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The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh showed their support for the Sikh community in London with a visit to a Sikh temple in Hounslow. On arrival, The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were met by the President of Gurdwara (the Sikh word for 'temple'), Mr Gurcharan Singh Chatwal, and were presented with traditional Sikh garlands. The couple were welcomed by cheering crowds, who chanted a blessing for them. They then removed their shoes and covered their heads, as would be standard for any visitor to a Sikh temple.

Inside the temple they entered the Prayer Hall. Musicians played tabla drums as The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh slowly approached the Holy Book, centrepiece of the temple. As the 500-strong congregation looked on, The Queen stood respectfully and bowed her head, while The Duke of Edinburgh clasped his hands together in a sign of greeting. They then viewed an exhibition to mark the 400th anniversary of Sikh scriptures.

After meeting groups of volunteers, welfare workers and carers, along with members of the local community who use Gurdwara, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh moved into a marquee where The Queen unveiled a plaque to open Phase 2 of the development of the Temple. The impressive development, which will include new classrooms, a library, exhibition hall and recreational facilities, is a long way from the temple's humble beginnings. 25 years ago the Sikh community acquired their land in Hounslow and initially worshipped in a scout hut. The existing building was erected in 1992. Today, the temple has expanded to become a complex of marbled halls, large prayer rooms and classrooms where hundreds of third-generation Sikh children are taught. The development has almost entirely been funded by the local community, something which those who regularly worship at the temple are very proud of.

Jatinder Kaur, the temple's assistant secretary, said:"When we started out in the early 1970s we had to rent halls in the local school for our meetings. People would cook food at home to bring to the meetings. Now we have a modern temple with kitchens, prayer rooms, space for marriages and classrooms. Everything here has been provided by the community." The Temple  has become the hub of a thriving congregation of 2,000 people, and houses all kinds of activities, from a marriage assistance service to summer camps for children. Mohan Singh Nayyar, general secretary of the Hounslow temple, said the visit, which also marked the 25th anniversary of the West London temple, had left the Sikh community feeling very proud and happy: "One of the reasons why The Queen came in the first place was because of the many activities we have at this Gurdwara in partnership with local organisations, which benefit not only the Sikh community but the local community in Hounslow as well."

Guest Comments: I was one of the coveted few who got the invitation to attend the 400^th anniversary of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib in the Hounslow Gurdwara of London in the middle of October last year when I was on a private visit to the UK. On a request from the Indian Community Queen Elizabeth of the Great Britain along with her consort Prince Phillip were to attend the celebration. It was one of those unprecedented moments of history, an experience of a lifetime that I could ill afford to miss.

The event was unique in so many respects as much for the religious import it had for the Sikh devotees as it was for a Christian sovereign who was to show an extraordinary catholicity in attending in attending a religious function of another faith. But the Queen acted appropriately as the social head of the community which proudly lives in England and proclaims the British potentate as their own even if descended from distant Orient – once a jewel in the crown and professing a religion other than her own.

Unlike in our part of the world I did not encounter layers of concentric security. There was only one contact of access control and the check that it carried out was highly palatable without one having to go through the odious beeps of metal detectors and other gizmos. The presence of uniformed cops was totally symbolic and those in civvies quite unobtrusive. Due care was taken not to hurt the susceptibilities of the devotees and yet not a leaf could ruffle without notice. A lesson to learn by a professional cop.

The Queen arrived on the dot! After going through the usual obeisance in the sanctum sanctorum she stepped out into into the marqueed pandal outside the Gurdwara where the deliberations were to be held. She and the Duke of Edinburgh stood in graceful silence through an hour of the devotional music and other rituals. While being greeted by medallioned soldiers of the British Indian army who had seen action in World War II on the side of the British she spoke to each one of the veterans and shook hands with them. A moment of gratitude for the services rendered.

The royal couple spent an hour and a half in perfect grace and solemnity. It was as secular a function in a Gurdwara as it could be – full of religious deference yet devoid of unctuous ceremonialism