Birth of the Great Guru

In the small town of Talwandi lived a man called Mheta Kalu along with his wife Tripta and Daughter Nanaki.Kalu was a respected tax collector for the Governor. One late night he was walking up and down in his garden looking very worried because his wife Tripta was expecting a baby. Soon he was stopped by a nurse, who said "Sir, congratulations, your wife has given a birth to a son". “How can it be? I haven't heard a child cry" replied Kalu. "I know, I saw a strange light when he was born, instead of crying he smiled at me. I think he is going to be someone special," said Daultan the nurse.

This made Kalu so happy that he gave a gift of cash to the nurse and said, “Thank you Daultan and Thank you God."Kalu then rushed towards the room where his wife was and was very pleased to see Nanaki holding her brother so proudly. Soon everyone in Talwandi knew and came to congratulate Kalu. Everyone was given sweets. A few days later an astrologer called Hardyal Dass was invited to prepare a horoscope for Kalu's son. As the horoscope was complete Hardyal Dass said "Sir, your son will be a great leader and many people will love and respect him". The child was then named Nanak meaning a unique one. Everyone in Talwandi was celebrating the birth of Nanak while Kalu and the family were serving sweets and refreshments.

Did you know?

The village Talwandi is now called Nanakana Sahib named after Nanak, meaning a place where Nanak came.A Gurdwara is built on the spot where Nanak was born is also called Gurdwara Janam Asthan and is in a present day Pakistan