Have you been to the Sikh Temple in Takanini? It’s proper name is Takanini Gurdwara Sri Kalgidhar Sahib. For the majority of us, it was our first time. We were allowed to into the temple upstairs but had to remove our socks and shoes and wash and dry our hands first. All of us had to wear a bright orange bandana to cover our heads. Upstairs in the praying area, we had to be absolutely quiet and respectful. That meant no loud voices and definitely no running around. There were people from the Sikh community there sitting and praying too.
Chandan and Dilraj were our hosts and they talked to us about the history and the purpose of the temple. They also answered any questions we had. Next they took us downstairs to the Langar which is where people eat. Our hosts took us around the langar and talked to us about the large portraits of Sikh people that hung on the walls right around the hall. There were so many.
Then we sat on blue mats and we were served trays, dishes and utensils for food. Lots of men came to serve us our food and gave us coke, sprite and orange juice to drink. We were all very spoilt.
After eating and taking lots of photos, we quickly ran around the back of the temple area to the sports complex. There was an astro turf for hockey and football, a court for basketball and a huge area for lots of sports. It was amazing.
We thanked our hosts and chefs and sang our waiata. Then it was time for us to head back to school. Here are some pics and videos of our amazing experience there. Thank you Mrs Khatgar for organising this for us! You can also check out more by viewing learner blogs.
