Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Sikh place of worship: The gurus of Gravesend









A cash-strapped project to build a Sikh place of worship in Gravesend procured the large marble domes, arched windows and highly ornate stonework from India - and saved more than £2m along the way

Even putting its striking appearance to one side, you still couldn’t describe the gurdwara in Gravesend as a conventional build. As a place of worship for the UK’s third-largest Sikh population, the project has been on site for the best part of eight years. When it started there was only enough money to complete the foundations; the rest of the cash still had to be raised, most of it from donations. And to get the best value for money, and keep control of the complex project, the local community set up its own construction company.

Added to all this was the intricately detailed stone cladding.

Teja Biring, a partner in Calford Seaden, the architects behind the gurdwara (door to the guru), says: “The community wanted a very traditional-looking building.” As a result, it incorporates plenty of the design cues of a traditional gurdwara such as the five large marble domes, the arched windows and the Indian motifs which embellish the stonework. Procuring such an ornate design was always going to be tricky given the tight budget, and it quickly transpired that the best way to achieve the traditional detail at a realistic price was to obtain the stone, already carved, directly from India.

Teja Biring, partner in charge at Calford Seaden, spent two weeks touring India until he found a company capable of handling the project. Trivedi Tectonics based in Ahmedabad in western India had expertise in hand carving and also the CNC machine tools to cut and carve large quantities of stone, which was a must if the project was going to complete in the next decade.

It also had its own marble quarry. However, Biring had concerns about using marble because of the UK climate and the porosity of the stone. “I was looking for a life expectancy of 100 years plus, like a church or cathedral,” he says. For this reason a mix of pink and grey granite has been used for a large proportion of the building, particularly where weathering might be an issue, such as ledges. Marble, easier to work with, has been used where there is intricate detailing and to create the traditional covering for the domes.












The entrance porch

The structure of the Gravesend Gurdwara has been kept simple to make it cheap and easy to build. It uses conventional insitu reinforced concrete clad with ready carved granite and marble panels. The entrance porch is one of the most detailed sections of the building, bringing together intricately carved columns, marble Jali windows, traditional Indian motifs and a marble clad dome.

1 Gold finial

2 Screen created from marble

3 Solid marble petals

4 White marble sections

5 Insitu concrete structure

6 Concrete soffit clad with ceramic mosaic tiles

7 Pink granite

8 White marble

with thanks : Buildings.co.uk : link in headline above for more details.

SikhsIndia

Law officer in the dock gets 'Sikh of the year' award

NEW DELHI: A day after the law ministry asked him to explain his conduct in connection with two incidents, additional solicitor general (ASG) Amarjit singh Chandiok was conferred with `Sikh of the year' award by a UK-based organisation.

`The Sikh Forum International' in a press release said the ASG was chosen for the award because, apart from his other achievements, "he has maintained the dignity of the bar and its members by setting high standards in judicial practices at national and international forums''.

The senior law officer took the opportunity to deny having violated any rules and claimed he was yet to receive any communication from the law ministry.

"I have always abided by rules. At no point of time I have flouted any rule. I would certainly reply if I get any communication from the government,'' Chandiok said.

with thanks : timesofindia : link in headline for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

BJP demands punishment for guilty in anti-Sikh riots

New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by its senior leader Arun Jaitley Tuesday took out a candle-light march here to demand punishment for those guilty in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Addressing the workers, Jaitley blamed the Congress for the murder of thousands of Sikhs in the aftermath of the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.

'It is regrettable that today one of the Sikhs is the prime minister but he is unable to ensure justice to the Sikhs. Not a single guilty person of the riots has been punished. Due to delay in justice, there is great anger among the community,' he said.

BJP workers tried to march from Jantar Mantar in central Delhi to parliament, but were taken into preventive custody midway.

Leaders of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) also took part in the march.

with thanks : SIFY : link in headline above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

Sikh-born Haley elected governor in South Carolina

Washington - South Carolina on Tuesday elected Republican Nikki Haley, the daughter of Sikh immigrant

parents, as the first Asian woman to become a US governor.

She beat fellow state legislator Vincent Sheheen, taking 51 per cent of the vote to his 47 per cent.

'Tomorrow morning there's going to be a lot of news and a lot of observers who say we made history. And in some ways, you can look at me and say, 'Yes, we did,'' Haley said Tuesday night in her victory speech.

'But what I want this to be is that we're turning a page. We're turning a page on where we've been, but the history is going to be on where we're going to go.'

She made little of her immigrant family background during her speech, aside from a reference to her parents reminding her how lucky she is to live in the United States. Instead, the speech accentuated that she is through-and-through American, with references to family, '80s music and politics all delivered with the hint of a southern drawl.

