November 03, 2011: With cooking oil on their hands to prevent sticking, women dressed in colorful saris chat, listen to spiritual chanting and form silver-dollar sized potato patties in their palms.
Leading up to the 32nd annual Nagar Kirtan & Sikh Parade this weekend, dozens of volunteers gather at the Tierra Buena Sikh Temple each day to prepare for the tens of thousands of people anticipated to descend on Yuba City for the celebration. They cook food, decorate floats and set up vendor tents for the activities that surround coronation of the Sikh scriptures, Siri Guru Granth Sahib.
"It's a great feeling. You can't wait for this day," said Karpal K. Dosanjh, who has helped prepare food for more than a decade. "We wait all year."
It gives her great satisfaction to feed and meet all the different people who attend the festival. But to feed so many takes much preparation, she said.
"It's to serve others," Dosanjh said. "We are all here to serve others."
Sitting on upturned milk crates or standing around tables Wednesday, the women compressed, rolled and flattened small handfuls of a potato mixture into patties that will later be deep fried. Today they'll start on samosas, and make pakora and sweets Friday.
It's not uncommon for people to take time off work so they can dedicate entire days to help and listen to scriptures in the evenings, Dosanjh said.
Yuba City resident Rajinder Dhillon joins the other volunteers around 10 a.m. each day to peel potatoes, cut tops off peppers and slice ends from carrots. She leaves briefly to pick up her son from high school and returns to the temple to continue making food until about 9 p.m.
The women may spend hours on their feet at a time but every minute is enjoyable, they said.
"I don't feel tiredness, there is no pain," Dhillon said.
The parking lot of the Tierra Buena Sikh Temple has been transformed into a makeshift kitchen this week to aid in preparation.
An outdoor pantry is filled with pallets of juice, water and soda, cases of nacho cheese and ketchup, and 25-pound sacks of salt and sugar. Aisles of propane burners form a stove line to heat giant pots of rice, woks of carrots and vats of steaming liquid.
Cement mixers toss vast quantities of ingredients and industrial shredders slice carrots into slivers to be mixed with milk, sugar, raisins and almonds into a favorite sweet. By week's end, wooden peach bins will be turned over and topped with plywood for makeshift serving tables.
Sikhs from all over the world come to Yuba City for the annual event. Balbinder Singh Nanuwan flew in from Derby, England, on Tuesday to partake in the festival for a second year to promote his organizations and raise funds for their philanthropic work.
He normally goes to Pakistan, the birthplace of the guru, for the annual celebration but enjoyed his time in Yuba City last year and was happy for the invitation to return, only this time he said he hopes it's not raining so he can watch the parade.
"This is for Guru Nanak — it's like your Jesus — it's his birthday," Nanuwan said.
Temple member Paul Purewal said preparations for the parade began four months ago but started in earnest about two weeks ago. About 20,000 people are expected to attend Friday's fireworks, and 30,000 people are anticipated to attend Saturday's event with between 40,000 and 60,000 people at the parade Sunday.
"The whole community is invited. Everyone is welcome," Purewal said. "Come and try the food. You'll be amazed."