Ayesha Omar

Ayesha Omar (born October 12, 1980) is a Pakistani actress, model, singer, former MTV Pakistan VJ and painter. She is best known for portraying the character of Khoobsurat in ARY Digital's sitcom Bulbulay.

Born on October 12, 1980, Ayesha graduated from the prestigious National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan, where she mastered the art of painting fine art. She acquired fame with two of her hit singles, "Aao" and "Koi To Ho".

Since her early days at school, Ayesha had been keen in theater and charity work. She was a president at her arts school and managed theater productions along with doing costumes and conceptual creative work. She would dedicate her summers at the Rising Sun School for special children. At the age of eight, she started hosting a show with Muneeza Hashmi called Meray Bachpan Kay Din in which she would interview celebrities about their early days.

However, it was her break in the light teen comedy Kollege Jeans that prompted her career in television. The show was directed by another NCA graduate Jawad Bashir and cast her alongside Ali Zafar and other prominent TV personalities. Soon after she was invited to host a show called Rhythm for Prime TV where she interviewed musicians from all over Pakistan including veterans like Arif Lohar and Shazia Manzoor.

She would even act with Nautanki, NCA’s drama group, even before she joined the college whence she gathered that a formal training is required. The National College of Arts (NCA) provided her every other reason to indulge into any prospect of performing arts. During her tenure at the institution she also modelled 18 fashion shows held as well as perform in seven plays with Lahore’s amateur theater groups.

In 2003, a set of paintings that Ayesha created for her final NCA thesis generated excitement and controversy when exhibited. The controversy surrounded her submission of two semi-nude self portraits, also a part of the exhibition. Asked, Ayesha would say that the Pakistani society has forgotten the integral preciousness of life and quoted that “the human body is the purest of all natural forms, it’s chaste, it’s innocent, but you have to see beyond the apparent to perceive the metaphysical.

Ayehsa Omar hosted ‘Hot Chocolate’ on ARY Zauq. She is now hosting a morning show 'Ye Waqt Hai Mera' on CNBC Pakistan and Samaa tv (Source: Wikipedia)

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ayesha-Omer/79287254168

Salima Hashmi

Salima Hashmi (Urdu: سليما حاشمى; is a PoP), Pakistani artist, cultural writer painter, and an anti-nuclear weapon activist, served for four years as professor (of arts and dance) and the head of the National College of Arts. She is the eldest daughter of one of Pakistan's most renowned poets, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and the British-born Alys Faiz.

She represents the first generation of modern artists in Pakistan, who carry an artistic identity different from indigenous artists. Known for her condemning the Pakistan's and Indian nuclear programs, she is among one of the few Pakistani intellectuals who condemned the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in 1998.

Family

Hashmi was born to Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Alys Faiz. She has one sister. She is a maternal cousin of Salman Taseer, the former Governor of Punjab, Pakistan. She is a cousin of the architect, Yasmin Cheema from her father's side.

She is married to Shoaib Hashmi. Her son Yasser Hashmi is in final stages of his doctrate at McGill University Canada and teaches Psychology at Lahore University Of Management Sciences. Her Nephew Adeel Hashmi is a well known young director, Actor and model in the world of media in Pakistan.

Academic career

She is currently the Dean of the School of Visual Arts & Design at the Beaconhouse National University. Salima is famous for her quick wit and ability to read and analyze artwork with effortless ease. She is a respected patron of young artists known to have the capacity to make or break a career. Formerly known as "Art-Shart", Rohtas-2 is the gallery set up by Salima Hashmi at her house in Lahore Model Town. Shoaib Hashmi, her husband, retired from a teaching position at Government College University, Lahore, and was also a popular co-star with Salima in comedy television shows in the early 1970s.

Bibliography

Salima Hashmi also authored a critically lauded book titled "Unveiling the Visible: Lives and Works of Women Artists of Pakistan" in 2001. In 2006, Salima Hashmi co-authored a book with Indian art historian Yashodhara Dalmia titled 'Memory, Metaphor, Mutations: Contemporary Art of India and Pakistan', published by Oxford University Press. Her latest work, a series of illustrations to accompany English translations of her father's poetry by her husband Shoaib Hashmi, is in process of publication.

Education

She has been the Dean at the School of Visual Arts, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore. In addition, she is an activist, a painter, art educationist, writer and curator. In recent years she has been working on developing closer links with India and working towards a unity group. She was educated at the National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore, the Bath Academy of Art, U.K., and the Rhode Island School of Design, USA.

In addition, Salima taught for 30 years at NCA, Pakistan’s premier art institution, and retired as its Principal. Her work has been exhibited, and she has traveled and lectured extensively all over the world. She has also curated numerous international art shows in England, Europe, the USA, Australia, Japan and India.Salima Hashmi is a recipient of The President’s Award for Pride of Performance, Pakistan.

Arts career

Salima Hashmi is one of the most well-known artists of Pakistan. Besides being an accomplished painter, she taught at Pakistan's prestigious National College of Arts (NCA) for about thirty years and served as the Principal of NCA for four years. In 1999, Salima Hashmi received Pakistan's Pride of Performance award. Today she is the Dean of School of Visual Arts at the newly established Beaconhouse National University in Lahore and she also runs her own art gallery featuring works of young artists.

Political Views

Salima Hashmi comes from a socially and politically active family. Her father was the legendary Pakistani poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and her mother, the British-born Alys Faiz was a respected journalist and peace activist in Pakistan. One of two daughters, Salima was always active in the arts, performing in plays before taking on painting professionally.

Salima was about eight years old when Faiz Ahmed Faiz was imprisoned for his political views. She remembers visiting him in jail. Later, during the repressive years of General Zia-ul-Haq rule, Salima's father had to go into self-exile as a result of the harassment he faced by Zia's government. Therefore, Salima grew up in a politically charged atmosphere. Painting became her outlet.

