FREMONT: For nearly half a century, Lachman Chelaram has brought to us the Word of the Guru, rendered beautifully in his melodious voice, and has made many connect to the core message of Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

No wonder it was with great enthusiasm that the sangat at Gurdwara Sahib, Fremont, heard in rapt attention the hymns that wafted for three days as Chelaram came visiting.

A livewire link and a sort of one man bridge between mainstream Sikhs and their Sindhi brethrens, Chelaram ji is at times a pensive man when he talks about how even the Sikh community members often fail to grasp the message of universal brotherhood preached through Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji and instead fall for the trap of rituals and brahamanical ways of interpreting Sikhi.

At the Fremont Gurdwara Sahib where he was honored on behalf of the sangat by gurdwara president Bhai Harjot Singh Khalsa, Chelaram ji sounded a very timely warning that certain forces were trying to drive a wedge between the Sikhs and the marginalized Dalit community. he said similarly, even the Sindhi Sikhs are being pushed away from mainstream Sikhism, a sad fact since it flies in the face of historical bonds of commonality and shared experience.

Chelaram was honored with Sikh Preacher of the Year Award at Fremont Gurdwara Sahib.

Lachman Chelaram ji has helped widen the boundaries of Sikh religion, thanks to his painstaking work in translating Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji from Gurmukhi to Sindhi, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali and English.

He has authroed some 100 plus books on Sri Guru Granth Sahib and has been a recipient of many an honor and awards from the SGPC, Takht Sri Patna Sahib and many other prominent Sikh forums.