A young man in a hot-pink turban raises his hands humbly as he sits crossed-legged on the floor. Into his raised hands falls a hot roti that he plops into the metallic tray in front of him. Next to him is an elderly woman wearing a saffron sari. She raises her hands next and is offered the same. On either side of them are hundreds of others, all seated cross-legged, and all with the same metallic tray.
A young boy standing on the edge of the lake that surrounds the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Photo by Hán Zhang.
Two volunteers whose role it is to hand out the metal dishes. Photo by Hán Zhang.
A man takes a break from putting dough in the automatic roti machine. The machine can produce about 25,000 rotis per hour. Photo by Jenna Belhumeur.
A picture of Guru Ram Das, the fourth of the ten Gurus of Sikhism, hangs above the exit door of the main eating hall. Photo by Hán Zhang.
A volunteer spreads ghee on roti. Over 500 kg of ghee is used in preparing the meals every day. Photo by Jenna Belhumeur.
In the main eating hall, everyone sits in rows where they are served the same food. Photo by Hán Zhang.
A mother holds a bowl of water for her daughter to drink from in the main eating hall of the langer. Photo by Hán Zhang.
A Sikh devotee is handed a tray before he enters the eating hall of the langer at the Golden Temple. Photo by Hán Zhang.
People gather in the langar's main hallway to eat their meal. Everyone, regardless of faith, background or gender, sits on the floor as equals. Photo by Jenna Belhumeur.