Indian Sikh wedding transforms the Pasadena Convention Center

Grey skies and stubborn showers failed to dampen the vibrant suite of celebrations during a traditional Indian Sikh wedding at the Pasadena Convention Center on Saturday.

Inside the banquet hall, hundreds of guests milled about in their finest silk salwar kameez - the traditional pant-shirt suit of South and Central Asia - a jewel-toned mosaic set aflame with crimson and fuchsia turbans.

They were waiting for the groom to enter - an event that typically involves a festooned horse, a drummer and a round of exuberant dancing.

Such religious affairs are usually hosted in a Sikh Temple - but there were none in the area big enough to accommodate the 400 or so guests who had flown in from all over the world to attend, family members explained.

Careful planning and decoration - including white sheets lining the floors and hanging along the length of the walls, religious singers, as well as a special platform for the granthi (Sikh priest) and one for the Sikh's holy scripture - helped transform one of the Convention Center's bland banquet halls into a luminous, spiritual enclave.

"I always dreamed about it being this way, but I never thought it would be this big," said the bride, Asees Sethi of Pasadena, during one of the pre-wedding celebrations leading up to Saturday.

Asked how long she'd been planning it, Sethi said, "10 months - since the moment I got engaged."

Indian weddings are designed by the families, she explained, noting that everything in her's would be according to tradition - save a few elements she had insisted on.

"I really wanted to have flower girls and a ring bearer, which is definitely not normal; I wanted bridesmaids to enter before me because I wanted an element of Western culture in the ceremony," said Sethi, who was born to Indian parents in Japan but grew up in the U.S.

with thanks : pasadenastarnews : link above for detailed news story.

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www.sohnijodi.com

Celebrations of 40th anniversary of Bristol Sikh temple

A ceremony has taken place in Bristol to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the city's first Sikh temple.

More than 500 people now worship at the temple in Summerhill Road in St George. When it was founded in 1970 there were only five members.

with thanks : BBC News : link above for detailed news.

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Milkha reveals how he got ‘Flying Sikh’ tag

While everyone knows who the Flying Sikh is, many wouldn’t be aware that the veteran Olympian, Milkha Singh, got this name in Pakistan in 1960 at a track event that he never wanted to contest.

“I didn’t want to go to Pakistan to attend the games as my parents were killed there during riots after the Partition. However, I was persuaded by the then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru to go,” said the veteran athlete, adding that it was there he got the title of Flying Sikh after he defeated the Pakistan champion Abdul Khaliq in the 200-metre race.

Addressing a gathering here today after receiving the Award of Excellence from the Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune, Raj Chengappa, at a function organised by the Rotary District 3080, an emotional Milkha Singh said: “Nehruji told me to bury the past and go to Pakistan”. “The then PM felt that since Pakistan had extended an invitation for the event in a spirit of friendship, it was imperative that I represented the nation,” said Milkha.

Recalling his journey, he said: “I went in a jeep decked up with flowers. Once we crossed the Wagah border and began our 20-km ride to Lahore, we saw people lined up on either side of the road to cheer us”.

About the race, Milkha recounted that some Urdu paper had then given a headline, 'Khaliq ki takkar Milkha se- Pakistan vs India'. “On the day of the race, I was told that around 60,000 persons had assembled at the Lahore stadium, including almost 20,000 burqa-clad women. Before the race began, the mullahs (priests) came to conduct prayers and bless Khaliq”, Milkha said. “I stopped one of them and sought blessings from him by saying that I am too a man of God (khuda ka banda),” he added.

He said when the race began Khaliq took an initial lead as he was a 100m sprinter. My strength was my stamina and I overtook him after 150 yards and won the race by around seven yards”, he said, adding that his timing was 20.7 sec, a new world record.

He said after the race, General Ayub (the then Pakistan President) came up to him and said: “Milkha you did not run, you flew.” “And that’s how I got my name”, he told the audience.

with thanks : tribune : link above for detailed news.

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Take up turban issue with US through diplomatic channels, SGPC told

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) chief Paramjit Singh Sarna shot off a letter to US President Barack Obama on Thursday, expressing concern over the recent incident of Indian diplomat H S Puri being asked to remove his turban at a Texas airport.

On the other hand, Shiromani Panthic Council head Manjit Singh Calcutta asked the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) not to hold a protest planned for December 23 in front of the US Embassy in New Delhi.

with thanks : IndianExpress : link above for detailed news.

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Yogi's widow sues Sikh business managers in Oregon

EUGENE -- The widow of Yogi Bhajan has sued the managers overseeing the businesses of the Sikh community her husband founded, including Golden Temple, a longtime Eugene natural foods company.

Golden Temple, which previously had annual revenue of $125 million, sold its cereal division in May. It still operates Yogi Tea, which has 50 employees in Springfield and 100 employees in Europe.

The widow, Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Puri of Los Angeles, alleged that her husband's most trusted advisers drew up false documents and backdated them to make it appear as if he had approved what she described as their abandonment of orthodox Sikh practices, their takeover of the community's businesses and the exclusion of his family members from the management board.

Bibiji alleged that once they secured their power, members of the management board Unto Infinity, which includes Golden Temple CEO Kartar Singh Khalsa enriched themselves and Golden Temple managers at the expense of the Sikh Dharma religious community. Gary Roberts, Unto Infinity's attorney, did not respond to a request for comment Monday, but he has denied similar allegations in other lawsuits.

The widow's lawsuit, which was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland, alleges that Unto Infinity authorized raises and perks for its members, including boosting Khalsa's salary from $125,000 in 2002 to $850,000 in 2008.

with thanks : kgw : link above for detailed news.

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Spare the turban: SGPC to protest at US embassy

Outraged at the turban becoming the object of intense searches at American airports, Sikhs led by its top representative body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) will protest in front of the US embassy in Delhi on December 23.

There have been several incidents of Sikhs being told to take off the turban at airport security lines for a special check. The most recent case has been that of the Indian envoy to the United Nations, Hardeep Singh, whose turban was patted down at the Houston airport in America.

SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said the body would request members and the general public to reach Delhi for the planned event to raise awareness about this 'humiliation of Sikhs' for wearing the turban.

with thanks : Indian Express : Link above for detailed news.

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Ahead by a century

Preparations are underway to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Abbotsford's Gur Sikh Temple - the oldest building of its kind in North America

This new year will be a particularly special one for Abbotsford when its Sikh population and the larger community unite to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the Gur Sikh Temple located on South Fraser Way.

Satwinder Bains, director of the UFV Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies, said the historic temple, or gurdwara, is a testament to the pride, vision and community commitment of early Sikh immigrants.

A designated national historic monument, the temple was completed in 1911 by struggling pioneers.

The oldest, and longest standing building of its kind in North America, it is the only gurdwara to have a national historic designation outside of India and Pakistan.

with thanks : abbotsfordtimes : link above for detailed news.

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