Voice for Women

Zia period is considered one of Pakistan's most repressive era especially for women, implications of which are still prevalent in society today. Salima's work focuses on the suffering of women in a highly patriarchal society especially under Zia-ul-Haq's. Her paintings usually include abstract figures of women depicting their struggles. They are a reflection of Salima's thoughts and feelings regarding the political and social uncertainties under which people of Pakistan have lived.

Nuclear Tests Response

Salima deplored the nuclear test conducting by India and Pakistan in 1998. In an interview with Humsafar magazine she talked about her series People Wept at Dawn which she says is in response to the nuclear tests. Salima expressed her frustration at the India and Pakistan nuclear test by saying:

"It would be so much more fruitful if these energies could be used in producing food to eat, providing shelter, freedom from disease and education for all."

Salima Hashmi has also been active in the human rights movement since the early 80s when she was one of the founding members Women's Action Forum, an organization dedicated to promoting women's rights though it has been criticized for being limited to the elite class of Pakistan.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz

Date of Birth: February 13th, 1911 Place: Sialkot (Punjab), Pakistan Faiz's mother was Sultan Fatima. Faiz's father died in Sialkot in 1913. Faiz's father was a learned man and enjoyed the company of well-known literary persons. Wrote the biography of Amir Abdur Rehman. Faiz was therefore, born in a respectable and literary environment and was a very promising student with a religious background.  Primary Education: Started memorizing the Holy Quran at the age of four and in 1916 started his formal education in the famous school of Moulvi Ibrahim Sialkoti, and learnt Urdu, Persian and Arabic. Was admitted to the Scotch Mission High School in 1921 in Class IV. Passed his Matriculation Examination in the 1st Division from Murray College, Sialkot and during this period learnt Persian and Arabic from Allama Iqbal's teacher, Shamsul Ullama Moulvi Syed Meer Hasan.  College Education: Passed his B.A. (Honours) in Arabic from the Government College, Lahore and then M.A. in English from the same College in 1932. Passed his M.A. in Arabic in the 1st Division, from Oriental College, Lahore.  Employment: Lecturer in English at M. A. O. College, Amritsar in 1935 and then at Hailey College of Commerce, Lahore. Joined the Army as Captain in 1942 and worked in the department of Public Relations in Delhi. Was promoted to the rank of Major in 1943, and Lieut. Colonel in 1944. Resigned from The Army in 1947 and returned to Lahore, where, in 1959 appointed as Secretary, Pakistan Arts Council and worked in that capacity till 1962. Returning from London in 1964 he settled down in Karachi and was appointed as Principal, Abdullah Haroon College , Karachi. Editorship of the monthly magazine Adabe-Latif from 1947 to 1958. Worked as Editor under the Progressive Papers Ltd, of the Pakistan Times, the Urdu newspaper Imroze and the weekly Lailo-Nihar. In the 1965 war between India & Pakistan he worked in an honorary capacity in the Department of Information. Acted as Editor of the magazine Lotus in Moscow, London and Beirut.  Marriage & Children: In March 9th, arrested under Safety Act and charged in the Rawalpindi Conspiracy case, and having borne the hardships of imprisonment for four years and one month in the jails of Sargodha, Montgomery (now Sahiwal) Hyderabad and Karachi, was released on April 2nd, 1955.  

Legacy

Faiz was acknowledged long ago as the greatest Urdu poet after Iqbal. Even those who were critical of his progressive social and political beliefs could not deny him that position, although they always qualified their praise of him by regretting that such a good man should have fallen among the Communists. 

He was a keen student of various traditions of classical poetry in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Arabic, Persian, and English among others and had realized at an early age that it was the content and not the form which was basic in the art of poetry, that originality had little to do with formal experimentation and was primarily a matter of a profound understanding of human existence in its totality and wholeness. 

His Critical essays, written mostly during his formative years, are a testimony to the fact that he had arrived at, and formulated clearly the essential elements of the poetics necessary for our age, the age of the masses. 

Iqbal had sung poems of glory to the fact of revolution and given out a clarion call to the people to rise up against the master-classes and tyrants. Faiz, having joined the people in their rebellion, and having adopted the collective cause as a poet of the revolution, made the transformation of the individual human being and his passage through the infinite variety of situations and moods in this process, the subject of his poetry. He is concerned, above all, with the experience of the individual human soul in the long and arduous journey of revolutionary struggle. 

And yet love is the leit motif of his poetry. Faiz is one of the great lyricists who seems, from one point of view, to have sung of nothing with greater passion than love. 

Faiz takes Ghalib's plea for a deeply philosophical coordination of the poetic profession as his premise to refute the arguments of the aesthetes of his time for whom poetry was merely peripheral activity. But he goes further and comments that Ghalib's definition of creative vision is incomplete, because the poet is not only required to see the ocean in the drop, but also has to show it to others. 

That is why, apart from being a great revolutionary poet, he was a great love poet, and there was no distinction between the two, love and revolution had become identical in him. 

Publications

• Naqshe Faryadi, 1941

• Daste Saba, 1953

• Zindan Nama, 1956

• Mizan, a collection of literary articles,1956

• Daste-Tahe-Sang, 1965

• Sare-Wadiye Seena, 1971

• Shame-Shehr Yaran, 1979

• Merey Dil Merey Musafar, 1981

• Nuskha-Hai-Wafa, 1984

• Pakistani Culture, Urdu & English

Source : http://www.faiz.com/

Guru Nanak

Guru Nanak Dev (1469 to 1539)
Full Name :	Nanak Dev
Personal Details
Birth :	On Saturday 15 April 1469 at Rai Bhoeki Talwandi, Pakistan (Nankana Sahib)
Guruship :	1469 to 1539
Joti Jot :	On Monday 22 September, 1539at Kartarpur
Family
Parents :	Mehta Kalu and Mata Tripta Devi
Brother/Sisters :	Sister Bebe Nanki
Spouse :	Mata Sulakhani
Children :	Sri chand and Lakhmi Das
Other Details
Bani in GGS:	974 Shabads in 19 Ragas,Gurbani Includes Japji, Sidh Gohst, Sohilaa, Dakhni Onkar,Asa di Var, Patti, Bara Mah
Other Info:	Four Udasis

Guru Nanak (Gurmukhi: ਗ੝ਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ) (Saturday 15 April 1469 - Monday 22 September, 1539), the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs, was born in the village of Talwandi.

