Books
Where is the Brick & Mortar?
Sikh Comic Books
Guru Nanak, Vols 1 & 2
A Book Review by T. SHER SINGH
The two comic books reviewed herein are, jointly, sikhchic.com's BOOK OF THE MONTH for February, 2013.
GURU NANAK, Volumes 1 & 2, by Daljeet Singh Sidhu (Script Writer), Amarjit Virdi (Art Director), Rochak Bhatnagar (Artist) and Parminder Chand (Design). Sikh Comics, Punjab, 2012. Paperback, colour, English, illustrated, pp 32 each. ISBN: 978-81-909637-5-6 & 978-81-909637-6-3. $3.99, Rs 79.
I reviewed an earlier publication -- “The Battle of Saragarhi” -- by the same team last summer.
I had liked it very much. All the praises I had for it apply to these two new additions to their repertoire. [Please see below for a link to my earlier review.] Therefore, I won’t bore you by repeating them.
Nor will I repeat the suggestions I had made earlier: they too, I believe, continue to apply today.
I like them so much, however, that my primary frustration continues: it’s simply not enough. We need MORE … we need more of these, and fast, if they are to be truly meaningful.
Which means finding a cheaper and more efficient way of churning out new titles, so that a whole library of them is available to our young. Once we introduce the young ones to the series, we should have the supply line ready to feed the appetite we hope to have created.
Today, I have two things to add to my previous comments.
The first, which I have already touched upon a bit, but it needs to repeated and expanded, is the level of the language of the series.
If the target audience is the teenage crowd, the vocabulary level is just about right. Though I still worry about whether you can compete with the lures of the internet and the latest hi-tech games with that age-group.
If you are aiming to reach the younger children -- which, I believe, you should if you are to have the impact you desire -- then you need to adjust the language levels considerably. Help from expert children’s writers should be sought.
The second point I wish to raise is:
I look at the list of your current titles and the ones you list as “forthcoming”. All are good choices and each will certainly enrich the field. I cannot but laud you for the extraordinary work you are already doing, both in quantity and quality.
It is time, however, to get out of the box, to break the mould, to venture into the larger arena.
We -- the community, our writers, activists, all -- seem to be locked into a narrow mind-set and are unable to get beyond it. We keep on chasing our proverbial tails round and round in circles, telling stories about our Gurus and the Sahibzaadas, the Saint-Soldiers and Vaisakhi, the Gurdwaras and the Sarbat Khalsa, the Punj Pyaras and our Great Elders and Heroes, and the Turban and our Five K’s …
All of which indeed need telling and retelling -- but we don’t seem to be able to do more than that, to go beyond those parameters.
Religion is the internal structure that holds up the entire edifice. It constitutes the pillars and the girders, the load bearing beams and walls, the web of metal rods that criss-cross every horizontal and vertical plane.
It brings it all together and holds it all up, firm and strong.
But then, you have to build around it.
You and I don’t live in skeletal structures which have only the pillars and girders in them, do we? Sure, they are strong and sturdy, but by themselves they don’t a building make.
We need to add brick and mortar and all the other paraphernalia that constitutes a building structure. Until we do that, it is not habitable. I don’t know of anyone who moves into an edifice until the brick and mortar phase is complete. Until the walls and the roof are up.
It’s the same with out total preoccupation with religion and our failure to build on it.
The object of life is not to be a Sikh, but to be a good human being. It’s just that one of the most magnificent ways of becoming a good human being is by following the path of Sikhi.
But let’s not confuse the method with the goal.
So, yes, please continue writing the stories about our Gurus and lay out elaborate plans about how to improve our gurdwaras -- Lord knows how urgently we need to do those as well, and WELL! -- but religion is about 10%, albeit the quintessential 10%, of our lives.
Let’s not ignore or neglect the remaining 90% of our lives. What’s the point of having the best of religious structures and no way of enjoying it?
You ain’t going to grab the attention of our youngsters if all you have in your repertoire is religion.
The comic book was the perfect invention … to introduce a child to ALL aspects of the life that awaits her.
That means religion and history. But also fun and games. Sports. Fantasy. Art. Romance. Food. Science. Theatre. Politics. Flora. Fauna. Travel. Film. Drama. Horror. Science fiction. Crime. Poetry. Dance … And simple, pure, unadulterated fun.
Where are the Walt Disneys and Hanna-Barberas in our community? They are there! I have seen them! I have met them! Seek them out. Welcome them. Make way for them … Don’t stifle their creativity … let them come forward and wow our children with the wildest of their creations …
Introduce our children to our own version of Loony Tunes and Sesame Street and the Panchtantra Tales -- and ah, yes, Yosemite Sam! And that doesn’t mean just Santa and Banta, or Pintoo and Buntee.
We have more love stories in our historical lore than any other society I've come across. We have a wealth of fable and song, dance and music.
They are as important to our Sikhi as the saakhis.
Spread out your wings and then you’ll see the minds of our children open up, ready, willing and able to soak and lap up all that is rich in Sikhi and Punjabiyat.
And then you will see Sikhi flourish.
Think about it.
You know, I may be wrong. But here’s a test. Not an infallible one, but a place to start from.
You’ve already published a number of titles. They’ve been around for a while. The new Guru Nanak volumes have also been around for a few weeks.
If kids have been lining up, Harry-Potter-like, to lap up copies, if you have sold tens of thousands in each edition, then, you know, I’m definitely wrong … and you’re on the right track.
If not, then maybe, just maybe, you need to think things out a bit.
* * * * *
To the publishers of these two wonderful editions: Please keep doing what you're doing. Only, do more ...your work is such a gift to the community. Thank you.
To our readers: I recommend these two books, as well as the others on their list, with no hesitation. Nay, I urge you to buy several copies of each and pass them around to your children, neices & nephews, grand-children, friends ...
The more you support this venture, the more you will empower the stalwarts that run it.
To read my review of "The Battle of Saragarhi", please CLICK here.
You can visit SIKH COMICS by CLICKING HERE.
February 4, 2013
Conversation about this article
1: R Singh (Canada), February 04, 2013, 4:37 PM.
"Sikh Guru" is such a contradictory term. We need some group that can correct and put into proper format, whatever it is we - inspite of our best intentions - manage to render inane and meaningless.
2: Gurmeet Kaur (Atlanta, Georgia, USA), February 05, 2013, 12:32 PM.
I read and re-read your words starting from "We -- the community ... by following the path of Sikhi." I wish for every Sikh to read and contemplate on this. We have become paranoid. We have stressed ourselves. We need to chill out. Creativity will follow. Thank You.
3: I. Singh (Chelmsford, MA, USA), February 05, 2013, 3:57 PM.
Reminds me of the opening sentence / phrase of Prof. Puran Singh's fantastic essay, "Notes on Art and Personality from the Sikh Viewpoint". He says: "First, life. Then, its expression". Question is - are we living yet? Google the essay's title, then read it. It gives us an indication of where and how to source the much needed "brick and mortar". I submit it will be top dollar. But which top quality material is not?