Takanini Gurdwara celebrates 6th Anniversary

Sri Kalgidhar Gurdwara is the largest religious place in New Zealand connected to the Indian Diaspora. This magnificent building is housed in 8.6 acres of prime flat land in the Takanini suburb in Auckland and home to the revered Sri Guru Granth Sahib. This nodal Sikh place of worship has over 8000 devotees visit it over any given weekend thus again making it the most visited religious place in the country. The foundation stone of this temple was laid by the traditional Sikh Panj Piaras in the presence of the then Prime Minister Helen Clark who was a regular visitor throughout her tenure as the leader of the nation. This project was completed in a record time of 2.5 years under the able leadership of Daljit Singh JP.

The building houses a modern stainless steel 220 m2 kitchen and a angar hall on the ground floor and the main assembly hall on the first floor were a congregation in excess of 5000 can assemble and listen to kirtan in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib. There is also a three bed room accommodation for the religious minister apart from cricket, soccer, volleyball and kabadi ground.The official opening ceremony was held on the 13th of March 2005 and ever since its annual anniversary function is celebrated with intense religious fervour around the middle of March. As of today the total assets on this site are about $10Mn and the NZ Sikh Society Auckland which is a registered charitable trust manages the day to day operations.

Recently the 6th anniversary was celebrated with great religious enthusiasm and fervour. The celebration spanned over a week and every day there was a function culminating in a large function over the weekend where over 8000 people paid obeisance and partook langar in community kitchen as per established Sikh traditions. A noted Sikh scholar and preacher Bhai Pinderpal Singh had specially come all the way from India to interact with the community and share his knowledge and love for the religion. The in house kirtan jatha led by Bhai Jeet Singh Jeet and Bhai Gurpreet Singh Jalandharwala also regaled the audience with mesmerising kirtan and sang hymns from the revered Guru Granth Sahib. After a week long string of religious functions, the celebrations were culminated with traditional Indian games like Kabadi, Soccer, Volleyball. There was also a kabadi competition for young children. In line with the importance the Sikh religion accords to women, a special musical chairs competition was also held for the girls.

Dr. Rajen Prasad, Dr. Jackie Blue and Dr. Paul Hutchinson all parliamentarians also graced the occasion and gave out the prizes to the winners in sport. This annual Kabadi competition is soon finding a place on the international kabadi circuit as two international teams, one from Australia and the other from India had specially flown in to participate. The final trophy was won by the team from India after beating the Australian team. The following local teams participated – Doaba Club, Kalgidhar Club, Sikh Sports Club, Des Punjab, Dashmesh Sports Club, and Waikato Sports club. In the final match the Sikh Sports Club Tauranga wrested the trophy by defeating Kalgidhar Sports Club Auckland in a nail biting 31-27 win. In volleyball the final was between Pukekohe Spikers and Kalgidhar Lions in which the team from Pukekohe won the trophy. In soccer, Massey United defeated Auckland lions and lifted the trophy.

Prabhjot Kalkat was nominated as the best soccer player and Dilawar Haripuria was declared the best kabadi player. A team of highly trained and specialist umpires and referees were on hand. The commentary was being done by Jarnail Singh Rahon from Hamilton and the well known Makhan Ali had been flown in specially from India. On the sports field, entertainment scaled a new height when well known Punjabi singer Mangal Hathoor took over the stage. Another high point of the day was the breathtaking and fiery display of the famous Sikh martial arts display called Gatka by the group from Tauranga referred to as Dashmesh Akhara . A 10 year old boy named Harshbir Singh Samra was the shining star in the Gatka display and left the crowd speechless as he deftly controlled the traditional sword and displayed his talent of using it.

Overall it was day surely etched in the memory of the Sikh community in New Zealand and it ended at 6 PM after all the winners were presented trophies. This has been an excellent endeavour of the management committee to involve the young and old in the celebrations and give it an all inclusive community feel to the whole show. It is pertinent to mention that many non-Sikhs but of Indian origin were participating in the celebrations.