INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

events are plotted according to a meta-narrative frame that portrays the city as the
pilgrimage seat with river Ganga flowing in the center, the vessel of ancient Hindu
wisdom, and a stronghold of the Brahminism that is protected and preserved by the
generalized others ‒ the Hindu pandits, pilgrims, and the Brahmins. Guru Nanak
successfully counters and reshapes these characters to communicate a new spiritual
message (See Figure 7).
Figure 7.
SIKH IMAGES OF VARANASI
City Agents Action
Center of Hinduism Vaishnava followers Worship the shalagram
Vessel of ancient knowledge Book-learned Pandits Study and teach the Vedas
Engage in religious debates
Stronghold of upper-caste Hindu Brahmins Engage in ritual conducts
Hindus
Uphold purity and caste rules
Hindu pilgrimage center with Hindu Pilgrims Ritual baths in river
river Ganga
Ganga for purification
The modern emic historiography of the Sikhs in Varanasi has developed these
themes further to construct stories that build upon the dominant Hindu discourse but
open up territory for new agency of the Sikh Gurus’ power and presence in the city.
For people who do not submit to the master narrative the possible strategy is to create
a counter by way of appealing to other frames which convey particular descriptions
and evaluations opposing to the master narrative but still presents experiences along
similar lines. As we shall see, the local Sikh history transforms the Hindu city to a
center for learning and pilgrimage of the Sikhs.
A LOCAL NARRATIVE
The written local history on the Sikhs and the gurdwaras in Varanasi can be termed
“emic history” as it is an account which provides descriptions in accord with epistemological
principles regarded meaningful and appropriate by members of the community.
202 Emic history works from an “inside” perspective and depends on shared
values within the group collecting history. Its narrative terrain often serves to explain
who the people are, where they come from, and what they hope to be in the future.
The writing and retelling of one’s own history can thus be usable for the course of
personal and communal identity and meanings in the present. As Olsson writes:
202
Lett 1990: 31 ‒ 32.
87
Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008