NBT to release 3 titles on writings of Guru Nanak Dev to mark his 550th birth anniversary

Three new titles on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikkhism will be released to commemorate his 550th birth anniversary on Thursday, announced National Book Trust (NBT).

The books, "Guru Nanak Bani", "Nanak Bani", and "Sakhian Guru Nanak Dev", will be released by Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal here at Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College, University of Delhi.

Originally published in Punjabi, the three books have been translated into 15 major Indian languages.

"The NBT India has already published the 'Guru Nanak Bani' in Urdu, Odia, Marathi, Hindi and Gujarati. The translation in Asamiya, Bangla, Kannada, Sanskrit, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Sindhi and English will be published in due course," publishers said in a statement.

While "Guru Nanak Bani", compiled by Bhai Jodh Singh, is a collection of selected verses from the original Bani of Guru Nanak Dev, the "Nanak Bani", compiled by Manjit Singh, features five prominent writings (paanch bania) of the Sikh guru.

"The 'Janamsakhis' literally meaning birth stories, are writings which profess to be the biographies of Guru Nanak. 'Sakhian Guru Nanak', compiled by Jagtarjit Singh, is a book based on these life stories of Guru Nanak Dev.

"This is an illustrated book especially meant for children," it said.

Guru Nanak Dev, born in 1469 in Sri Nankana Sahib in present day Pakistan, undertook spiritual journeys across India, South Asia, Tibet and Arabia, to promote equality.

His messages are penned down in the in the holy text of Sikhism, the "Guru Granth Sahib".

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November, 2018, had passed a resolution to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in 2019 throughout the country and across the globe together with state governments and the Indian Missions abroad.