SAROVAR, a tank, pool or lake, especially at a sacred place or by a holy shrine used for sacramental ablutions and other religious ceremonies. Sanskrit synonyms are sar, sarvar, tarag and vapl. Another word is puskar or puskarini which usually means a pond full of lotus

CHELLARAM, BHAl (1904-1964), a well known Sahajdhari Sikh of modern times who sang and preached gurbani, the Guru`s inspired word, with a rare love and devotion, was born in a Sindhi family of Hyderabad (Sindh) on 3 May 1904, the son of Dr Tekchand Rachumal Mansukhani and Chettbai. Chellaram`s

KAUR SINGH NIHANG, AKALI (1886-1953), scholar and religious preacher, was the eldest son of Bhai Mahari Singh and Mal Karam Kaur of Paddhar, a small village near Chakar in that part of Jammu and Kashmir which is now under Pakistan`s occupation. Tlic family traced its descent from one TrilokT

SADHARAN PATH is the reading of the Guru Granth Sahib from beginning to end, with no time limit for completion. Even where the limit is fixed and it exceeds a week, it will be called a sadharan path, two other terms synonymously used being khulla path (khulla = unrestricted,

TURBAN, derived from the ancient Persian word dulband through the Turkish tarbush, is a long scarf wrapped around the head. It is a common headdress for men in Middle Eastern and South Asian countries. As a form of headdress, it is of Semitic origin and was an essential part

CHIEF KHALSA DIWAN. Until the emergence of more radical platforms such as the Sikh League (1919), Shiromam Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (1920) and Shiromani Akali Dal (1920), the Chief Khalsa Diwan, established on 30 October 1902, was the main council of the Sikhs, controlling their religious and educational affairs and raising

KHALSA DIWAN MAJHA, an association of reformist Sikhs representing the districts of Lahore, Amritsar and Gurdaspur, was set up in 1904. The Singh Sabha movement had created among the Sikhs a new consciousness for the need to reform their religious and social practices. Early in 1904, Risaldar Basant Singh of

SAN GAT, Punjabi form of the Sanskrit term sarigti, means company, fellowship, association. In Sikh vocabulary, the word has a special connotation. It stands for the body of men and women met religiously, especially in (lie presence of the Guru Granth Sahib. Two other expressions carrying the same connotation

VARYAM SINGH, PANDIT (1864-1953), religious scholar and preacher, was born the son of Dhanna Singh, a peasant of moderate means living in the village of Jabboval, now in the Kapurthala district of the Punjab. Losing his father at the age of 14, he took up his ancestral profession of

DEV SAMAJ, a religious and social reform society, was founded on 16 February 1887 in Lahore by Pandit Shiv Narayan Agnihotri (1850-1929). The story of the Dev Samaj is in essence the story of its founder. Pandit Agnihotri was born in the village of Akbarpur, in Uttar Pradesh, on 20

KHALSA DIWAN MALAYA, a religious organization of Sikhs in Malaysia, was established on 27 December 1903 at Taiping (4"51`N, 100"44`E) at a divan at the gurdwara of the Malaya State Guides celebrating the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh. The Khalsa Diwan was assigned to promoting Sikh religion, managing

SAPTAHIK PATH, a path, i.e. reading of the entire Guru Granth Sahib, which is completed in a saptah (week). Any individual, man or woman, or a group of persons by the relay method may perform this path which is commenced seven days ahead of the coming occasion, ceremoney or