AdminA majority of the buildings which once belonged to the Sikhs and Hindus were given to immigrants from India. These families still live in these buildings, but surprisingly the structures and the artwork on the walls are still intact. Several Hindu and Sikh monuments; temples and Gurdwaras have been discovered gracing the landscape of this […]
A majority of the buildings which once belonged to the Sikhs and Hindus were given to immigrants from India. These families still live in these buildings, but surprisingly the structures and the artwork on the walls are still intact.
Several Hindu and Sikh monuments; temples and Gurdwaras have been discovered gracing the landscape of this region. Three of the Gurdwaras are located at Kanoha, Doberan Kalan and Mohara Bhatta, and are especially noted for their elegance and paintings. Of these, the Sikh Gurdwara located 10 kilometres from Kallar Syedan at Kanoha is the most prominent.
Historically, the Gurdwara has been used to meet the religious and social needs of the Sikh community here. Guru Hargobind, the sixth guru of Sikhs (1606-1644), was believed to have first used the word ‘Gurdwara’.
Before that, the name used for such structures was ‘dhramsala’, which means a rest house for travellers in its normal Indian context, but was used in the early days of Sikhism to denote a room or building used for devotional singing (kirtan) and prayers.
The gurdwara of Kanoha is a very large three-storied structure crowned with canopy – a distinctive feature of the Potohari style of gurdwara. Built on a square plain, it formerly housed Sikh families who would visit here to recite the Guru Granth Sahib and performing various religious rituals. Apart from the Kanoha Gurdwara, there is another Gurdwara located in the Doberan Kallan town.
The connection of Sant Attar Singh ji to Dhan Potohar
In 1892 Sant ji got his name struck off from the role of army and devoted himself solely to the propagation of the Guru’s message. He toured extensively in Jammu Kashmir, Sindh and North Western Frontier Province.
In Pothohar region, such places as Shah Di Dheri, Thamali, Kanoha, Dera Khalsa, Sagri, Malakpurj, Rawalpindi, Haripur, Kahuta, Dhan Mangwal, Chakwal, Gujjarkhan, Loom and Bhaun were the main venues of Sant Attar Singh Ji’s activities. His religious tours were a remarkable success. Quite a large number of people imbibed Sikh ethos.
Needless to say, the Punjab tourism department, should chalk out a viable strategy to promote religious tourism in the Kallar Syedan Tehsil. These wondrous and historically rich Gurdwaras can be a great tourist attraction; Sikhs who visit Gurdwara Panja Sahib at Hassan Abdal should also be able to come to here.
~ Source – dawn.com