Travel
Lions & Lionesses
In The Scottish Highlands
HARBINDER SINGH
Precisely 150 years to the day recorded on the grave of the grandson of Ranjit Singh, the Emperor of Punjab -- the first-born, that is, of Maharaja Duleep Singh -- Sikhs gathered to celebrate his memory in Kenmore, in the County of Perthshire, Scotland. [The child did not survive long past his birth.]
Members of the Sri Dasmesh Pipe Band flew in from Malaysia for the occasion, as part of a special series of events dedicated to the historical links between Scotland and the Punjab.
A particular highlight was the visit to Kenmore where they played a lament and paid tribute before the grave of the infant child. Over a hundred locals from the nearby villages gathered to join the ceremony with children being especially mesmerised by the eye-catching uniforms of the Sikh contingent.
The band also visited the nearby Castle Menzies, which had served as the residence of Duleep Singh for a period, with the day ending with a spectacular performance at Blair Castle -- the ancestral home of the Clan Murray and the historical seat of their chief, the Duke of Atholl.
The day was planned and organized by the Anglo Sikh Heritage Trail who are supporting the 2015 Scotland Tour of the band.
August 5, 2015
Conversation about this article
1: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), August 05, 2015, 2:03 PM.
This is fantastic! The legacy of The Lion of Punjab continues across the world, including beautiful Scotland. And this was the man who defeated the Afghans in Afghanistan and ended a thousand years of barbaric invasions into Punjab and the Indian subcontinent. We are gradually waking up to just how awesome their forebears were ...