Books
Roopinder Singh's
New Editions
The Hindi translation of Roopinder Singh's book, Guru Nanak: His Life and Teachings, was released by Punjab Governor and Union Territory Administrator S. F. Rodrigues at the Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, Punjab, on April 12, 2007.
On the dais with him were H. K. Dua, Editor-in-Chief, The Tribune group of publications, eminent art historian Dr B. N. Goswamy and Kapish Mehra, publisher, Rupa and Co.
The Hindi translation is based on the revised second edition of Guru Nanak: His Life and Teachings in English, which has also been released simultaneously.
Over 200 people attended the event. Prominent among them were Justice S. S. Sodhi, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court; Dr Vijay Gupta, Director of the Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh; Mr Rajnish Wattas, Principal of the College of Architecture, Chandigarh; Dr Man Singh Nirankari, the octogenarian eye surgeon and Sikh scholar; Mr R. K. Saboo, past President, Rotary International; Dr Kirpal Singh, prominent historian; Maj-Gen Himmat Singh Gill (retd), Sahitya Akademi member and writer; and V. N. Singh, Director, Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh.
The publisher, Kapish Mehra, said: "Guru Nanak: His Life and Teachings, when it was first published in 2004, got a terrific response all over India and to publish a reprint so soon is a matter of pride for us."
Both the new editions have been published by Rupa and Co. They are in hardcover and paperback editions. The two editions are priced at Rs 395 and Rs 295, respectively. More information on the books and the author is available at the website http://www.roopinder.com/.
An emotional Roopinder said he was thankful to his father, Giani Gurdit Singh, who put him on the path, and to his mother, Sardarni Inderjit Kaur, who made him what he is today. He said it was really unfortunate that we were losing touch with the truths given in Gurbani and "these need to be retold a thousand times. That is the only reason we need books like this. We need to retell them, we need to re-listen to them and we need to understand these teachings."
For many in the audience, these emotions were easy to understand. The author, who is Assistant Editor with The Tribune, Chandigarh, was taking forward the legacy of his father, the late Giani Gurdit Singh, to whom he had dedicated the book.