MAGHI, Makara Sankranti, the first day of the month of Magh when, according to the Zodiac, the sun enters the house of Capricorn. It is observed in India as a winter solstice festival. The eve of Maghi is the common Indian festival of Lohri when bonfires are lit in Hindu

MOHAN, BABA (b. 1536), the elder son of Guru Amar Das, was born to Mata Mansa Devi at Basarke Gillan, near Amrtisar, in 1536. He was of a taciturn disposition and most of the time kept to his room in Goindval absorbed in study and contemplation. He had in

NAND SINGH, SANT (1872-1943), a saintly personage who attracted a considerable following during his lifetime, was born the son of Jai Singh, an artisan by profession, and Sada Kaur in 1872 in the village of Sherpur Kalan in Ludhiana district of the Punjab. As a young boy, he was

NIZAMABAD, a small town in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, was visited both by Guru Nanak and Guru Tegh Bahadur. According to local tradition, the former stayed here for 21 days. Guru Tegh Bahadur came to Nizamabad in 1670 while travelling back to the Punjab from the eastern parts.

PARYAI, Sanskrit parydya, meaning a synonym or convertible term, is used in Sikh literature spelt variously as priydi, pridy and praydya. It was a popular title for glossaries explaining terms and difficult words used in Guru Granth Sahib which were the forerunners of full scale translations or exegeses of the

PURANMASHI, in Sanskrit pumimd, is the day of the full moon, the last day of the moon`s bright phases. The day has sanctity in the Indian tradition and several ceremo nial observances such as ritual bathing, fasting and giving away of charity are associated with it. In the Sikh

RUKMAGADA Remembrance of the Name of the Lord was a constant function of Rukamagad..... (Swayye Mahle Teeje Ke, p. 1394) Rukmagada was a king, who always meditated on the Name of the Lord. (See Narada Purana, chapters 9 to 38).

SAHIB SINGH BHANGI (d.1811), son of Gujjar Singh of the Bhangi clan, one of the numerous principalities into which Punjab was divided during the latter part of the 18th century, ruled over the territory of Gujrat in central Punjab. He was married to Raj Kaur, daughter of Charhat Singh

SANTA SINGH, BHAI (1886-1921), one of the martyrs of Nankana Sahib, came of a poor barber family of Fatehgarh Sukkarchakkian, a village near Amritsar. His father Bhai Mohra however had become through thrift and hard work a small shopkeeper and moneylender. Santa Singh learnt Gurmukhi from the village granthi, Bhai

SIKLIGAR SIKHS constitute that section of lohars or ironsmiths who once specialized in the craft of making and polishing weapons. Sikligar is derived from Persian saqi, lit. polishing, furnishing, making bright (a sword), the term saqlgar meaning a polisher of swords. In medieval India, Sikligars were in great demand for

SULTANVIND, village 4 km southeast of Amritsar (31038`N, 74053`E), has two historical shrines dedicated one each to Guru Arjan (1563-1606) and Guru Hargobind (1595-1644). GURDWARA TUT SAHIB marks the spot to which Guru Arjan often repaired for rest under a mulberry (tut, in Punjabi) tree which no longer exists.

TAPIYA SINGH, MAHANT (1892-1980), was a master of the Sikh scholarly texts besides being learned in Ayurveda and Sanskrit grammar. He was born into a Saraojatt family of Lehal Kalan in Sangrur district. He was a descendant of ^ Baba Ark who had been blessed by Guru Tegh Bahadur himself.