SA Sikhs open new temple in Cape Town

A new Sikh temple has opened its doors in Cape Town.

The Gurudwara Sahib Cape Town was inaugurated last month to cater for the growing Sikh and Punjabi communities.

Sikhism is one of the youngest major religions of the world and was founded by Guru Nanak Dev Ji in the late 15th century.

The temple opening in Cape Town followed the setting up of temples in Durban in 2000 and Johannesburg in 2006.

The land for the Cape Town venue was provided by the Radha Krishna Temple in Rylands and the Hindu Association of the Western Cape.

Ranjeev Kapoor, chairman of the Gurudwara Sahib Cape Town, said the idea of having a temple in the city was initiated by the growing Sikh community, with support from Harbinder Singh Sethi, chairman of the Gurudwara Sahib Johannesburg.

"Most Sikhs in South Africa are ex-patriate Indians from India, Kenya, Botswana and other countries who have migrated to the country in the past 10 to 15 years and are now residents here," he said.

The Johannesburg temple was established four years ago by former Kenyans Sethi and his, wife, Pamela, who donated their property.

Pamela said they arrived from Kenya 13 years ago. At that time there was no place of worship for the Sikh community, forcing members to conduct prayers in their homes.

"As more and more people from the Sikh community began to arrive, we started to look for a central location. My husband and I then decided to donate the property to establish the temple," said Pamela.

The head priest in Johannesburg, Lakhbir Singh, said the temple catered for the cultural and religious enrichment of all community members.

He said the holiest place of Sikhs was the Sri Harimander Sahib, known as the Golden Temple, in the city of Amritsar in India. It was the site of a bloody battle in 1984 between religious extremists and soldiers.

He said it was the aim of every Sikh to pay homage to the holy place, from which he receives blessings with eternal energy.