Farmer
Harpreet Singh Mattu, 50, from Mehakpur
in Jalandhar, Punjab, tells LokMarg
whey he set up a 24×7 langar, with assistance from his brother Balwinder Singh in
California, US, to feed protesters at Delhi-Singhu border
I feel these protests are a landmark moment
in our lives and it is our contribution towards the life of future generations,
so that can have an easier life than us. With the introduction of these three
farm bills, the government has shown us that there is no need to build
consensus before bringing in a new law.
Sahi
kahoon to inhone loktantra se lok hi khatm kar diya (The truth is that the BJP has taken away people’s will out of
democracy). If the farm bills are, as the government says, beneficial to the
farmers, then why didn’t they bring it to the table before; people would have
breathed easy.
Mattu (left) at the kitchen set up near Singhu border protest site
Apart from registering my voice at the
protests, I am also doing sewa of
other farmers by organising a langar.
My brother, Balwinder Singh, who
lives in California, US, called me before the protests started and said, “Let’s
do it for our brothers. Let’s start a langar
so that no one goes hungry in this biting cold during the protests.”
My brother is the pradhan at Gurudwara Sahib
Riverside, California, which had orgnaised largescale langar (food distribution) in their area during pandemic to people
who had been isolating. Since the idea originally took root in his mind, we
kept the logo of California Gurudwara at our langar sewa.
I believe human hearts are all the same
everywhere. The pandemic has shown us that we are all in this together and thus
we have to help each other in times of need. Providing langar to people is a sacred duty. Even during the pandemic the
Sikhs ensured that no one went hungry.
Mattu with his teammates at the protest site
Slowly more people have started joining us.
In the beginning I brought along three trucks (my own) full of food, utensils
etc. About a dozen halwais (cooks) and
four assistants accompanied us so that we could work in shifts and get ample
rest.
We can’t do sewa of some people at the cost of others. We take full precautions
for coronavirus and keep sanitising the kitchen. Cleanliness is a way of life
for the Sikhs, as you must have seen all Gurudwaras are spotlessly clean and no
one thinks cleaning is beyond them. A lot of people volunteer for us and we
have managed to feed thousands of people since December 2, when I first went to
Delhi.
Here, we make sure that the food is always
served hot and that there is variety too. I must really thank the farmers from
Haryana who give us fresh vegetables and milk for the langar. Also, people
behave in a disciplined manner and ensure that everything is disposed of
properly.
I wake up at 4 am to get things started. The first thing to go up on the fire is tea and we make nearly 13 huge containers of tea every day so that our farmer brothers can start their day with a warm cuppa. From 4 in the morning I work non-stop till 9 am. After that I take a small break and get back to work at 10:30 am, only work till 8 pm when I call it a day. Then I go to sleep. That is my routine here.
With his son early in the day at kitchen
I did take a day break to visit my hometown to attend the funeral of a fellow farmer’s father and also to check up on my own father who has not been keeping well. That was the only time I missed the sewa here. We have to manage both family and country and farmers are really good at multitasking.
I now wish to bring mobile washrooms to the protests site in Delhi. I have customised another truck of mine into mobile washrooms. It is important to take care of hygiene any way but more so in times of a pandemic. I hope the government also sees and understands what the farmers are trying to say and take away these bills in the interest of the nation.
It started with ₹20 and has grown into billions now. It is what Guru Nanak, the founder of GurSikhi, called Sacha Sauda. Now during the Coronavirus pandemic, while others have locked down, Gurdwaras around the world have opened up, preparing meals and feeding the vulnerable, the elderly, those at the front line and anyone who is unable to pay for or get the supplies to feed themselves. The number of meals a day are staggering. During this bleak time, the Nishan Sahib (the Sikh flag) flying proudly at a Gurdwara has become a beacon of hope to millions around the world.
From Amritsar, Delhi, to as far places
as United States (notably in California and New York), United Kingdom,
Australia and many other countries, Gurdwaras have been busy preparing and
distributing langar (meal cooked in a
Gurdwara) packets.
