Gurudwara Bangla Sahib hosts exhibition on Sikhism

New Delhi , Nov.24 : In an attempt to spread awareness about the rich history of Sikhs and their treasured legacy, the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib this past week hosted a painting-cum-photo exhibition in the national capital.

It is being felt in certain circles that Sikhism as a religion and ideology has influenced people across the world. But sadly, the Generation-X of Sikhs is not taking much interest in it.

Sikh history today is believed to be both imposing and inspirational.

Organised by the Punjab and Sindh Bank, the paintings in the weeklong exhibition depicted the sacrifices of Sikh gurus and saints like Bhai Sati Das, Bhai Bhidi Chand and Udham Singh.

A rare collection of paintings preserved by Punjab National Bank for years has also been put on exhibition.

Kulmohan Singh, the organizer of the exhibition, said: "The main purpose of exhibition is that we want to bring people closer to Sikh history. We want them to know about the various sacrifices made by Sikhs for the community and country. Now people are loosing affection towards their history. They are more interested in materialistic life, forgetting their history."

Visitors were fascinated by the exhibition.

Raghubir Singh Sahni, a visitor, said: "It is surely very beneficial for youngsters. Not only Sikhs, but non-Sikh communities, will also come to know about Sikhism and the purpose of Sikh gurus."

An exhibition-cum-sale of books on Sikh history was also organized to encourage people to connect with religious literature. Also on display were books on Sikh principles, philosophy, culture and fine arts, which are normally not available in the market.

The idea was to reach out to the youngsters. People showed keen interest in buying books.

Kamaldeep Singh Kohli, one visitor, said: "Through the displayed books I actually learnt about their importance in terms of knowledge they offered. There are various rare scriptures here in the book, which you can't find in market. Youngsters should come here and see the books. They will gain knowledge about Sikhism and Indian culture."

As per the Sikh faith a true Sikh is suppose to wear Kanga, Kesh, Kada, Kirpan and Kachha. And to encourage the custom, they were made available at the stalls outside exhibition. y Juhan Samuel

ANI