AN OASIS OF DEVOTION

At the dawn of the 20th century, Sardar Alla Singh was the station master of the Guwahati Railway Station that had been set up in 1895. He was a deeply religious Sikh gentleman and quite naturally felt spiritually starved in a fledgling town that had no Sikhs, then numbering about 100, for construction of a place for congregation and prayers. Alla Singh’s efforts bore fruit and in 1902 a gurudwara committee was formed.

For the next four years -- from 1902-06 -- Alla Singh and other devout Sikhs like Kishan Singh, Keshwar Singh and Sardar Jiban Singh made all out efforts to mobilize land and funds for a gurudwara in Guwahati. Ida Khan, a reputed railway contractor, and a close acquaintance of Alla Singh extended a helping hand in finding a suitable plot of land. In 1904-05, a plot measuring one katha and four lechas and bearing holding number 112, dag number 39 of Guwahati mouza, was finally bought at Lakhtokia-Kamarpatty junction and a Sikh Temple constructed. It was a single-storey Assam-type structure of corrugated iron sheets that was in 1925-26 replaced by a single-storey RCC building.

By the 1960s the Sikh population in Guwahati had increased manifold. Many members of the community were

then holding important positions, while those who had joined the construction and transportation sector were doing flourishing business. They now decided to reconstruct the temple into a five-storied structure covering the entire plot of land. The design made, it was constructed in 1974 under the supervision of Sardar Sohan Singh of Machkowa. A year later the gurudwara was consecrated and shifted to the second floor. Langar khana and accommodation for

guest were provided for on the third floor while the first floor was converted into market. On top of the building, a gambuj was constructed in which a pitcher (kalsi) made of pure gold was installed as a symbol of purity, on the lines of the Golden Temple of Amritsar.

The entire complex now began to be supervised by the newly-formed Shri Guru Singh Sabha, which had been registered in May 31, 1971. The Sabha thereafter even opened a school n the complex. This institution, called the Guru Nanak School, was later shifted to the Sharabbhati area.

According to Sikh religious history, the Guru Granth Sahib, which had been compiled by fifth Sikh Guru Arjun Dev was proclaimed to be ‘The Guru’ by Guru Govind Singh, the last living Guru of the Sikhs. Since then the Guru Granth Sahib is installed in gurudwaras all over the world and revered as the Guru. In the Fancy Bazar Sikh temple also offerings are placed before the Guru Granth Sahib every day. Special programmes are arranged on the birthdays of Guru Nanak, Guru Govind Singh and Guru Teg Bahadur. Guru Arjun Dev’s martyrdom is also observed with solemnity. Baisakhi, which is celebrated around the same time as Bihu, is another gay occasion that is celebrated in the temple premises.

All these gurudwaras no doubt function independently, but the Shri Guru Singh Sabha of Fancy Bazar still acts as the nodal agency and the Sikh Temple remains yet an oasis of love and devotion amid the din and bustle of Fancy Bazar.