Serving Derby since the 1960s

Gurdwara means the Guru's door

A Gurdwara is any place where Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the living Guru of the Sikhs, is installed. The Sangat comes to listen to kirtan and katha, to pray, to eat together in langar and to serve. The doors are open to everyone, whatever their faith.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Guru

Guru Arjan Dev Ji (1563 to 1606) was the fifth of the ten Sikh Gurus. He compiled the Adi Granth, the first edition of the Sikh scripture, and installed it in Sri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, whose construction he completed. He wrote Sukhmani Sahib, the Psalm of Peace, which is read in this Gurdwara every morning.

In 1606 he was arrested under the orders of the Mughal emperor Jahangir, refused to give up his faith, and was tortured and martyred in Lahore. He is remembered as the first Sikh martyr, and his Shaheedi Divas is marked every year in May or June.

The Gurdwara today

Two Darbar halls serve the Sangat: Darbar Sahib No 2 downstairs holds the daily divan, morning and evening, and Darbar Sahib No 1 upstairs opens for the weekend divans, Anand Karaj, Akhand Paath and Sukhmani Sahib bookings. Both halls are streamed live. Langar is served every day.

The Gurdwara is run by a Management Committee of trustees chosen for a two year term, with a President at its head, and is a registered charity, number 512762, registered in 1983 and recognised by HMRC for Gift Aid. Its purpose, in the words of its governing document, is to promote the Sikh religion in Derbyshire by maintaining a place of worship, celebrating Sikh festivals, and conducting Sikh ceremonies of baptism, marriage and death.