Hi
I’m Lucy Panesar and I am your guide for the next session, which aims to provide you with an authentic experience of a Sikh Langar.
I’ll be telling you more about Langar in a few moments.
Firstly, I need to lay down the basic rules for participating in Langar:
Out of respect to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib
1. Shoes must be removed
2. Heads must be covered in an appropriate way
3. Hands must be thoroughly cleansed
4. Intoxicated persons will be refused entry
Since this is not the most convenient venue or time frame for a Langar,
we have had to be a little flexible with the ritualistic observance of
these rules.
So, if you could please stay seated while I give the instructions for the adapted ritual.
Firstly you will need to remove your shoes and place them under the table
at which you are sitting.
Now, to cover your head, I’d like you to select a scarf from the box being passed around. Sikh’s wear some kind of head covering on a daily basis – chunnis for women and turbans for men, but at the entrance to any Sikh Temple, or Gurdwara, visitors can choose from a vibrant collection of scarves that have accumulated over many years.
It’s
a minor feature, easily unnoticed, but in trying to recreate the experience
for you today, it was one feature that proved impossible to simply recreate
scratch. So the collection you are selecting from is a combination of
scarves from the Chichester theatre costume department (thanks Tracey),
and some from my own wardrobe. Not quite the same, but still does the
job.
So if you could take one as they are being passed around, and then cover
your heads best you can.
We’ve tried our best to fulfil the ritualistic procedure of washing hands with soap and water, as this is a really important way of showing respect, but this would have proved to cause unacceptable congestion around the stairwell area, which would have been contrary to fire regulations. So, instead you’ll be offered an anti-bacterial hand wipe as you exit the room.
It cannot be helped if some of you are now feeling a little intoxicated. So long as you are still able to behave appropriately, you will still be welcome to participate in Langar.
Okay. So once you’ve removed shoes and covered heads, please take a hand wipe and proceed to the next room to collect your main course, and then I’ll fill you in on what Langar is.
[While delegates collect food, Wahe Guru Wahe Jio music plays with hypnotic visuals projecting]
[Speech to delegates while seated:]
[Ask for attention, talk about palaver, nightmare planning, then congratulate.]
Langar is a devotional vegetarian meal shared by the congregation of a
Sikh temple or Gurdwara. Introduced by Sri Guru Nanak, on whose teachings
the religion was founded, and later institutionalised by the third Sikh
Guru, Sri Guru Amar Das, the Langar is the perfect expression of some
of Sri Guru Nanak's central tenets: The rejection of the caste system
and the rather radical belief, for India in the 16th century, that all
men and women are equal. The idea of the Langar is very simple. All must
sit down to eat together, regardless of social position, gender or religious
persuasion - all are welcome at Langar.
The Langar kitchen is usually buzzing with volunteers preparing dishes made from donated ingredients. The air would be heavy with the smell of spices - cumin, coriander powder, cloves and green cardamom. The kitchen's gas stoves loaded with huge stockpots bubbling away. At each pot a volunteer stands, huge paddle in hand, turning the contents to stop them sticking. A couple of pots might be filled with the beginnings of a subjee or vegetable curry or with a dark aromatic dhal made with black lentils, a popular dish in North India, and said to have a mild, aristocratic flavour.
Unfortunately this kind of dhal needs a hardened bunch of cooks prepared
to painstakingly pick over the lentils and allow them to soak overnight
before cooking them for hours! So today, you are eating a more simplified
dhal made with red split lentils, which do not need soaking and cook in
under half the time. You might be worrying that your breath is going to
stink of Garlic for the rest of the day. Well rest assured, it will not,
since garlic has been omitted from the recipe. However, not for your vanity,
but because traditionally garlic is left out so that those who wish to
avoid its stimulating/aphrodisiac properties are still welcome to join
in.
The most labour-intensive job is making the bread, using donated flour.
Thousands of chapattis are made and cooked by hand everyday, by what I
can only describe as a human bread machine!
We were unable to bring the human chapatti machine to Farnham, and I didn’t
want to subject you to my cardboard discs, so instead you have been given
a shop bought chapatti. Using 100% Elephant flour they really are the
next best thing to making them yourself. And since they’ve got a
few preservatives and a bit of sugar in them, they last twice as long,
and are a bit tastier. Usually, you would use the chapattis to scoop up
the dhal, without the need for a utensil, but for those of you who’d
rather not get their fingers sticky, feel free to use the spoon.
Back in the Gurdwara we see armies of young men grasping silver balti
filled with the dhal and rice, walking between each carpet runner, offering
more food to the hubbub of worshippers sitting crosslegged and shoulder
to shoulder. The repeated offering of food is an important element of
the Langar. The idea is that the food should appear unlimited, and that
the plates come back cleaned of food. It's not the done thing to throw
away food that is blessed. But it wasn’t blessed today, so you’re
okay!
And so, slowly, and with dignity, together we eat this simple food that
should taste so special, since the langar dishes are made with the love
of the congregation and given with an open heart (although that’s
not quite the case in this instance, since the chef and myself have been
paid to do this). But still, that's the sort of recipe advice we can all
take note of in these microwave oven and TV dinner days. Here again, the
public Langar in California, where they are also being shown a powerpoint
presentation.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this authentic Langar experience. May I thank
you for your kind observance of the rules.
When you have finished your meal please return your bowl to the table
and in your own time make your way back to the Barley room to collect
your shoes. From there you will be directed to the South Wing for the
final course.
Thank you
[ Music turned up as delegates exit.]