Khalid attempts to humanise Nanak

Sifting through the stories of Guru Nanak’s miracles and poetry, the book, Walking With Nanak brings out the human side of him. The format of the book is rather unique — part fiction, part history and part travelogue. Its Pakistani author Haroon Khalid says his third book is a “conscious attempt to humanise the saint” and could be the first work of its kind in the country. The book is not merely a story of gurudwaras but is also the retelling of the story of Nanak.

“I had already done two books which were pure travelogues. I wanted to experiment within the genre so I came up with the idea of fictionalising half of the book — Nanak’s journey with his Muslim companion, Bhai Mardana,” Khalid says.

On fictionalising this part, the author, who has an academic background in anthropology, says: “I think that is how he too would have liked to be remembered.”At the same time, Khalid admits being “much more nervous” about the book as opposed to his first two book. “It will be interesting to see what people think about it. I know that many devotees of Nanak would have a different interpretation of his message and would criticise me on my subjective interpretation of him,” he says. The book will be launched next month. Khalid says he chose the subject due to his “long fascination” with the character. He read Guru Nanak’s biographies, in order to understand the chronology of his journeys.