Lets not spoil the langar!

What does the word, ‘langar’ conjure in your mind? For majority of us, simple but delicious food of dal, sabji and roti, sometimes rice too.

Looks like this age old traditional food is also undergoing change, at least in some gurudwaras.

Gurudwaras in Punjab have expanded the menu to include dishes like pizza and burger an also aloo tikki, poha, upma, manchurian, sandwich, chaat and coffee. Some 70 langars across the country are now serving this new India food.

Many are naturally miffed. They feel that Guru Nanakji stood for simplicity and by including these foods we are disrespecting him. The feeling is that langars should stick to traditional Langar that includes- roti, dal, chawal and sabzi.

But as per those bringing about this change, the idea is to feed poor the food of the rich as Langar and make them happy. Well, that’s a great though but our question is not about faith or generosity – we simply ask, “why serve unhealthy food?” When these foods have been categorized as “junk” why serve that?