ARE YOU ALLOWED IN SHORTS IN GURUDWARAS ?

Note: This blog does not promote hatred against any religious community, The only reason I am writing this blog is to give you information so that you do not repeat the same mistake which I did before going to Gurudwaras.

          A couple of days back I & my friend went to "Paonta Sahib - Gurudwara" which is quite a popular gurdwara in the Sikhism community. We went outside for some work and it was not planned to visit a gurdwara.

Contents

1. Where is Paonta-Sahib Gurudwara.
2. Why I wear Shorts most of the time.
3. What happened when we entered.
4. Conversation with Gurudwara Official.
5. You can not visit Gurudwaras in Shorts.

1. Where is Paonta-Sahib Gurudwara.

          Gurudwara Paonta Sahib, is a noted Gurudwara in Paonta Sahib, District of Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh.This Gurdwara was built in memory of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth guru of Sikhs. Also, it is just one hour distance from Dehradun because it is located on Himachal-Uttarakhand Border. You can reach here by Air, Train, or Road. By air, the nearest airport is at Joligrant Dehradun, 61 km. from Paonta Sahib. By train, the nearest railhead is at Dehradun, 45 km from Paonta Sahib. By road, 45 km from Dehradun and 180 Kms from Chandigarh. It was all of a sudden planned to visit Ponta-Sahib because my friend never visited Ponta-sahib. So we started our ride. Before I start the incident enjoy this "Ponta-Sahib" short video shot by me.

                  

                        

                                                        Paonta-Sahib Gurudwara, Himachal.

2. Why I wear Shorts most of the time.

         I live in one of the best cities in India- Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The temperature of Dehradun is never too high or too low. As for the temperature, this is the best city to wear shorts that are very comfortable. I hate jeans and I wear shorts most of the time and I was in shorts that day. It was not planned to visit Gurudwara that day that's the reason I went there in shorts. There was no plan to go to the Gurudwara that day so I went there in shorts. In religious places, as I understand, there is a dress code but that day I forget that I am not in the actual dress code to go to the Gurudwara. It was important for the real story to tell you this part.

3. What happened when we entered.

          Like I told you it was not planned. When we arrived the first thing we bought was a handkerchief because it is mandatory to have some cloth on the head in gurudwaras. After this, we entered the Gurudwara premises everything was normal as I was in shorts, then we get off our shoes and gave them to the caretaker which is free of cost. After this just when we were about to enter in actual Gurudwara, where people actually worship suddenly an uncle came to me who was looking like a Gurudwara official. He was very sweet and treated us very well and I didn't even think for a moment that he stopped me from entering the gurdwara, so Sikhism people are very popular because they are very nice to everyone. Here is the full conversation with him,

4. Conversation with Gurudwara Official.

                    

                  He: Do you have a lower & any full pants?     

(Maybe he thought I came from too far but he asked very sweetly)

                   Me: No why?   

(Confused)

                 

                  He: If you have please wear it, you are not allowed inside the worship premises in shorts. 

                  Me: But I don't have full pants right now, is there any solution?
               

                  He: You can visit anywhere on the premises except the worship premises. If you want to have Lunger (free food Gurudwaras offer to everyone) you can have it, or if you want to visit anywhere you can.      (In a very sweet way)

   
                  Me: Ok, thank you.      (As I respect every religion /community without thinking a single second I said ok. Somewhere I knew the mistake is mine.

So After that, we visited the premises and made videos and clicked pictures. At that time only one thing was going into my mind "I am lucky that I am just one hour away from Gurudwara, So I can visit anytime I want to. What if I had lived far away from the Gurudwara? and after traveling so many hours I reach Gurudwara" at that moment I decided that I will make awareness to people for dress code so that they do not repeat the same mistake I repeated.

5. You can not visit Gurudwaras in Shorts.

          After this incident, I finally realized that If I visit any place I should be more aware of dressing sense. Also, You can not visit Gurudwaras or any religious places in shorts. So the next time you visit any places just notice your dress before visiting.

Thank you.