Akal Takht Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, who is on a four-day visit to Norway at the invitation of the management committee of Gurdwara Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Oslo, visited Mata Gujri Ji Punjabi School in Drammen on Saturday to review efforts to teach Punjabi to children of the Sikh diaspora.During his visit, Gargaj interacted with students of Classes I to IV and asked them questions about Punjabi and Sikh history. He expressed satisfaction with their responses and also interacted with the teachers, urging them to provide children with a basic understanding of Sikh history alongside Punjabi language instruction.He said Sikhs and Punjabis living anywhere in the world should make dedicated efforts to keep their children connected with their heritage, history and traditions by teaching them their mother tongue.“Along with formal education, children should be given an understanding of religion, Gurbani and their mother tongue to help shape their personalities,” he said, stressing that parents, gurdwara management committees and other organisations had a responsibility to preserve the community’s cultural roots.He said learning Punjabi in the Gurmukhi script would enable children to read and understand Gurbani from Sri Guru Granth Sahib more easily. Describing familiarity with the Gurmukhi alphabet and the preservation of Sikh identity as fundamental aspects of Sikh education, he urged the community to give language education the same importance as kirtan, katha and other religious programmes.Gargaj said he was encouraged by his interaction with the students and appreciated the efforts to promote Punjabi among children growing up outside India. Later, he paid obeisance at Gurdwara Sri Guru Nanak Niwas in Lier, Drammen, where he interacted with members of the local Sikh sangat on Gurmat and Sikh history.He said Sikhs across the world had established gurdwaras and remained connected with Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Gurdwaras, he added, served as centres of spiritual guidance where people learned from Gurbani, Sikh history and traditions.He urged the Sikh diaspora to maintain the tradition of holding weekly congregations at gurdwaras, saying these gatherings not only strengthened religious bonds but also helped community members stay connected and share one another’s joys and sorrows.Gargaj also encouraged Sikh families in Drammen to visit Punjab with their children from time to time and pay obeisance at Sri Darbar Sahib in Amritsar.During his four-day visit to Norway, he is also scheduled to attend a Gurmat congregation in Oslo and interact with members of the local Sikh community.