Post-script to the story of Pooran Singh’s ashes

 

In her address to the assembled congregation (easily numbering over 2500 people), she commented briefly on various issues including Australian government’s visa capping proposal and encouraged people to tell her of their grievances directly.  But importantly for SBS Radio, she singled out the story of Pooran Singh’s ashes as a significant achievement, commending Punjabi program’s Executive Producer Manpreet K Singh for providing a positive story to reflect upon. In a subsequent address to the congregation, Manpreet briefly described the way the ashes were received in India, especially at Pooran ji’s ancestral village Uppal Bhupa, drawing a clear parallel between the inscription at the Warrnambool cemetery that read “Pooran Singh, Indian hawker, Western Victoria”, and the inscription on the house built in Uppal Bhupa with the money Pooran Singh bequeathed his nephews in 1947, that still reads “Pooran Singh, Sultani Ram, Australian”.  Yet another reminder, that positive stories about bonds between Indians and Australians definitely exist, only if we care to look for them.  Thereafter, Her Excellency, Mrs. Preneet Kaur was invited to present the tokens of appreciation that the family of Pooran Singh (and indeed the entire village of Uppal Bhupa) had sent to the Sikhs of Victoria – a ceremonial saffron ‘siropa’, a framed portrait of the Golden Temple at Amritsar, a trophy with a special message of thanks for ‘looking after the ashes for 63 years’ and a ceremonial copper vessel. You can hear Mrs. Preneet Kaur’s address on this week’s Punjabi program on Thursday, August 12. Please check www.sbs.com.au/punjabi for time of broadcast in your city.  Similar gifts have been sent for the Guyett family of Warrnambool and a ceremony will be arranged soon in Melbourne to hand these tokens of appreciation to the Guyetts as well.



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 In a befitting post-script to the story of Pooran Singh’s ashes, a high profile Indian official presented gifts on behalf of all Indian Punjabis to Victorian Sikhs yesterday, adding to the repository of goodwill that the Pooran phenomenon has already generated. The Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Her Excellency Preneet Kaur made a doorstop visit to Australia on her way to a conference at Vanuatu. Stopping at Sydney overnight on August 7, she landed in Melbourne on the morning of August 8, driving to the Blackburn Sikh temple directly from the airport.

 
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