Toy Aeroplane as Offering in Gurudwara Talhan

[Kuldip S. Virdi]

The sikhs of doaba in Punjab are making offerings of toy aeroplanes at Gurudwara Talhan in district Jullunder. This is the same gurudwara which was in the news a few years ago when there was a pitched battle between the jatts and dalits of village Talhan for the participation in its management, which spilled to Jullunder and led to political agitation, burning of public buses and other property and loss of life in police firing against riotous mob.
The following appeard in The Tribune, Chandigarh, on 16.01.2009.

QUOTE
If wishes were planes, then Punjabis would ride
Kusum Arora
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 15
See, ladoos, boondi or barfi — even liquor and clocks — are fine as offerings in temples and gurdwaras but what do you do if the tough visa regulations just won’t let you fly in a state where going abroad is the ultimate dream?

Simple: Try the aeroplane, may be a jumbo.

Delusional, may be, but faith is driving hoardes of people from phoren-smitten Doaba region, tired of waiting for visas post 9/11 and sundry other such incidents such as our own 26/11, to temples with their objects of fancy, toy aeroplanes.

Backed by a fervent prayer, they hope, it will take them out of the country sooner than the rule-makers think.

At Gurdwara Sant Baba Nihal Singh Ji Shaheedan in Talhan village, near here, the plane is a winner hands down .

Ask Harbans Kaur, mother of Laddi of Raipur Phalara village: “My son had been trying hard to go to Canada but, for one reason or the other, he was denied a visa. A friend suggested we offer the replica of an aeroplane at Talhan gurdwara. It worked. My son is now in Canada. There is nothing wrong in what I did.”

Sandeep Kaur of Jalandhar said she got married to an England-based NRI nearly two years ago but has not been able to join him there. “I have also made a similar offering. What are a few hundred rupees if they can assure you a chance of settling abroad?”

Gurdwara head granthi Manjeet Singh says, for over a year now, every week brings at least 40 toy planes to them. The number is higher on weekdays and Sundays. They have a room full of winged beauties.

Shops outside the gurdwara are making a killing: each plane is between Rs 150 and Rs 500. The run of the planes has left the all-time favourite symbol of Sikh identity, the “kara”, far behind. It is less visible too.

Blind faith, after all...
UNQUOTE

Guru fateh.

Kuldip Singh

[Harmanpreet singhh]

THANX VIRDI JI , I AM GOING TO TALHAN THIS WEEKEND

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[PCJ]

and maybe I should offer toy million dollar bill :) Maybe that will help get million dollars....

[PCJ]

I know Jallandhar area quite a bit. Where is Talhan?

[Kuldip S. Virdi]

On GT Road on way to Jullunder from Delhi/ Ludhiana/Phillaur, just a little distance after McDonnald (Jullunder), you will see a decorated gate on your right hand.There are a few small shops on the side of the gate on the road. One takes the road under that gate and passes through a village, followed by a railway corssing and a couple of kilometers on the village road throgh the filelds, one finds Gurudwara Saheedan, Talhan, almost at the end of village Talhan. There is another rather largish white Gurudwara like structure to your left as you go on the village road, I understood that it is some Dera.

Guru Fateh.

Kuldip Singh

[Kuldip S. Virdi]

and maybe I should offer toy million dollar bill :) Maybe that will help get million dollars....

Why dont your try ? Who knows, what may follow.
If you go to Talhan on any Sunday, when Bhog of the SGGS's path takes place, you can hear ardas for having got a visa, a job overseas and what not. Incidenatlly, at any time some thirty to forty SGGS paaths are in progress in the gurudwara and the contentious issue was sharing of income of this gurudwara for improvement projects of the jatts and dalits of the village. The gurudwara started as a smadh of a poor ramgariah carpenter and was taken over by the village panchyat then dominated by the local jatts.

Guru fateh.

Kuldip Singh

[PCJ]

On GT Road on way to Jullunder from Delhi/ Ludhiana/Phillaur, just a little distance after McDonnald (Jullunder), you will see a decorated gate on your right hand.There are a few small shops on the side of the gate on the road. One takes the road under that gate and passes through a village, followed by a railway corssing and a couple of kilometers on the village road throgh the filelds, one finds Gurudwara Saheedan, Talhan, almost at the end of village Talhan. There is another rather largish white Gurudwara like structure to your left as you go on the village road, I understood that it is some Dera.

Guru Fateh.

Kuldip Singh

Kuldip Singh Ji,

Thank you very much for the info. Sure, will try next time we go to India. When we visited India the last time, McDonald's hadn't been franchised in India at the time. But we will find it...

Thanks :)