Also called Rai Bhoe-ki Talwandi, the village now known as Nankana Sahib, is near Lahore in present-day Pakistan. He was born, according to all ancient Sikh records, in the early morning of the third day of the light half of the month of Baisakh (April - May) in the year 1469; this is believed to be Saturday 15 April 1469. However, the Sikhs now celebrate this auspicious event each year on the full moon day in November; consequently, the date in November changes from one year to another. See

Before Guru Nanak departed for his heavenly abode in 1539, his name had travelled not only throughout India's north, south, east and west, but also far beyond into Arabia, Mesopotamia (Iraq), Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Afghanistan, Turkey, Burma and Tibet. As Guru's Birth Anniversary (also called "Guru Nanak Jayanti") is lunar linked, it celebrated on the full moon in November. The event was celebrated on 15 November in 2005; 5 November in 2006; 24 November in 2007; 13 November in 2008; and will be celebrated on 2 November 2009, 21 November 2010, 10 November 2011 28 November 2012, 17 November 2013 6 November 2014, 25 November 2015, 14 November 2016, 4 November 2017, 23 November 2018, 12 November 2019 and 30 November 2020.

The name "Nanak" was used by all subsequent Gurus who wrote any sacred text in the Sikh holy scripture called the Guru Granth Sahib. So the second Sikh Guru, Guru Angad is also called the "Second Nanak" or "Nanak II". It is believed by the Sikhs that all subsequent Gurus carried the same message as that of Guru Nanak and so they have used the name "Nanak" in their holy text instead of their own name and hence are all referred to as the "Light of Nanak."

Guru Nanak also called Satguru Nanak, Baba Nanak, Nanak Shah Faqir, Bhagat Nanak, Nanak Kalandar etc. by different people of religions and Cults.

Bhai Gurdas ji's summary

ਸ੝ਣੀ ਪ੝ਕਾਰ ਦਾਤਾਰ ਪ੝ਰਭ੝ ਗ੝ਰ੝ ਨਾਨਕ ਜਗ ਮਾਹਿ ਪਠਾਇਆ || ਚਰਨ ਧੋਇ ਰਹਰਾਸਿ ਕਰਿ ਚਰਣਾਮ੝ਰਿਤ ਸਿੱਖਾਂ ਪੀਲਾਇਆ || 

ਪਾਰਬ੝ਰਹਮ ਪੂਰਨ ਬ੝ਰਹਮ ਕਲਿਜ੝ਗ ਅੰਦਰ ਇਕ ਦਿਖਾਇਆ || ਚਾਰੇ ਪੈਰ ਧਰਮ ਦੇ ਚਾਰਿ ਵਰਨ ਇਕ ਵਰਨ੝ ਕਰਾਇਆ || 

ਰਾਣਾ ਰੰਕ ਬਰਾਬਰੀ ਪੈਰੀ ਪਵਣਾ ਜਗਿ ਵਰਤਾਇਆ | ਉਲਟਾ ਖੇਲ੝ ਪਿਰੰਮ ਦਾ ਪੈਰਾਂ ਉਪਰਿ ਸੀਸ ਨਿਵਾਇਆ || 

ਕਲਿਜ੝ਗ ਬਾਬੇ ਤਾਰਿਆ ਸਤਿਨਾਮ੝ ਪੜ੝ਹਿ ਮੰਤ੝ਰ ਸ੝ਣਾਇਆ || ਕਲਿ ਤਾਰਣਿ ਗ੝ਰ੝ ਨਾਨਕ ਆਇਆ ||੨੩|| ਵਾਰ ੧ || 

The Provider Lord listened to the cries, Guru Nanak descended into this world. 

Washing His feet and praising God, he got his Sikhs to drink the ambrosial nectar. 

In this Dark Age, he showed all gods to be just one. 

The four feet of Dharma, the four castes were converted into one. 

Equality of the King and beggar, he spread the custom of being humble. 

Reversed is the game of the beloved; the egotist high heads bowed to the feet. 

Baba Nanak rescued this Dark Age; read ‘satnam’ and recited the mantar. 

Guru Nanak came to redeem this Dark Age of Kaljug. Bhai Gurdas - Vaar 1 pauri 23

His path

It was a dark and moonless night; the clouds were heavy with rain as it was the monsoon season. Suddenly lightning flashed and thunder sounded as a few raindrops started to fall. The village was asleep. Only Nanak was awake and the echo of his song filled the air.

Nanak’s mother was worried because it was pitch dark and day break was far away. The lamp in his room was burning. She could hear his melodious voice as he sang, restraining herself no longer she knocked at his door. “Go to sleep, my son, the sun is a long way ahead.” Nanak became silent. From the darkness sounded the call of the sparrow-hawk. “Piyu, piyu, piyu!” it called.

“Listen, mother!” Nanak called out. “The sparrow-hawk is calling to his beloved; how can I be silent, because I am competing with it? I will call my beloved before he calls his – even for longer because his beloved is nearby, perhaps in the next tree! My beloved is so far away. I will have to sing for lives upon lives before my voice reaches Him.” Nanak resumed his song.

