Fateh Ji
I was at the program and it was a real nice event which showed the upmost respect to the living guru of the sikhs "shabad guru", yes the guru was showered with gifts of love and affection not just by the organisers!!!
s50 as for your points here is my opinion from what i saw.....
1) Water - ??? there was some rose water which is added to the flowers which are then showered on to Guru Ji and the shastars when singh arti arta gurbani, its is used to fragrance the flowers and keep them fresh
2) Red cloth - I didnt see any red cloth, i saw plenty of blue cloth banas lol
3) Coconut - As per Nihang maryada bhog is done on coconuts as we do with degh kara prasad, prasad can be any offering of food i.e. fruits, nuts etc, ive seen people offer bottles of ribena and orange juice it is just blessed food
4) Incense (dhoop) - It is the YE OLD perfume and a sign of respect
5) Jot - It is to put focus on Guru Ji and Guru Ji only and a sign of respect
6) Basket of flour - ??? I Didnt see this basket of flour, anyways sangat always give offerings of flour, daals etc to gurdwaras, nothing ritualistic its used for langar
s50 - As for reading hindu scriptures that ios the biggest and most stupid thing i have heard in a very long time, the singhs organising the program would most defo slap up anybody they saw doing that so iam very sure this did not happen