Anyone who has been to a Gurdwara knows that langar is a remarkable feature of the Sikhs. There is no charge and there is no feeling of having received charity. In most large Gurdwaras, langar is available from early morning, in some cases as early as 5 am to late night, up to 10 pm in some.
During this Covid-19 crises, preparing
the langar, packing them into take
away boxes, distributing them safely during this period and delivering them
takes up more logistical management than the conventional langar which is offered on the Gurdwara premises. It needs a good
number of people to cook, pack, deliver and then wash the cooking utensils. But
one thing that can be said for Sikhs is that there is never a shortage of
volunteers when it comes to Gurdwara-led service initiatives.
The origin of this goes to Guru Nanak, who was born in 1469. At a young age, he was given twenty rupees by his father to go and buy some goods and then sell them in the village for a profit, in the hope of making him into a businessman. On his way, Guru Nanak met some people who were hungry and wore torn, unwashed clothes. Guru Nanak spent the rupees for feeding them and buying them clothes. When asked by his father, Guru Nanak said that he had spent the money on Sacha Sauda, ‘true trade’ which was more useful than making money.
“Guru Hargovind Sahib, the sixth of our ten Gurus, said, ‘Garib da muh, Gur di golak’, which means loosen your purse strings to serve the needy.”
That was instituted into langar by the second Guru, Guru Angad Dev ji in 16th century and has become a feature of Sikh Gurdwaras since. Today, Sikhs around the world spend billions of their own earnings to run langars in Gurdwaras.
Kulwant Singh, a trustee at Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara in Slough, United Kingdom, explains it beautifully: “Among the basic tenets of Sikhism is an edict that says in the times of a crisis, leave everything you are doing and get involved in the service of the vulnerable. Guru Hargovind Sahib, the sixth of our ten Gurus, also said, ‘Garib da muh, Gur di golak’, which means loosen your purse strings to serve the needy.”
“We are not doing anyone a favour. This is our duty as a Sikh”
-Kulwant Singh, Trustee of Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara, UK
The Slough Gurdwara was the first place of worship in the UK to set up a Covid-19 Combat team with a bank of 300 volunteers, of which 100 are active at any given time. These workers toil in the kitchen for preparation of food, manage logistics like packing and distribution of hot meals through vehicles and deliver dry ration across the town and beyond to the needy. They also have a helpline manged by 10 to 15 volunteers who take emergency calls for essential supplies and information.
Slough Gurdwara was the first place of worship in the UK to set up a Covid-19 helpline
“Many of these
meals are provided to NHS (national health service) workers at their workplace.
We are not doing anyone a favour. This is our duty as a Sikh,” says Kulwant
Singh. The team has advertised its emergency numbers via posters and online
forums, so anyone can ask for help. In the last week of April, the facility was
serving 2,000 hot meals a day and supplying weekly dry rations to over 3,000
families. The expenses are entirely borne by the Gurdwara and the members of
the congregation. For the appreciation showered at their work, they respond
with a brief and humble expression: Guru
Kirpa (Divine Grace).
Thousands of miles away in US, the police were so moved by the unflinching work by the Sikhs during lockdown that they decided to signal their gratitude in a novel way. On April 27, California Police cars came with full sirens blazing and entered the Riverside Gurdwara to the surprise of standers by. The posse circumambulated the place of worship in order to pay respect for the langar packets delivered by Sikhs to the needy and the frontline staff.
“When cops showed up at the (Riverside) Gurdwara, there were multiple emotions among us, but the overwhelming one was of gratitude”
Gurpreet Singh, Covid-19 Coordinator of Riverside Gurdwara, US
Videos of California Police circumambulating Riverside Gurdwara on April 27 went viral
“When cops showed up at the (Riverside) Gurdwara, there were multiple emotions among us, but the overwhelming one was one of gratitude,” said Gurpreet Singh, Covid-19 Coordinator of the Los Angeles-based Gurdwara.
