1. BAANA

BAANA: Literally: dress. In Sikh cultural terminology it means all the five Kakaars (articles of faith) plus a Chola (a long shirt), a tight fitting trousers, a Kamarkassa (a belt to tighten Gaatra and like a sash around the waist) which make one very active. This was actually a dress for the battlefield. A Sikh is expected to be ever ready in Baana at every moment because for a Sikh the world is like a battle field and he/she has to act in every situation in the discipline of a soldier in a battle field.

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2. BABA BAKALA

BABA BAKALA (31°34`N, 75°16`E), a small town in Amritsar district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Hargobind and Guru Tegh Bahadur. The original name of the place was Bakala. As Guru Har Krishan lay on his deathbed in Delhi, he was asked by the sangat to name his successor. All that the Guru could say at that time was 'Baba Bakale' meaning that (Guru) Tegh Bahadur, who was the brother of his (Guru Har Krishan's) grandfather (baba) and who was living at Bakala, was to be the next Guru. Bakala, thereafter, came to be called Baba Bakala.

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3. BABA BAKALA GURUDWARA, AMRITSAR

BABA BAKALA GURUDWARA, AMRITSAR The historical shrine at Baba Bakala is associated with an important event in Sikh history. Here Makhan Shah Lubana declared from house top that he had found the true Guru. It may be recalled that before his death at Delhi on March30, 1664 Guru Harkrishan mumbled feebly 'Baba Bakala', thereby meaning that his successor was to be found at Bakala village in Amritsar. On that day, the only Baba at Bakala was Baba Tegh Bahadur and none else. But many imposters tried to grab the Guru Gaddi by posing themselves as the real Guru.

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4. BABA BOHAR

Baba Bohar (The Old Banyan Tree) is a poetic play, a long monologue. A tree personified is in conversation with the children who are playing under it; it starts with the contemporary situation in Punjab and goes back to elaborating its glorious past from the time of the Sikh Gurus upto the period of Independence, and ends with the narration about the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh. The play is important for its relevant symbolism and ample scope for imaginative staging.

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5. BABA BOLDA HAI

Baba Bolda Hai (The Old Man Speaks Out) of Gursham Singh is a play dealing with the 1984 riots in Delhi. Gursharan Singh points to the people responsible for this ghastly act and criticises main the political leaders who, in his view, were the real culprits. The common man is the main sufferer. It is the story of a grandfather who became an orphan at a very tender age in similar situation as his own grandson now finds himself in. This confidence gives the drama a poetic subtlety. The play also gains importance due to its contemporary; references, recording of historical facts and representation of a form of 'direct theatre'.

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6. BABA NAUDH SINGH,

BABA NAUDH SINGH, whose full title. "The Redemption of Subhagji through the Grace of Baba Naudh Singh," pronounces the homiletic character of the book at the start, was first published in 1921. Comprising a wide variety of elements ranging from romance to polemics, sermon and theology, it seeks to present the Sikh way and vision of life through incident, example and argument. In a manner, the author, Bhai Vir Singh, has only extended the form effected by him in his earlier romances, Sundan, Bijay Singh and Satvant Kaur.

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7. BABA,

BABA, a Persian word meaning 'father' or 'grandfather', is used among Sikhs as a title of affection and reverence. In its original Persian context, Baba is a title used for superiors of the Qalandar order of the Sufis, but as transferred to India its meaning extends to cover the old as well as any faqiror sannyasi of recognized piety. This was also one of Guru Nanak's honorific titles during his lifetime. It assumed a hereditary character and all the physical descendants of the Gurus were generally addressed by this title. Apart from them, the title was also applied to one who combined piety with the exercise of a secular authority.

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8. BABAK

BABAK (d. 1642), a Muslim rababi or musician, kept Guru Hargobind company and recited the sacred hymns at divans morning and evening. The word babak, from Persian, means faithful. As says the Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi, Babak was, at the death of Satta and Balvand, who used to recite sacred hymns for the Guru, asked to perform the obsequies for them under their (Muslim) rites. Babak, it is said, dug the graves for the deceased on the bank of the River Ravi and after the burial service, performed the kirtan on the site where sat Guru Hargobind. 

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9. BABAR AKALI MOVEMENT,

BABAR AKALI MOVEMENT, a radical outgrowth of the Akali movement for the reform of Sikh places of worship during the early 1920's. The latter, aiming to have the shrines released from the control of priests who had become lax and effete over the generations, was peaceful in its character and strategy. In the course of the prolonged campaign, Akalis true to their vows patiently suffered physical injury and violence at the hands of the priests as well as of government authority.

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10. BABAR VANI

BABAR VANI (Babar's command or sway) is how the four hymns by Guru Nanak alluding to the invasions by Babar (1483-1530), the first Mughal emperor of India, are collectively known in Sikh literature. The name is derived from the use of the term in one of these hymns: "Babarvani phiri gai kuiru na rod khai Babar's command or sway has spread; even the princes go without food" (GG, 417). Three of these hymns are in Asa measure at pages 360 and 41718 of the standard recension of Guru Granth Sahib and the fourth is in Tilang measure on pages 72223. Zahir-ud-Din Muhammad Babar, driven out of his ancestral principality of Farghana in Central Asia, occupied Kabul in 1504.

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