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Roopinder Singh’s book on Guru Nanak now in Hindi
WSN Network
 Chandigarh:
The Hindi translation of Roopinder Singh’s book
Guru Nanak: His Life and Teachings was released by Punjab
Governor and UT Administrator Gen S. F. Rodrigues (retd) at the
Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10, Chandigarh, on April
12, 2007. On the dais with him were H. K. Dua, Editor-in-Chief, The
Tribune group of publications, eminent art historian Dr B. N.
Goswamy and Kapish Mehra, publisher, Rupa and Co.
The Hindi translation is based on the revised second edition of
Guru Nanak: His Life and Teachings in English, which has also
been released simultaneously.
The common thread among those at the function was the urgent need to
return to the teachings of our Gurus. General Rodrigues, who was the
chief guest, referred to the colonial strategy of Lord T. B.
Macaulay, articulated through his ‘Minute of 2 February 1835 on
Indian Education’, which was a fierce attack on orientalism and
brought about the policy of introducing English education in India.
“I cannot think of any example to follow other than Guru Nanak,”
said the Governor. He talked about the equality of women and about
the need to break the distinction of caste and other barriers.
Over 200 people attended the event. Prominent among them were
Justice S. S. Sodhi, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High
Court; Dr Vijay Gupta, Director of the Punjab Engineering College,
Chandigarh; Mr Rajnish Wattas, Principal of the College of
Architecture, Chandigarh; Dr Man Singh Nirankari, the octogenarian
eye surgeon and Sikh scholar; Mr R K Saboo, past President, Rotary
International; Dr Kirpal Singh, prominent historian; Maj-Gen Himmat
Singh Gill (retd), Sahitya Akademi member and writer, and V. N.
Singh, Director, Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh.
Mr Dua, the guest of honour, dwelled on the message of Guru Nanak,
which he said was passed on to him by his mother, a heritage he
shared with other children in Punjab. He recalled his childhood when
his mother pointed out the significance of Nankana Sahib, the
birthplace of Guru Nanak, to him on a train journey.
In an addressed peppered with humour, Mr Dua said: “In the hustle
and bustle of today’s life, the Guru’s message is getting lost, but
within 80 pages, Roopinder gives the life and times and the message
that Guru Nanak left for all of us. I would like editions of this
book to be brought out in every language. This is a message that
needs to be brought to everybody. It does not belong to one people.”
Dr Goswamy spoke about the language of the visual depictions of Guru
Nanak. “The principle source of the life and teachings of Guru Nanak
are the extraordinary documents called the Janamsakhis. The
Guru Nanak of belief or faith is different from the Guru Nanak of
history and the Janamsakhis are a record of the Guru Nanak of
faith, and faith is sometimes greater than history. Ask any person
on the street what he knows about Guru Nanak and he immediately will
come out not with his teachings, but stories about him, of how he
went to Mecca, and so on.”
Both the books have been published by Rupa and Co. They are in
hardcover and paper back editions. An emotional Roopinder said he
was thankful to his father, Giani Gurdit Singh, who put him on the
path, and to his mother, Sardarni Inderjit Kaur, who made him what
he is today. He said it was really unfortunate that we were losing
touch with the truths given in Gurbani and “these need to be retold
a thousand times. That is the only reason we need books like this.
We need to retell them, we need to re-listen to them and we need to
understand these teachings.” For more information about these books
and the author, visit
www.roopinder.com.
2 May, 2007
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