A festival celebrating the cultural link between Thetford and the Punjab has officially begun. Reporting from Ancient Houses Museum Thetford and the Guildhall. Saturday 7th June 2018

Numerous events, activities and celebrations will be held during the two-week Festival of Thetford and Punjab, which will run until July 21. It will also commemorate the 125 anniversary of the death of Maharajah Duleep Singh, the last King of the Punjab, who once owned Elveden Estate. Organised by the Essex Cultural Diversity Project (ECDP). The festival was officially launched on Saturday and included speeches from Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha and Sikh historian and biographer Peter Bance.On the festival Gurinder said: “What is critical about the festival is at school I learnt about the Kings and Queens of England but I did not know about the Maharajah. “It is a brilliant way for my kids to understand the connections of Britain with the Punjab.

The Sikh Museum Initiative gave a demonstration and a talk on the Online Sikh Museum which is due to be go online in 2019. Taranjit Singh explained how Sikh relics and artifacts could be digitised. Gurinder Singh Mann explained the history of these relics and importance of digitization of relics. Participants got a chance to look at the touchscreen monitor and how the online Sikh Museum would look.

The exhibition runs until December 2018.