I am getting forgetful.
Just recalled that I absolutely forgot to write other incredible stories from my Fatehgarh Sahib visit. The stories about this historical little town are super fascinating, to say the least. The two posts I wrote about about this place last month got great response from everyone - the first one Fatehgarh Sahib - Celebrating Valour and Sacrifice (Part 1) was about the legendary Diwan Todar Mal and his place in Sikh history, the second post - Celebrating Valour and Sacrifice (Part 2) was about the grand Gurudwara Fatehgarh Sahib, which holds in its bosom the holy room where the young saahibzaadas of Guru Gobind Singh were bricked alive.
But before meeting this gruesome fate, the young sahibzaadas Baba Zorawar Singh ji (aged 9 years) and Baba Fateh Singh ji (aged 7 years) and their grandmother Mata Gujri had to endure bone-chilling cruelties at the hands of Wazir Khan, the then Governor or Fauzdar of Sirhind.
The Story of Thanda Burj
Happy travelling!
Just recalled that I absolutely forgot to write other incredible stories from my Fatehgarh Sahib visit. The stories about this historical little town are super fascinating, to say the least. The two posts I wrote about about this place last month got great response from everyone - the first one Fatehgarh Sahib - Celebrating Valour and Sacrifice (Part 1) was about the legendary Diwan Todar Mal and his place in Sikh history, the second post - Celebrating Valour and Sacrifice (Part 2) was about the grand Gurudwara Fatehgarh Sahib, which holds in its bosom the holy room where the young saahibzaadas of Guru Gobind Singh were bricked alive.
But before meeting this gruesome fate, the young sahibzaadas Baba Zorawar Singh ji (aged 9 years) and Baba Fateh Singh ji (aged 7 years) and their grandmother Mata Gujri had to endure bone-chilling cruelties at the hands of Wazir Khan, the then Governor or Fauzdar of Sirhind.
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| Gurudwara Thanda Burj Mata Gujri |
The Story of Thanda Burj
One a fateful day of December 1704, Mata Gujri and the two younger saahibzaadas of Guru Gobind Singh ji were arrested by the Mughal police officers at Saheri, a village in present day Ropar district. The family was on its way to Ropar, but was betrayed mid-way by one of their trusted servants, and was thus captured by the Mughal police. Post the arrest, Mata Gujri and her grandsons were confined at Wazir Khan's Thanda Burj (Cold Tower).
The Thanda Burj was designed to capture the cool night breezes of air drawn over water channels in the hot summer months. In the dead of winter, the unheated tower offered no comfort to the prisoners inside. While the biting cold pierced them at nights, the days were spent facing trials at Wazir Khan's court. Despite the freezing cold and other atrocities at the hands of the Mughal police, the young saahibzaadas and their grandmother refused to give up on their faith. After three days of farcical trial, on 26th December 1704, Fateh Singh and his elder brother Zorawar Singh were martyred at Sirhind. On hearing the news of the execution of her young grandsons, Mata Gujri collapsed inside the Thanda Burj and died there. Much later, Gurudwara Thanda Burj Mata Gujri was constructed at this spot to commemorate her brave sacrifice.
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| Plaque explaining the importance of this gurudwara |
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| Gurudwara hall at Thanda Burj |
The bodies of the martyred saahibzaadas and their grandmother were later cremated by Diwan Todar Mal, about whom I wrote in the first post of this series. The spot where they were cremated has another gurudwara built in their memory, called Gurudwara Jyoti Swaroop.
Renovation of Gurudwara Thanda Burj Mata Gujri
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| Renovation on at Thanda Burj |
When I visited Fatehgarh Sahib last month, Gurudwara Thanda Burj Mata Gujri was under renovation. The white-washed plaster façade is now giving way to a brick-wall look, which is not only pleasant to the eyes, but also seems to be adding more character to the construction. Hope the next time I am there, the make-over is complete and I get to capture pretty photos of this historic monument.
Hope you enjoyed this post. Please do share your feedback in the comments section below and stay tuned, for the next post would be about some more renovation photos and stories from the Gurudwara Fatehgarh Sahib complex.
Happy travelling!