ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>BA&#7788&#256L&#256 (31º-49'N, 75º-12'E)</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="BAlL"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279BA&#7788&#256L&#256 (31º-49'N, 75º-12'E), an old town in Gurd&#257spur district of the Punjab, is sacred to Gur&#363 N&#257nak, who was married here, according to local tradition, on Bh&#257do&#7749 <i>sud&#299</i> 7, 1544 Bk/24 September 1487, to Sulakkha&#7751&#299, daughter of M&#363l Chand, of the village of Pakkhoke, on the River R&#257v&#299, but resident at Ba&#7789&#257l&#257 as caretaker of the lands and property owned by an affluent landlord, Ajitt&#257 Randh&#257v&#257. Two historical shrines in Ba&#7789&#257l&#257 commemorate the event. A third one is dedicated to Gur&#363 Hargobind's eldest son, B&#257b&#257 Gurditt&#257, who was also married at Ba&#7789&#257l&#257.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;GURDW&#256R&#256 &#7692EHRA S&#256HIB, also known as Vi&#257h Asth&#257n Sr&#299 Gur&#363 N&#257nak Dev J&#299, marks the house where Bh&#257&#299 M&#363l Chand lived and where the nuptials were performed. It is situated along a narrow lane called Gal&#299 &#7692ehr&#257 S&#257hib between &#7788ibb&#257 B&#257z&#257r and Ba&#7771&#257 B&#257z&#257r. In his later days, M&#363l Chand shifted back to his native village, Pakkhoke Randh&#257ve, and his house in Ba&#7789&#257l&#257 became a holy shrine for the Sikhs. <i>Sr&#299 Gur Prat&#257p S&#363raj Granth</i> mentions that Gur&#363 Hargobind, at the time of the wedding of his son, B&#257b&#257 Gurditt&#257, visited this house. It continued to be in private possession until taken over by the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee in 1921-22. A civil suit filed by the original occupants ended in the early forties by an agreement, out of court, under which the plaintiff, Mahant Harba&#7749s Si&#7749gh, surrendered his right of ownership on receipt of appropriate compensation for the property attached to the Gurdw&#257r&#257.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The building, constructed by Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Sher Si&#7749gh (1807-43), is a 5-metre square domed room with a verandah on three sides, and ancillary accommodation around a marble-paved courtyard. This Gurdw&#257r&#257 is managed by a local committee under the auspices of the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee. It owns about 40 acres of agricultural land and some urban property. The major event of the year is the fair held in August-September to mark Gur&#363 N&#257nak's wedding day. A procession taken out from this Gurdw&#257r&#257 returns to it after visiting all other prominent <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> of Ba&#7789&#257l&#257.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;GURDW&#256R&#256 KANDH S&#256HIB derives its name from <i>kachch&#299 kandh</i>, i. e. mud wall, which, according to local tradition, stood on this site at the time of Gur&#363 N&#257nak's marriage. It is said that as the wedding party arrived and stopped a little distance short of Bh&#257&#299 M&#363l Chand's house, waiting for formal reception by the host, Gur&#363 N&#257nak sat down close to the wall. An old lady living near by, pointing to the dilapidated state of the wall, told him to move away from the spot lest the crumbling wall should fall on him. Gur&#363 N&#257nak assured her that there was no cause for alarm, for the wall would stay intact for a long time. The wall so consecrated by the Gur&#363 became an object of veneration for the devotees who also constructed a memorial platform near it. A symbolic mud wall, neatly plastered, 3 x 5 x 1. 5 feet approximately, encased in glass, next to the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib at the ground floor, now represents the original wall. The shrine was maintained in a private house by a line of resident priests until it was acquired during the 1950's by the Sev&#257 Committee Gurdw&#257r&#257 Kandh S&#257hib. The foundation of the present building was laid on 17 December 1956. Standing in a marble-paved compound about 2 metres above the street level, it consists of a 10 metre square hall, with a square sanctum in the middle. The room at the second floor level is used for continuous readings of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. Above it and over the sanctum is a room with a dome covered with white glazed tiles and decorated with a tall gold-plated pinnacle and umbrella-shaped finial. Arched copings decorate the top room and decorative pinnacled domes surround the central dome, while square domed kiosks at the corners adorn the top. The verandah to the left, as one enters, has wall paintings depicting scenes from the life of Gur&#363 N&#257nak. Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar is across the street, opposite the main entrance.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Gurdw&#257r&#257 is administered by the Sev&#257 Committee Gurdw&#257r&#257 Kandh S&#257hib. Largely-attended congregations take place on every full-moon day. All major anniversaries on the Sikh calendar are observed, but the most important function of the year is the fair held to mark the marriage anniversary of Gur&#363 N&#257nak on the seventh day of the light half of the lunar month of Bh&#257do&#7749 (August-September).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;GURDW&#256R&#256 SATK&#256RT&#256R&#298&#256&#7748 marks the site where the wedding party of B&#257b&#257 Gurditt&#257 is believed to have halted. The shrine is affiliated to the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee and is managed by the local committee of Gurdw&#257r&#257 &#7692ehr&#257 S&#257hib. The Gurdw&#257r&#257 is a high-ceilinged hall, with a two storeyed sanctum in the middle and a gallery at first floor level. Above the sanctum are two storeys of square pavilions topped by a dome. The Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib is temporarily seated in an old small room near by.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> &#7788h&#257kar Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Sr&#299 Gurdu&#257re Darshan</i>. Amritsar, 1923<BR> <li class="C1"> T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh, <i>Sr&#299 Gur T&#299rath Sa&#7749grahi</i>. Amritsar, n. d.<BR> <li class="C1"> Santokh Si&#7749gh, Bh&#257&#299, <i>Sr&#299 Gur Prat&#257p S&#363raj Granth</i>. Amritsar, 1926-37<BR> <li class="C1"> V&#299r Si&#7749gh, Bh&#257&#299, ed. , <i>Pur&#257tan Janam S&#257kh&#299</i>. Amritsar, 1982<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">John C. B. Webster<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>