Gurudwara at Southall London

In London, George Korab De Moers,  who was ever intent on telling people

 about Shri Nathji, went to the Sikh Gurudwara  in South Hall, London, one day, and informed  the Sikhs there that Shri Nathji was in London.

A learned Saint, a holy man amongst  them, stood up with reverence at the mention of Shri Nathji's name. "Bhola Nathji! Is he in London? We have great respect for him! Many regard him as an avatar! Please request him to speak to us!"

A few days later, Shri Nathji was see speaking at the Sikh Gurudwara to a large congregation, which included doctors, lawyers and professors amongst others. Th sermon was so inspiring and Shri Nathji's divine radiance so powerful that day that many amongst the Sikhs wept with  emotion.

After he had finished, the President of the Gurudwara got up and said: "It was a heart-rending lecture! We have been blessed by your presence here, today!"

"It was a heart-rending lecture! We have been blessed by your presence here, today!" When Shri Nathji came out of the Gurudwara he discovered that his shoes were missing. They had been taken by someone by mistake. The shoes had been purchased for Shri Nathji by Priya Nath in America, at the Harvard Coop, and

 were very expensive. The Sikhs very generously sought to pay for them, but Shri Nathji would not hear of it, and returned home barefooted.

George Korab De Moers had such a great affection for Shri Nathji that he  brought an extra pair of his shoes for Shri Nathji that very evening. Both, Shri Nathji and Mateshwari were greatly touched by the gesture, though they did not accept his shoes, as the man was in need of them himself.

Shri Nathji had gone to the Gurudwara which is known as Gurudwara Singh Sabha. Singh Sabha Southall was established in the same Singh Sabha tradition, but much later in England by Sikhs who had emigrated in the fifties and early sixties. By the 1950's, a significant number of Sikhs were living in Britain, and the main congregational gathering was at Shepherd's Bush Gurdwara. To accommodate the Southall Sikhs, the Southall Sikh Cultural Society was established in 1960.

This organisation held Sunday programes at Shackleton Hall until it moved to 11 Beaconsfield Road. The emigration of Malaysian and Singaporean Sikhs led to the formation of another group - Sri Guru Nanak Singh Sabha. The two groups remained independent until 1964 when they merged as Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall. 1964 also saw the first Gurdwara. It was situated at the Green, and was the headquarters of the Sri Guru Singh Sabha. The Havelock Road site was purchased in 1967. As a result of the relentless sewa by the sangat, the dairy was transformed into the Gurdwara in a matter of weeks. The Khanda was brought in April 1967 to England from the Tosha Khana at Darbar Sahib Amritsar for Amrit Sanchar. From those humble beginnings Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall emerged as the leading Gurdwara outside India.

Gurudwara Singh Sabha is founded under the Singh Sabha Movement. The Singh Sabha Movement was a revivalist Sikh Organisation in the late nineteenth century challenging the serious decline in the Sikh practices the true Sikh tradition as laid by the Gurus

HH Pran Nathji's car - Ford Angila

HH Pran Nathji had a Ford Angila car in London. This was the car in which Shri Nathji and Mahamateshwariji travelled during their long stay in London. Shri Nathji did His Grand Tour of Europe in this same Ford Angila car.  A total of four models of Ford Angila were made. The one that HH Pran Nathji had was the famous Ford Anglia 100E which was manufactured from 1953–1959.  Pran Nath was one of the best drivers in the world and had perfect command over the steering wheel. He could drive through a narrow lane packed with cars with great speed and not touch anything.

 The Ford Anglia is a British car designed and manufactured by Ford in the United Kingdom. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Ford Anglia name was applied to four models of car between 1939 and 1967. A total of 1,594,486 Anglias were produced.

 Its first model was the Angila E04A, patriotically named the first Ford Anglia, launched soon after Britain declared war on Germany in early September 1939.

The second, 1949 model, code E494A, was a makeover of the previous model with a rather more 1940s style front-end, including the sloped, twin-lobed radiator grille. Again it was a very spartan vehicle and in 1948 was Britain's lowest priced four wheel car.

 In 1953, Ford released the 100E, (Which was owned by HH Pran Nathji) designed by Lacuesta Automotive.  The 100E was available as a two-door Anglia and a four-door Prefect.  Internally there were individual front seats trimmed in PVC, hinged to allow access to the rear.

