NANAK

NANAK, by Ksitish Chakravarty, is a versified biography of Guru Nanak (1469-1539) in Bengali. The author, a lawyer by profession, was of a devout temperament. He was attracted to the teaching of Guru Nanak whom he hails as an harbinger of the bhakti movement, spreading the gospel of love and devotion among the people of the Indian subcontinent. The book was published in 1916. As for his sources, the poet refers solely to Annie Basant`s Children of the Motherland, but it seems he was not wholly unaware of some of the writings on Sikhs published in the Bhdrati Sind other contemporary Bengali journals. The poem begins with Guru Nanak`s birth at Talvandi, and recounts his early schooling in the village pdth sald, his encounter with the cddia.nd other episodes of his early life.

There is also a detailed description of the travels of the Guru, beginning with his visit to Haridvar, down to Rameswaram in the far south, via Varanasi and Puri. However, there is little chronological sequence in the poet`s account of these journeys, nor does it coincide with the generally accepted route recorded in the janam .ya A/u literature. With the exception of the journey to Mecca, the poet makes no mention oftheGuru`svisil to any other place outside of India. He rounds off his account with the Guru`s return from Mecca and finally settling down at Kartarpur on the right bank of the River Ravi.

References :

1. Bose Mahendralal, Nanak Prakash, vol.1. Calcutta, 1885
2. Chakravarty, Kshitishchandra, Nanak. Calcutta, 1916
3. Kavyananda, Rakhaldas, Guru Nanak. Calcutta, 1929