Nanak: The Guru

Tracing the life of Guru Nanak, the book throws light on his preachings and his stand on various social issues.

Nanak: The Guru
Mala Dayal
Illustrations by Arpana Caur
RupaC
2005
Religion
Pages: 48
Price: Not mentioned
ISBN: 8129106795
Hardcover

HT Image

As evident by the title, the book traces the life and times of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. The book has been compiled by Mala Dyal and well-known painter Arpana Caur. It would seem a little tough to summarise Nanak's life, an epic in itself, but with Dayal, who has been writing and working with material related to children for more than thirty years, you know that the subject is in good hands. The book presents Nanak's life in a lucid manner, making it a nice read for kids.

The book unfurls Nanak's life, his method of teachings and talks about his followers with eye-catching illustrations. It also tells you about Nanak's stand on various issues such as the status of women and his efforts to promote equality among mankind, with special stress on Hindu-Muslim brotherhood.

Nanak's day-to-day experiences narrated in the book give it a lively feel. There is no list of contents and the book seems to begin abruptly, and though epics like this hardly need any introduction, a foreword could have done well for those new to the subject.

Both Caur and Dayal are outstanding names in their own fields and the book glistens with the polish of their expertise and experience. Dayal has picked up some important instances from Nanak's life and beaded them together in simple, lucid words. This obviously is a boon for the book since the publication is meant for the kids. Caur's illustrations ably complement Dayal's work.

An engaging presentation in the genre of biographies, usually considered boring by many children.