| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 2 Jan Dec 2016 | Asia Samachar |
The gates of Gurdwara Sahib Titiwangsa will be open to everyone, regardless of race or religion, to partake free food three times a day prepared from its Guru Ka Langgar from Monday.
Beginning 4 Jan 2016, the gurdwara in heart of Kuala Lumpur will welcome anyone who wants to partake food at the Sikh place of worship.
“We had discussed this initiative many times. With the persistent persuasion of a few members, the gurdwara committee has decided to go ahead with the initiative,” a gurdwara committee member tells Asia Samachar when contacted.
A number of gurdwaras in Malaysia and Singapore have already been providing free meals, either throughout the day or for selected meals, over the years.
In Singapore, Gudwara Sahib Silat Road in Singapore which serves three meals a day. In a recent visit, Asia Samachar saw that a number of local Singaporeans and a huge number of Punjabis from India frequent the gurdwara for meals and prayers.
In Malaysia, among the gurdwaras that have been providing free meals from its Guru Ka Langgar are Puchong, Tatt Khalsa, Petaling Jaya, Mainduab and Malacca.
“We have been providing four meals a day – breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner – for close to a decade now,” Gurdwara Sahib Puchong committee president Awtar Singh tells Asia Samachar. “We estimate an average of 200 people come for meals on weekdays. We have Nepalis and Desi boys coming over for langgar.”
Petaling Jaya serves daily breakfast and lunch, Gurdwara Sahib Mainduab in Pudu serves lunch and tea and biscuit combination for breakfast and afternoon tea time and Gurdwara Sahib Malacca has been providing lunch for some six years now.
SEE: Creating deeper social connections (Asia Samachar, 13 July 2015)
In this third in a series of articles on Gurdwara design, VISHAL J SINGH looks at how the Langgar Hall can play a more prominent role to connect direct with the world at large.
In one text message shared with some members of the Sikh sanggat, a Titiwangsa gurdwara committee member wrote:
“On the topic of langgar, it gives me great pleasure to share on behalf of the Gurd Sahib Titiwangsa committee that langgar will now be served 3 times a day 7 days a week in our Gurd. We had discussed this initiative many times and finally about a week ago Bhai Gurdarshan Singh ji and Bhai Kiran Singh ji had a discussion with our langgar sevadars and brought the plan to fruition.
“Langgar will be open to all without regards to race, color and creed in the true spirit of Guru Nanak Dev Jo’s teachings. Cost of langgar will be approx RM150 to RM250 per meal. For those who wish to contribute to these meals can do so by approaching the office manager. Please do obtain a proper receipt for the donations made.”
Guru Ka Langgar plays a central role in a Sikh gurdwara. In his monumental work entitled Mahan Kosh, Sikh scholar cum historian Kahn Singh Nabha lists it as one of the seven ‘original and rightful functions’ of gurdwaras as intended by the Sikh Gurus.
SEE ALSO: Roles and functions of a gurdwara
Members of the Sikh sanggat wishing to contribute to the Guru Ka Langgar initiative can contact the gurdwara manager Arvinder Singh (+6018.3850236).
[Updated 3 Jan 2016, 02:32, corrected dates for start of project to 4 Jan, instead of 3 Jan]
[ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs in Southeast Asia and surrounding countries. We have a Facebook page, do give it a LIKE. Follow us on Twitter. Visit our website: www.asiasamachar.com]
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