Guru Nanak’s path was, is and will ever remain decorated with endless rows of true flowers; he realised God by singing virtues of God and following a life of true deeds. Guru Nanak did not practise normal Hindu austerities, meditation or yoga; he only sang in the beautiful poetic forms of the time. Singing, often extemporaneously, with all his heart and soul, so much so that his singing became his meditation, his purification and his yugam (yoking ones self to the almighty, to Satguru. This was Nanak’s path; decorated with true flowers of song, songs of glory and praise of the Almighty Lord.

Whatever he has said was said in verse straight from GOD. His blissful and mesmerizing songs are not those of an ordinary singer; they have sprung from within one who has known. There is the ring of truth, the reflection of God within them. It is these songs, songs of love and expressions of truthfulness and worship, along with the songs of Guru Nanak's nine successors, that form the eternal Guru of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib.

Background

His father was Kalayan Das Mehta, also known as Mehta Kalu, and his mother was Mata Tripta ji. They were Hindus belonging to the Vedic Kshatri (Khatri) caste. Guru ji had an older sister called Bebey Nanki, who was the first to recognise Nanak as an enlightened Soul. Guru Nanak from an early age evidenced a questioning and enquiring mind. He soon mastered the Vedas and Sanskrit and was enrolled into a madrassa to study Persian and Arabic. Picking up both languages quickly, he surprised his teacher by composing an acrostic on the Persian language. When it was time for Nanak to be invested with the twice born thread the “sacred” thread, called the Janeu, he refused to take part in the ritual. When the priest continued to insist that the young Nanak done the string he went into a trance and sang:

Let mercy be the cotton, contentment the thread,

Continence the knot and truth the twist.

Oh priest! if you have such a thread,

Do give it to me.

It will not wear out, nor get soiled, nor be burnt, nor lost.

Says Nanak, blessed are those who go about wearing such a thread.

(Rag Asa)

Guru Nanak's Life at Sultanpur

Nanak married Sulkhni of Batala, and they had two sons, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das. Guru ji's brother-in-law, the husband of his sister Nanki, obtained a job for him in Sultanpur as the manager of the government's grainary. One morning, when he was twenty-eight, he went as usual down to the river to bathe and meditate. It was said that he was gone for three days. When he reappeared, filled with the spirit of God, it was apparent to all that he was a changed man. He would say nothing, he quit his job and distributed all that he had to the poor. Accompanied by his childhood friend, a Muslim named Mardana who had always played the Rebab while Nanak sang, they left town. When, after a few days, he spoke saying "There is no Hindu, no Musalman." It was then that Guru Nanak began his missionary work and travels.

As a householder, Guru ji continued to carry out the mission of his life – to lead people on the true path to God, to dispel superstition, to bring people out of ritualistic practises, to lead them directly to follow Gurbani without the need for priests and clergy, and to restrain and guard against the five thieves within – Pride, Anger, Greed, Attachment and Lust.

The three basic guidlines

Guru Nanak founded and formalised the three pillars of Sikhism:

1. Naam Japna Guru ji led the Sikhs directly to practise Simran and Naam Japna – meditation on God through reciting, chanting, singing and constant remembrance followed by deep study & comprehension of God’s Name and virtues. In real life to practice and tread on the path of Dharam (righteousness) - The inner thought of the Sikh thus stays constantly immersed in praises and appreciation of the Creator and the ONE ETERNAL GOD Waheguru.

2. Kirat Karni He expected the Sikhs to live as honourable householders and practise Kirat Karni – To honestly earn by ones physical and mental effort while accepting both pains and pleasures as GOD's gifts and blessings. One is to stay truthful at all times and, fear none but the Eternal Super Soul. Live a life founded on decency immersed in Dharam - life controlled by high spiritual, moral and social values.

3. Vand Chakna. The Sikhs were asked to share their wealth within the community by practising Vand Chakna – “Share and Consume together”. The community or Sadh Sangat is an important part of Sikhism. One must be part of a community that is living the flawless objective values set out by the Sikh Gurus and every Sikh has to contribute in whatever way possible to the common community pool. This spirit of Sharing and Giving is an important message from Guru Nanak.

Contributions to humanity

During his his time on Earth Guru Nanak was revered by both Hindus and Muslims and even today many, outside of the Sikh faith, revere him. It is related that as he lay dying, his followers some formerly Hindu and others formerly Muslims argued whether his body should be cremated as Hindu tradition dictated or buried as in Islamic tradition. It is said that when they removed the sheet which had covered the Guru they found only beautiful flowers. The Hindus burned theirs, the Muslims buried theirs.

His main contributions were:

Equality of humans

When in the middle east, the west and the rest of asia slavery, varna/class and race discrimination was rife and respect between the different classes and caste was at a peak, Guru Nanak preached against discrimination and prejudices due to race, caste, status, etc. He said: "See the brotherhood of all mankind as the highest order of Yogis; conquer your own mind, and conquer the world." (SGGS page 6); also "There is one awareness among all created beings." (page 24) and finally "One who recognizes the One Lord among all beings does not talk of ego. ||4||" (page 432). He urges all the peoples of the world to "conquer" their minds to these evil practises. All human beings had the light of the Lord and were the same -- only by subduing one's pride and ego could one see this light in all.

Equality of women

In about 1499 when the world offered low to no status or respect to women, Guru Nanak sought to improve the respect of women by spreading this message: "From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all. O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman." (page 473). In so doing, he promoted women's rights and equality — a first for the 15th century!

Universal message for all people

It had been a custom at the time for religious leaders to address only their own congregation and for segregation of the different religions -- but Guru Nanak broke with tradition and spoke to all of humanity. To the Muslim he said: "And when, O Nanak, he is merciful to all beings, only then shall he be called a Muslim. ||1||" (page 141); to the Hindu, he said "O Nanak, without the True Name, of what use is the frontal mark of the Hindus, or their sacred thread? ||1||" (page 467); and to all he preached: "To take what rightfully belongs to another is like a Muslim eating pork, or a Hindu eating beef." (page 141).

