Malacca, Malaysia | Asia Samachar | 22 May 2015 |
Brightly-lighted and heavily decorated rickshaws greet visitors to the Gurdwara Sahib Malacca, which is hosting the largest annual Sikh gathering in Southeast Asia.
The 43rd selaana yaadgar semagam is well underway in Malacca, a city known for a number of historical sites.
The four-day gathering, which ends on Sunday, is held in the memory of Baba Sohan Singh (1901-1972), a well-respected Sikh missionary, who had served as a granthi at the gurdwara.
Asia Samachar captures some of the scenes at the event which last year attracted some 65,000 people.
VOLUNTEER CORP: (Top row, left) A lady from RELA, or the People’s Volunteer Corp, helping to manage the traffic outside the gurdwara (second photo) where an akhand paath is progressing. A sevadar (volunteer), who is recovering from an accident, serving water to the sanggat as they arrive.
LIGHTED RICKSHAWS: (Middle row, left): Brightly-lighted rickshaw make a beeline outside the gurdwara to take on passengers. (Right) Guru ka Langgar in progress.
MEDAN SIKHS: (Bottom row, left): A group of Sikhs from Medan, Indonesia, are also present at the semagam. Dalbir Singh (second from right, in the first photo) is a granthi of one of the three gurdwaras in the city of Medan. Check out his badge which says ‘Sikh Priest’.
MSU MALACCA: (Bottom row, middle): The Malaysian Sikh Union (MSU) plans to revive its Malacca branch. For the first time, it has opened up a booth at the semagam to attract new members. MSU general secretary Sukhjit Singh was spotted at the booth.
MANAGING DONATIONS: (Bottom row, right): A band of volunteers from Gurdwara Sahib Malacca take turns to manage the donation desk. Seen in this photo (from front to back) are Sarjit Kaur, Jasbir Kaur and Dalwinder Kaur.
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