News & Update

Prof. Paditrao Dharennavar,a non-Sikh professor managed to recite Gurbani in his mother tongue Kannada at Har-ki-Pauri while the police had banned Sikhs entry in Haridwar city and “Har Ka Paudi” on the occasion of Parkash Gurpurb of Guru Nanak Dev ji.

He strongly believes that one-day people of Haridwar will come up and build the Gurdwara Gyan Godari Sahib on the original site of Gurdwara Sahib at “Har Ka Paudi” which was destroyed during the 1984 genocidal violence.

He distributed Jap Ji Sahib to hundreds of shopkeepers in “Hari Ki Paudi” area and justifying it as an attempt to change the thinking of the people recognising the importance of the fact that the Sikh Gurdwara Sahib should be restored to it’s original site.

~ Source: http://sikhsiyasat.net/

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue on Friday released a Message to mark the Sikh festival of Guru Nanak Jayanti, an annual recurrence celebrating the birth of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak. The theme of the Message is: Christians and Sikhs – together to promote compassionate service. Below, please find the full text of the Message, in English.

Dear Sikh Friends,

1. The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, in a spirit of friendship and goodwill, extends its warmest greetings and felicitations to you as you observe the Prakash Diwas of Siri Guru Nanak Dev Sahib on 6 November this year. May the celebrations of this feast further strengthen the bonds of relationships between your families and communities for greater happiness, harmony and peace!

2. We wish to reflect with you this year on how we, both Christians and Sikhs together, can promote compassionate service in the society. Compassionate service, in its different aspects and nuances, can be said to lie at the very heart of every great religion. For us Christians, it finds its perfect expression in the very person of Jesus Himself. The most eloquent description of it in the Holy Bible (NT), can be found in the parable of the ‘good Samaritan’ (Lk 10:25-37). For you, too, compassion (daya) and service (seva), selfless service rather, for the benefit of others, are the core concepts. Bhai Gurdas, the first interpreter of Gurbani wrote: “the hands and feet that shun seva are condemnable; actions other than seva are fruitless” (Varan, XXVII.10). To do compassionate service means to reach out to the poor, the needy, sick, elderly, differently-abled, migrants, refugees, the exploited and persecuted, transcending all kinds of barriers and giving up one’s own interests and comforts, for they, too, are God’s handiwork and as such our brothers and sisters and are part of our one large human family. When clothed in the true spirit of charity and selflessness, such a service becomes an all-encompassing and rewarding experience for both the giver and the receiver.

3. The growing materialistic, consumerist and individualistic tendencies in today’s world, unfortunately, are making humans more and more self-centred, insensitive and indifferent to the needs and sufferings of others. Decrying these disturbing trends, Pope Francis, whose words and gestures of compassion and service have by now become proverbial, has called for a culture in which everyone feels loved, wanted and cared for and “no one is seen as useless, out of place or disposable” (Message for the 101st World Day of Migrants and Refugees (2015), 3 September 2014).

4. As believers in our own respective religions with a shared treasury of values, may we, Christians and Sikhs, rediscover the importance of compassionate service in our personal and collective lives and make it a way of life, inspiring and encouraging others as well in this regard so as to promote happiness, harmony and peace everywhere. May we, joining hands with others, contribute to making a better, more just and fraternal world.

We wish you all a Happy Prakash Divas of Siri Guru Nanak Dev Sahib!

~ Source: http://en.radiovaticana.va/

To commemorate Guru Nanak Jayanti, Victoria Memorial, Kolkata showcased modern miniature painting of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib ji and Guru Nanak Devi ji. Majestic artwork by British artists on Sikh commoners were also displayed.

Victoria Memorial is regarded as the largest repository in India for the visual history of Kolkata. It boasts of major collections of paintings, manuscripts and sculptures from the history.

Jayanta Sengupta, the Secretary said they intended to hold an exhibition showcasing the substantial number of paintings it had on the Sikhs.

The miniature by W Kapoor Singh, a non-celebrity, shows Guru Nanak flanked by two others, one playing a musical instrument, in the shade of a tree. It was acquired by the Victoria Memorial Hall in 1911.

The exhibition is likely to be held the next year too.

~ Tapasleen Kaur
~ New Delhi, 11th Nov ’14

Shivraj Singh declares in his latest tweet regarding Chaar Sahibzaade to go Tax-free.

We request the Delhi & Mumbai to take up such steps to maximize the reach of this brilliance piece from our history!

As per Mid-day reviews Chaar Sahibzaade touches you with its sincerity as it narrates this slice of history backed by painstaking research on the subject.

A pat on director Harry Baweja’s back for putting his money and efforts into attempting to tell a story that is not ‘safe’ but definitely needed to be told. It manages to make an impression, thanks to the emotions attached to the story and the background score ably supporting the narration.

In spite of the jerks and snags, children need to watch this one. Even if it can in no way match up to the slick Hollywood animation films that they are constantly pampered with, it will serve them good to watch true stories of bravery closer home.

~ Tapasleen Kaur
~ New Delhi, 10th Nov ’14