BALLU, BHAI,

BALLU, BHAI, a barber who embraced the Sikh faith at the hands of Guru Angad came into prominence in the time of Guru Amar Das. When Guru Amar Das, after being consecrated Guru by Guru Arigad, retired to Goindval and shut himself in a room to meditate in seclusion, Bhai Ballu, at the instance of sangat, anxious for a sight of the Guru, persuaded him to come out of his solitude. Ballu accompanied the Guru during visits to Kurukshetra and Haridvar. According to Sarup Das Bhalla, Mahima Prakash, when Guru Amar Das composed the famous hymn, Anandu, on the occasion of the birth of his grandson, Anand, Bhai Ballu sang it at his command to the beat of a drum.

He also joined hands with Bhai Paro in inaugurating, with the Guru`s approval, an annual fair at Goindval to celebrate Baisakhi. Lastly, when Emperor Akbar met Guru Amar Das and wanted to make an endowment for Guru ka Larigar, an offer politely turned down by the Guru, it was at Bhai Ballu`s suggestion that the emperor made a gift of some land to the Guru`s daughter, Bibi Bhani. It was on this site that the holy city of Amritsar was laid out by the third Guru`s successor, Guru Ram Das, Nanak IV.

References :

1. Bhalla, Sarup Das, Mahima Prakash. Patiala, 1971
2. Gian Singh, Giani, Twarikh Guru Khalsa. Patiala, 1970
3. Macauliffe, Max Arthur, The Sikh Religion. Oxford, 1909