An outline of Sikh architectureby S.S. BhattiSo little has been written about Sikh architecture that it is difficult for anyone to believe that such a style of architecture exists at all. It is ironic that whereas the Sikhs are known the world over for their characteristic vigor, valor, versatility, above

MUKANDA, BHAI, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Arjan. Once he, accompanied by Bhai Mula Beri and Bhai Tirath and Bhai Nihalu, a goldsmith, waited upon Guru Arjan. They asked a question : "0 True King, how is it that while exposition of the Sabda, or sacred

MANGA, BHAI, a musician by profession was among Guru Nanak`s leading disciples. He has been described by Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI. 13, as a lover of gurbani or the Guru`s word.

RAM SINGH (d. 1716), a Bal Jatt of the village of Mirpur Patti in Amritsar district of the Punjab, was the younger brother of Baj Singh, who was appointed governor of the town of Sirhind after it was occupied by Banda Singh Bahadur in May 1710. Ram

RAM SINGH (1639-1714), Ram Chand before receiving the Sikh rites, was an ancestor of the ruling house of Patiala. The second son of Chaudhari Phul, he was married to Sahbi, daughter of one Nanu Bhullar, who gave birth to six sons Dunna, Sahba, Ala Singh, Bakhta,

AKAL BUNGA, lit. the abode of the Timeless One, is the building that houses the Akal Takht in the precincts of the Darbar Sahib at Amritsar. The term is also used sometimes synonymously with Akal Takht. Strictly speaking, while Akal Takht is the institution possessing and exercising

SAROVAR, a tank, pool or lake, especially at a sacred place or by a holy shrine used for sacramental ablutions and other religious ceremonies. Sanskrit synonyms are sar, sarvar, tarag and vapl. Another word is puskar or puskarini which usually means a pond full of lotus

ALAM CHAND was a masand or parish leader at Lahore in Guru Arjan\'s time. He was known for his pious and honest ways. He brought to the Guru regularly offerings collected from the Lahore sangat. His favourite maxim, tells Bhai Mani Singh in the Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, was

ARJAN SINGH CHAHAL, SARDAR BAHADUR (1839-1908), was only seven when his father, Javala Singh, died in 1846 in the prime of his life. Arjan Singh belonged to the village of Chahal in Amritsar district. He held large jagirs in Tarn Taran tabsil and in Lyallpur district. He was an

BAMBELI (also referred to locally as DuggBambeli because of its proximity to another village called Dugg), 12 km north of Phagwara (31°, 14`N, 75° 46`E) in the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Har Rai who visited here during one of his journeys between Kartarpur and Kiratpur. Gurdwara Chaunta Sahib

BHADAUR, a small town 25 km northwest of Barnala (30°22`N, 75°32`E) in Sangrur district of the Punjab, is sacred to. Guru Gobind Singh, who came here from Dina in December 1705 following the chase. The area was then an uninhabited jungle land, and it was only after the village

BHANA MALLAN, BHAI, and Bhai Rekh Rao, storekeepers of the Mughal governor at Kabul, were pious and devoted Sikhs of the time of Guru Arjan. Whatever they earned, they spent on feeding the needy Sikhs and others. Jealous of their generous hospitality, someone complained to the governor charging them