SINGAPORE: Indian-Origin Singaporean Sikh Couple To Release Docuseries On Guru Nanak

SINGAPORE: An Indian-origin Singaporean Sikh
couple will be releasing online a 24-episode docuseries that chronicles the
vast expanse of sites that were visited by Guru Nanak during his lifetime.

Amardeep
Singh and his wife Vininder Kaur will release the weekly episodes of the
docuseries at no cost on the website TheGuruNanak.com, Mr Singh said. It
will also be available for download.

In the next
phase, the docuseries, produced by ‘Lost Heritage Productions’ and ‘SikhLens
Productions’, will be translated into Punjabi and Hindi.

Over 550
years ago, Guru Nanak travelled across the distant lands of Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Tibet, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka
for over two decades on an altruistic pursuit to spread the message of the
oneness of creation.

To relate
with people of diverse cultures and belief systems, Guru Nanak engaged in
philosophical and social dialogue, and through the medium of words and music,
he gracefully imparted experiential and spiritual insights, fearlessly
challenged the binary constructs of society, and relentlessly opposed gender,
religious, racial and class inequalities.

In the
21st century, geopolitical restrictions and cultural mandates impose immense
challenges to trace Guru Nanak’s extensive travels as approximately 70 per cent
of the places he travelled to fall in geographies where filming is difficult.

However,
in January 2019, the Mr Singh and Ms Kaur led team embarked on a journey
to retrace Guru Nanak’s footsteps.

“This
herculean task, extending far beyond personal ambition, is aimed with a passion
to preserve Guru Nanak’s teachings that perceives no borders or human
divisions,” said Mr Singh in a press release.

Aided
with the analytical study of the oldest ‘Janamsakhis’ (biographies of Guru
Nanak) and supported by the allegorical messages in Guru Nanak’s verses, the
team spent over three years filming all the geographies and multi-faith sites
visited by Guru Nanak to present his life events in the form of a 24-episode
docuseries.

Undeterred
by adversities, they travelled from the deserts of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to
Mount Kailash in Tibet, explored remote regions of perilous Afghanistan, experienced
the scorching heat in Iraq, scaled the arid Baluchi mountains in Pakistan,
sailed across the waters of the Indian Ocean to disembark in Sri Lanka, blended
with the Persian culture in Iran, crossed the delta region in Bangladesh and
mapped all four directions in India.

Commenting
on the docuseries, Dr. Mohammad H. Qayoumi, President Emeritus, San Jose State
University, said, “As a practising Muslim, I have found this docuseries filled
with symbolic spiritual messages of Guru Nanak which will be enjoyable for
everyone who has a curious mind. I highly recommend them to all viewers.”

For
Amardeep and Vininder, every moment in Guru Nanak’s footsteps was
philosophically liberating. It encouraged them to challenge their own
conditioning, unlearn, relearn and assimilate the beauty of unity in diversity.

“In a
world that is so fragile and volatile, there has never been a better time to
understand why Guru Nanak travelled for 22 years to share his experiential
wisdom and propagate the oneness of humankind,” said Ms Singh.