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Feeki chaa or meethi chaa ? .. The point to which we abuse langar system


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8 minutes ago, jkvlondon said:

point of langar was to keep body and soul together i.e. provide necessary nourishment for the traveller or poor. Now it is like a restaurant where people even talk about langar as if they are giving a review for a culinary magazine . Most dharamshala would just provide dhal and roti , occasionally kheer on gurpurabs . 

The families put on langars like they compete outside with their cars and homes , there is no sewa bhavna, otherwise they would actually make sure their langar served the needy not their well-fed rishtedaars. 

I reckon there should be set langar - one dhal , one sabji , roti , plain rice for gluten free people, no nuts/seeds used , no outside mithaai/sweets . Kheer on gurpurabs .... we do not need pakorey/samosey/chips ...if people want that food the can go to a restaurant or make at home . We cannot serve that to gur ki sangat as Guru Nanak Dev ji has instructed us not eat that which will cause us pain and increase vikars .

Make phikka cha for everyone and reply sweetly 'bibi ji je mitta chahida Darbar vich gurbani di mittas leh levo'

Agree. Langar should be simple and so that everybody can have it, including those with health conditions, allergies and children. 

" I reckon there should be set langar - one dhal , one sabji , roti , plain rice for gluten free people, no nuts/seeds used , no outside mithaai/sweets . Kheer on gurpurabs .... we do not need pakorey/samosey/chips ...if people want that food the can go to a restaurant or make at home ."

" Make phikka cha for everyone and reply sweetly 'bibi ji je mitta chahida Darbar vich gurbani di mittas leh levo'"

Above quoted, I agree with penji. This is how it should be, it's not a restaurant. And a lot get wasted too, because it's not basic and simple and has way too many chillis, even some of my Punjab born relative say it's way too hot. 

Im also getting fed up of people posting langar pics on Facebook, showing their thaals and then people commenting like they are doing restaurant reviews. Like come on, what need is there to put those pics on. If they go to the Gurdwara, is that all they go for? No mention of the Gurbani, or which shabad was playing, but the only thing they decide to put on is their thaal. How immature. 

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8 minutes ago, simran345 said:

Agree. Langar should be simple and so that everybody can have it, including those with health conditions, allergies and children. 

" I reckon there should be set langar - one dhal , one sabji , roti , plain rice for gluten free people, no nuts/seeds used , no outside mithaai/sweets . Kheer on gurpurabs .... we do not need pakorey/samosey/chips ...if people want that food the can go to a restaurant or make at home ."

" Make phikka cha for everyone and reply sweetly 'bibi ji je mitta chahida Darbar vich gurbani di mittas leh levo'"

Above quoted, I agree with penji. This is how it should be, it's not a restaurant. And a lot get wasted too, because it's not basic and simple and has way too many chillis, even some of my Punjab born relative say it's way too hot. 

Im also getting fed up of people posting langar pics on Facebook, showing their thaals and then people commenting like they are doing restaurant reviews. Like come on, what need is there to put those pics on. If they go to the Gurdwara, is that all they go for? No mention of the Gurbani, or which shabad was playing, but the only thing they decide to put on is their thaal. How immature. 

The problem is the proliferation of Anand Karaj's, Akhand Paths, Sukhmani Sahib programs in Gurdwaras.

This enables to people to indulge in all of this.

What gets up my nose is when people hire outside caterers after milni and I am seeing these continental breakfasts with croissants and choc au pains. What's that all about?

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55 minutes ago, Ranjeet01 said:

The problem is the proliferation of Anand Karaj's, Akhand Paths, Sukhmani Sahib programs in Gurdwaras.

This enables to people to indulge in all of this.

What gets up my nose is when people hire outside caterers after milni and I am seeing these continental breakfasts with croissants and choc au pains. What's that all about?

Continental breakfasts with croissants and choc au pains, really? ?  I've never been to a wedding that's had that menu. Where did they think they were, a hotel ? Was it down south, London area? I'm surprised they didn't add toast/marmalade to it.  

The most luxurious item I've seen is parothe for the milni tea, otherwise it's normally samoseh and pakorey. 

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17 minutes ago, simran345 said:

Continental breakfasts with croissants and choc au pains, really? ?  I've never been to a wedding that's had that menu. Where did they think they were, a hotel ? Was it down south, London area? I'm surprised they didn't add toast/marmalade to it.  

The most luxurious item I've seen is parothe for the milni tea, otherwise it's normally samoseh and pakorey. 

It was down South!  I guess the bride was too posh for prontheh!

If she did have aloo waleh prontheh it would have been called "crepe pomme de terre!"

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10 minutes ago, Ranjeet01 said:

It was down South!  I guess the bride was too posh for prontheh!

If she did have aloo waleh prontheh it would have been called "crepe pomme de terre!"

Yeah I thought it was. Southerners tend to do the extras. 