'Regardless of how you voted, I'm going to get to work for you,' she assured voters.

An accountant and businesswoman, she has served in the South Carolina legislature since 2004, when she became the first Indian American elected to a state office.

Haley, 38, was born Nimrata Randhawa in Bamberg, South Carolina, one of three children of parents from Amritsar, India. She eventually went to work in the family's prosperous apparel business.

with thanks : monstersandcritics : link in headline above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

Punjab bandh call: Radical Sikh leaders arrested

CHANDIGARH: Punjab police on Wednesday arrested radical sikh leaders as a preventive measure after many groups called a state wide shutdown to highlight the delay in justice to victims of the 1984 anti - sikh riots.

"Keeping in mind the law and order situation in the state, we have made some preventive arrests. Only those people were arrested who were trying to damage public property and to halt rail traffic. We did not use force against anybody," a police officer said here Wednesday.

The Khalsa Action Committee (KAC), the Dal Khalsa and some other Sikh groups had Oct 28 given the call for state wide bandh.

with thanks : timesofIndia : link in headline above for detailed news.

Sikhsindia

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots stage protest in Delhi

A large number of victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots staged a protest rally here on Monday against the Central government's failure to punish the accused in murder of innocent Sikhs.

Atma Ram, one of the relatives of the riots, said that the Supreme Court should punish the main accused in the 1984 riots at the earliest.

"We want to appeal to judiciary that criminals like Sajjan Kumar (1984 riots accused), who is facing charges under section 302 according to the Indian Penal Code should not be given bail and he should be behind bars. This is how we will get satisfaction.

with thanks : ANI : SIFY : link in headline above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

khalsa

Monday, November 1, 2010

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US embassy, FAD join hands to restore Sheikhupura Fort

























LAHORE: The US embassy, in collaboration with the Federal Archaeology Department, is all set to restore the neglected Sheikhupura Fort, a national monument. It seeks support for a three-year initiative to restore, conserve and protect the historical garrison.

The Sheikhupura fort is a high priority cultural site for the Pakistan Ministry of Culture and the Archaeology Department.

The restoration and conservation project is focused on architectural preservation and would encompass historical research and conservation technology.

The project’s large-scale impact and efforts would provide an opportunity to promote importance of the country’s cultural heritage, and would strengthen academic and cultural ties between US and Pakistani scholars. Sources told Daily Times that the US embassy has allocated Rs 1 million for the project, while the Archeology Department provided Rs 16 million to restore the fort.

The official said the fort is unique as it is a symbol of both the Mughul and Sikh culture. Its construction and early use began under the Mughul era, which is reflected in the fort’s architecture and external design. Cultural elements of the Sikh era are also present in the artwork and internal design of the buildings, which had been constructed during the period.

with thanks : http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\11\01\story_1-11-2010_pg13_6

for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

Orakzai Sikhs picking up their shattered lives











SAM FEROZKHEL: For 11-year-old Rajindar Kaur, life was full of joy in the picturesque village of Sam Ferozkhel in the Orakzau Tribal Agency. But then everything changed. The village’s serene atmosphere was disrupted by gun-toting bearded Taliban who unleashed a reign of terror on the entire area.

Kaur and her family, like dozens of other Sikh families, had to abandon their cherished village and flee in the face of advancing Taliban, who were gaining power and wanted to impose their own hard-line version of Islam on the area.

Kaur does not want to speak about her ordeal. She is now happy to have returned to her native village located in the lap of thickly-forested mountains and surrounded by walnut and apple orchards.

“I’m very happy to have returned to my village,” a beaming Kaur told The Express Tribune. She said when they left the area, they feared they would never see their village again. “We returned to our village after the authorities told us that the area is safe,” Kaur said.

with thanks : theexpresstribune : link in headline above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia

Punjab bandh to protest ’84 riots

Urging the people from all walks of life to extend their cooperation to make the Punjab bandh called by them on November 3 against the 1984 anti-Sikh riots complete and peaceful, the Khalsa Action Committee, the Dal Khalsa and other Sikh groups have declared that buses and trains would be stopped on the day.

Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh clarified that private vehicles would not be stopped and no hospitals or emergency service would be disrupted. Schools and colleges will be, however, not allowed to function.

Describing the 1984 incident as “genocide of Sikhs”, he said a written request had been extended to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, all factions of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Bahujan Samaj Party (Karimpuri) and Lok Bhalai Party (Rammowalia) to participate in the bandh.

with thanks : IndianExpress : link in headline above for detailed news.

SikhsIndia