(Samaj Weekly)- A listeners club formed on the 3rd anniversary of BBC Radio Leicester’s Punjabi Programme on 9 September 1995 which has organised Turban Tying Competition, National Punjabi Language Conference, Punjabi Writing Competition, trips to National Sikh Museum and an Exhibition in London highlighting role of Sikhs in World Wars has received a letter from Buckingham Palace in which King Charles and Queen Camilla has sent a beautiful card thanking the club’s co-Ordinator Tarlochan Singh Virk.
The letter dated 20 June 2023 was received by the club on the following day 21 June – the longest day of the year. The card was sent as Mr. Virk organised King Charles Coronation Street Party which raised £125 for British Heart Foundation in front of his home for neighbours and the Club’s supporters. Mr. Virk also wrote to His Majesty King Charles wishing good health to King Charles and family and congratulating The King on the Coronation Day.
The signed card by Queen Camilla and King Charles stated ‘We are deeply touched by your most kind and thoughtful message following our coronation. We are enormously grateful to everyone who took part in the celebrations and particularly appreciate that you so generously took the time to write to us on this very special occasion.’. Tarlochan Singh was honoured to meet King Charles’s mother Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth when she visited Guru Nanak Gurdwara In Leicester in 2001 on the special occasion of her Golden Jubilee.
Letters have played an immensely important role in the history of Sikhs. The letters of Arjan Dev Ji from Lahore to his father 4th Sikh Guru, Sri Guru Ram Das Ji in Amritsar, Punjab are enshrined on page 96 of the Sikh Scripture Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. A Gursikh from London told me few decades ago that Sikhs do not reply to letters, emails, written requests and they also do not read about their very rich history which is very disappointing.
Tarlochan Singh Virk, Co-Ordinator Punjabi Listeners Club said “The first letter I received from Buckingham Palace is dated 27 February when I invited Her Majesty The Queen to my daughter’s 13th Birthday celebrations at a Gurdwara Sahib to which reply was ‘As The Queen will be in South Africa at that time , it will not be possible for Her Majesty to accept your kind invitation.’ King Charles and Queen Camilla must have had millions of congratulations and good wishes from all over the entire world, but nevertheless they took the time to send us a most beautiful card for which the Punjabi Listeners Club is enormously honoured and grateful. We received a similar card from Her Majesty The Queen on her 90th Birthday celebrations. I wish to sincerely thank my Bilingual Skills Course {1990} teacher who is from the land of Five Rivers area of Ludhiana who taught me how to write different types of good standard and effective letters in Punjabi and English.”
The Punjabi Listeners Club are organising a Heath Event on Sunday 16 July 2023 to celebrate the Gurpurb of Sri Guru HarKrishan Sahib Ji at the Kenilworth Drive, Oadby Gurdwara and in the coming moths arranging two lectures at De Montfort University and University of Leicester.
