Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, New Delhi

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is Delhi's best-known Sikh shrine, open day and night, with a sacred sarovar and a free community kitchen. Here is its history and what visitors should know.

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib stands on the site of a 17th-century bungalow that belonged to the Rajput ruler Raja Jai Singh of Amber. The shrine takes its name from that bungalow. The eighth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Krishan, stayed here during his visit to Delhi in 1664. During a smallpox and cholera epidemic he gave aid and water from the house's well to the sick, before he died of the disease at the age of eight.

The well water is now the sarovar, a large tank that devotees regard as healing. A shrine was first built on the spot in 1783 by the Sikh general Sardar Baghel Singh. The present gurudwara, with its gold-plated dome, is one of the most visited places of worship in Delhi and is managed by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. Kirtan, the singing of hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib, goes on through the day in the main prayer hall.

The langar, the community kitchen, serves free vegetarian meals to thousands of people daily, and visitors of any faith may join the diners on the floor or volunteer in the kitchen. The complex also has a museum on Sikh history and a school. Visitors must cover their heads (scarves are provided), remove their shoes and wash their feet before entering. Tobacco and alcohol are not permitted. It is open 24 hours.

The nearest metro stations are Patel Chowk and Rajiv Chowk, both walkable.