Jasbir ji....i said "SACRED"...theres a difference between Sacred and HYGENIC..clean..etc. One is PHYSICAL..the other is Spiritual based.
I wouldnt eat "degh" if i can see a dead lizard in it..even if a thousand shabads were read on it.
1. Shabads ( Actually its JAPJI SAHIB....and at read at a Normal speed Japji Sahib actually COINCIDES with the Time it takes for the ATTA to be perfectly cooked !! Have known this for ages and tried it..a sort of automatic TIMER !!) are a means of concentrating GOOD VIBES, spirituality environment in the making of degh. Same formula is applied when BANI is read during Khandeh batte Dee pahul preparation. Bani is read while the Batta is held with ONE Hand and the Khanda is stirred with the SECOND Hand...and the EYES concentrate on the WATER.).
2. The SHOES taken off..is hygienic based. Normally Indians never wear shoes in the house..esp in the KITCHEN where food is prepared..SHOES are BANNED as a matter of course.No shoes in Darbar sahib, langgar hall, Kitchens etc. At home IF one wishes..as an individual sikh owner of ones house..of course one can wear shoes even to bed....no worries he he..
The person making Karrah Parshaad/ cooking in the Langgar Kitchen should have CLEAN FEET..clean HANDS etc too...no point having shoes removed..BUT Feet FILTHY..Hands GREASY..and Nails long and dirt encrusted etc...gross...so just "removing shoes" is NOT ritual...it has to be seen in CONTEXT...100% Cleanliness all around.
But, Gyani Jarnail Singh ji, with all due respect, wearing freshly cleaned gloves and socks would be much more hygienic and much less slimy, in all that heat.