200-yr-old ‘bir’ to be displayed in Dharamshala

DHARAMSHALA:With the Sikh community in Dharamshala gearing up to celebrate 550th Parkash Purb (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak in a grand and befitting manner, the Gurudwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in the hill town is planning to put on display a rare ‘bir’ of Guru Granth Sahib , on the occasion.

The handwritten ‘bir’ from Lahore, which is believed to be 200-250 years old, is in possession of tribal Gaddi community and kept in a house in Darnu village, near Dharamshala.

President of Gurudwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha (Dharamshala) Swarnjeet Singh said the Gaddi community had accepted the sabha’s request to display the ‘Puratan Saroop’ during the celebrations.

“The holy Guru Granth Sahib will be taken around the town during the Nagar Kirtan on November 10.

Thereafter, the rare ‘bir’ will be put on display at the Gurudwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha at Kotwali Bazaar for two days,” he said. Singh said the holy scripture was brought by a member of a Gaddi family from Lahore in 1847. It was initially kept in a small Gurudwara built in the Darnu village before it was stolen in 2017.

Later, it was recovered from Ludhiana district of Punjab by police and returned to the community. Since then, the holybook has been kept at a home in Darnu village to avoid theft.

Though the tribal community does not follow Sikh religion, their dedication towards the Guru Granth Sahib could be gauged from the fact that they have rejected offers worth crores to sell the holy book.

It is worth mentioning that the 550th Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak is being celebrated across the world. Grand events are being organised across the country on November 12.

THE HANDWRITTEN ‘BIR’ FROM LAHORE IS IN POSSESSION OF TRIBAL GADDI COMMUNITY AND KEPT IN A HOUSE IN DARNU VILLAGE