‘No Lehenga for Brides’: Sikh Community Issues New Guidelines for Anand Karaj

On Friday, an advisory issued by Hazur Sahib in Maharashtra's Nanded suggests that brides should opt for 'salwar-kameez and chunni' instead of heavy lehengas during their wedding ceremonies held in gurudwaras. The guidance also recommends including the suffixes 'Singh' for the groom and 'Kaur' for the bride on wedding cards. This 'Gurmat' (advisory) is set to be implemented by local gurudwaras in Nanded, following a code of conduct. The announcement of this advisory was made by the Takht's (Which means throne) Jathedar Kulwant Singh and his associates.

Brides wear heavy and expensive lehengas, because of which they are not comfortable while performing ceremonies, they are not able to sit properly. hence the traditional Salwar kameez is the symbolic Sikh traditions is being cited as panacea. While supporting this decision the Vijay Satbir Singh administrator at Hazur Sahib stated that, "The advisory also wants to emphasize the need to cut down on unnecessary spending for lavish weddings and to keep the sacredness of the ceremony. The Gurmat is like a set of rules that local gurdwaras in Nanded will be required to follow. "The 'Gurmat' also allows for the other four Takhts, including the Akal Takht - the highest authority in Amritsar, to adopt and implement the same. In fact, the Akal Takht issued an order (hukumnama) in October against taking the Guru Granth Sahib to destination weddings in resorts, farmhouses, and beaches for Anand Karaj. They made it clear that the sacred book cannot be moved around, and therefore the traditional Sikh ceremony must take place only in gurudwaras, where the couple takes their vows while circling the Guru Granth Sahib.

The latest advisory from 'Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib' in Nanded emphasizes that they've noticed a trend of wedding cards not including 'Singh' and 'Kaur', and only mentioning the first names of the groom and bride. According to 'Gurmat', it's now required to include these as suffixes as per the teachings of Sikhism. They've also specified a dress code for the bride and disapproved of using a 'chhatra' of flowers or a duppata carried by relatives over the bride's head while entering the gurudwara for the ceremony. It's mentioned that since the gurudwara is a place where the sacred book is supreme, no one else can walk in under a 'chhatra'.
Currently, Sikhs recognize five places as takhts. Three are in Punjab -Akal Takht (Amritsar); Takht Keshgarh Sahib (Anandpur Sahib); Takht Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo) - and the other two are Takht Patna Sahib (Bihar) and Takht Hazur Sahib (Nanded, Maharashtra).