Amritsar,September 05, 2004
ANI
NRI Press
The huge turnout by the ever expanding Sikh diaspora here for the 400th
anniversary of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib at the Golden Temple
is an opportunity for them to get back to their roots.
Sarabjit Singh, a NRI visitor from California in USA said, "Oh
this is wonderful here. I cannot express my feelings. For me, it's like
a dream come true. For last ten years, I have had no reason to come
to India. But when I found there is big celebration going on the occasion
of the 400th anniversary of installation of Guru Granth Sahib in the
Golden Temple, I said it doesn't matter how much work and money I have
to lose, I have to be there".
Another visitor from California Amlok Singh said, "Here, we see
a lot of spirit, people coming from different places. Our grass roots
are here. There (the US) people are very professional. They might not
take that much of pain in going to places for such occasions. People
over here are doing lot and we feel so good about it".
The two million strong Sikh community in countries like the United
States, the UK and Canada swears by its traditions.
Gurbax Singh, a visitor from UK said, "There is a need to educate
the people, the governments about our traditions and the dress-ups.
The Sikh community settled all over can play a major role".
Sarabjeet Singh recalls, "The main thing is the turban, the identity,
this is the identity one has to keep because there are some people who
comes to States and they takes their turbans off and they shave their
beard, but they still go to gurudwaras and many of them are now keeping
turban."
A delegation of some one thousand Sikhs and Hindus from Sindh in Pakistan
have also arrived here, and they say it has been a totally different
experience.
Amrit Lal, a visitor from Pakistan said, "We are visiting here
for the first time and were a bit confused before arrival. While coming
here we find everything fine and as if sitting with our near and dear
ones. We find ourselves lucky visiting this fair, which comes once in
100 years".
Besides the teachings and messages of the holy Guru Granth Sahib, radiating
from here, the occasion reunites the Sikh community from all over the
world.