Sikh Manuscript, Music, Artifact exhibition and presentation

[shaheediyan]

http://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-council--...ions/livingguru

[GSMANN]

Guru Granth Sahib Exhibition opens in Leicester

Friday 26th September marked the opening of the "The Living Guru-The Holy Sikh Scripture” exhibition at New Walk Museum, Leicester. The occasion being to mark the 300 year consecration of the Sikh scripture the Granth Sahib as being the living Guru of the Sikhs.

The Exhibition was inaugurated by the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Mrs. Manjula Sood the first Asian woman Mayor. She explained how she was brought up in the Punjab and how the heritage of Punjab had shaped the lives of many Punjabis living in the UK. She went on to say that the event was “not an exhibition but real life” for the Sikhs who venerated the Guru Granth Sahib. Sarah Levitt, Head of Leicester Arts and Museum Service referred to the event as;” We are probably the only museum Service nationally organising such an exhibition to mark the 300th celebrations.”

Mr. Sarbjit Singh the chair of the Kohinoor Project Trust said “The exhibition is part of the worldwide celebrations and we very much hope it will help to develop a better understanding about the teaching of Guru Granth Sahib ji which are universal rather than for Sikhs only”. Malika Kramer, Curator of World Culture also gave thanks to the hard work which went in to the organising of the event and she gave praise to the various organisations and individuals who had spent time and loaned some of the rare artifacts for the exhibition.

The UKPHA contribution to the exhibition is that of PowerPoint presentation which showcases some of the UK manuscripts which have been catalogued as part of the UK Punjabi Manuscript project. These include some rare manuscripts which have never been seen to the public. There are many items on display which will keep the visitors interested and will appeal to Sikhs and non Sikhs alike. This includes an oil painting showing how “Guru-ta Gadi” was given to the Guru Granth sahib. On display are various Sikh musical instruments, coins of the Sikhs and some rare Gutkas from several private collections. For more information on the exhibition themes click here

GutkaSeveral activities are planned to accompany this exhibition. They include family events, a lecture series, visits to the Gurdwara, and a Sikh musicology concert. These events are aimed to provide an insight in some of Sikh beliefs and teachings, and experiences of Sikh way of life. There will be a number of lectures on various aspects of the Guru Granth Sahib. These include an introduction to the Guru Granth Sahib, a discourse on Sikh Manuscripts, and how the Guru Granth Sahib has shaped the many Sikh ceremonies and festivals.

For Further details visit: http://www.punjabheritage.org/editorials--...-leicester.html

I will be delivering a one off lecture on Guru Granth Sahib manuscripts at New Walk Museum on November 4th.

See http://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-council--...ru/sikh-events-

Akal

Gurinder Singh Mann

[GSMANN]

Manuscripts, History and the Guru Granth Sahib

The New Walk Museum, Leicester as part of the three hundred year celebrations is facilitating a number of lectures focusing on the Guru Granth Sahib. The Museum is the only one in the country (UK) which has dedicated a Sikh exhibition to commemorate this auspicious occasion. The second in the series of these lectures was undertaken on Tuesday 4 November 2008.

In the second part of the lecture series at Leicester Museum, Gurinder Singh Mann, Sikh historian from Leicester, UK presented a historical account of how the Granth Sahib was given the Guruship or Gurta-gadi.

The Sikh historian from the UK had already displayed his intellectual and literary credentials at the International Seminar Series on the Sri Dasam Granth in Sacramento, CA, earlier this year.

The lecture focused on how the manuscript tradition was important in understanding how the Guru Granth Sahib become the scripture it is now and how the Taksals (lit: mints) at Damdama and Amritsar were responsible for the propagation of the scripture.

The lecture started with an overview on the religion of Sikhism and this followed by the introduction of the Ten Gurus, this was important as the lecture was aimed at non Sikhs and Sikhs alike. This was followed by the historian giving an overview on how the early Gurmukhi script was developed by showcasing some of the earliest Sikh manuscripts including the Guru Harshai Pothi and Govindwal pothis. The historian elaborated on the how the Gurmukhi script had developed in that time period.

Full story at : http://www.sikhsangat.org/news/publish/eur...Sahib1243.shtml