Gurdwara Beri Sahib

About

Set in the historic city of Sialkot in Punjab, Pakistan, Gurdwara Beri Sahib, also known as Baba Beri or Gurdwara Babe Di Ber, takes its name from the venerable beri or berry tree under which Guru Nanak is said to have stayed during his travels. The tree, still standing within the shrine grounds, is honoured as a living witness to the Guru's presence.

It was here that Guru Nanak met Hamza Ghaus, a Sufi saint of Sialkot, in an encounter that Sikh memory cherishes as one of the many conversations the founder of Sikhi held with seekers from every tradition. The shrine was later raised by Natha Singh and grew into a complex with a garden, a pool, and rooms for visiting pilgrims.

The gurdwara suffered damage in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid dispute of 1992, when a high tower attached to the complex was demolished by an angry crowd. It has since been carefully restored and reopened to pilgrims during the 2010s, and access for Indian Sikh pilgrims was restored in November 2012, reconnecting the shrine to the wider sangat across the border.

History

Sikh tradition holds that Guru Nanak Dev Ji stayed beneath a beri, a berry tree, on the edge of Sialkot during his travels, and that here he met Hamza Ghaus, a Sufi saint of the city. The tree still stands within the gurdwara grounds today. The shrine that grew up around it was later raised by Natha Singh, who added a garden, a pool, and rooms for travelling pilgrims. After Partition the gurdwara passed out of Sikh care, and in 1992, in the unrest that followed the Babri Masjid dispute, a tall tower attached to the complex was pulled down by a crowd. The building was restored during the 2010s and reopened to pilgrims, and in November 2012 Indian Sikh pilgrims were once again allowed to cross the border to visit.

Significance

The berry tree at Beri Sahib is remembered as a quiet meeting point between Sikh and Sufi devotion, part of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's wider witness that seekers of every path may recognise one another. For the sangat in Pakistan, and for pilgrims who travel from India and beyond, a visit here belongs to the long pilgrimage that Sikh jathas make each year to the places the first Guru walked in what is now Pakistani Punjab.

Architecture

Punjabi gurdwara architecture with a domed pavilion and corner chattris set within a garden courtyard; a tower attached to the complex was demolished in 1992 and the building was restored during the 2010s