That’s the day their holy book, or Guru Granth Sahib, arrived in Queenstown from India via a specially-decorated van that came down from Auckland.
The 1430-page book, an anthology of prayers and hymns, was greeted by a ceremony in a Hanley’s Farm home attended by more than 100 Sikhs from as far away as Invercargill.
Now the book has arrived, it’s been set up in a temporary temple — the garage of another Hanley’s Farm home where five to 10 Sikhs at a time will attend prayers held every morning and evening.
"We have to have a special place for the holy book because it’s a really spiritual thing," Sukhjinder Singh, one of the rostered preachers, explains.
"That’s why that garage is separated from the main house, and nobody’s allowed to go there without covering their heads."
He says this temple will now also be a hub for the Sikh community — "people will come together and sit down and pray for their future and our kids will be connected with our culture".
Meanwhile, members of Queenstown’s Sikh committee, Guru Nanak Darbar, are still looking for a site for a permanent temple.
