ISSUE
Friday, August 22, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 73
As many as 5,000 Sikhs participated in the nagar kirtan (street parade) held in Tauranga last week to mark the birth ceremony of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru of Sikhs. The number of participants doubled this year with people coming from Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Waihi, Te Puke, Katikati, Roturua and Whakatane.
Organised by Gurudwara Sikh Sangat Tauranga, the parade was a big hit with people from different communities participating. The parade started from the gurudwara at Burrows St and headed back after more than two hours of cultural showcase though the streets of Tauranga. The Sikh martial arts— Gatka and kirtan—attracted people from the streets and the organisers said that they received many calls from the people who said they liked the parade and wanted to know more about the Sikh culture.
Free food and drinks were distributed along the way and a langar was organised at the Gurudwara. Organiser Daljit Singh was quoted by Bay of Plenty Times as saying, "The feedback from all the people [on the street] was fantastic. People were telling us they especially liked all the colour and cultural parts ... Some told us they had never seen anything like this before and wanted to know more... It's exactly the response we were looking for."
The celebrations were attended by the dignitaries from New Zealand and India including Tauranga deputy mayor Kelvin Clout, Tauranga MP Simon Bridges, and general secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, who travelled from India.
As many as 5,000 Sikhs participated in the nagar kirtan (street parade) held in Tauranga last week to mark the birth ceremony of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru of Sikhs. The number of participants doubled this year with people coming from Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Waihi, Te Puke, Katikati,...
As many as 5,000 Sikhs participated in the nagar kirtan (street parade) held in Tauranga last week to mark the birth ceremony of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru of Sikhs. The number of participants doubled this year with people coming from Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Waihi, Te Puke, Katikati, Roturua and Whakatane.
Organised by Gurudwara Sikh Sangat Tauranga, the parade was a big hit with people from different communities participating. The parade started from the gurudwara at Burrows St and headed back after more than two hours of cultural showcase though the streets of Tauranga. The Sikh martial arts— Gatka and kirtan—attracted people from the streets and the organisers said that they received many calls from the people who said they liked the parade and wanted to know more about the Sikh culture.
Free food and drinks were distributed along the way and a langar was organised at the Gurudwara. Organiser Daljit Singh was quoted by Bay of Plenty Times as saying, "The feedback from all the people [on the street] was fantastic. People were telling us they especially liked all the colour and cultural parts ... Some told us they had never seen anything like this before and wanted to know more... It's exactly the response we were looking for."
The celebrations were attended by the dignitaries from New Zealand and India including Tauranga deputy mayor Kelvin Clout, Tauranga MP Simon Bridges, and general secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, who travelled from India.
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