The four journeys

History states that he made four great journeys, travelling to all parts of India, and into Arabia and Persia; visiting Mecca and Baghdad. He spoke before Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Parsees, and Muslims. He spoke in the temples and mosques, and at various pilgrimage sites. Wherever he went, Guru Nanak spoke out against empty religious rituals, pilgrimages, the caste system, the sacrifice of widows, of depending on books to learn the true religion, and of all the other tenets that were to define his teachings. Never did he ask his listeners to follow him. He asked the Muslims to be true Muslims and the Hindus to be true Hindus.

After the last of his great journeys, Guru Nanak tried a new experiment - he asked a wealthy follower to donate a large tract of land . Here he built a town calling it Kartapur (in Punjab) on the banks of the Ravi where he taught for another fifteen years. Followers from all over came to settle in Kartapur to listen, and sing, and be with him. During this time, although his followers still remained Hindu, Muslim, or of the religion to which they were born, they became known as the Guru's disciples, or sikhs. It was here his followers began to refer to him as teacher, or guru. The Guru told his followers that they were to be householders and could not live apart from the world -- there were to be no priests or hermits. Here is where the Guru instituted the common meal, requiring the rich and poor, Hindu and Muslim, high caste and low caste, to sit together while eating. All worked together, all owned the town. Here is where Lehna, later to be Guru Angad, came to be with Guru Nanak.

To this day in Gurdwaras from the Punjab around the world to California's Yuba City people of all religions and creeds can enjoy a wonderful evening of beautiful song, music and of course a hot friendly meal.

A well known legend, when Nanak met Babur (1483-1530) the Emperor of India offered him a shared pipe of [Bhang], Nanak replied that he had a bhang whose wonderful effects never wore off. Inquiring of Nanak where he could find such wonderful bhang - Nanak declined the emperor's offer, saying GOD the [SAT GURU] was his bhang.

The Guru leaves for his heavenly abode

Kartarpur (meaning: The City of God), was established by Guru Nanak in 1522[1]. On Asu sudi 10, 1596 Bikrmi [Monday September 22, 1539 AD] Guru Nanak breathed his last at Kartarpur. Since the Guru's followers had been raised as Hindus or Muslims (each of which had different methods of dealing with one's earthly remains), an argument arose over whether the Guru's body should be cremated or buried. Traditionally, Hindus cremate while Muslims bury the bodies of loved ones after death.

Ultimately it was decided that flowers would be placed by each group on his body. Whosoever's flowers were found withered the next morning would loose the claim. It is related that the next morning when the cloth sheet was removed the Guru's body was missing and both sets of flowers were found as fresh as when they were placed.

The two communities then decided to divide the cloth sheet that covered the Guru's body and together with the flowers that they had place, one burying it and the other consigning it to fire. Therefore, both a samadh (Hindu tradition monument of remembrance) lies in the Gurdwara at Kartarpur and a grave (according to Muslim traditions) lies on the premises as a reminder of this joint claim to Guru Nanak by both the communities.

The gurdwara is located next to a small village named Kothay Pind (village) on the West bank of the Ravi River in Punjab, Pakistan. The original abode established by Guru Nanak was washed away by floods of the river Ravi.

The Gurudwara at Kartarpur can be seen from another Gurdwara located across the border at the historical town of Dehra Baba Nanak in India (It is not Dera, as so many people wrongly call it. Dehra is derived from the word Deh or body). Both sites are one of the holiest places in Sikhism located in the Majha region.

Recently, there has been lobbying to open the corridor for Sikhs from India to visit the shrine without any hindrance or visa. It lies only 3 km from the border.

Source: http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak

Bhai Santokh Singh

Bhai Santokh Singh, (8 October 1787 - 19 October 1843) the noted author of six works - Naam Kosh, Guru Nanak Parkash, Garb Ganjni Teeka*, Balmik Ramayan, Atam Purayan Teeka and his magnum opus, Sri Gur Partap Suraj Granth aka Suraj Parkash, was born on 8 October 1787. He was the son of Bhai Deva Singh and Mata Rajadi, professional cloth printers of Nurdin village, also known as Sarai Nurdin, 7 km northwest of Tarn Taran in Amritsar district of the Punjab. * (Teeka or tika means translation and explanation of a work.)

Background and Early life

His father, though poor, was educated and well versed in the sacred texts. He sent his son, after preliminary education at home, to Amritsar where he became a pupil of Giani Sant Singh (1768 - 1832), a renowned man of letters and custodian of Sri Darbar Sahib.

After having studied Sikh Scripture and history, Sanskrit language and literature, poetics, philosophy and mythology at Amritsar for about 15 years, Santokh Singh moved to Buria, an old town on the right bank of the Yamuna in the present Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana, some time before 1813.

Writer, poet and preacher

There he established himself as a writer, poet, and preacher. His patron was Dial Singh, also from a clothmakers' family and an old acquaintance of the poet's father, who was serving as an army officer under Sardar Hari Singh, chief of Buna.

Here Santokh Singh wrote his earlier works, Nam Kosh, a versified Hindi translation of Amar Kosa, the famous Sanskrit dictionary, (completed in 1821), and Sri Guru Nanak Prakash, an epic poem consisting of 9,700 verses dealing with the life and teachings of Guru Nanak (completed in 1823).

He had attained such repute as a poet and scholar that Bhai Udai Singh, chief of Kaithal, invited him in 1825 to join his court. Santokh Singh is said to have spent some time at Patiala also as an employee of Maharaja Karam Singh before going to Kaithal.

