministry of Labour. Here he was renowned for bringing international recognition to occupational hygiene in Canada. He not only administered the province's occupational hygiene program effectively, but also wrote and lectured extensively throughout the world on this topic. His contributions have been recognized in several textbooks on occupational hygiene.

Gyan ji is most celebrated for his work in 1976, which demonstrated the link between carbon dioxide levels in indoor air (an indicator of inadequate fresh air supply) and the set of symptoms that characterize Sick Building Syndrome. He was also instrumental in the development of the first detailed protocol for IAQ investigations, published by the Ministry of Labour as part of its 1988 Inter-ministerial Committee Report on IAQ.

A recipient of numerous awards, Gyan ji topped it all by receiving a Life Achievement Award by OHS Canada (Honourable Mention) in 1999. He considers his greatest professional achievement was when he was elected Chair of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) in 1997. 6000 members participated from across the globe in this decision, thus making him the first Indo-Canadian to achieve this distinction in the 60 year history of the Conference. 

However, the professional experience, achievements and awards he received didn't curb his appetite for building a better cause. Gyan ji an active member of the South Asian community bringing touches of India to the modern western world.

He is well known for broadcasting the only non-commercial Vedic religion radio program, Bhajanawali, in North America since 1981. With no prior broadcast experience, Gyan ji fulfilled a childhood dream of wanting to start a radio programme which would broadcast Bhajans to enthused listeners in North America. He drew his inspiration, as a child, from his father after listening to him sing Bhajans every morning. Moving to the western world deprived him of this and left a void which he filled by giving back to the Indian community what he had received from his father. 

Gyan ji started his broadcast by persuading Ashok Parihar to launch a non-commercial Vedic Religion Radio broadcast in 1981. Mr. Parihar, at that time, had a successful weekly Hindi radio broadcast called Madhuban. This half hour broadcast grew to a one-hour broadcast. "This is the only non-commercial Vedic Religion Program in North America," says Gyan ji.

He funded this venture solely through charitable donations. Gyan ji continued to be its host/director and is now the producer. In 1999 the Bhajanawali website was launched providing a simultaneous web cast worldwide. 

During the course of the broadcast since 1981, he interviewed numerous guests and has often stated that he is "humbled by the opportunity to have featured prominent spiritual leaders and musicians." Some of the talent that he has exposed to his listeners are Swami Satya Mitranand ji, Giri Ji Maharaj, Anup Jalota and Anuradha Paudwal to name a few.

Gyan ji has published extensively on religious and spiritual matters. Some of his articles are available on the Bhajanawali web site. For the younger generation, he has translated the Sri Mad Bhagvad Gita in English with the help of his Canadian born son Aashish Rajhans who has B.A. in English from the University of Toronto.

So how did Gyan ji get where he is, how did he achieve so much? In his own words, "By working twice as hard as my Canadian counterparts." He attributes his success to "hard work, perseverance, passion and divine grace." His Gurus one of whom was his father-in-law, Pandit Shyam Raj Jajware and the president and treasurer of the Bhajanawali Devotional Services, Mr. V. B. Sharma. 

If you are a new immigrant Gyan ji has some words of advice "competition is getting tougher everyday, so be prepared to wait longer to fulfil your dreams and of course, keep sharpening your skills while waiting to land a job."

So what next for Gyan ji you ask? Well he hasn't stopped yet. He plans on and is in talks with, several publishers to publish several English books on Indian culture and religion. He targets these books to the new generation of young Indians basing it on 22 years of research in religious broadcasts. 

So folks look out for a bookstore near you for you can be certain that this is one more achievement he is sure to put under his belt.

(Prashant Ramesh works as a web manager for major financial institution. He moved to Toronto in '99 after graduating with a BBA and a major in E-Commerce, one of the first program of its kind in North America, from University in Saint John, NB. Born in India, he has travelled and lived all over the world and finally decided to settle in Canada.)

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