ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>&#7692H&#256K&#256 (23º-43'N, 90º-24'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=" HK"> <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">&#65279&#7692H&#256K&#256 (23º-43'N, 90º-24'E), an old city now capital of Bangladesh, situated on the north bank of B&#363&#7771h&#299 Ga&#7749g&#257 river, has shrines sacred to Gur&#363 N&#257nak and Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur. Three such <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> commemorating the visits of the Gur&#363s to the city existed until the partition of the country in 1947, but only two of them are now extant.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>GURDW&#256R&#256 N&#256NAKSH&#256H&#298</i>, situated in Ramn&#257 locality behind the Public Library adjoining the Dh&#257k&#257 University campus, marks the spot where Gur&#363 N&#257nak is believed to have preached at the time of his visit in 1507-08. A Sikh <i>sa&#7749gat</i> grew up in the locality, then known as Shuj&#257'atpur or Suj&#257tpur. Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s as well as Bh&#257&#299 Man&#299 Si&#7749gh has recorded one Bh&#257&#299 Mohan of &#7692h&#257k&#257 having visited the Punjab in the time of Gur&#363 Hargobind to seek his blessing. Sikh missionary centres were established by Gur&#363 Hargobind in the eastern parts under the guidance of Bh&#257&#299 Almast, one of the principal apostles of B&#257b&#257 Gurditt&#257, B&#257b&#257 Sr&#299 Chand's successor as head of the Ud&#257s&#299 sect. Bh&#257&#299 Natth&#257 was Almast's representative in eastern Bengal and Assam. <i>Masands</i> were also appointed by the Gur&#363s to guide and manage the <i>sa&#7749gats</i>. Bul&#257k&#299 D&#257s was the <i>masand</i> at the time of Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur's visit in the late 1660's. Bh&#257&#299 Natth&#257, who lived up to the time of Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur, is said to have constructed the Gurdw&#257r&#257 building, with a square sanctum, which still exists. It was repaired by Mahant Prem D&#257s in 1833. The decorative art work on the interior wall was still intact when a Sikh commission visited it in January 1972 after Bangladesh emerged as a soverign State. A tank and a well, also said to have been dug by Bh&#257&#299 Natth&#257, however, no longer exist. In fact, a major portion of the land once belonging to the Gurdw&#257r&#257 has been lost to appropriation by &#7692h&#257k&#257 University and by some individuals.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;GURDW&#256R&#256 SA&#7748GAT &#7788OL&#256, a double-storeyed building situated along 14 Sorees D&#257s Lane in the Ba&#7749gl&#257 B&#257z&#257r and lending its name to the entire locality, is dedicated to Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur who stayed here in the house of a Sikh, Bh&#257&#299 Bul&#257k&#299 D&#257s, in 1667-68. As says Bh&#257&#299 Santokh Si&#7749gh, <i>Sr&#299 Gur Prat&#257p S&#363raj Granth</i>, Bul&#257k&#299 D&#257s's old mother, who had long waited for a sight of the Gur&#363, felt very pleased to have her wish fulfilled as he came and accepted from her hands garments of homespun cotton she had stitched for him. The house in which Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur had put up was converted into a <i>dharams&#257l&#257</i> or <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i>. It was known to possess one of the oldest handwritten copies of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib and a few <i>hukamn&#257m&#257s</i> of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh. The Sikh commission that visited &#7692h&#257k&#257 in January 1972 attested to a copy of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib autographed by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh, a portrait believed to be that of Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur and two <i>hukamn&#257m&#257s</i> being still there.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;GUR&#362 N&#256NAK'S WELL (SIKHER MANDIR) or Sikhs' Temple in what was called Rayor B&#257z&#257r to the north of old &#7692h&#257k&#257 city, was another shrine commemorating the visit of Gur&#363 N&#257nak. The well and the two-roomed <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> with a vaulted roof was frequented by devotees of all faiths in the belief that the water of this well cured many diseases. But in 1960-61 the Pakistan government took over the entire area, levelled it up and sold it as habitation sites to develop what is now known as Dh&#257n Ma&#7751&#7693&#299 Colony.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Another old shrine was the Suthr&#257sh&#257h&#299 Sa&#7749gat in the Urdu B&#257z&#257r which for several decades before 1947 had been administered by the <i>mahants</i> of Gurdw&#257r&#257 N&#257naksh&#257h&#299. The site is untraceable now.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh, <i>Sr&#299 Gur T&#299rath Sa&#7749grahi</i>. Amritsar, n. d.<BR> <li class="C1"> &#7788h&#257kar Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Sr&#299 Gurdu&#257re Darshan</i>. Amritsar, 1923<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Bh&#257g Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>