Ontario Khalsa Darbar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Ontario Khalsa Darbar was officially started in 1979 in a small trailer. Steadily more and more money was raised and land was purchased and a building was created in 1989. The opening ceremony drew in large crowds and it took many hours to get in. During the 1990s more land was bought and an outdoor stadium was built.

The Gurdwara is the central Gurdwara in the Greater Toronto Area.

In the mid to late 1990s the old building was getting overcrowded so a 6 million dollar project was announced to build a large extension. Much money was raised however the building still gets overcrowded on special days like Bandhi Cchor ("Release from Confinement", held according to Nanakshahi calendar on same date as Diwali) and Vaisakhi and New Year (December 31). In 2001 the Nagar Kirtan (celebrates Viasakhi) had a crowd of nearly 100,000 people. In 2003 the Bandhi Cchor celebration drew in a crowd of over 40,000 people. This is when the Gurdwara got a lot of popularity. It has an atmosphere like if it is a major Gurdwara in India. A new plan in 2004 was announced to build a $3 million parking lot. This parking lot would be filled with many historical paintings and information boards.

Address: 7080 - Dixie Road Mississauga, ON. L5S 1B7 Tel: 905-670-3311 [http://www.OntarioSikhs.com]