The 13th Sikh Children's Day was celebrated with full zeal and zest at Gurdwara Sri Kalgidhar Sahib in Takanini on October 8 and 9.
More than 1000 kids attended the event which was organised by the Supreme Sikh Society of New Zealand.
The event started in 2010 with just 90 children and has grown by leaps and bounds over all these years.
The celebration, held across the sprawling NZ Sikh Sports Complex, saw hundreds of children, both male and female participating in the competition such as Kavishri, Gatka, Dastar-bandi (turban tying), poetry, speech, Gurbani singing, martial arts, quiz Sikh art and essay writing among others. Many non-Sikh kids also took part in the activities.
Interestingly, while 826 kids were enrolled for the event, it was attended by over 1000 children. One of the event's highlights was the children singing a Gurbani Shabad together, which created history in NZ as this was the first time 1000 children sang together.
The event saw participation from as young as four years old and had people travelling with their children from Hastings, Palmerston North, Bay of Plenty and different parts of Auckland for the event. Another attraction of the event was the stall by NZ Police.
Talking to Indian Weekender about the significance of the event, a spokesperson from the Supreme Sikh Society and President of NZ Central Sikh Association, Daljit Singh, said, “Through this event, we want to get our children more connected to the Gurudwara, our Sikh culture and Sikh history. It is overwhelming to see more and more kids coming together to participate. It was great to see families and their children turning out in huge numbers. It reassures us that we are on the right path to connect our kids to their roots and religion."
Honorary Consul of India in Auckland Bhav Dhillon and politician Daniel Newman were among the dignitaries who interacted with the community members and acknowledged their work for the greater community. Attending guests and dignitaries lauded the efforts of the parents, Takanini Gurudwara, its teachers and all participants for their time and efforts in learning more about their culture and religion.
“I always look forward to Sikh Children's Day, celebrated yearly by the Supreme Sikh Society. It is great to see our next generation getting involved in our religions' language heritage and culture,” Mr Dhillon said.
Sharing her experience of the event, guest Harjeet Kaur said, "Sikh Children's Day 2022 was a huge success. Hats off to the organising team. Great wins and learnings for our future generations.”
The Sikh Heritage School (situated in the Gurudwara complex) is growing about 25 kids weekly basis since the Management was taken over by its current President Mandeep Kaur Minhas and Chairperson Kuljit Kaur. It has 765 enrollments of children from Sikh and non Sikh families who attend classes every Saturday from 2-5 pm.