Inventure Students visit the Gurudwara!

A Trip to the Gurudwara

Grade 3 piled into a school bus this week and, cheerily singing, sped off to a Gurudwara.

We have been learning about various festivals of India. Our teachers, Sonali ma’am and Parul ma’am took us to the Gurdwara to learn about Guruparv. Guru parv is the birthday of the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak ji, the founder of their faith.

A Gurudwara is a place where Sikhs go to worship their holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib Ji or Adi-Granth. Adi Granth is a thick book with all the teachings of the ten Sikh gurus. The last guru, Guru Gobind Singh ji pronounced that after him, there would be no guru in charge of the Sikhs. Instead, the Sikhs would follow the teachings of Adi Granth. The Sikhs do not worship any idols.

At the entrance of the gurdwara was a large, shallow tub filled with water. We had to step into it and wash our feet and hands before we entered the temple. Each of us had brought a dupatta or scarf to cover our heads because anyone who enters must cover their heads as a mark of respect to the Holy Book.



We walked in and silently bowed our heads near the shrine. We found out that Adi granth is treated with the reverence given to a living guru. During the day, it is placed in the shrine and covered with a colorful cloth. In the evening, before the priests go home, there is a room on the side with a grand bed in which Adi granth is laid to rest in at night. Even the most restless kids stood calmly,lulled by the peaceful chanting in the background.





The priest said a special prayer for us and read a page of the Adi Granth out to us. Naman’s father translated the Punjabi for us. The words told us how fortunate we were to have been able to visit this holy place. Later, we went downstairs to the langar, or community kitchen, where we were served a simple and delicious lunch: rice, dal and a tasty potato sabji. Anyone who is a devotee can come and help in the langar. This help is called sewa.





On our way out, our kind hosts distributed Dairymilk chocolates and a very tasty prasad. Everyone enjoyed the visit. It was fun, and we also got to learn something new. I hope we can visit the Gurudwara again some day!

Freya S
Grade 3A