Ex-School Principal Translates Guru Granth Sahib In Oriya, Seeks Suggestions

[singhbj singh]

Ex-school principal translates Guru Granth Sahib in Oriya, seeks suggestions

Usmeet Kaur, Hindustan Times Amritsar, December 28, 2014

Bhubaneswar-based Sadhna Patri, who has strong inclination towards Sikh culture and the Gurbani since her childhood, has translated the Guru Granth Sahib in Oriya.

For the translation project, Sadhna even gave away the post of principal at a Gangtok-based school and returned to Bhubaneshwar, where collaborated with her family friend Sakir Singh for proofreading and editing of the scripture.

On Saturday, she was in the Holy City to meet Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) members to show her three-year-long translation work and to seek their suggestions.

Translating the Guru Granth Sahib in Oriya is a huge responsibility and it is important to get it right, while staying ethically correct. I believe in following the right protocol so that no one can raise a finger at my work later. Therefore, a final nod from the Akal Takht is very important, Sadhna told Hindustan Times here on Saturday.

Even though I belong to a Hindu Oriya family, it doesnt restrict me from loving other religions. The founder of the Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev (the first Sikh guru) always emphasised on humanity and preached love for all, said Sadhna.

The Guru Granth Sahib comprises Gurbani written by Bhagat Kabir and Bhagat Naam Dev, then how my religion can be a barrier in loving the Gurbani, she said.

She was in Class 3 when turbaned Sikh men and Sikh women attracted her, every time she got a glance of a Sikh man or a woman her curiosity compelled her to know about them, their history and culture.

Sadhna has always been inclined towards the Gurbani, which she calls sweet and soulful.

I started reading about the Sikh culture and the Gurbani at an early age; however, a sudden transformation occurred in 2008 when I wrote Suraj Prakash in Oriya, which includes life saga of all ten Sikh gurus and Sikh history. The work has been received well by people in Odhisa, she recounted.

This further encouraged me to tell the Oriya people about the teachings of this beautiful and pragmatic religion, for which Oriya translation of the granth was a must. I started in 2011, she added.

Sadhna feels translations of the Guru Granth Sahib in various languages is a must, as confining the scripture to Punjabi will restrict its understanding among various communities of India and the world.

Once the Guru Granth Sahib is translated in Oriya, native Oriya speakers in parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh will be able to learn and understand it, she concluded.

Source - http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/chandigarh/ex-school-principal-translates-guru-granth-sahib-in-oriya-seeks-suggestions/article1-1301042.aspx

[proactive]

The SGPC should be ashamed that it hasn't even been able to translate the Guru Granth Sahib into any other language and is just content to honour individuals who even having meagre means have translated the Guru Granth Sahib into various languages.

[jkvlondon]

The SGPC should be ashamed that it hasn't even been able to translate the Guru Granth Sahib into any other language and is just content to honour individuals who even having meagre means have translated the Guru Granth Sahib into various languages.

They don't want to lose control and overall grip of panthic gurdwarey... besides I think Damdami taksal should be the ones to be consulted on arths and making sure the translations are shudh...

[singhbj singh]

I agree they should be proactive not reactive.

3HO did translate Gurbani into foreign languages, check out

http://www.sikher.com/#

Don't know how accurate they are or whether they have been approved by sgpc scholars.

Anyway some organization should take initiative to translate Gurbani in Local as well foreign languages.

Just look at Chinese Bibis Gurdwara Tour video.

It clearly shows that there is a need or demand for Chinese translation & transliteration.

In fact some techies should develop & upload Gurmukhi on Google & Bing Translators.

[Ranjeet01]

If you are looking for Mandarin and Cantonese translations, you may need to talk to Malaysian and Singaporean Sikhs as they obviously would have a lot of interactions with the Chinese community for over 100 years.

[singhbj singh]

I feel that Basic information on Sikhs must be made available in regional language.

Here's a good initiative by Sikh Coalition

http://www.sikhcoalition.org/about-sikhs/the-sikh-brochures