Travel
Son et Lumiere, Hazoor Sahib
by SANJAY SHARMA
In a first at
any Sikh shrine in the country, yatris will soon witness a special
50-minute
light, sound and fountain show focussing on Sikhism at the
under-construction
Gobind Bagh here. The script by famous Punjabi litterateur Surjit Singh Patar,
music
and voice of ghazal king Jagjit Singh and Daler Singh Mehndi would tell the
story
through spectacular laser beams.
"The biggest challenge for
the creative team was to avoid the portrayal of Guru Gobind Singh ... His presence is shown through his baaz (hawk)," Jasbir Singh,
the advisor to administrator of Takht Hazur
Sahib, Dr.
P.S. Pasricha, said after a
trial run of the show.
The aim, he said, is to attract the younger generation which is
enthralled by the new media. "Finishing touches are being given to the
finale, which is waiting for a V.I.P. inauguration within a month," he
added.
The show projects the universe and images of Sikh Gurus, with fountains creating a pattern as if a cosmic dance is consuming you in a spiritual trance with Jagjit Singh's voice and his music getting to your heart.
Another first is an under-construction Guru Gobind Singh Museum
that is likely to be inaugurated by the next anniversary of Gur-ta-Gaddi
Divas in
mid-October this year. The museum is spread over 2,500 square feet in
built-up
area and will also follow a light and sound show on the music and voice
of
Jagjit Singh. Besides, paintings by 18 artists from across the country
have been
put up there.
The museum has six galleries, including a gold foyer
on Guru Granth Sahib. There are galleries on Guru Teg Bahadar, Guru
Gobind
Singh, the Khalsa Raj set up by Banda Bahadur, and the Sikh wars of liberation. Two open
air
theatres have been built for children to come out and repeat what they
have
learnt inside the museum. A bigger theatre has been kept for cultural
activities.
Having emerged as the second most visited Takht after
the Akal Takht, it is now vying for the top slot in attracting yatris. The
country's biggest convention hall of Sikhs, The Guru Granth Sahib
Convention Hall, would accommodate 6,000 participants.
Since
Dr. P.S. Pashricha, Jasbir Singh and D.P. Singh's team has taken over the
administration, work has been streamlined. Housekeeping services have
been
outsourced and the management provides free travel facilities to and fro
railway
station and airport. As a
result, the management is flooded with appreciation
messages. In fact, it prompted NRI Dr. K. Lalvani to donate Rs 40 lakh for
bonus
to employees for their effort in turning around the management.
[Courtesy: Times of India]
April 9, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Gur Singh (Boston, U.S.A.), April 09, 2010, 1:22 PM.
Great article appreciating a good change. But, what I still carry in my memory is the video performance of jhatka by the Nihangs daily at this shrine as shown on youtube by some visitor to the place. Continuation of this barbaric practice too should have been re-considered in the spirit of changed circumstances.
2: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), April 09, 2010, 10:39 PM.
Many long years ago, I had a couple of opportunities to see excellent presentations, one at Srinagar and the other at the Red Fort in Delhi. I thought wistfully then how wonderful if such a presentation were to be made for Harimandar Sahib. I understand the closest they have come is as far as Jallianwala Bagh. Looks like the dream has finally come true. You have excellent voices, rich in timbre in both Jagjit Singh and Daler Mehndi. There is one lone voice woefully missing and that of Gulzar. His rich resonant voice in perfect Punjabi or Hindi would have added the necessary lustre. Listening to him itself transports us to higher realms. I have listed the following sites to let him speak for himself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hna0_xAw-k http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suWaoJOb1ak&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qM77yRD6CI&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um6QOvOPol4&feature=related What a difference it would make to the usual crop of garish pictures of the Gurus that are normally on the display. Can you imagine, Guru Nanak having trudged some 38,000 km on foot during his four Udasis and not having shed a kilo or 'seer' or 'chataak' of weight. Perhaps we could learn some aesthetic sense from the Vatican of how beautifully Christ is portrayed.
3: Simon (London, United Kingdom), April 10, 2010, 3:31 AM.
For those of us not up to date with recent developments, can someone tell us where this construction is? Why does it have a French name? And when is the grand opening?
4: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), April 10, 2010, 7:32 AM.
Simon - but why did you had to say that in English. English is a dynamic living language and strips off thousands of foreign words that have come to stay as a part of the lexicon. We speak Punjabi interspersed with English in our daily life. Like tomorrow is of course tomorrow and another tomorrow would be "ek hor morrow". Remove Latin and you will revert to the stone age. I think 'Son et Lumiere' - sound and light - is beautiful.