Kathmandu, Nepal | Asia Samachar | 11 May 2015
The cooking of the Guru-ka-Langgar at one gurdwara in Kathmandu, Nepal, has not stopped since a devastating earthquake struck the mountainous country on April 25.
It was a Saturday. Being a local holiday, Gurwara Sahib Kupundole (also spelt Kupondole) in Kathmandu was having a programme.
It was a hive of activity with volunteers preparing the Guru-ka-Langgar, the free community kitchen, that is usually prepared at most Sikh places of worship called gurdwaras.
At 11.56am, a massive earthquake measuring 7.8 hit the nation. The gurdwara itself was not damaged, but it soon became the refuge centre for thousands from the neighbourhood.
“We were cooking lunch when this thing happened,” Pritam Singh, president of Gurdwara Sahib Kupundole, told Asia Samachar.
The people who had rushed to the gurdwara for safety and refuge stayed the night as they were either too afraid to return or had nowhere to go after their homes were devastated.
“The cooking continued until today,” he told Asia Samachar when met last week. All in, they were preparing daily meals for about 10,000 people. They had also received assistance from the Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Punjab Government.
“We put them on vehicles and distribute the Guru-ka-Langgar from village to village,” he said, adding that the army had also assisted in distributing the daily hot meals prepared at the gurdwara.
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