LAHORE: Gurmeet Kaur, a Punjabi folklorist, and Dr Dalvi S Pannu, a dentist and author, on Monday visited the Institute for Art and Culture (IAC) to discuss the importance of Punjabi language, culture and heritage, their books on Sikh heritage and the significance of the Kartarpur Corridor for the Sikh diaspora all over the world.

According to a press release, Ms Kaur, during her address, expressed her fear that the next generation (of Punjabis) would be devoid of their language as no one was reading or writing it anymore.

She quoted a famous, “You don’t know where you’re going, until you know where you’re coming from” and said that it was essential for the Punjabis to claim their language, history, culture and traditions to chart their path for the future.

Mr Kaur said her aim was to make Punjabi fashionable for children so they were proud of this language. She writes in both Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi.

Dr Dalvi S. Pannu, who had working with Pakistan for the last 15 years, said the land of Pakistan was holy for the Sikhs. For his book, The Sikh Heritance, he studied 240 buildings in Pakistan that were all associated with the Sikh scriptures. His book incorporated the Persian and Muslim history and the development of Sikh religion in the region to highlight the shared history and heritage.

Mr Pannu said the scriptures of the Sikhs and the answers of all the academic questions related to them were found in Pakistan and lauded the efforts of the libraries in Lahore for preserving the original scriptures, despite tensions and conflict in the past. IAC VC Sajida Haider Vandal also spoke.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2019