Nank The Guru: Mala Dayal

Distinctive strokes
Punam Khaira Sidhu

Nanak: The Guru
by Mala Dayal. Illustrations by Arpana Caur. Rupa. Pages 48. Rs 195.

AS a parent of one teenager and one tweenie (pre-teen), I am often concerned by their lack of interest in reading books. Television and video games dominate their leisure time. If this generation is to be weaned away from their plasma screens and I-pods, the subject has to be a visual treat strong enough to grab their eyeballs and the text has be pithy and brief. Mala Dayal, the author who has been involved with developing, selecting, editing and writing material for children for over 30 years, has clearly imbibed this lesson well because, in this collaboration with Arpana Caur, the artist, she achieves near perfection. The Ardas offered by every Sikh is to invoke Lord’s blessings to bless him with the strength and the will to read and listen to the scriptures, "Bani padhan te sunan da bal bakhsho", which is indeed a fine introduction to the Guru’s legacy for a child.

In the space of 48 pages, most of the Janamsakhis associated with Guru Nanak Devji’s life find a place in this book in a language that is simple and lucid, yet conveys the essence of the Guru’s life and teachings through its simplicity. The prose is used as an effective medium for the Guru’s message. The teachings of Guru Nanak, the first Guru of the Sikhs who laid the foundation of the fine traditions of langar and exhorted people to rise above caste and material considerations because they were all children of one God, are as relevant today as they were when He composed the Japji Sahib, Asa di Var and Mul Mantra beneath the early morning sky in Kartarpur in the 1500s. This is a book a child or an adult can read in one sitting, yet gain a pleasing insight into the life of a visionary and a leader of men of all faiths. The author puts it succinctly through the saying "Baba Nanak Shah Fakir, Hindu ka Guru, Musalman ka Pir".

Mala Dayal, who is publisher Ravi Dayal’s wife, has dedicated the book to her father, the celebrated author Khushwant Singh, for whom this was a surprise Baisakhi gift this year. Caur’s painting of the Guru Granth Sahib, protecting her grandfather and carrying his belongings in a sack from Pakistan in her "Partition Series" has always been a personal favourite. The visuals in this book are in Caur’s trademark style of stocky figures with their strong folk motif underpinnings, the colours rich and textured to complement the elegant pared down text. The mala and khadava of the Guru have been used as a leitmotif throughout.

When I first browsed through Roopinder Singh’s Guru Nanak—His Life and Teachings, also by Rupa, my immediate reaction was: "Here’s a Collectors Edition at paperback prices". I remember buying several copies for NRI friends and family, who look forward to books, which will introduce their children to the Gurus and indeed to the Sikh faith and maryada. Mala Dayal’s Guru Nanak is another book in the same genre, though for a younger audience. It has evocative illustrations. As a parent, it is my sincere hope that this collaboration of author and artist will not stop at this single volume.

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Guru Manyo Granth

Guru Manyo Granth
by Punam Khaira Sidhu

WHEN we moved into the official residence of the Deputy Commissioner in Amritsar at No. 3 Maqbool Road house and saw the “Babaji”s room”, we determined that we owed it to Guru ki Nagri to have “Prakash” there.

Will you be able to maintain the “Maryada?” was the concerned response from both our parents. My husband and I were confident that we would give it our best. Errors and omissions, if any, would surely be condoned by a benign Omnipresent and Omniscient — “Ek Onkar”. The scriptures direct, “Sab Sikhan ko hukam hai Guru Manyo Granth..” Sri Guru Granth Sahib is different from other religious texts in that it is deemed to be the personification of a Guru. This is why it is said, “…Guru Granth ji Manyo, Pargat Guran ki deh…” Guruji was installed with ceremony and we went through a crash course in “Maryada” from a kindly Bhai Sahib from the SGPC.

Our day commenced with “Prakash” when we awoke Guruji after rest and took “Gurvak”, the “Hukamnamah” or the Order, which laid the tone for the rest of the day. In the evening, we did the Sohila Path, took “Gurvak” again and completed the “Sukhasan”. My little sons, Bilawal and Sehaj, who derive their names from Guruji, then only 5 and 2, took turns to wave the fly whisk (“Chaur sahib”) with energetic enthusiasm. We also acquired a page-to-page English translation of Guru Granth Sahib. But the real message, I believe, can sometimes be lost in translation. Guru Granth Sahib needs to be read with faith and conviction. The message is in each individual’s interpretation of its 1430-page text. A message as true today as it was 400 years ago, when it was first installed in 1604 in Harmandir Sahib by Baba Buddhaji.

Through the Bani in Guru Granth Sahib we have become familiar with the thoughts of the Gurus and their perceptions of our faith. The family favourite undoubtedly is the most beautiful “aarati” ever composed, “Gagan mai thal..” a cosmic “aarati” set to Raag Dhanasari, in the Sohila Path composed by Guru Nanak Devji. Each evening my family rests secure after the Chaupai in the Rahras Sahib : “Hamri karo hath de rachha, Pooran hoi chit ki icchha,….” A prayer for everyone, it seeks God’s blessings and protection, for all family members, for the fulfilment of all desires, and destruction of enemies.

In every home that we have set up thereafter, the pivot has always been Guru Granth Sahib. Many are the times that we have knelt before our Guruji, only to find answers to questions and problems that appeared to be without a solution. The fragrance of the flowers and incense surrounding Guruji permeates our lives for all the “Bara Mah” of our being.