THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK
Leicester- In celebrations of Punjabi Listeners Club’s 30th Celebrations, Punjabi Language Seminar is being held at the Freerer Community Centre, 242 Leicester Road, Wigston, Leicestershire, LE18 1HQ on Sunday 14th September 2025 from 3.30 to 6.30 pm where the Guest of Honour is Riaz Ravat DL who is representing Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire Mr. Mike Kapur OBE.
Punjabi Listeners Club was formed on the 3rd Anniversary of BBC Radio Leicester’s Punjabi Programme on Wednesday 9th September 1995 and has been promoting Punjabi Language and Sikh religion for 30 years. First anniversary celebrations of the Listeners Club took place at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in September 1996 when the youngest student of the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Punjabi School presented a trophy to BBC’s Punjabi Programme presenter.
In celebration of Guru Nanak Gurpurb in 2009, the club donated 101 Nitnem Gutka Sahibs to University Hospitals of Leicester at Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara on East Park Road when the Guest of Honour was the first citizen of Leicester the Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Leicester. In November of the same year above Children Hymn Singing was organised at Gurdwara Shri Guru HarKrishan Sahib Ji in Oadby which raised over £600 for Children in Need.
The club organised trip to SOAS University in London to see exhibition highlighting the contributions of Sikhs in World Wars; trip to see LOROS Hospice in Leicester; trip to see National Sikh Museum in Derby in 2022. On 26th December 2008 more than 100 boys and girls from age 5-18 years participated in Turban Tying Competition and Punjabi Writing Competition was organised at Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara in which 150 children took part.
At the club’s 20th Anniversary celebrations Punjabi Language Seminar was held at Manor High School in June 2015. This was well attended with prominent Punjabis taking part from across the country. Dr. Jagat Singh Nagra, author of many Punjabi language books which are used for GCSE and A Level Punjabi was given Lifetime Achievement award.
Since 2016, International Mother Language Day has been celebrated at the Oadby Gurdwara Sahib when those who have promoted Punjabi Language such as songwriters such as Harbans Singh Jandu Littranwalay, Tarlochan Singh Chan Jandalvi and others have been recognised for their service to Punjabi Language. In the Last few years, the club has organised Health Events so that members of the community can make better choices to improve their health.
Well known local author and poet Dr. Karnail Singh Shergill is also gracing the Punjabi Language Seminar. He has written the following Punjabi books:
Memory Lane…. book of stories
Lockdown Alpha…. novel
Story after Alpha
Lockdown Affinity…novel
Hunn Mein Ajnabi Nahin
Kaunn Sooterdhar
Students from Ramgarhia Punjabi School and Oadby Punjabi School are also attending and taking part in the seminar. General Secretary of Gurdwara Shri Guru HarKrishan Sahib Ji Gurjit Singh Samra said Punjabi Language classes have been held at the Gurdwara since it opened 19 years ago and currently, we have 120 students studying Punjabi and classes take place on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings from 6.00-7.30 pm. Headteacher of the Oadby Punjabi School, Dr. Kiranjit Kaur commented that we are extremely happy with the examination results in which one student took A Level Punjabi who obtained A*. Eight students took GCSE Punjabi and they all obtained A* or A Grades.
One of the organisers of the seminar Harjinder Singh Rai said that we should all promote Maa Boli Punjabi by speaking it all times at home and register children at Punjabi schools trough which children can get GCSE and A Level grades which has same number of points as all other subjects when applying for University places.
