‘Matha Teko’ before going to School

After Baba ji ‘Matha teko’, Baba ji says, "I ‘ll be Ok all the day"

Making Of A CD Rom on Sri Guru Granth Sahib 1993-95

Making Of Guru Granth Sahib CD Rom a First time ever Unique Effort :

As is relevant with so many Immigrant groups, I felt Sikhs were concerned about the loss of culture and language among young people. I thought of an idea to digitize the Sri Guru Granth Sahib - The Central Religious Scriptures of Sikhism, so as to reach its contents to non Punjabi speaking world both in India and outside in the Western World. I took the help of my partner Mr Bhupinder Singh in computer parts trading business for doing the same as he had prior experience in digitizing. I felt that we need to spread the message of God to help the human race to fight this fire burning all around.

I also felt that there was serendipity in my idea and I humbly accepted the self-felt responsibility as being the 9th direct descendent of illustrious Poet Laureate Bhai Nand Lal Goya who was a devout disciple in the court of Guru Gobind Singh ji.

I started drawing the blueprint for designing the CD Rom. Initially only Gurbani part was to be taken up, but during our on and on discussions we kept on adding new chapters to include Sikh history, world wide Gurdwaras pictures, Excerpts  and Sikh Guru lives.  Now this was a huge and stupendous task to collect the information and compile the same and required dedicated tremendous efforts. I used my experience with the Govt of INDIA to avoid any eventual controversies. I stuck to established and authorized works of established Universities. I also needed to get approval of religious authorities. So I went to DGPC in 1994 and showed them my draft work. They were really excited and I was relieved. I took the help of my brother in law MR APS Dhir and his friend Mr RP Singh who got me connected with DGPC authorities. Mr RPSingh video graphed my presentation. So my first hurdle was over.

We had decided to include the translation works from Punjabi  language to English Language of Sri Guru Granth Sahib by a panel of scholars headed by Prof Gurbachan Singh Talib of Punjabi University for inclusion in the digitizing works. Hence I proceeded to Punjabi University Patiala. I contacted Dr Torah Singh, Registrar through a friend Dr Gopal Singh. The University impromptu called a meeting of senior Professors in the Registrar’s office. My presentation for digitizing SGGS was keenly listened with utmost interest. It did not take much time to get approval bid from August gathering. This event was also video graphed by my cousin Mr Anand Bir Singh of Patiala.

On my request for authenticated Guru Lives, Dr Tirath Singh presented me a book ‘the Ten Masters’ by Prof Puran Singh.

In mean time I wrote letters to 700 Gurudwara’s to send me the Pics of their Gurdwara’s. But the response was not much.

After completing a successful trip to INDIA, we were on the job, first we scanned a part of it. The results were not satisfying. So we started doing typing the whole of by engaging Mr Ravi an electrical masters in engineering for typing the entire Granth. It took a lot of time although he had a very fast speed of typing. 

Our Prodigy son Shivpreet Singh pursuing his double Major from U/C Berkeley in Molecular Cell Biology and western Music, first time ever in history converted all the 31 Ragas included in the SGGS into midi Format so as   to make it possible to be included in the CD Rom.

And then came the the Proofreading and Corrections. Harvinder after managing her work at Convenient store and cooking dinner for the family would spend late nights along with me proofreading. It was only Waheguru’s blessings that we could do it to our best efforts. We also took help from volunteers in the community like Mr Jaswant Singh Sethi and Mr Sabharwal for the same. We had big hopes and with Supreme Waheguru blessings, we could complete with the hope that by transforming the Guru Granth Sahib on CD-ROM will be a big push to access the classical texts into English and on line. It will be a step into the next century. That will be the greatest significance--to make the heritage more accessible to the young people and not knowing Punjabi people. To us Sikhs, Sri Guru Granth Sahib is literal embodiment of God,  transforming into digital format must be handled carefully and most respectfully.

Total of 15000 pages were included in this project, those included history, Sikh Guru Lives, Excerpts of Quotations from SGGS.

The work of digitizing Sri Guru Granth sahib was highly publicised globally by Premium News Papers of the world. An comprehensive article on the cover of Mercury News paper was published on 9th sept, 1995. This made headlines world wide  as this paper being the poineer Online Paper and hence the news spread like wild fire making me and my partner Bhupinder Singh famous in the Sikh world.

As is usual in the Sikh community, a complaint by one Surinder singh of San Jose to Akal Takhat Jathedar Prof Manjit Singh for 'Beaddabi' being done by us.  I was called by the Jathedar at the residence of Jathedar Beiniwal of San Jose.  His questions on including the Prof Talib’s book and Prof Puram Singh books were explained to his entire satisfaction. I emphasized to Jathedar Sahib, that I was only  opening the floodgates of mushrooming of Gurbani for the benefit of unexposed human race. Jathedar finally was satisfied and encouraged me with  a Sikh Jaikara. My efforts won with Waheguru Blessings.  

The Digital Holibook CD Rom ’SCRIPTURES AND THE HERITAGE OF THE SIKHS’ was the subject of news stories on Indian National Channels, BBC, Voice Of America and Indian newspapers all over North America. Due to explosive development in the field of Software technology particularly the cloud computing, the application of this CD Rom may not be that significant today, but the transformation into digital formats have expanded to infinite routes.

