Gurudwara Dharamsala Guru Nanak Dev At Dera Ismail Khan Pakistan

[Asad]

Hello All,

Recently I visited a very old Gurudwara at my home town of Dera Ismail Khan. This was a Gurudwara cum Dharamsala before partition and was known as the Khalsa Gurudwara. Please view the pics below. Now it too hosts a school. This was one of the biggest Gurudwaras of the North West Frontier Province before partition.

In the below pics I have also posted a picture of the main door of the Gurudwara. Can any one translate the Gurmukhi on it as i cannot read Gurmukhi. Would like to know what is written on it.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Can anyone please translate this for me ? Its in Gurmukhi and I cannot read it. Please do a good translation.

Thanks

Asad

[SheikhFareed]

Asad,

Thank you for providing this.

The gurmukhi is very difficult to read as has been smudged and is not very clear.. please sangat jee can anyone translate??

Also, do you know the history of this gurdwara? it looks very old, do you know the date? on the main door photo, it looks like there used to be an engraving of guru nanak with bhai mardana and bhai bala.

Has this already become a school? Or is it still operating as a Grudwara?

Could you please translate the Urdu for us too?

Thanks.

[SheikhFareed]

I have found this out..Can anyone confirm it is this?

If so, the sangat or SGPC should do something to keep this Gurdwara in good condition..

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This sacred shrine is located in Chota Bazaar of Dera Ismail Khan and can also be reached from Topan Wala Bazaar.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji visited this place during his fourth Udasi (itinerary). At the site where lie stayed a Dharamsala was built by his devotees. It is a beautiful and big building. Its main gate opens in Chota Bazaar. Inside this door there is a beautiful double storey square building, where Prakash used to take place. There are residential rooms around this building for pilgrims. Inside the darbar there i, a Thara Sahib (pious seat) where Guru Nanak Dev Ji stayed.

Presently Govt Higher Secondary School No. 3 is housed in this building. The building is in good condition, all the four doors have marble frame.

Dharamsala was maintained by SGPC before 1947 and presently it is in the hands of Waqf Departmen

[chatanga]

it is quite smudged but it reads :

chakath di sewa ...singh pariwar ny kiti dera 35 years ... 60 years....48

the gate-frame was financed by or built by a name i cant make out, singh is identifiable.

[chatanga]

Could you please translate the Urdu for us too?

It says "Drying Hall" on the sign above the entrance to the building. inside the black letters are arabic, not urdu.

[SheikhFareed]

please trasnlate the arabic then...thanks

[Asad]

Dear SheikhFareed,

Thanks for your reply. Please view the closeup of the picture below. Now it will be clear and easily readable. Otherwise you can always download the picture and then zoom it in Windows photo viewer or ACDC.

The Urdu on top of one of the entrance door states "Drawing Hall". It is a school now so it must be a Drawing Hall. The beautifully decorated verses inside the building beneath the ceiling are not in Urdu. They are in Arabic and are verses from the Quran and Hadith.

Schools generally have these verses written.

I will recap the history of this Gurdwara subsequently.

Asad

[Asad]

The following are the Quranic verses:

Surah Fatiha

In the name of Allah, the most beneficent the most merciful.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

The most beneficent, the most merciful.

The lord of the day of Judgement.

Thee alone do we worship and thee alone we seek for help.

Guide us to the right path.

The path of those upon whom thou has bestowed favors, Not of those who thou has cursed once nor of those who have gone astray.

Surah Ikhlas

Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;

Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;

He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;

And there is none like unto Him.

Another verse from the Quran

Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger

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[SheikhFareed]

Thank you for this translation.

If anyone else knows anything more on this gurdwara then please respond.

[bsingh009]

Dear Asad,

Thank you for bringing the issue of this old gurdwara to us, I was not aware that any old gurdwara existed in Dera Ismail Khan. Would it be possible if you could retake the photos of the gurdwara in high resolution and more professionally so that the pictures are straight and not at an angle as I wish to catalogue all Sikh monuments in Pakistan for my next book. I am a Sikh writer and researcher based in London focusing on the reign of Maharajah Runjeet Singh, I suspect that this gurdwara was built during the Sikh period in the 1840's due to its architecture. My email is bsingh009@hotmail.com should you wish to respond to me directly. I am a regular visitor to Pakistan but never have visited Dera Ismail Khan. Would you have any other photos or images of any other Sikh related sites within DIK or Mankera?. You are doing a great service to our community. God Bless You.