The instruments (speedometer, fuel gauge and ampmeter) were placed in a cluster around the steering column and the gear change was floor mounted. A heater and radio were optional extras. The dashboard was revised twice; the binnacle surrounding the steering column was replaced by a central panel with twin dials towards the driver's side in 1956; the last from 1959 had twin dials in a binnacle in front of the driver and 'magic ribbon' AC speedo similar to the 1957 E-series Vauxhall Velox/Cresta and '58/'59 PA models, and included a glovebox. All in all it was a family car build for budget buyers.

Under the bonnet the 100E still housed an antiquated, but actually new, 36 bhp (27 kW; 36 PS) side-valve engine sharing the bore and stroke of the old unit but now with larger bearings and inlet valves and pump-assisted cooling. The three-speed gearbox was retained. Some models were fitted with a semi-automatic "Manumatic" gearbox. A second wind-screen wiper was now included at no extra cost. The steering took just two turns between locks, making the car responsive and easy to place on the road.
The 100E sold well; by the time production ceased in 1959, 345,841 had rolled off the production line.

 There were from 1955 two estate car versions, similar to the 300E vans but fitted with side windows, folding rear seats and a horizontally split tailgate.

The final Anglia model, the 105E, was introduced in 1959. Its American-influenced styling included a sweeping nose line, and on deluxe versions, a full-width slanted chrome grille in between prominent 'eye' headlamps.

HH Priya Nathji's Car - The Ford Falcon

While in America, HH Priya Nathji used the Ford Falcon car which went on to become one of the most successful cars in the world. He purchased it in 1965 for the long drive between Harvard, were he was doing his Phd. in Nuclear physics and Pine Manor Junior College were he was teaching. He chose the Ford Falcon car that was the exact colour of Shri Nathji's turban.

 This is still sort after by car enthusiasts for its nostalgia and retro charm. This car is a great symbol of America of the 1960’s. HH Priya
Nath bought this car for the long drive between Harvard and Pine Manor Junior College. He chose a Ford Falcon car that was the exact colour of Shri Nathji's turban.

The Ford Falcon was a car produced by Ford Motor Company from 1960 to 1970. It was a huge sales success for Ford initially, handily outselling rival compacts from Chrysler and General Motors introduced at the same time. During its lifespan, the Falcon was offered in a wide range of body styles: two-door and four-door sedans, two-door and four-door station wagons, two-door hardtops, convertibles, a sedan delivery and the Ranchero pickup. Variations of the Ford Falcon were manufactured in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile and Mexico.

Robert McNamara, a Ford executive who became Ford's president briefly before being offered the job of U.S. Defense Secretary, is regarded by many as "the father of the Falcon". McNamara left Ford shortly after the Falcon's introduction, but his faith in the concept was vindicated with record sales; over half a million sold in the first year and over a million sold by the end of the second year. The Ford Falcon is a full-size car which has been manufactured by Ford Australia since 1960. Each model from the XA series of 1972 onward has been designed, developed and built in Australia and/or New Zealand, following the phasing out of the American Falcon of 1960–71 which had been re-engineered locally for the harsher Australian conditions. 

As a result of the longevity of its Australian production, the Falcon is one of the biggest selling names in world automotive history, selling over 3,000,000 in six generations to 2003, almost exclusively in Australia and New Zealand.

By American standards of the 1960s, the Falcon was a small car, but elsewhere it would be considered a mid-size car. It was powered by a small, lightweight 90 hp (67 kW), 144 CID (2.4 L) straight-6 with a single-barrel carburetor. Construction was unibody, and suspension was fairly standard; coil springs in front, leaf springs in the rear. Drum brakes were used at the front and rear wheels. Front suspension was independent with coil springs. A three-speed manual column shift was standard with the two-speed Ford-O-Matic automatic optionally available . There was room for six passengers in reasonable comfort in the simple interior. Body styles available from the launch year were two- and four-door sedans, two- or four-door station wagons, and the Ranchero car-based pickup, transferred onto the Falcon platform for 1960 from the Fairlane. A Mercury derivative, the Mercury Comet, originally intended for the defunct Edsel marque, was launched in the US midway through the 1960 model year. Ford boasted of the good fuel economy achieved by the six-cylinder Ford.

