160kg more gold to add shine to the supreme Sikh shrine
The iconic ‘Golden Temple’ is set to get even more shiny after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which manages the affairs of historic gurdwaras, has decided to add a further 160kg gold to adorn the holiest Sikh shrine Sri Harmandar Sahib in Amritsar, according to functionaries familiar with the developments.
Apart from the sanctum sanctorum, situated in the middle of the sarovar (holy tank), gold is already used to decorate the domes of the Akal Takht (highest temporal seat of the Sikhs) and the darshani deodi (entrance of sanctum sanctorum).
The SGPC has now decided to put gold on four deodis (entrances), symbolising that the doors of the shrine are open for all religions and races, according to Diljit Singh Bedi, the spokesperson and additional secretary of the apex gurdwara body.
“The domes of the deodis will be covered with gold. Work of gold-plating on the main deodi, which is situated on the Ghanta Ghar side, is underway since April through kar sewa (voluntarily service). A coat of gold will be applied on rest of the deodis once that work finishes,” he said, adding that approximately 40kg gold will be used on each entrance.
The main entrance has one big dome in the middle and four smaller ones on its all corners. These domes are being decorated with goldplated sheets, or patras in common parlance. Originally these were made of copper.
The gold used to cover the patras has been donated by devotees, according to Baba Kashmir Singh Bhuriwale, head of the kar sewa organisation. “Sri Harmandar Sahib is very sacred place for the Sikhs and even gurbani has underlined its significance as ‘Ditthe Sabhe Thav, Nahi Tudh Jehea’ (I have glimpsed all the places, but failed to find out as beautiful as you). The sangat (devotees) is always stays ready to donate and sacrifice everything for its sanctity and beauty. Whenever I meet devotees, they make contributions with gold, mostly in form of jewellery. Some also donate cash,” Bhuriwale said.
A functionary of the kar sewa organisation said it was difficult to estimate the total cost of the project as it was a volunteer-based effort.
HOW PLATING IS DONE
The gold-plated patras are made at the head office of the kar sewa organisation on Tarn Taran road in Amritsar. The donated jewellery is usually 22-karat gold and is purified to 24 karats, Bhuriwale explained. It is then melted and shaped into bars, which are pressed into flat ribbons. These strips are cut into small pieces, which are then beaten into ultra-thin foil and stored in sheets of paper.
About 95 foils are made from each 1.5 gram of gold, said Balbir Singh, who oversees the gold-plating work.
To do the plating, patras of copper are cleaned with sand, tamarind and a mixture of acid and mercury, turning them bright silver. Twenty layers of gold foil are then laid on teach patra. It turns bright yellow when heated to remove the mercury, after which four more layers of foil are added. The golden colour comes after polishing.
“The gold-plated sheets are finally are fitted on the domes by craftsmen”, said Harkamal Kumar, one of the functionaries involved in the plating process.
AMRITSAR::
A BRIEF HISTORY
Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh first covered the Sri Harminder Sahib in gold 192 years ago, donating R16.4 lakh for ‘sone di sewa’ (golden service), according to the book “Twarikh Sri Amritsar’ by Panth Rattan Baba Gyan Singh Gyani. The work was carried out by craftsman Mohammad Khan. Several other royals from the Maharaja family and other Sikh lords also donated money for ‘sewa’. The total money spent on the task at the time was R6.4 million, the book adds.
After parts of the ‘Golden Temple’ were destroyed in Operation Bluestar in 1984, Sikh bodies decided to repair and renovate the shine, between 1995 and 1999.