Lydia’s First Week

Hello! My name is Lydia and I’m one of WeiPoint’s summer interns. I’ve been working to build a body of research surrounding the role of religion in Birmingham, its history and its influence over people, places and culture. This work will help to inform WeiPoint’s upcoming Atlas of Birmingham, so watch this space!

This week I have been looking into Birmingham’s many religious buildings which are central to our diverse faith communities. Did you know that a Sikh Gurdwara (place of worship) in Handsworth provides over a million free, vegetarian meals a year to the community? This is called Langar- a practical manifestation of the belief in equality where everybody shares the same food and sits at the same level when eating.

The Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (GNNSJ) is a Sikh-based charitable organisation that runs the Gurdwara. Its origins lie in a modest community in Kenya that congregated around the founding Saint Baba Puran Singh Ji. As waves of Sikhs migrated to the UK from India in the 1960s, the GNNSJ community grew and evolved into the global organisation we see today. The Gurdwara in Handsworth has stood for over forty years, working 24 hours a day with the help of dedicated volunteers to provide Nishkam (selfless service) to the community.

My main challenge of the internship so far has been getting access to all the information I need whilst working from home! Once the city starts to open up again, I’m looking forward to getting down to our amazing Library of Birmingham and delving into the history books. I also plan to check out the ‘Faith in Birmingham’ exhibit at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to develop a better picture of how religion has shaped our city over the years. Until then, I’m excited to continue my research and hopefully share more of what I find.