New Kerala, India
April 25 2004

A lady entrepreneur who made replica of Golden Temple

>From Ravinder Singh Robin, Amritsar Apr 25 (ANI):

Jaspreet Kaur the entrepreneur took a lead
in making a memorable gift for notable public figures, who visit the
Golden Temple. Gold polished, lacquer finished, framed and encased in
a velvet jewellery box, the new creation immediately became a hit
when it was selected over the traditional model of the Golden Temple
encased in glass.

This woman found instant acceptance for her ‘first-of its-kind’
creation of “embossed plaque of the holy Golden Temple. Handier and
easy to handle, it was readily acknowledged as an apt gift for
visiting dignitaries to the holiest Sikh shrine.

Jaspreet’s joy knew no bounds when her very first creation was gifted
to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak
Committee (SGPC) in March last year (2003).

The tremendous response to her creation propelled an assignment for
‘a special piece’ for the Canadian Prime Minister’s visit to the
Golden Temple. She created a dazzling plaque with a smattering of
cultured diamonds as the haloed sun rays and framed with an inlay of
real pearls and blue sapphires. Even the velvet jewellery box for
this plaque was encrusted with ‘traditional kundan work’. The gift
drew profuse appreciation by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretian on
his visit to Golden Temple on Diwali day on October 25 last year.”

Queries flew in from the Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s office for
another piece that could be presented to the Armenian President on
his visit. However, it could not be readied in the short duration,
she claimed.

A dual polish (gold-silver) plaque was presented subsequently to
British Columbian Premier Gordon Campbell recently. ” The plaque is
not only handier as a memento but can be conveniently carried home by
visiting dignitaries compared to the bulkier counterpart of the model
of Golden Temple. Besides this, it has an added advantage of multiple
display choices. A sturdy back-stand holds it as a photo frame, it
can be displayed on a plate stand or could be simply hung on a wall.”

Many of the large mock models of the Golden Temple became cause for
baggage rationalisation, but these plaques have the immediate and
sleek advantage over that, says the young artist.

33-year old Jaspreet started out with an input of Rs four lakh which
she earned from a lecturer’s job. A gold medallist in MA, M.Phil.
history, she is proud to have created hitherto a product that
commemorates history. Her destiny automatically connected her with
Sikh history after she married Manbir Singh, the grandson of Master
Tara Singh, the seven- time president of SGPC.

Armed with a degree in electrical engineering and a keen artistic
taste, Manbir became the inspiration and guide for Jaspreet when she
came up with an idea of the European-style embossment to be
replicated for the Golden Temple on a brass plate.

Countless computer designs and six months of tireless effort to make
a master-layout of the Golden Temple with near perfect angles of its
varied architectural marvels proved fruitful, she says.

“Later, the finished plaque is given pure gold polish and
electrophoratic lacquer treatment to retain finish and negate
oxidation visible in blackening,” says Jaspreet.

However, Jaspreet wants to retain the exclusivity of her product. The
success of her creation has boosted her to innovate and use her
skills to create plaques of other shrines like Gurdwara Khadoor Sahib
for their 500 anniversary celebrations of Guru Angad Dev next year.
She is already in the crafting stage for other shrines including
Gurdwara Hazoor Sahib, Mata Vaishno Devi and Gurdwara Hemkund Sahib.