- Guru is a teacher and dwara is a home;
- Gurudwara is the home of a teacher. Sikh means a learner. The Sikhs had 10 living Gurus, and after the Tenth, the Sikh scriptures called the Guru Granth Sahib became their eternal Guru. This is kept in the Darbars, the prayer halls. I learnt the significance of the 5 Ks for Sikhs:
- kesh - unshorn hair symbolizing respect for God’s will; covered at all times with a keski or dastar (turban)
- kangha - a wooden comb representing self-discipline; worn in the hair it reminds the wearer to rid oneself of what is morally undesirable;
- kara - an iron or steel bracelet worn on the wrist; the circle signifies the oneness and eternity of God and to use one’s hands to benefit humanity;
- kachhera - cotton undergarments representing high moral character and fidelity;
- kirpan - a stylized representation of a sword, which must be worn sheathed, wrapped in a cloth belt, and worn next to the body; the kirpan signifies the duty of a Sikh to stand up against injustice.
Next we went into the main prayer hall, bowed down to the Guru Granth Sahib by choice, and sat on the floor to listen to the scriptures being read, see photos. We were given Prashad, blessed sweet made from wheat flour, butter, milk and sugar. After that, we climbed to the top of the building to the Dome hall. It was my first time in the Dome Hall. It has a spectacular interior, the artwork for which was done by a Muslim volunteer, and the view from the terrace was amazing,see photos
Then we were guided to the Langar Hall where we evidenced the selfless volunteering by men and women. Some cleaning, some cooking and others serving food and clearing up. I noted that with this system in place, there should be no need for a Sikh to go to a food bank. Like me, Jose Luis accepted all the food that was offered – Maize flat bread, spinach curry, yoghurt, onion bhajees, sweet rice, and milky tea. Miguel and Nieves found the food a little hot, but respected that they had to finish what they had in their plate, see photos
We finished at the Gurudwara. It was still raining. I therefore took the volunteers for a ride in my car to see Aston Hall and Aston Villa FC, see photos. Miguel had sat on his bottle of water that burst and wet his pants, see SPECIAL photo. After a quick drink at my home, I dropped them off to St Michael’s Church where they were booked for another activity.
Once they were ready with other activities, I met them again afterwards to take them to Birmingham Jewellery Quarter. There, we were lucky to have free entry to the Jewellery Quarter Museum, again my first visit here also. The history of the place was fascinating for me, but unfortunately, despite my request to the tour guide, she spoke very fast so our Spanish friends were not able to understand everything. At least they were able to view the jewellery, the tools used, how they were used and get some sample souvenirs, and later I explained as much as I could remember of what the tour guide had told us, see photos
By the time we came out from the museum, all shops had closed for the day, as well as the Pen Museum. The sun was shining hot, which made it pleasant for a walk but made me very thirsty.We wandered around Jewellery Quarter area of St Pauls Church headed for a watering hole called the Rope Walk for drinks and then food. After this, we returned to St Michael’s Church for an evening of music, see photos. The volunteers had had a long and tiring day so we stayed until the interval and then left. I saw them off on the bus into town and returned home exhausted too!
