Gurdwara Sahib Rakab Ganj

[simmal tree]

The Tribune India - http://www.tribuneindia.com

K.S. Bains on Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, which stands where Guru Teg Bahadur was cremated. This is the sixth of the nine-part series on important Sikh shrines in Delhi

THE place where Gurdwara Rakab Ganj is located was initially a storehouse of rakabs (stirrups) for the Mughal cavalry. Around it was a small locality where a cotton trader named Lakhi Shah lived.

Lakhi was present at the martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur with some carts loaded with cotton. It is said that immediately after the beheading of the Guru Tegh Bahadur, there was a violent storm. In the confusion that followed, Lakhi hid the body of the Guru in his cart. According to another version, the Guru’s body lay unguarded in a dungeon and Lakhi managed to get the body to his house. In order to save the Guru’s body from being dishonoured, he cremated the body by setting on fire his thatched house. The next morning, he collected the ashes in a copper urn, which he buried where the Guru’s body had laid. Another follower of the Guru, Bhai Jeta, had carried the head of the slain Guru to Anandpur Sahib.

In course of time, a mosque came up at the spot where the Guru’s body was cremated. In the late 18th century when Baghel Singh, head of the Karorsinghia misl, learnt about the copper urn, he pleaded with Muslim leaders that the place be dug up. On digging, the sacred urn was found and Baghel Singh built a gurdwara there. He also attached a jagir to the gurdwara for its maintenance.

After the First War of Independence in 1857, Gurdwara Rakab Ganj was replaced by a mosque. The matter was taken up by Sikhs in the High Court. Their case was rejected by the court and was taken to the Privy Council, which ruled in favour of the gurdwara. The gurdwara was again built along with a boundary wall.

Since the gurdwara was in an impressive location, with striking buildings like those of Parliament, Central Secretariat and Rashtrapati Bhawan near it, it was decided to reconstruct the gurdwara in the 1960s.

One Harnam Singh Suri, a dry fruit dealer from Iran, offered to mobilise Rs 30 lakh and build the gurdwara. His request was accepted, and thus came up the present Gurdwara Rakab Ganj.

Built on a 10-foot-high pedestal, the gurdwara has a wide parikrama on all four sides. In the four corners of the parikrama, are four chabutras. The gurdwara has three receding storeys. The height of the first storey itself is more than three storeys of a normal building. The gurdwara, with a chajja around it, sports the same fa`E7ade on all four sides. Its high gate displays two parts: the lower part constitutes of the entrance darwaza and the upper part comprises a protruding balcony with a typical dome on a rectangular base.

There are four domes in the four corners of the first floor. The second storey is about half the height of the first one. Again, there are four domes in the four corners. These domes are much smaller than those on the first floor. The central dome, in the middle of an arcaded square on the roof of the second floor, is surrounded by smaller domes. The various sizes of the domes at different levels present an artistic picture. All the domes are ribbed with inverted lotus leaves on the top.

The gurdwara displays delicate jaliwork in marble, which is somewhat similar to the work done on the tomb of Salim Chisti in Fatehpur Sikri. The side pillars bear elements of Persian architecture. Inside the gurdwara is the spot where the actual cremation of Guru Teg Bahadur took place.

The main entrance to the gurdwara is on the side facing the Parliament building, but the entrance that is commonly used is the one near the parking area. There is an impressive flight of steps with marble colonnade on both sides.

Bhai Harbans Singh, who has devoted his entire life to the construction of gurdwaras in Delhi and Punjab, approached the organising committee of the IX Asian Games in 1981-82, of which Buta Singh was chairman, to help him design a big congregation hall in the gurdwara complex. The location of the hall suggested, however, did not fit with the overall design of the structure.

Thus came up the Lakhi Shah hall in Rakab Ganj Gurdwara. Both architecturally as well as in terms of the material used, the hall doesn’t jell with the main Gurdwara building. The hall is mostly used for celebrating Gurpurb or conducting kirtan and marriage ceremonies.

The office of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee on the gurdwara premises also does not conform to the architectural ambience of the rest of the building. It squarely faces the approach to the gurdwara and spoils the overall character of the place. For, as you enter the gurdwara, on your left side is a beautiful marble structure that holds great religious sanctity, while on the right side is the office with its regular stream of visitors. The contrast between the two sides is rather stark and avoidable. A langar building is also coming up.

According to Sikh parampara, gurdwaras once constructed can be improved upon or re-constructed. All Sikh shrines, including the Golden Temple, have undergone restoration and even construction at some point or the other. There is still time to redesign some of the buildings and make them architectural wonders.