#Sundeep kuar severed face series#

Ending centuries of hereditary oppressions of caste, class and profession, the five were born into the egalitarian family of the Khalsa. Their drink purified them of all mental defilements. During the Baisakhi festivities of 1699 the guru and his wife prepared amrit, and five men from different castes sipped it from the same bowl.

He birth of the Khalsa (from the Arabic khalis, meaning “pure”)1 by Guru Gobind Singh is a pivotal event in the psyche and imagination of the Sikhs. Catharine Stimpson, “The Future of Memory” My thanks too to my two constant muses-Harry and Sarah.įor there is no identity without memory-be it of a person, couple, family, neighborhood, community, tribe, people, nation, globe. My special thanks to Colby College (which is much more than an institution for me!), to my students in the seminars on Sikhism for their valuable criticisms on earlier drafts, and to Jim and Linda Crawford for the wonderful gift of their endowed Chair in Religious Studies. Fitzy for keeping Sarah happy while I’d be absorbed in my work. There are many, many in between who have helped me with this book and my heartfelt thanks to all of them. She embodies the efficiency, cheer, and support that I received from everybody at SUNY. Marilyn Semerad at SUNY Press who saw through the finale of this project. I hope my maternal memory of the great Guru stirs my readers deeply and charges us vigorously to make our world a better place for all of us. At that point I had finished my translation of a selection of Sikh sacred texts, and in fact, Kerry Brown, the editor for the Sikh Foundation, insightfully read through the draft of the first chapter of this book. I can still hear the excitement with which he urged me to write a book on Guru Gobind Singh for the 300th anniversary of the Khalsa. His enthusiasm reaches me across the continent in his phone calls from California to Maine. Uncle Kapany has a remarkable vision for the Sikh world, and he motivates Sikh scholars, artists, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs in all parts of the world. Narinder Singh Kapany, Chairman of the Sikh Foundation of America, for getting me started with this project. In memory of my father, who was also a mother to meĪcknowledgments Introduction List of Abbreviations Chapter One Pregnant Text and the Conception of the Khalsa Chapter Two The Guru in Labor and the Birth of the Khalsa Chapter Three Mythic Inheritance and the Historic Drink of the Khalsa Chapter Four The Five Ks and the Accoutrement of the Khalsa Chapter Five Semiotic Poetry and the Reproduction of the Khalsa Conclusion Appendix: Brief Biography of Guru Gobind Singh Notes Index

#Sundeep kuar severed face series#

(SUNY series in religious studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. The birth of the Khalsa : a feminist re-memory of Sikh Identity/Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh. Petrie Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur. For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384 Production by Diane Ganeles and Marilyn Semerad Marketing by Susan M.

No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2005 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. SUNY series in Religious Studies Harold Coward, editor A Feminist Re-Memory of Sikh Identity Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh