-Brian Mendonça
Thank you Sanjana, for sending me a mail greeting me on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti on 6 November. The last year, on Guru Nanak Jayanti – the birth of Nanak, the first guru of the Sikhs – I wanted to relive the experience of partaking of lunch/ langar at the gurudwara close by. I did not make it and the wish remained unfulfilled.
It was almost 2 p.m. when I saw
Sanjana’s mail. Could I make it for langar
this year? I feverishly selected my glass-brocaded kurti from Kolhapur, jumped on my scooter and was off. As I reached
the gates of the gurudwara at Mangor Hill, Vasco, I beheld the Sikhs elegantly
dressed and milling around in a festive mood.
But could I venture in alone?
I became more resolute when I remembered how I
had partaken of langar at the
gurudwara at Anandpur Sahib, Punjab on my way back from seeing the awesome
Bhakra-Nangal dam in 2008. Those were the years I was the traveller-poet
discovering the soul of India.
Furtively, I entered the premises
unsure of what to do. I told myself, this was the faith that kept India
together -- a respect for another’s religion and a magnanimity of sharing the
best tenets of one’s own.
I spotted two lads, looking regal in
their turbans, washing their hands at the sink. I plucked up courage and
introduced myself as a poet and asked where the langar could be had. I covered my head with my kerchief, as I was
instructed to do, and followed them as they went in to pay their respects to
the Guru Granth Sahib– the holy book of the Sikhs. I noticed the harmonium and
mikes at the side but no players. I was told the keertan (religious singing) concluded at 2 p.m.
On the way to lunch I noticed a team
of women energetically making rotis.
This is the spirit which is so inspiring where the entire community works to
serve food to whoever wants it. Langar
is served here every Sunday as well. I was briskly given a thali, a glass and a
spoon. In the packed hall my friends found a place where the 3 of us could sit
together. Langar of black dal,
steaming rotis, cauliflower vegetable
with potatoes, raita and kheer was delicious.
Guru Nanak was born in Pakistan in
1469 and died in India in 1539. His 3-fold teaching in Gurmukhi script was simple and socially relevant, viz.
Meditate on the name of the Lord (Naam
japo); do your work diligently (Kirat
karo); and share what you have with others (Vand chakko).
I learnt that the lads had come on
the INS Viraat – India’s aircraft
carrier which was docked at Mormugao harbour. As we watched the gigantic
carrier the next day heading for the high seas, I knew I was a little more
enriched – and humbled – by the plenitude of India.
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Published in Gomantak Times Weekender, St. Inez, Goa, on Sunday 16 November, 2014; Pix of Nanak with childhood friend Mardana. Mardana was a Muslim. He was also a musician; Source sikh-heritage.co.uk
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