NRI, Sikh Satsang of
Indianapolis
Enlightening
experience
Indianapolis, February 4, 2006
IndyStar.com Indiana Living
JOE VITTI / The Star
Visit the Gurdwara Sahib (Temple) near Indianapolis
any day of the week and you'll likely see a wedding,
memorial service or cultural event taking place
Built in 1999, the Gurdwara is home base for many
Sikhs who call Central Indiana home. Though small
in number here, Sikhs make up the fifth-largest religion
in the world.
If you want to enter the Gurdwara, custom demands
that you take off your shoes and cover your head with
a scarf or turban.
During a recent service inside the diwan hall, musicians
played the harmonium, tablas and other percussion
instruments, giving voice to the hymns in the Sikh
scriptures. There are 5,867 hymns enshrined in the
scriptures, including nearly 900 from Muslim and Hindu
saints of various castesParticipants walk to the raised
canopied platform, on which the sacred scriptures
are placed under brocaded silks. There they pray and
make an offering. Later in this service, Giani Pritam
Singh, the Granthi or head priest of the Sikh Satsang
of Indianapolis, reads from the scriptures and then
leads the group in prayer.
At the end of the service, a whole-wheat flour pudding
is given to the participants in a "sacrament/blessed
offering."
After the service, North Indian vegetarian lunch is
served in the langar hall. Lunch includes chapatis
bread, rice, lentils, spinach puree and other vegetable
combinations, including yogurt, and rice pudding or
other favorite desserts
Gurdwara Sahib building was built in 1999 north of
I-74/Acton Road interchange. It has a large diwan hall,
langar hall, library and children's playground
Sikh Satsang of Indianapolis
10950 Southeastern Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46239
317-862-SIKH
(317-862-7454)

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