Gurpal Kapoor Moods

Sri Guru Granth Sahib Writers

Guru Granth Sahib ji contains writings of not only the ten Sikh Gurus but also writings of people who belonged to other faiths, namely Bhagats/saints like Kabir, sheikh fareed and many more.

a) Six Sikh Gurus, first Five (Guru Nanak dev ji, Guru angad dev ji, Guru Amar das ji, Guru Ram das ji, Guru Arjan dev ji) and ninth guru ji (Guru Teg bhadur ji).

b) 3 Sikhs (Bhai satta ji, Bhai Balwand ji and bhai Sundar ji).

c) 17 Bhatts :The Bhatts were a group of musicians who lived in the sixteenth century. All of them were scholars, poets and singers. (namely :Bhat Kal, Bhat Kalsehar, Bhat Tal, Bhat Jalup, Bhat Jal, Bhat Kirat, Bhat Sal, Bhat Bahil, Bhat Nal, Bhat Bhikha, Bhat Jalan, Bhat Kas, Bhat Gend, Bhat Sevak, Bhat Mathra, Bhat Bal and Bhat Harbans).

d)15 Bhagats (Kabir, Namdev,Ravidas,Sheikh Farid, Trilochan, Dhanna, Beni, Sheikh Bhikan, Jaidev,Surdas, Parmanand, Pipa, Ramanand, Sadhna, Sain).

Happy Lohri 2020

Happy Lohri!

Sundar Mundario oye

Oh poor beautiful girl, 

Who will save you now,

Dulla is here to challenge

...

No matter which religion they belonged to, Dulla(Abdullah) will save them and bring them back to their parents.

But Dulla- Bhatti was instead hanged in 1599 Lahore. Akbar had hoped to make an example of him at the public execution, expecting that he would quake with fear, but Bhatti was steadfast in his resistance to the end.

Today we need more Dullas. 

Long live Dulla Bhatti

Dulla Bhatti And Lohri

Dulla Bhatti (popularly referred to as the "Son of Punjab" or "Robin Hood of Punjab", sometimes spelled Dulha Bhatti and also known as Abdullah Bhatti) (died 1599) came from the Punjab region of medieval India and led a revolt against Mughal rule during the reign of the emperor Akbar. Pindi Bhattian, Lahore Punjab, Mughal Empire. 

Dulla was born to Ladhi four months after the death of his father. Coincidentally, Akbar’s son, Shaikhu (later known as Jahangir), was born on the same day. Advised by his courtiers that Shaikhu’s future bravery and success would be ensured if the child was fed by a Rajput woman, Akbar gave that responsibility to Ladhi despite her connection to a man who had rebelled against the Mughal throne. This decision appears to have its basis in realpolitik: Akbar perceived that Ladhi was resentful, that Bhatti might become the third generation of rebel and that royal favour might offset this part of the royal patronage was that Bhatti attended school. Although at that time unaware of the fate of his ancestors, he refused to accept the strictures that were intended to mould him into a good citizen and objected to being a part of an establishment that was designed to produce elites. He left to engage instead in childish mischief-making.A chance remark led to Ladhi having to explain the fate of Farid and Bijli to her son. Gaur says that this caused his general anti-authoritarian, rebellious nature to "crystallise" with the Akbar regime as its target, although not as a means of revenge specifically for the deaths of his relatives but in the wider sense of the sacrifices made by rural people generally. Bhatti saw this, says Gaur, as a "peasant class war". Bhatti’s class war took the form of social banditry, taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Folklore gives him a legendary status for preventing girls from being abducted and sold as slaves; he arranged marriages for them and provided their dowries. 

His efforts may have influenced Akbar’s decision to pacify Guru Arjan Dev Ji, and through Dev’s influence the people of Bari Doab, by exempting the area from the requirement to provide land revenues. The end for Bhatti came in 1599 when he was hanged in Lahore. Akbar had hoped to make an example of him at the public execution, expecting that he would quake with fear, but Bhatti was steadfast in his resistance to the end. Shah Hussain, a contemporary Sufi poet who wrote of him, recorded his last words as being "No honourable son of Punjab will ever sell the soil of Punjab". Only fragments of the vars (medieval poetry put to music) concerning Dulla Bhatti have survived to the present day and dhadi performances recounting his exploits have become less common. The memory of Bhatti as a saviour of Punjabi girls is recalled at the annual Lohri celebrations in the region to this day, although those celebrations also incorporate many other symbolic strands. The song "Sundri-Mundri" is sung during the celebrations and is a tribute to him.

In Punjabi folk tradition, Dulla Bhatti’s role in rescuing innocent girls from the clutches of lecherous men is enshrined in folk poetry that is sung during the winter festival of Lohri – which will be celebrated on Saturday. The chieftain is believed to have rescued two Brahmin girls, Sundri and Mundri, from Akbar, who wanted them in his harem. Dulla Bhatti became their godfather and is believed to have married them off on Lohri with much pomp and festivity, directly challenging the authority of the emperor. A popular song sung on Lohri goes:

"Sundri Mundriye hoe

Who will save you poor one

Dulla Bhatti is here for you

The Dulla married off his daughter."

In pre-Partition Punjab, Dulla Bhatti emerged as the ultimate symbol of the composite Punjabi culture – a Muslim landlord who fought for the honour of Brahmin girls, saving them from the Mughal emperor. Songs of his bravery were sung by Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims alike on Lohri, an indigenous festival that celebrates the end of the peak winter season. Much like other indigenous festivals of Punjab, Lohri slowly faded away from West Punjab. With the gradual death of the festival, the legend of Dulla Bhatti also faded away. Only occasionally are these stories and songs recalled by wayward travelers who happen to stumble upon his grave in the heart of Lahore, the glorious capital of the mighty Mughal Empire.

Haroon Khalid is the author of three books – Walking with Nanak, In Search of Shiva and A White Trail

Ikjot Gaurav Conney Lohri 2020