By Balwant Sanghera

Richmond’s Highway to Heaven is a favourite place for visitors from all over Canada. It is home to India Cultural Centre of Canada Gurdwara Nanak Niwas and twenty plus other places of worship. In addition to the Gurdwara, it has a mosque, two Hindu Temples, two Buddhist Temples and a number of Christian churches and religious schools. The Highway to Heaven has received wide coverage in the media. This has made it as a favourite place for visitors. This is more so in case of students who come here to learn about different religions and the intercultural and inter religious harmony this strip of Richmond’s Number Five Road represents. Due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic, these visits were put on hold like everything else. However, now that things are getting better we are seeing more interest among students and other visitors to visit this place of great interest.

Recently, a small group of interested visitors from Westside Baptist Church, Gainesville Florida (USA) visited Gurdwara Nanak Niwas. They were interested in learning more about Sikhism, South Asian community, its history and culture as well as  the Highway to Heaven. On behalf of our Gurdwara Management Committee, I had the privilege of welcoming them and talk about all of these subjects. The visitors showed a keen interest in broadening their horizons. They asked very inquisitive questions. Before leaving they had a delicious vegetarian langar and profusely thanked the Gurdwara Management for the warm welcome. Gestures like this go a long way in creating more pride in our community and the Highway to Heaven. 

Balwant Sanghera is the General Secretary, Gurdwara Nanak Niwas, Richmond, BC.