As the red and gold-leaf bedecked royal barge Gloriana, carrying Queen Elizabeth II and her family, sailed down the majestic Thames on Sunday, June 3, 2012, to mark the diamond jubilee celebrations of the queen's coronation, many of those watching the event live across the globe perked up after spotting a striking royal-blue turban visible right behind the members of the Royal Family.
Messages and queries flashed feverishly on twitter and net, trying to guess the identity of the handsome Sardar among the chosen few who got the chance of a lifetime to sail along with the Queen, leading the 1,000 strong ship flotilla.
The bespectacled, middle-aged gentleman in the camera frame was Harbinder Singh Rana, the Director of the much appreciated Anglo-Sikh Heritage Trail (ASHT), an organization which is connecting the dots between shared heritage of Sikhs and the United Kingdom.
Harbinder was extended the invitation to join the first family of Great Britain on the royal boat by the office of the Prince of Wales about three weeks back. He happened to be among the select few who enjoyed making history on the Thames with the royal party on the jubilee pageant.
"For me, it was personally poignant to be there as in 1952 my father attended the Queen's coronation soon after he arrived in Britain," Harbinder said. His 22-year-old daughter Kamalpreet accompanied him on the trip while his wife had attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace at the beginning of the diamond jubilee celebrations.
His phone hasn't stopped ringing and his voice mail has been flooded with congratulatory messages from friends and relatives ever since the cameras panned on him during the royal sail. "I wasn't there as representative of Sikhs or any religious representation, but my being there and the very conspicuous turban did help build the cause of Sikh identity," concedes the Sikh-Briton.
Harbinder's organizations have been supporting several trusts and foundations being managed by Prince Charles. In fact, he accompanied the Prince during the latter's visit to Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab in 2006. The Prince of Wales has also shown a lot of interest in a documentary being made by ASHT on the Battle of Saragarhi.
Harbinder, a management consultant by profession, in fact, cut short his Chandigarh trip soon after dinning with a friend, Gurpreet Singh of Kendri Singh Sabha, on Friday, to join the celebrations in London. "He did tell me that he had to be there for the event, but he kept it a surprise that he would be joining the royals," Gurpreet said.
"As Sikh-Britons, it is important that we appreciate and add to the canvas of history that the sovereign represents. Responsible citizenship in a plural secular society is the call of the day and we need to respond to it with enthusiasm and dedication," says the Sardar from Walsall, who is also Director of the Maharaja Duleep Singh Trust and Honorary Director of ASHT.
Harbinder has also been visiting India frequently in connection with the annual Saragarhi Challenge Cup, organised by ASHT. It is an annual polo event which is held alternatively in the United Kingdom and the subcontinent and played between the Sikh team of the Sherdills and the British Army, to commemorate the historic battle.
[Courtesy: Times of India. Edited for sikhchic.com]
June 5, 2012