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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