Amritsar, January 5
A gold palanquin, weighing 200 kg (including 2.5 kg gold) has been donated to the Golden Temple by a Sikh devotee from outside Punjab. This replaces the over 100-year-old palanquin that weighed more than three quintals.

The palanquin is used for carrying the holy Guru Granth Sahib from ‘Kotha Sahib’ to the sanctum sanctorum in the morning and to take it back in the evening for ‘sukhasan’ in special processions everyday. Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, SGPC chief, said though the new palanquin was lighter in weight yet the gold work on it was heavier than that on the old ‘palki’.

The upper and inner sides of the palanquin have gold plating work. Mr Manjit Singh Calcutta, honorary secretary of SGPC, said the devotee who had donated the ‘palki’ had not disclosed his name and had not turned up even to accept a ‘siropa’ (robe of honour).

The holy Guru Granth Sahib was taken in the new ‘palki’ on the occasion of Gurpurb today.

Mr Tohra and other senior officials of SGPC and Sikh devotees were present on the occasion. He said the devotee who had donated the palki had also offered to replace the huge silver gates of ‘Darshani Deorhi’ with golden ones. The old silver gates are said to be from the famous Somnath Temple (though there is no written proof of this).

These gates were looted by Mughal army led by Ahmed Shah Abdali but Sikh warriors chased the invaders and got the precious gates back.

Mr Calcutta said the old silver gates would be kept in the ‘Toshakhana’ (treasure) of the Golden Temple. He said the art work on the silver gates had been damaged due to the passage of time.