A festive day at Nagiana Sahib
Like palimpsest, the parchment that can be overlaid with new writing over older remnants, Punjab’s countryside and its religious spaces are dotted with similarly sedimented layers of the past living in harmony with the present in all-encompassing joyousness. In September of 2023, as we visited places associated with Guru Nanak and his family, we stopped awhile at Nagiana Sahib. The countryside has several sites that are associated with the Janamsakhi tradition. This persistence of hagiographic tradition humanises Guru Nanak; like Sufi mystics, he lived among the mortals. As with sites associated with Krishna’s childhood that dot the region of Braj, Punjab’s sacred geography is marked with sites associated with Guru Nanak’s life. We were on our way from Batala, the natal abode of Nanak’s wife Bibi Sulakhni, and were headed towards Sultanpur Lodhi. Nanak worked here in the Lodi administration. It was here too in the Bein rivulet that he attained enlightenment.
Nagiana Sahib, too, proudly affirms its affective relation with Guru Nanak. On one of the many facades of this sprawling complex is displayed a replica painting that shows a young Nanak sleeping peacefully, while a large cobra (naag, from which the term Nagiana is derived), with its hood fanning over his head, protects him from the sun, even as the buffaloes under his charge graze contentedly. This is, of course, the visual representation of one of the many Janamsakhi stories that celebrate the wondrous life of the first Guru. Many versions of this story exist. The fields destroyed by the cattle are miraculously restored in all; but in the Bala Janamsakhi, importance is bestowed on the boy Nanak’s connection with the poisonous snake that sought not to harm the child, but to shelter him from the blistering heat. On the hot and humid day that we arrived on this spot, we felt everybody could do with similar benedictions of cooling care.
Below the portrait of the slumbering Nanak, the votive totemic snakes made of various metals offered by devotees weighed down a large table. The crudely crafted snakes and other paraphernalia demonstrated the devotion of peasant women and men, who simultaneously sought to propitiate the slithery reptiles that become particularly dangerous during the monsoon, and pay obeisance to the Guru whose blessed life imparted meaning to their own.
Apparently, the Nagiana Sahib gurdwara is constructed over a jathera of Nagis; a popular site of ancestor worship lives in happy symphony with Sikh rituals. Thus, within the complex, one could find snake shrines as well as respectful recitation of Guru Granth Sahib in a gurdwara sanctum, opposite to which was a stepwell (baoli) for ritual bathing. In addition, a large sheesham (talhi) marks the tree under the shade of which Guru Nanak rested. This sanctuary where he rested is enclosed, the designated spot marked by a lamp where devotees offer ghee.
In contrast to these quaint and quiet shrines, there was palpable excitement in the outer large courtyard. The day we landed at Nagiana happened to be the 50th annual gathering — samagam — on the death anniversary (barsi) of Sant Baba Chugat Singh, as also the 9th barsi of Sant Baba Joginder Singh. Under a large tent, multitudes were gathered, listening intently to dhadi performers, who sang on loudspeakers. The dhadi bands that were to perform were advertised in colourful posters, and included one headed by a woman from Sultanpur Lodhi. There was to be a kabaddi match between teams from Punjab and Haryana the next day. All programmes were to be telecast live in the UK, demonstrating the vibrant connections with the diaspora.
Near this gathering, on the left side as you entered the complex, was an encampment of Nihang Sikhs. Burly blue-robed Sikhs in flowing gowns and beards were busy preparing refreshing thandai, a milk, water, sugar and spice-based drink. They were beating and mixing spices and nuts with enormous mudgar clubs, ready to serve the drink to pilgrims sweating in the bustle of festivities. While the younger of the Nihangs performed the chores, the older among them sat around displaying their swords, quoits, and smiles. Gurdwara Nagiana Sahib is managed by Sant Baba Chugat Singh Ji Parbandhak Committee, a local committee of Udoke village.
Outside, on the approach to the gurdwara, was a flourishing market, selling metal snakes, as well as trinkets, toys and bargains. Among a collection of cherubic baby posters, there were also T-shirt racks, whose fronts were festooned with the face of Sidhu Moosewala holding a gun, or in the warm embrace of his mother.
All manner of people thronged this threshold to the gurdwara. Beggars with ailments calmly waited for devotees’ largesse. There were transgender kinnars. and a green-turbaned ‘sain log’ on the periphery as well. It was a truly inclusive space. The joie de vivre at Nagiana Sahib was a welcome break before we headed to the more sober environs of Sultanpur Lodhi.
— The writers are historians based in California and New Delhi