Spends 18 years in Haryana

During his 18 year span at Kaithal, now a district town in Haryana, he wrote Garab Ganjani Tika (1829), an exhaustive philosophical commentary in Hindi prose on Guru Nanak's japji, along with a critical appreciation of its poetic features (the work was meant to be a rejoinder to Anandghana's tika of the Japu); Valmiki Ramayana (1834), a versified translation of the epic in chaste and refined Braj Bhasa; a translation of Atma Purana in Sadhukari prose (date not known); and his mangum opus, Sri Gur Pratap Suryodaya, popularly known as Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, a voluminous history of the Gurus, written in Braj Bhasa, consisting of 51,820 verses written during 1835-43.

A family man with a burning flare

Bhai Santokh Singh was married during his stay at Buna to Bibi Ram Kaur of Jagadhri. Five sons and three daughters were born to the couple. Some of their descendants are now living at Patiala and at Kaithal. The poet died at Kaithal on 19 October 1843, soon after the completion of his Gur Pratap Suraj Granth.

A shrine in honour of his memory was constructed at his native place, Sarai Nurdin, during the 1950's.

Source: http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Santokh_Singh

Battle of Longewala

Battle of Longewala
Part of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Tank tracks at Longewala. Photographic reconnaissance image taken at the time showing the desperate last minute manoeuvres by Pakistani tanks in the Longewala sector. Circles show destroyed Pakistani tanks.
Date 4–7 December 1971 Location Longewala ~30 Km from Ramgarh,Rajasthan, India Result Decisive Indian Victory[1]
Belligerents
India	Pakistan
Commanders and leaders
Brig.E.N.Ramadoss.  Lt.Col Mohammed Khursheed Hussain[2]  Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri  Wg Cdr M.S. Bawa  Wg Cdr R A Cowasjee  Wg Cdr Suresh  Wg Cdr Sherwin Tully  Major Atma Singh	Brig. Tariq Mir  Brig. Jahanzeb Abab  Brig. Syed Mohammad Zaidi  Lt.Col. Zahir Alam Khan
Strength
120 soldiers 4 Hawker Hunters 1 HAL Krishak 1 Jeep mounted M40 recoilless rifle	2800 soldiers[citation needed] 65 tanks[citation needed] 138 military vehicles[citation needed] 5 field guns[citation needed] 3 anti aircraft guns[citation needed]
Casualties and losses
2 soldiers killed 1 jeep mounted recoilless rifle destroyed	200 soldiers killed 36 tanks destroyed or captured More than 500 vehicles destroyed or abandoned[3]

[show]  Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

[show] v   t   e Indo-Pakistani conflicts

 The Battle of Longewala (Hindi: लोंगेवाला की लड़ाई Lōṅgēvālā kī Laḍ.āī, Urdu: لوںگیوالا کی لڑائی) (D4 - 5 December 1971) was one of the first major engagements in the Western Sector during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, fought between assaulting Pakistani forces and Indian defenders at the Indian border post of Longewala, in the Thar Desert of the Rajasthan state in India.

The "A" company (reinforced) of the 23rd Battalion, Punjab Regiment, under the Indian Army's 30th Infantry, commanded by Brig E.N. Ramadoss (AVSM, SM, Mentioned-In-Despatches), was left with the choice of either attempting to hold out until reinforced, or fleeing on foot from a mechanised infantry Pakistani force. Choosing the former, the company officer commanding Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri ensured that all his assets were correctly employed, and made the most use of his strong defensive position, and weaknesses created by errors in enemy tactics. He was also fortunate in that an Indian Air Force forward air controller was able to secure and direct aircraft in support of the post's defence until reinforcements arrived six hours later.

The Pakistani commanders made several bad decisions, including failure of strategic intelligence to foresee availability of Indian strike aircraft in the Longewala area, exercising operational mobility with little or no route reconnaissance, and conducting a tactical frontal assault with no engineer reconnaissance. This led to the Pakistani brigade group being left extremely vulnerable to air attack, vehicles becoming bogged in ground surface not suitable for movement of armoured vehicles as they tried to deploy off a single track, these being more susceptible to enemy fire by using external fuel storage in tactical combat, attempting to execute a night attack over unfamiliar terrain, and infantry being surprised by obstacles to troop movement causing confusion and stalling the attack during the crucial hours of darkness, when the assaulting infantry still had a measure of concealment from Indian small arms and infantry support weapons fire.

Background

The main thrust of the Indian Army during the 1971 war was directed towards the eastern theatre, with the western sector envisaged as a holding operation to prevent the Pakistan Army from achieving any success that would allow the President of Pakistan, Yahya Khan, any bargaining tool to trade against the captured territories in the east. By the last week of November 1971, the Indian Army had launched offensive manoeuvres at Atgram against Pakistani border posts and communications centres along the eastern border. The Mukti Bahini also launched an offensive on Jessore at this time. It was clear to Islamabad by this time that open conflict was inevitable, and that East Pakistan was indefensible in the long run. Yahya Khan chose at this point to try to protect Pakistan's integrity and to hold India by Ayub Khan's strategy – "The defence of East Pakistan lies in the West".

The Western sector

Khan's policy made the assumption that an open conflict with India would not last long due to International pressure, and that since East Pakistan was undefendable, the war-effort should be concentrated on occupying as large an area of Indian territory as possible as a bargaining tool at the negotiating table. To this end, Gen Tikka Khan had proposed an offensive into India, and the PAF's "overriding priority was to give maximum support to this offensive".[citation needed] The initial plans for the offensive called for at least a temporary cover of air dominance by the PAF under which Khan's troops could conduct a lightning campaign deep into Western India before digging in and consolidating their positions. To support Khan's troops, the PAF had launched pre-emptive strikes on the evening of 3 December that led to the formal commencement of hostilities. In the western theatre, the town of Rahim Yar Khan, close to the international border, formed a critical communication centre for Khan's forces and, situated on the Sindh - Punjab railway, remained a vulnerable link on Khan's logistics. The fall of Rahim Yar Khan to Indian forces would cut off the rail as well as road link between Sindh and Punjab, starving Khan's forces of fuel and ammunitions delivered to Karachi.

