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Guru Granth Sahib Beckons Sikhs
Nanded readies to receive Sikh multitudes as countdown begins to
D-day.
A WSN Exclusive
Jagmohan Singh in Nanded
 ABCHALNAGAR
SAHIB: With the historic day less than two months away, massive
preparations are afoot to prepare for the multitudes of Sikhs that
would throng this historic religious town for the Tercentenary
celebrations of the Guruship of Guru Granth Sahib.
Situated on the
banks of the Godavri, the fourth Takht of the Sikh nation at Nanded
is gradually sprucing up to welcome the sea of humanity that is
likely to reach here on or around October 20 to celebrate a concept
unparalleled in the religious history of the world. All religions
have their scriptures and all are sacred. The Sikhs are blessed
with having their Guru – their World Teacher – with them all the
time. Sikhs will celebrate the unique bestowing of Guruship to the
Word of the Gurus by the tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh, in 1708 at
Nanded, before he passed away.
Around the main
Gurdwara and the famous Baba Nidhan Singh Langar, cleanliness on the
streets and in the inn and the outer façade of the Langar Sahib is
noteworthy.
Though there is
no sarovar surrounding the main Gurdwara like Darbar Sahib Amritsar,
the new periphery of Huzur Sahib now has some architectural
resemblance to the housing complexes that surround the
Golden Temple.
The resplendence and glory of the neighbourhood is gradually getting
a sheen though the roads and other infrastructure leading to the
main sanctum sanctorum, the road outside the railway station and the
airport are still to be completed. The Takht management committee
expects all preparations to be finalized before the D-day.
 In
twenty villages around Nanded, tents with basic hygiene and
sanitation facilities are being set up by the
Maharashtra
government. The Takht Management Committee headed by Retd. Police
chief of Mumbai, Parwinder Singh Pasricha has also built more inns
and rest houses for visitors from India and foreign countries.
Around the
historic Gurdwaras of Nanded, all efforts and activities are by the
Sikh Sangat. The organization of tours and travels is also by the
Sangat themselves. Except for some roads which are being rebuilt,
which in any case is the responsibility of the state, there was no
visible evidence of any significant expenditure by the state or
central government, the SGPC or DSGMC. As in the case of all
centennial celebrations of the Sikhs over the last decade, as far as
these organizations are concerned, Sikhs largely feel there will be
some uproar for a week and then it will be back to mundane basics.
Kar Sewa Babas
are making military style preparations for the Langar as they expect
to feed lakhs of people during the course of the celebrations.
Langar utensils are being purchased in thousands and a fleet of
volunteers are being pressed into the gigantic task.
Guru Gobind
Singh’s clarion call in 1708 was unmistakably clear: “Agya Payi
Akal Ki, Tabe Chalayo Panth, Sabh Sikhan Ko Hukam Hai, Guru Manyo
Granth.” – By order of the God Almighty, the Khalsa Panth was
formed. It is a diktat to all Sikhs that henceforth your Guru is
only the Granth. This call and its deeper meaning have rattled many
religious thinkers and the concept of the Word as the Guru has still
to be appropriately explained by the Sikhs to the world.
The last days of
the tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh was spent at Nanded and when the
Sikh world would celebrate the Guruship of Guru Granth Sahib, it
would also recall the anniversary of the passing away of the Tenth
Master.
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Sikhs’ homes all across the globe would be resonating with the
buzz of Huzur Sahib in the coming days as frantic preparations
are on to observe the 300 years of the Gurta Gaddi Diwas. |
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The
consciousness of the Sikh people to revere the teachings as
enshrined in Guru Granth Sahib and which teachings are not only that
of the Sikh Gurus but also other religious leaders of the Bhakti
movement and even before has brought them in confrontation with many
pseudo-movements within the Sikh fold and outside it -which do not
adhere to this doctrine. Forces attempting to undermine the
distinctness of Guru Granth Sahib abound but a very large section of
the community continues to have abiding faith in it as a living
embodiment.
As usual and as
expected, I could not find any literature in Punjabi, English, Hindi
or the local language Marathi inviting the Sangat to the Takht or
telling the visitor the significance of the coming occasion. The
300-Saal–Guru de Naal T shirt was omnipresent everywhere in the
stalls all along the promenade outside the Takht.
Abchalnagar
incorporates the land of some forty villages donated two centuries
ago by the Nizam of Hyderabad -Sikhandar Jah to the Sikhs in
gratitude of the support given to him by the Sikh armies of Maharaja
Ranjit Singh. Very little of that land remains as a majority of it
has been frittered away by a lackadaisical and short-sighted
management committee whose custodians have invariably failed to
protect the interests of the Sikhs under temptation of pecuniary
gain and leadership and political pressure of the local government.
 The
destruction of the heritage sites-the Ramgharia Bunga and the
Baradari alongside the Takht Sahib Gurdwara, the need for upkeep and
maintenance of all the historic Gurdwaras in around fifty kilometer
radius of Takht Apchalnagar Huzur Sahib, the complete rehabilitation
of those families who have been uprooted from their home and hearth
to make way for expansion plans, the democratization of the
management set-up of the Takht and the poverty of the local Sikhs
were stark realities one finds difficult to ignore. One also hopes
that with such huge focus on the celebrations, the various
management committees and voluntary organizations the world over
would not continue to ignore this aspect once the celebrations are
over.
After 300 years
with the Guru, there should be no need left for the community or any
of its individuals to indulge in self-pity. The community needs to
stand tall, capable and strong and be counted amongst the comity of
nations. If the Sikh nation does succeed, the objective of spending
millions at Nanded would have been achieved.
10 September 2008
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