Gurdwara Bangla Sahib – New Delhi | jasbirchatterjeephotoblog

We visited Bangla Sahib Gurudwara located in Central Delhi for the umpteenth time on Sunday, 24 April 2016. We clicked lots of photos this time and we were amazed to find it looking so breathtakingly beautiful in the backdrop of the setting sun in spite of the crowd milling around. Before I paste some of these pics, I feel I must tell you a little bit about its history.

Gurdwara Bangla Sahib was originally a bungalow belonging to Raja Jai Singh, an Indian ruler in the seventeenth century, and was known as Jaisinghpura Palace, in Jaisingh Pura, a historic neighbourhood demolished to make way for Connaught Place. The eighth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Krishan resided here during his stay in Delhi in 1664. During that time, there was an epidemic of smallpox and cholera and Guru Har Krishan helped the suffering by giving aid and fresh water from the well at this house. Soon he too contracted the illness and eventually died on March 30, 1664. A small tank was later constructed by Raja Jai Singh over the well; the same tank is now a little pool (sarovar) and its water is now revered as having healing properties and is taken by Sikhs throughout the world back to their homes.

Gurdwara Bangla Sahib was first built as a small temple by Sikh General Sardar Bhagel Singh in 1783, who supervised the construction of nine Sikh shrines in Delhi in the same year, during the reign of Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II. The Gurdwara and its Sarovar are now a place of great reverence for Sikhs and a place for special congregation on the birth anniversary of Guru Har Krishan.

Once this place became a full-fledged place of worship, the name Jai Singh was given to the road leading to this place. Jai Singh Road now has several buildings including YMCA and the Oxford Library.

This proves that we mortals are nothing against the all-powerful Time and even after death, we can be pulled down from our palaces and made to stand humbly on dusty roads…

Photos Courtesy: Sukhangshu Chatterjee & Jasbir Chatterjee

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