April 25, 2021
The primary occupation of most of these
The area that would become Phahurat was initially an enclave of Vietnamese
immigrants who came to Siam during the reign of King Taksin (1768-1782). The
Sikh community settled there more than a century ago and established a textile
trading centre that is still thriving.A wooden house was rented near Baan Moh, a
well-known business area. The golden-domed Sri Guru Singh Sabha temple is a
landmark of Phahurat. And even if one is not too seriously looking for fabrics,
it is still a great adventure to visit the Phahurat Fabrics Market.Phahurat
district, a large fabric market, is Bangkok’s Little India, next door to
Chinatown, a centre of the large Indian commercial community, many of whom are
Sikhs. Although all official documents and schools have these Thai names, the
people address each other by their original Sikh names. Besides fabrics,
Phahurat is also an excellent place for buying accessories, such as bracelets,
trinkets and sandals.The first Sikh to migrate to Thailand in 1890 was Ladha
Singh. These Thai Sikhs were not very fluent in English, and even when they
spoke in English they had the same Thai accent.
The primary occupation of most
of these Sikh families is trading, specially textile trading. While most Sikhs
are based in Bangkok, there are also some enclaves in Pattaya, Phuket, Hatyai,
Ubo, Udorn, Pattani, Chang Mi and Chiang Rai. You’ll also notice many stores
selling religious paraphernalia like statues and pictures of Indian deities.The
writer is a social and cultural activist based in Kolkata and a frequent
international traveller.Even Sikh women have adopted Thai names for the sake of
convenience.There are literally thousands of different kinds for sale, and all
for a bargain.A kirtan in progress in the gurdwara. It is a common sight to spot
turbaned Sikhs or women in salwar kurta in some area.I once met a group of Thai
Sikhs back home in India whose children study in Indian schools. Several textile
shops can be seen here, mostly owned by Sikhs. For example, a lady by the name
Devinder Kaur Rajni would perhaps be called Rachnee.I have heard some strange
stories about Sikhs. Bangkok was the centre of the migrant Sikhs. They do this
to give themselves a Thai entity and keep themselves on government records but
at the same time also cling to their Indian roots.As time passed, in 1979, it
was decided to renovate the gurdwara and make it bigger to accommodate the
increasing number of Sikhs.One feels very comfortable in this foreign land. The
Sikh community’s numbers were rising, so therefore in 1912 they decided to
establish a gurdwara.So if you are in Bangkok, do go to Phahurat to soak in the
culture of local Sikhs — you can listen to their shabad kirtan and eat at their
langar at the gurdwara, where you find local Sikh men and women working with
such devotion. This old market is a labyrinth of narrow lanes, barely wide
enough for two people to pass each other.Younger generations of Sikhs living in
Thailand are adopting Thai names along with their existing names for the sake of
their national identity. The intensity of such devotion is in no way any less
than that of their counterparts in India. Thousands of retailers of Indian
descent sell fabrics in every colour, shape and pattern that you could possibly
imagine. In 1913, with the number of Sikhs in Bangkok continuing to rise, a new,
larger wooden house was taken on a long-term lease near Phahurat. The first task
is to actually find it — it seems to be carefully hidden and you need to walk
through a couple of other stores to get into it. There are Wholesale Nylon
Stretch Fabrics Manufacturers said to be more than 70,000 Sikhs in Thailand,
most of whom stay in Bangkok..Even though the new generation are more Thai,
speaking a language that s a mixture of Thai and Punjabi, they are still tied to
the land of their forefathers in a number of ways. By 1911, many Sikh families
had settled in Thailand.Many of today’s Phahurat residents are of South Asian
descent. I think one of the reasons for this could be the presence of such a
large number of Indians and, of course, the short distance from India.Seeing
these turbaned Sikh men and salwar kurta-clad women in Thailand speak in Thai as
well as Punjabi, visiting the gurdwara or carrying on their duties at these holy
places, observing traditional customs in times of marriage makes me aware of our
rich Indian culture.For the average traveller, shopping in Phahurat many not be
very exciting. Those of the first generation of immigrants use Punjabi names,
but the present generation use both Sikh and Thai names. It felt really strange
to see a group of Sikh men and women speak in Thai among themselves, and also
Hindi with a Thai accent.A retailer outlet displaying sarees on Phahurat
roadAround 70 per cent of Sikhs in the country have Thai names and speak the
Thai language. Thailand ranks among the top favourite international destinations
for Indians. The most interesting thing is that the Sikhs living in Thailand
have started adopting Thai names. For an Indian traveller— one who is steeped
into Bollywood movies, loves desi stuff like paan or mithais, this is the place
to be. Some shops specialise in custom-made wedding gifts, dresses and
souvenirs.In 1898, a fire broke out and paved way for a road which was named
"Bahurada" by King Chulalongkorn in remembrance of his daughter Princess
Bahurada Manimaya, who had died at a young age. I heard them talk among
themselves in Thai, and was quite astonished. Even living thousands of miles
away from their motherland, settled in a foreign land for generations, this
community has not let go of their traditions.Last month I was in Bangkok.If one
is looking for fabrics, however, Phahurat is definitely a place not to be
missed. The new gurdwara was completed after two years, in 1981. Today Bahurada
is commonly spelled as Phahurat, or Pahurat.The market has managed to keep its
unique identity and character ever since it was founded.However, when they spoke
to others in India, they did speak in Hindi, but with a peculiar Thai accent
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