1 lakh devotees swarm Guru’s town

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Sultanpur Lodhi, November 3

The religious fervour to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in this historic town is at its peak. Among other things, what is worth mentioning is that the traditional langar has gone modern with a variety of food catering to everyone’s taste.

From mouth-watering pizzas, crowned with sundried tomatoes, jalapenos, corns, mushrooms and olives, to noodles served with manchurian and veg burgers, almost every famous dish is on the offering here. Even those who relish traditional food are spoilt for choice, as multiple dishes are on the offering. Makeshift langar halls have come up near 70 places around the historic town.

As the weather in and around the historic town cleared on Sunday, a sea of devotees attired in saffron and blue descended on the town, with Sunday’s footfall crossing one lakh mark.

To greet over one lakh devotees thronging the small town, equally a large number of volunteers – from different gurdwaras to NGOs are working behind the service counters to prepare and serve hot food.

At a langar hall being run by Baba Narinder Singh (Hazoor Sahib wale) on 13 acres of land, professional hired by the organisers have been working round the clock to train and work along with the volunteers to bake the base of pizzas and crown them with toppings. Nescafe coffee and cold drinks are also on the menu.

Terming it as sewa, a representative of a multi-national company told The Tribune that over 25,000 pizzas and burgers are being daily served at the fast-food hall. “We plan to serve over 5 lakh pizzas till November 12,” said Baba Darshan Singh, a volunteer.

The hall is also serving traditional food at an adjoining counter. “It is a different experience to see devotees queuing up with traditional steel thalis to get pizzas and burgers,” said Darshan Singh, a devotee who has travelled all the way from Hisar.

Earlier in the day, a heritage walk was organised by the Punjab Government as part of the celebrations.

The walk, which started from Shaheed Udham Singh Chowk and culminated at Gurdwara Ber Sahib, was led by Chief Principal Secretary to the CM Suresh Kumar.

The 3-km-long walk that passed through Gurdwara Guru Ka Bagh, Gurdwara Kothri Sahib, Old House Bebe Nanaki, Gurdwara Hatt Sahib, Quilla Sarai and others was given a rousing reception by people from all walks of life. All along the way, people showered flower petals on devotees participating in the event.

Suresh Kumar said it was a path-breaking initiative by the Department of Information and Public Relations along with Patiala Foundation. MP Jasbir Singh Dimpa., MLA Navtej Singh Cheema, Ravee Ahluwalia of Patiala Foundation, and Anindita Mitra, Director, Information and Public Relations, also participated.