By Asia Samachar | Singapore |
After a hiatus of two years, the Harmony Games made a welcome return this year, with the Sikh community hosting the games at the Singapore Khalsa Association (SKA) on Saturday (27 August 2022). The games were held in partnership with the Sikh Advisory Board (SAB).
Themed ‘Unity in Adversity, Together in Harmony’, the 2022 games highlighted the Singapore spirit and togetherness in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and coming out triumphant. At the same time, it reflected the strong and well-knit Singapore social fabric, with everyone in Singapore moving forward together in a post COVID-19 environment.
In addition to providing the opportunity for Singaporeans from all walks and backgrounds to meet, interact and socialise and, in the process, build greater trust and bonds, this year’s games celebrated and showcased the Sikh way of life, culture and tradition.
Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information, and Health, graced the occasion. He toured the activities and even tried his hand at some of the activities. At the same time, he interacted with the participants as well as representatives of the inter-faith groups and leaders and representatives of the Sikh institutions.
Started in 2008, the games are organised annually by different communities and organisations, making the extra effort, as individuals and Singaporeans, to bring communities together, to get to know one another, to respect one another and to deepen and strengthen community bonds.
The half-day programme included sporting activities such as futsal, netball, hockey and lawn bowling as well as kampung games like sepal takraw and chaptey. At the same time, the participants had the opportunity to try their hand at FI racing. The event also included an exhibition on the Sikh community, a mass bhangra aerobic and a multi-ethnic musical instrument performance. What’s more, there was a turban-tying booth where many participants had a turban tied on them.
SKA president Hernaikh Singh said: “We were delighted to host the Games this year. It was an important initiative at community bonding. Its organisation was all that more relevant in the current COVID-19 landscape. It was this community togetherness and spirit that enabled us to collectively tackle the pandemic menace. We must ensure our social fabric in Singapore always remains strong. The Harmony Games provided an important platform in this respect.”
SAB chiarperson Malminderjit Singh added, “The Harmony Games are a good opportunity to bring people from all faiths and ethnic backgrounds together to mingle, interact and have an enjoyable time. I am glad to see it return after a break due to COVID-19 and I am honoured that the Sikh community hosted the Games again after doing so in 2013.”
It was certainly a fun morning at community bonding!
More photos at SKA Facebook page (27 Aug 2022).
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