Harimander Sahib welcomed a host of celebrities today, proving that the four doors of Darbar Sahib continue to welcome worshippers of all faiths and not just Sikhs.
Amongst those celebs paying homage were Shakti Kapoor, Aditya Pancholi, Mukesh Rishi, Ekta Kapoor with her parents – Jeetendra and Shobha Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Anand Raj Anand, Jaspinder Narula, Monica Bedi, Abhijeet, Gurdeep and Arjun Punj, Hiten Paintal with his father Paintal, Poonam Dhillon and Anita, Pankaj and Niketan Dheer, among others.
They all took advantage of the generosity of a flight that had been chartered specially by Shilpa’s friend Kiran Bawa and her dad GS Bawa, so that they could all visit the famous Gurdwara.
The plane landed at Amritsar airport in the afternoon. Shilpa was dressed simply in a yellow salwar-kameez, and was accompanied by Raj. Shamita wore a pink suit, and walked alongside their parents Sunanda and Surender Shetty, TOI has reported..
The airport was buzzing – a huge crowd was waiting to welcome the guests with garlands and flowers.
The party reached the Gurdwara around 3.30 pm. Shilpa immediately covered her head with her duppatta.
Inside the Gurdwara, again, there was a huge crowd waiting for a glimpse of all the stars. “Just the fact that I’m here is wonderful. I’m happy that my entire family and friends from Bollywood are here with me to do the sewa too,” Shilpa told reported in India.
Her mother added, “We actually wanted to do some sewa, but looking at the rush here, we couldn’t.” Shamita, protecting her mother from getting pushed around by the crowd, said, “It’s been a great experience, but the rush was maddening and it spoilt our mood.”
Playback singer Abhijeet, who had come with his wife said, “This is the first time I am here and it feels very good.” Monica Bedi looked rather demure in a white kurta and she said, “I just love coming to the Golden Temple... It refreshes my mind body and soul.”
“We basically wanted to create an awareness amongst the people about doing sewa at the Golden Temple and so, we brought all our friends from Bollywood. It was my father's initiative. He organised this function and brought all his friends to do sewa.”
Raj patiently waiting for Shilpa and her family to be escorted to the car. He said, “I loved the experience of coming here. This is my first time and that too with Shilpa and her family members – that made it all the more special. I hope and pray that my team wins the IPL this year too.”