WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A SIKH IN WALES?
The community’s temple in Cardiff has recently been refurbished. Thomas Deacon went to speak to some of its members
WHEN Sikhs first began to arrive in Cardiff during the 1950s there was no temple where they could pray.
But after a dozen or so Sikhs rallied around they raised £450 and purchased a small house in Ninian Park Road, which became a makeshift temple.
For decades the house was the main focal point for the community, hosting celebrations and regular services.
Now Sikhs in the capital have a purpose-built and newly refurbished temple, Dasmais Singh Sabha Gurdwara Bhatra, just down the road in Tudor Street – and the community is still thriving.
As the temple grew and the community expanded, Sikhs in the city faced changes brought on by the 21st century.
Older members of the community spoke of how attitudes have changed since they arrived shortly after the partition of India and younger members spoke of how they balance growing up in a Western culture with their faith.
Awtar Singh was born 18 months before Indian partition and his first memory of Wales was the open fields and fresh air.
Awtar said: “I remember open fields, fresh air and very friendly people – I just got into it.
“Unfortunately my mother, she couldn’t speak English and she didn’t want to go out to meet people or any- thing like that. She felt very ostracised – she didn’t want to go out to meet people so she just stayed at home and cooked and it was lonely for her.
“She had a sister and a cousin that lived in Cardiff and that’s why we moved to Cardiff.
“I’ve been here all my life [but] I had to go to India in 1965 to get married.”
Awtar said he believes the Sikh identity in the city will change over time and has witnessed the changes.
He said: “It does upset me because I do feel like the identification over time will be lost slightly.
“I’m feeling slightly guilty because my son, he’s a clean-shaven person.
“It was at the age of about 11 or 12 that he decided that he wanted to stop identifying as Sikh.
“He had difficulty in school with his long hair – he had very, very thick long hair and the kids used to pick on him, because a lot of kids at those times didn’t know what the Sikhs were – but he’s overcome that now.”
For younger members of the community, born and raised in Cardiff, how they bring up their own children still provides a dilemma.
Ranjit Singh, 39, from Riverside, said: “When I was growing up it was like being part of two cultures.
“You are Sikh and then you are growing up in a Western society like Cardiff.
“You are living in this culture but then trying not to upset the folks, too.
“I’m a dad of three kids and they are more Westernised than us.
“But I have been through that and we encourage our children so they don’t filter away from our culture.
“If you don’t give it to them then it would filter out – but then it’s similar to how it was when I was younger.” For others the choice is clearer. Jaswant Singh, 81, said: “I came here in 1957 and we came to the UK from India in 1956.
“I must have been about 11 or 10 at the time we came over and then later on I had to go back to India to get married.
“And now here we are in Cardiff. I consider myself more of a Welshman than anything. I’m a Sikh and I’m Welsh.”
Several members of the community said that people in Cardiff are more tolerant than decades ago, which they hope will help the younger generation maintain their faith.
Awtar said: “Things have moved on massively from about 20 or 30 years ago, when some people didn’t really understand us – I do hope, you’ve got to have hope, that my grandchildren will maintain their Sikh identity.
“You’ll certainly lose a little bit of the identity, we’ve already lost a lot