Falcon models in advertising. The fuel economy was good, a claimed 30mpg, compared to other American cars at the time. Australian made Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores dominate the ranks of taxis in Australia and New Zealand, and are also used as police patrol cars. Luxury variants of the current model Falcon, collectively known as the G Series, are marketed as the Ford G6, G6E and G6E Turbo. Currently the Falcon line-up is offered in sedan and utility body styles, however in the past panel vans, station wagons, and hardtops (coupes) were offered.

Shri Nathji ‘s American Railroad Trip

Shortly after His arrival in America, Shri Nathji undertook the historic Rail Road Trip of America’s East Coast. He traveled thorough the states of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. He started from the Boston Railway Station. 

The Main Railway Station at Boston is called the South Station, which is located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest train station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston. It serves as a major intermodal domestic transportation hub, with service to the Greater Boston region and the Midwestern and Northeastern United States. The historic station building was constructed in 1899 to replace the downtown terminals of several different railroads and is used by thousands of commuter rail and intercity rail passengers daily. In the early 1900s, after the station first opened, heavy commuter ridership made it the busiest station in the world. South Station opened as South Central Station on January 1, 1899 at a cost of $3.6 million. The architects were Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge of Boston, with the actual construction undertaken by the engineering firm of Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Co. It became the busiest station in the country by 1910.. The train shed, one of the largest in the world, was eliminated in a 1930 renovation due to corrosion from the nearby ocean's salt air. While the station handled 125,000 passengers each day during World War II,

The South Station head house and wings incorporate Neoclassical architecture. The building’s symmetry and stone façade are common to the style. The granite came from nearby quarries in New England. The main doorways are located in a section that protrudes from the curving shape of the building. The doors are housed under tall arches that give the impression of grandeur. The curved shape of the building pushes its presence into the surrounding area, making it much more prominent. This also gives the building a more distinctive and accessible main entrance from Atlantic Avenue, Summer Street, and Dewey Square.

From Boston Shri Nathji went to Rhode Island at the invitation of Dr, Kean of New York, who Invited Shri Nathji to his beach side, holiday home at Watch Hill, Rhode Island, Connecticut. For going to Watch Hill, the nearest train station is at Westerly, Rhode Island. It is about 130Kms from Boston. It is served by Amtrak's Northeast Regional train, and was originally built in 1912 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.

This is a beautiful old building which looks exactly the same as it did in 1912, when it was build. This place is about half an hour drive from the residence of Dr. Kell. In the photograph bellow we can see Shri Nathji embracing the chauffeur of Dr. Kean, the Millionaire at Rhode Island, who sent his car at the Railway Station to receive Shri Nathji in June 1964. Shri Nathji stayed at the Beautiful Mansion of Dr. Kean an article on which has already been posted which can be viewed by clicking here. After staying at Dr. Kean’s Mansion for few days Shri Nathji left for New York. New York is about 300Kms from Rhode Island.

  Shri Nathji arrived at the famous Grand Central Terminal at New York. Grand Central. Terminal (GCT) is colloquially called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central is a commuter rail terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger rail travel, it is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms:  44, with 67 tracks along them. They are on two levels, both below ground, with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along platforms and in rail yards exceeds 100. The terminal covers an area of 48 acres (19 ha).

According to the travel magazine Travel + Leisure in its October 2011 survey, Grand Central Terminal is "the world's number six most visited tourist attraction", bringing in approximately 21,600,000 visitors annually. Besides platforms, Grand Central has restaurants, such as the Oyster Bar and various fast food outlets surrounding the Dining Concourse on the level below the Main Concourse, as well as delis, bakeries, newsstands, a gourmet and fresh food market, an annex of the New York Transit Museum, and more than forty retail stores.  The Main Concourse is the center of Grand Central. The space is cavernous – 275 ft (84 m) long, 120 ft (37 m) wide and 125 ft (38 m) high – and usually filled with bustling crowds. It is a spectacle to behold.

After staying for few days in New York, Shri Nathji and HH Priya Nathji, took a train to Boston. This was a long journey of about 400Kms.