Monday 17 July 2017

Gurdawara Pehali Patashi Fathe Bhinder

Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical science artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.

Whereas, Tragic from the lost historical architecture is a kind of heritage, which taking last breath’s of its being and about to be vanished from ground and eyes forever. The stories absorbed inside of glorious past from decades, centuries will be end with its loss.

I was wandering in outskirts of Daska in search of a pre-partition Gurdawara which is located in Fatah Bhinder village.
Fateh Bhinder is a small village of twenty, thirty houses. The two storey Gurdawara Building can be seen from a distance. It was constructed outside the village. The elevation of building is different from found other normally Gurdawara’s in Pakistani Punjab.  The doors and windows are constructed of Colonial style buildings Pattern. The covered area of Gurdawara is around 4 kanal. The area is owned by Uqaf Department Punjab and they have given it on lease. Most of the villagers living in Fatehe bhinder were migrated from India after partition. So before partition it was a Sikh population village. Near Gurdawara there is Langer khana building (Place to feed Sikh Pilgrims) as well. There is no building of such stature exists in nearby villages.


Our historian Friend Mirza Safder Baig was also along us during exploration of this Gurdawara. He told that this Gurdwara is of Pehli Patshahi meaning the "Gurdwara of the first master”, visited by Guru Nanak Sahib during his life. Gurdwara Fatehe Bhinder Sahib has been built to preserve the memory of this visit of revered Guru.
The existing condition of Gurduwara is in very bad shape. After partition nobody has done any effort to preserve this historical building. Soon it will be all debris and the last symbol of great legacy of Sikh’s in Fatehe Bhinder will be tragically lost from history for ever.