“We had not expected any gesture from
anyone; our efforts have been entirely voluntary and motivated by our faith and
beliefs. Nor did we expect that news to go viral. However, this did give a
sense to pride to our volunteers. They felt good,” Mr Singh added
Meanwhile in India in Delhi too, in recognition of the Sikhs rising to the challenge of Coronavirus lockdown, the city police performed a round of the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib with sirens blazing. Gurdwara Sri Bangla sahib, one of the historic Sikh holy places in India, has been providing some thousands of langar packets a day.
“We did feel proud when even the Prime Minister publicly recognised our efforts on social media with a video of Delhi Police team performing a siren salute to Gurdwara Bangla Sahib. It gave us satisfaction and boosted the morale of our volunteers”
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, President of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee
The Gurdwaras under Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) have collectively been providing daily meals to lakhs of people amid an unprecedented lockdown.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, DSGMCpresident, explains: “In Delhi, the Sikh community is working at two levels in these difficult times. One is at DSGMC level and the other is at various local Singh Sabhas or Gurdwara level. At DSGM, we feed nearly 2Lakh people daily, provide shelter and food to Doctors and other frontline health workers, and distribute dry rations to about 20,000 poor families on a weekly basis.”
While there is provision of state aid for such relief work, the Gurdwaras have managed it on our own. “This spirit of ‘sewa’ is being across the world. We did feel proud when even the Prime Minister publicly recognised our efforts on social media with a video of Delhi Police team performing a siren salute to Gurdwara Bangla Sahib. It gave us satisfaction and boosted the morale of our volunteers,” says Sirsa.
Gurdwaras were also requested to continue with the langar services by the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib. Sri Akal Takht Sahib is the ‘Vatican’ of the Sikhs, the institution that guides Sikhs and Gurdwaras around the world on matters of practice and interpretation. The custodian of the Akal Takht Sahib is called Jathedar.
At a langar,
everything is prepared fresh. Anyone regardless of religion, caste,
nationality, background or means can eat at the langar. Usually this involves sitting on the floor. The Sikh
practice of people sitting together at langar
is called pangat. The richest and the poorest sit together, no one feels a
sense of receiving charity. No one is questioned and no one is then given a
sermon on the virtues of becoming or turning into a Sikh.
That astonishes many people who always
see an ulterior motive, like proselytising, behind anything free. But langar is unconditional. Sikhs call it
‘sewa’ (volunteering) instead of Aid or charity, as they consider it a blessing
to donate towards, prepare and give away free the Guru’s langar.
Guru Nanak’s langar has now been recognised as one of the most selfless work
around the world. Entirely supported by the community, Sikh Gurdwaras do not
hoard money or gold but spend it on public services. Almost all the donations
are spent on ongoing services such as Langar.
Langar equalises everyone as the
richest and the poorest sit on the same level.
The great thing about langar is that it takes away the unequal
relationship between donor and the recipient. The Sikhs give to the Guru and
the Guru gives to the people. By giving it a sacred context, everyone feels
privileged to partake in langar.
Hence it is not aid or charity but sewa or selfless service.
The philosophy behind langar is that no one should sleep
hungry. In India people know where to get a meal without question. All they
have to do is find a Gurdwara. The country is blessed with so many Gurdwaras.
In Amritsar, Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) around a 100,000 people eat langar every day. About 80% are non-Sikhs. It needs considerable organisation to prepare so many meals on a daily basis. In most large Gurdwaras they have mechanised the process with roti (chapati) making machines. Similar numbers are fed at Gurdwaras in many other large Indian cities. There is hardly a town in India that does not benefit from langar.
Occasionally, there have been criticism
within the community of wasting so much money without return. Some Sikhs feel
that there is no appreciation of this service and Gurdwaras should consider
giving leaflets to encourage conversions or restrict numbers. But unconditional
service is precisely what Guru Nanak had started. The vast majority of Sikhs
continues to dismiss these pressures and proudly provide langar without making the recipient feel humiliated or under
pressure. All that is asked is to consider the rest of humanity as one.
It is truly a remarkable and service on
a global scale. The Corona Virus has killed many people. But it has neither
dented the spirit of the Sikhs to continue with langar nor has Corona lockdown forced hunger upon people as long as
there is a Gurdwara around.
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