KATTU, village 12 km southeast of Barnala (30°22`N, 75°32`E), in Sarigrur district of the Punjab, claims a historical shrine, Gurdwara Sahib Guru Sar Patshahi IX, commemorating the visit of Guru Tcgh Bahadur. The Gurdwara, marking the site of the Guru`s camp in what used to be a thicket by the side of a pool of water, is about 1 km northeast of the village. Hence the name Guru Sar, or the Guru`s Pool, although what is left of it now is but a slight depression in the adjoining fields. According to local tradition, Guru Tegh Bahadur came here in 1665. He held a discourse with a recluse, Dhian Das, who lived in a thatched hut near by. The villagers also assembled to listen to the Guru expound the teachings of Guru Nanak. Guru Tegh Bahadur summed up by saying what is vividly expressed in his hymns in measure Dhanasari: "Why dost thou run to the woods in search of Him; He, the allpervasive yet everdetached, abides within thee..." (GG,684). A Gurdwara was established here in course of time. The old building, constructed in the early years of the present century, comprises rows of rooms on three sides of a brickpaved courtyard. The foundation of a more spacious building was laid on 31 March 1977. This new complex has a divan hall with a sanctum lopped by a lotus dome. Tlie Gurdwara owns over 50 acres of land and is managed by a local committee under the auspices of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. An important annual event is the martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur.
BADDON, village 10 km southeast of Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur district of the Punjab, has a historical shrine, Gurdwara Baba Ajit Singh, commemorating the visit in March 1703 of Sahibzada Ajit Singh (1687-1705), the eldest son of Guru Gobind Singh. Sahibzada Ajit Singh, on his way back from Bassi Kalan where he had gone to rescue a young Brahman bride from the clutches of the local Pathan chieftain, halted here to cremate one of his warriors, Bhai Karam Singh, who had been wounded in the skirmish at Bassi and had since succumbed to his injuries.
