The latest creation from our mad genius designer, Juga Singh, has arrived at the exhibition: a finely etched, to-scale, perspex model showing the temple complex as it once was, including all the original bungas which once encircled the Golden Temple.

The model is the product of painstaking research by Juga and contains much authentic detail. It also looks absolutely stunning.

It is the ideal way to reveal the significance of the original bunga system of leaning. These flourishing centres of hospitality, learning and culture would attract scholars, theologians, philosophers, artists, musicians, physicians, calligraphers and others to study, teach and serve at the sacred site.

Unfortunately, despite Sikhs praying twice daily for their preservation, the majority of these structures were pulled down in 1947, just as the system of patronage that had underpinned their role was also dismantled. The demise of this major cultural institution, which had helped to sustain the old Sikh empire, has had a major impact on the cultural landscape of the Sikhs and the Punjab generally.