Suwaran Singh | Ipoh, Malaysia | 23 June 2015 | Asia Samachar
On Sunday, 20 June 2015, two bus-loads of Sikhs went on a Gurdwara Heritage Trail 2015 organised by the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia (Perak Branch).
By Suwaran Singh
The Gurdwara Heritage Trail 2015 began with registration at Gurdwara Sahib Ashby Road at 7.30 am followed. Tea and cakes were prepared for the participants and family members who came to drop them off.
Two bus loads of Sikh youth were all set and ready to blaze the trail. Parents and sewadars too were eagerly prepared to follow the the trail in their vehicles. All in, there were 135 of us. We began with an ardaas (prayer).
The first stop was Gurdwara Sahib Tronoh Mines. The sanggat (congregation) greeted us with a warm welcome. The children did kirtan followed by a talk on the history of the gurdwara by Sdr Karam Singh. We were then served light refreshments.
Next stop was Gurdwara Sahib Changkat Tin. We really touched by the reception from the local sanggat. Again, we had kirtan followed by ardas. The participants enjoyed the breakfast.
They then visited the cattle farm owned by Sdr Banta Singh. The participants were captivated by what they saw: cows, buffaloes and goats. They got up close with the animals. Some had the opportunity to feed the cows and feed bottle milk to the goats. They were also shown how oil palm leaves and grass are produced into cattle feed. They wanted more time at the farm but we had to stick to our itinerary.
Next stop, Gurdwara Sahib Ayer Papan. There only two Sikh families residing here but they put in a great effort in accommodating us. They were amazing. One of them, Sdr Daljit Singh provided us with a little history of the gurdwara.
We then moved to Gurdwara Sahib Malim Nawar. Sdr Gurdial Singh gave an interesting talk about the gurdwara’s history and the humble beginnings of the community here. We were then served a wonderful non-spicy lunch.
Then we arrived at historical site Kellie’s Castle. Sdr Kulwant and Malvin, two qualified tour guides who volunteered their services for this trail, gave an interesting insight about this site and its one time ago occupants.
Finally, we arrived at our final destination, Gurdwara Sahib Guru Arjan Dev Ji at Gopeng Road, Batu Gajah. We performed kirtan. After tea, Prem Singh handled a quiz competition on the day’s trail was held.
We finally reached back at our starting point in Ipoh at 8 pm. There were smiles all around. They had visited five gurdwaras, taken part in group prayers and met some local Sikhs form neighbouring towns.
[Suwaran Singh, the secretary of SNSM Perak, was the organising chairman of the heritage trail]
[ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs in Southeast Asia and surrounding countries. We have a Facebook page, do give it a LIKE! Visit our website: www.asiasamachar.com]
ALSO FORM PERAK:
Gurdwara Heritage Trail 2015 for Perak (Asia Samachar, 16 June 2015)
Perak creates history at Gurdwara Cup (Asia Samachar, 8 June 2015)
Perak Sikhs discuss Christian encroachment (Asia Samachar, 26 May 2015)
Old boys club control gurdwaras – KIRAN KAUR GILL (Asia Samachar, 15 May 2015)
Ipoh Sikhs raise alarm on Punjabi Christian event (Asia Samachar, 13 May 2015)
Taiping Mini Samelan (May 1-3) – SNSM Perak (Asia Samachar, 29 Mar 2015)
Perak CM attends Vaisakhi open house (Asia Samachar, 28 Mar 2015)
UM Sikhs moulding young minds in Ipoh (Asia Samachar, 4 Mar 2015)
40 students start one-year pilot project in Perak (Asia Samachar, 3 Mar 2015)
Perak PEC centres get total RM65k funding (Asia Samachar, 8 Feb 2015)
Free medical clinics at Kampar semagam (Asia Samachar, 12 Jan 2015)
Kampar Dasmesh Pita starts on Jan 7 (Asia Samachar, 31 Dec 2014)
Perak Sultan graces Punjabi festival (Asia Samachar, 14 Dec 2014)
Reunion bash for Perak’s Ashby Road gurdwara (Asia Samachar, 14 Dec 2014)
Perak allocates RM500,000 for Sikhs in state budget (Asia Samachar, 8 Dec 2014)
SikhMAI to raise funds for Perak accident victim (Asia Samachar, 7 Dec 2014)
