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A part of the preparations to celebrate the grand event on the Baisakhi day
of 1999, which marks the 300th years of creation of the 'Khalsa', the
formidable job of replacing the Gold plates of the world famous Sikh
shrine, the Golden Temple, is underway with more than half the work is said
to have been completed.
The "kar sewa" (voluntary religious service) of regilding the shrine has
been entrusted to a non-political England-based organisation, the Guru
Nanak Nishkam Sewa Jatha, by the apex Sikh organisation, the Shiromani
Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which manages various historic
gurdwaras in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of
Chandigarh.
The "kar sewa" was launched by the 'panj piaras' (five beloved ones) who
after a function at the supreme temporal seat, the Akal Takht, on February
1995, symbolically removed one on the occasion which marked the beginning
of the formidable task of replacing the gold plates after a period of 165
years.
According to historians, it was under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh,
who first founded the Sikh Empire in North India, that the gold plating of
shrine was undertaken. At that time it was known as the Harimandir Sahib
only. The entire work which took about 25 years, was completed in 1830. At
that time about Rs 65 lakhs are said to have been spent and 160 kilograms
of quality gold was used.
During the current process of regilding, about five quintals of gold is
proposed to be used. Experts on the job explain that during the Maharaja's
time only 12 layers of gold leaf were applied while now at least 20 layers
of 24 carat gold would be spread on the various domes and the upper
portion. While the previous gold plating had to be polished several times
and replaced within 165 years, the present one after completion may not
require any major repairs for another 500 years.
According to records, the domes were earlier polished in 1965 when some
blackish residue had started to appear, but a major repair was undertaken
in 1974. But of the plates were replaced in 1984 after a few stray bullets
were said to have damaged them during the "Operation Bluestar".
The present "Kar Sewa" to replace the gold plates is being funded by
contributions that the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewa Jatha receives from devotees
all over the world. A donations' box has been placed in the 'parikarma'
(verandah) of the gurdwara. Through the glass one can see notes of
different denominations and currency being offered. There are separate
compartments for Indian and foreign currency notes. Among the foreign
currency one notices Dollars, Pounds, Francs, Marks, Arabian and African
countries' notes. Women are often seen removing their ornaments and putting
them in the donations' box.
Though the Jatha claims to have the required permission to receive the 24
carat gold from England, it also uses the gold from the local market which
is exchanged for the ornaments offered by the devotees.
Despite the availability of modern techniques of electroplating, the jatha
had relied upon the traditional methods of gilding which is done manually,
as the former would provide a gold covering on both sides of the sheets
while it was required on the exposed surface only. For this purpose the
expertise of renowned artisans in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh has been
commissioned. The SGPC has provided the jatha a few rooms on the left hand
side of the Diwan Hall, to set up a workshop where hundreds of experts in
different aspects are at work.
Sticks, of the 24 carat gold are first passed repeatedly through rollers to
get thin ribbons, which are cut into smaller pieces and placed between thin
layers of goat skin. After this the labourers hammer these goat skin layers
for about two hours resulting into the spread of the gold pieces by more
than 20 times their original size. These ultra fine gold leaves are not
ready for the next process.
Exact copper replicas of the removed golden plates are prepared after a
series of processes including thermal and chemical processes. After the
sheets are ready, liquid mercury is sprinkled manually, on which the thin
gold leaves are rubbed layer after layer.
The gold leaves seem to get dissolved in the mercury as they lose their
typical colour also. With 24 layers of gold leaves having been applied with
the liquid metal, the copper sheets are subjected to an indirect heating
process over glowing coals. This causes the mercury to evaporate gradually
leaving the gold plates behind, which gain the luster after another process
of massaging with special stones and chemicals.
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