Indian battle plans called for a strike across the international border with the 12th Indian division towards Islamgarh through Sarkari Tala, subsequently advancing through Baghla to secure Rahim Yar Khan, which would not only destabilise the Pakistani defences in the Punjab, but also in the Jammu & Kashmir Sector, allowing the planned Indian offensive in the Shakargarh sector to sweep the Pakistani forces trapped there.

Pakistan, which envisaged the Punjab as an operational centre, had a strong intelligence network in the area and planned to counter its own comparatively weak strength on the ground with a pre-emptive strike through Kishangarh towards the divisional headquarters south of Ramgarh Pakistani intelligence did a very good job infiltrating the operations area posing as local people and passing on information. However, these sources failed to pass on information on the Longewala post which, originally a BSF post, was now held by a company of the Punjab Regiment. Longewala formed a strategic point en route to capturing vast tracts of land and also a pivotal theatre of war in engaging India on the western front.

Tactical plan

Pakistan's tactical plan was based on the assumption that an attack in the area would help Pakistan’s 1st Armoured Divisions task in the Sri Ganganagar area. Pakistan High command also felt that it was important to protect the North-South road link which they felt was vulnerable as it was close to the border. A Combined Operations Plan was decided upon. This involved two Infantry Brigades and two Armoured Regiments. A separate division, the 18 Division, was formed for this purpose. 18 Division Operation Orders required one Infantry Brigade (206) with an Armoured Regiment (38 Cavalry) to capture and establish a firm base at Longewala, a junction on the Indian road system and 51st Infantry Brigade and the 22nd Cavalry (Pakistan Army Armoured Corps) to operate beyond Longewala to capture Jaisalmer.

The Pakistani plan was to reach Longewala, Ramgarh and Jaisalmer". The plan was far-fetched from the start, if only because it called for a night attack to be conducted over terrain that was not preceded by route or engineer reconnaissance, and the armoured troops were therefore unaware of the ground surface that could not support rapid movement towards the objective. As the day unfolded, Longewala would stand out as one of the biggest losses in a battle for Pakistan despite overwhelming superiority before commencement of the battle, largely due to the vehicles becoming bogged down in soft sand.

Indian defensive planning

On the Indian side, the Longewala post was held by the A company of the 23rd Battalion, Punjab Regiment, led by Major K S Chandpuri, the defences occupying a high sand dune which dominated the area that was largely intractable to vehicles. The post was surrounded by a barbed wire fence of three stands. The rest of the battalion was located at Sadhewala, 17 km north-east of the Longewala post. Chandpuri commanded an infantry company reinforced by a section each of MMGs and L16 81mm Mortar, and one Jeep-mounted RCL. His two other recoilless rifle teams of the anti-tank section were under training at the battalion headquarters. Major Chandpuri also had under his command a four-man team of the camel Border Security Force division.[10] The Longewala post had no armoured vehicles, but artillery support was available from a battery of 170 Field Regiment (Veer Rajput) tasked in direct support to the battalion, and 168 Field Regiment which had been deployed to the area in secrecy just a day earlier. The direct support battery was attached to the 168 Field Regiment and served as its "Sierra" Battery. Immediately after PAF strikes on Indian airfields on 3 December, Chandpuri dispatched a 20 man strong patrol under Lieutenant Dharam Veer to Boundary Pillar (BP) 638, erected right on the international border. This patrol was to play an important part in detecting the Pakistani forces.

The battle

During the night of the 4th, Lt. Veer's platoon conducting a patrol detected noises across the border that suggested a large number of armoured vehicles approaching. These were soon confirmed by reports - from the Army's Air Observation Post aircraft flown by Maj. Atma Singh - in the area of a 20 km long armoured column on the track leading to the post advancing in the general direction of the Longewala post.Directing Lt Veer's patrol to trail the advancing armoured column, Chandpuri got in touch with the battalion headquarters requesting urgent reinforcements and armour and artillery support. Battalion HQ gave him the choice of staying put, and containing the attack as much as possible, or carrying out a tactical retreat of the company to Ramgarh, as reinforcements would not be available for at least six hours. Considering that Chandpuri's command had no transportation, and was facing a mobile enemy, he decided to maintain the defensive position of the post where his troops at least had the benefit of prepared defensive works, rather than conducting a withdrawal at night that was a far more riskier option.

The Pakistani forces begun their attack at 12:30 am. As the offensive approached the lone outpost, Pakistani artillery opened up across the border with medium artillery guns, killing five of the ten camels from the BSF detachment. As the column of 65 tanks neared the post, Indian defences, lacking the time to lay a prepared minefield, laid a hasty anti-tank minefield as the enemy advanced, one infantryman being killed in the process. The Indian infantry held fire until the leading Pakistani tanks had approached to 15–30 metres before firing their PIATs. They accounted for the first two tanks on the track with their Jeep-mounted 106 mm M40 recoilless rifle, with one of its crew being killed during the combat. This weapon proved quite effective because it was able to engage the thinner top armour of the Pakistani tanks from its elevated position, firing at often stationary bogged down vehicles. In all the post defenders claimed 12 tanks destroyed or damaged. The initial Pakistani attack stalled almost immediately when the infantry discovered the barbed wire which was unseen in the night, and interpreted it to signify a minefield. Firing for the Indian RCL crews was made easier by the flames of fires when the spare fuel tanks on the Pakistani tanks, intended to supplement their internal capacity for the advance to Jaisalmer, exploded, at once providing ample light for Indians located on higher ground, and creating a dense acrid smoke screen at ground level for the Pakistani infantry, adding to the confusion. Two hours were lost as Pakistani sappers were brought up, only to discover there was no minefield. However, at this time Pakistani infantry were required to make another attack, from a different direction, but in the dawn light. The Pakistani advance then attempted to surround the post two hours later by vehicles getting off the road, but many vehicles, particularly armoured personnel carriers and tanks, in trying to soften up the Indian defenders before attacking, became bogged in the soft sand of the area surrounding the post. Throughout the engagement Major Chandpuri continued to direct the supporting artillery fire.