Lol @ crepe pomme de terre. But that reminds me of the parothe, there were those little packets of butter too. It was nice, but still it's not exactly edible for most, as they OTT on all the spices and ingredients in them. Why can't they just keep them simple, I guess it's so that they don't run out because everyone will be having seconds if it was simple. 

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6 hours ago, genie said:

langar system needs reform as does alot of aspects of sikh society for too long non-sikh forces and ideologies have made Sikhi out to be a welfare system for all communities when it should only cater for believers in the sikh faith, those who desperately need help and those who want to convert to sikhi.

Yes, some people do have questions as to whether we're too accepting and soft in regards to that. For example, if you've ever had occasion to stay overnight at Kesgarh Sahib at Anandpur Sahib, you might have had the misfortune to find paan stains in your room. Now, why, you ask would Sikhs be using paan? Well, they wouldn't. 

But Anandpur Sahib is very close to Naina Devi, and many HIndus stay at the serai on the way to their trip to Naina Devi.

There has already been some reform in this regard: Most gurdwaras will only accept families in serais, and will not give a room to singles. You can see this on the online booking for serais at Amritsar.

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6 hours ago, AjeetSinghPunjabi said:

A hindu guy uploaded a pic with head covered . People commenting "You just went to eat langar?" to which the guy replied "What else do we go for"

 

6 hours ago, genie said:

Allowing any tom, dom and harry to treat Sikh places of worship like a restaurant or guesthouse/hotel is showing how far we have fallen as a proud community for others to abuse our hospitality either through minor contemptible remarks

Although the reason that we Sikhs don't discriminate in langar is because we see God in all, both of you are right that there are legitimate questions in regard to that. The way that some Hindus think that Sikhs are just a free food service is very infuriating.

Guru Amar Das ji's idea of langar was "Pehle pangat, pache sangat" (First langar, and then congregation). But some (many/most?) Hindus these days just come eat the free food, never sit in sangat to listen to Guru's philosophy, remain mired in their idol-worshiping muck, and to add insult to injury, they have the gall to berate us for supposed faults in the food or service.

Do you think that we should refuse non-Sikhs at the door? Or maybe institute a policy of "Pehle sangat, piche pangat"?

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4 hours ago, kcmidlands said:

The system of langar is a beautiful one but from a health perspective it need's a huge change, 

Is it langar or is it us not getting any physical exercise or taking too large portions? (I agree that gurdwara sevadars need to respect people that say they want small portions. I've seen many times where you tell the sevadar you want just a little, and instead of giving you half a portion, they'll give 2x the portion a normal person would need. If you hadn't said anything, they'd normally give you 3x the portion.)

4 hours ago, kcmidlands said:

i go to the Gurdwara every day before work but i only have parshad once or twice a week because i have cholesterol problems, i tend to refrain from anything fried when i have langar, does that make me a bad person?

I don't think it makes you a bad person to refrain from fried foods. I'm sorry to hear you have cholesterol problems. Regardless, there's no reason to not have Parshad simply because of cholesterol. Elderly people can simply request to have "kinka parshad". Just say "kinka" to the sevadar, and make a pinching movement with your fingers. If he still gives you too much, next time explain your situation to him, and tell him to give you no more than a pea-sized amount of Parshad. You don't have to make the choice of getting a handful of Parshad, or going without.

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5 hours ago, jkvlondon said:

point of langar was to keep body and soul together i.e. provide necessary nourishment for the traveller or poor. Now it is like a restaurant where people even talk about langar as if they are giving a review for a culinary magazine . Most dharamshala would just provide dhal and roti

Wow.. Is that really the point of Guru ka langar? Your suggesting the point of sitting down and breaking bread or serving someone, rejecting caste boundaries didn't have anything to do with it? 

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6 hours ago, BhForce said:

Is it langar or is it us not getting any physical exercise or taking too large portions? (I agree that gurdwara sevadars need to respect people that say they want small portions. I've seen many times where you tell the sevadar you want just a little, and instead of giving you half a portion, they'll give 2x the portion a normal person would need. If you hadn't said anything, they'd normally give you 3x the portion.)

I think it is due to exercise but also the change in diet, in the last 20/30 years food production has changed a lot, my point being that it's not just portion size but also how the ingredients are grown, i'm glad some Gurdwara's are going organic (Amritsar included) but we have a long way to go yet.

6 hours ago, BhForce said:

I don't think it makes you a bad person to refrain from fried foods. I'm sorry to hear you have cholesterol problems. Regardless, there's no reason to not have Parshad simply because of cholesterol. Elderly people can simply request to have "kinka parshad". Just say "kinka" to the sevadar, and make a pinching movement with your fingers. If he still gives you too much, next time explain your situation to him, and tell him to give you no more than a pea-sized amount of Parshad. You don't have to make the choice of getting a handful of Parshad, or going without.

I've tried the "kinka parshad" route but it's down to the sevadar on duty, i don't like not having parshad every time i go but it's down to health issues now and how certain ingredients react with my body but that's a personal choice i've been forced to make.

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