For Manpreet Kaur Sandhu, a member of Northern Ireland’s small Sikh community, the gurdwara is a lifeline.
The 56-year-old has worshipped for almost 30 years at the Northern Ireland Sikh Association in Derry, one of two Sikh places of worship – known as gurdwaras – in Northern Ireland. But a fire in 2021 led to its closure.
Now, following renovations, the gurdwara is set to reopen in March with a “big celebration”.
“We are all excited to open it,” Sandhu, a trustee, said. “Everybody has been waiting eagerly for it because we are missing [it] so much … there is no other place we [can] go.”
Sandhu described how the gurdwara was “so important for the wellbeing of the community” and one of the few meeting points for the Sikh community in Northern Ireland.
She said: “We do everything as a community. It is for the communities and it’s done by the community.”
Sandhu, along with other members, was at the gurdwara when the fire broke out in November 2021. The cause of the incident was later deemed an accident.
She said the memory of the fire still provoked shivers.
“It happened so quickly and the smoke was just coming down within seconds … Thankfully, we got everybody out, with the grace of God, and the Guru Granth Sahib Ji [the Sikh holy scripture and eternal Guru] – we managed to get that safe and sound,” she said.
The gurdwara’s closure had a profound impact on Sandhu and the local community.
“How difficult it is for us not to have anywhere to do our prayers, to do the work together, to do the seva [selfless service] together. You know how important it is for us, as [the founder of Sikhism] Guru Nanak Dev Ji said, ‘Nam Japna [remembering the name of Waheguru], Wand Chakna [generosity and self-sacrifice], Kirat Karna [earning an honest living].’ These are the three mottos and we follow those.”
Before the gurdwara opened in 1995, Sandhu said members of the Sikh and south Asian community in Derry would meet monthly at the homes of friends and family to pray and provide langar (communal kitchen).
The trustee said it was important for the community, due to the absence of a place of worship, to come together to ensure younger members understood the Sikh religion.
She said: “Because we had no gurdwara there was no way to communicate with one another … I came in 1990 and at that time we were doing prayers once a month on a Sunday in different houses. We had about 18 families, so we used to take turns.”
The number of people visiting the gurdwara grew over the years, with individuals from different religious backgrounds finding comfort and peace in the place of worship.
She said: “We had people who started to come from the south of Ireland – from Letterkenny. There were so many people from India so they started to come to the gurdwara as well.
“Irrespective of your background or your culture, you’re very welcome in the gurdwara.”