Although massively outnumbering the Indian defenders, and having surrounded them, the Pakistani troops were unable to advance over open terrain on a full-moon night, under small arms and mortar fire from the outpost. This encouraged the Indians not to give up their strong defensive position, frustrating the Pakistani commanders. As dawn arrived, the Pakistan forces had still not taken the post, and were now having to do so in full daylight.

In the morning the Indian Air Force was finally able to direct some HF-24 Maruts and Hawker Hunter aircraft to assist the post; they were not outfitted with night vision equipment, and so were delayed from conducting combat missions until dawn. With daylight, however, the IAF was able to operate effectively, with the strike aircraft being guided to the targets by the airborne Forward Air Controller (FAC) Major Atma Singh in a HAL Krishak. The Indian aircraft attacked the Pakistani ground troops with the 16 Matra T-10 rockets and 30 mm cannon fire on each aircraft. Without support from the Pakistan Air Force, which was busy elsewhere, the tanks and other armoured vehicles were easy targets for the IAF's Hunters. The range of the 12.7 mm anti-aircraft heavy machine guns mounted on the tanks was limited and therefore ineffective against the Indian jets. Indian air attacks were made easier by the nature of the barren terrain. Many IAF officers later described the attack as a 'Turkey Shoot' signifying the lopsidedness. By noon the next day, the assault ended completely, having cost Pakistan 22 tanks claimed destroyed by aircraft fire, 12 by ground anti-tank fire, and some captured after being abandoned, with a total of 100 vehicles claimed to have been destroyed or damaged in the desert around the post. The Pakistani attack was first halted, and then Pakistani forces were forced to withdraw when AMX-13 Indian tanks from division's cavalry regiment, and the 17th Rajputana Rifles launched their counter-offensive to end the six-hour combat; Longewala had proved to be one of the defining moments in the war.

Aftermath

Notwithstanding the Indian victory, there were intelligence and strategic failures on both sides. India's intelligence failed to provide warning of such a large armoured force in the western sector. Moreover the defending post was not heavily armed to neutralise the enemy. Finally, they did not push home the advantage by finishing more tanks when the IAF had the Pakistan tanks on the run. They did, however destroy or capture some 36 tanks, remaining one of the largest disproportionate tank casualties for one side in a single battle after World War II.

Invading Pakistan troops meanwhile, had over-estimated the Longewala post's defensive capability due to the difficulty of approach over sand, conducting the attack at night and in full-moon light, against stiff resistance encountered there from a well prepared defensive position located on a dominant height. Attacking with virtually no air cover, they took too long to close for an assault on the position, and failed to anticipate availability of Indian close air support. Given that Pakistan's Sherman tanks and T-59/Type 59 Chinese tanks were slow on the sandy Thar desert, some military analysts[who?] have opined that the attack may have been a poorly planned and executed given the terrain. Some Pakistan tanks had suffered engine failures due to overheating in trying to extricate themselves, and were abandoned. The open desert battleground provided little to no cover for the tanks and infantry from air attacks. The plan to capture Longewala may have been good in conception, but failed due to lack of air cover. As a result, two tank regiments failed to take Longewala.

For his part, the Indian company commander Major (later Brigadier) Kuldip Singh Chandpuri was decorated with India's second highest gallantry award, the Maha Vir Chakra. Several other awards were earned by members of the defending company, and the battalion's commander. On the other hand, the Pakistani divisional commander was dismissed from service. However, the commander of the Pakistani 51 Brigade who mounted the daring attack and crossed into Indian territory was later awarded Pakistan's high award of the Sitara-e-Imtiaz.

The British media significantly exploited the defence of Longewala. James Hatter compared the Battle of Longewala as to Battle of Thermopylae in his article Taking on the enemy at Longewala describing it as the deciding moment of the 1971 war. Similarly, Field Marshal R.M. Carver, the British Chief of the Imperial General Staff, visited Longewala a few weeks after the war to learn the details of the battle from Major Chandpuri.

Casualties

The battle of Longewala saw heavy Pakistani losses and low Indian losses. Since the Indians were able to use the defenders advantage, they managed to inflict heavy losses on the Pakistanis. Indian casualties in the battle were 2 soldiers. In addition, one Indian jeep mounted Recoilless rifle was knocked out. Pakistani losses were 200 soldiers killed. The Pakistanis also suffered the loss of 22 tanks destroyed or abandoned, and lost 100 additional vehicles, including APC's.

Battle of Longewala in popular culture

The Battle of Longewala was depicted in the 1997 Bollywood Hindi film Border, which was directed by J.P. Dutta and starred Sunny Deol as the Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, Jackie Shroff as the Wing Commander M.S. Bawa, Sunil Shetty as the Rajput Border Security Force Captain Bhairon Singh, and the then teen idol Akshaye Khanna as Lt. Dharam Veer Bhan. The main criticism of the movie was that it showed Indian forces being in a terrible position before any sort of help came from the Indian Air Force. The movie also exaggerates the casualties of Indian soldiers for dramatic purposes. This was not the case in the real incident as Indian forces had defended a position on a height that commanded the area, and were able to defend it effectively due to tactical mistakes made by the Pakistani commanders. This resulted in only 2 jawan casualties before combat ceased. Indian troops were later able to capture damaged or abandoned Pakistani tanks.