Gurudwara Bangla Sahib

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is the best-known Sikh house of worship in Delhi, near Connaught Place, recognised by its golden dome and its large sarovar, or holy pool. It stands on the site of a bungalow owned by Raja Jai Singh of Amber, where Guru Har Krishan, the eighth Sikh Guru, stayed in 1664.

During the smallpox and cholera epidemic of 1664, the young Guru Har Krishan tended to the sick of Delhi, and he died in the city that year, aged only seven. The water of the Bangla Sahib pool is held to be healing, and devotees take it home. The first shrine here was built by the Sikh general Baghel Singh in 1783, and the gurdwara has grown since then. Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is open to everyone, and its langar, the community kitchen, feeds thousands every day.

What to see

• The main prayer hall, with continuous kirtan music
• The sarovar pool, where devotees walk and pray
• The langar hall, where volunteers cook and serve
• The Baba Baghel Singh museum of Sikh history
• The golden dome lit up at night

What to wear

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib has a clear dress code: cover your head (free scarves are provided), remove shoes at the counter, and wash hands and feet before entering. Wear modest clothes covering shoulders and knees. Tobacco and alcohol are not allowed anywhere on the grounds. Sikh men wear the turban, or pagri, and many women wear salwar kameez with a dupatta over the head.

Local food to try

The langar serves free vegetarian meals of dal, roti, a vegetable dish and kheer, eaten sitting on the floor in rows. Take the sweet karah prasad offered in the hall with cupped hands. For more food, Connaught Place, about 1 km east, has Punjabi restaurants for chole bhature, butter chicken and lassi.

Good to know

• Best from October to March; early morning or evening, when kirtan fills the hall
• Open 24 hours, every day
• Free; donations are welcome
• Allow one hour, more to eat langar or help in the kitchen
• About 1 km west of Connaught Place; Patel Chowk metro station is nearby
• Photography is allowed in the grounds but be discreet inside the hall

Nearby places

The Birla Mandir is about 1.5 km north-west, and Kartavya Path is about 2 km south, leading to India Gate.