Gurdwara Rori Sahib, Eminabad

History

1. Saidpur and Bhai Lalo

   Eminabad was called Saidpur in Guru Ji's day. The Bala Janamsakhi says Guru Ji came here with Bhai Mardana before the long travels, and that Bhai Lalo, a carpenter of the town, became a Sikh. The same account tells of the feast of Malik Bhago, steward to the local chief, which Guru Ji declined in favour of Bhai Lalo's plain food.

   The name Lalo occurs in a hymn of Guru Ji in Raag Tilang on the suffering caused by Babur. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism treats it as a conjecture that those lines were addressed to him.[EoS][EoS]

2. 1521 by this tradition

   The stones

   The Encyclopaedia says a hymn of Guru Ji suggests he was present when Babur sacked the town, and that the Janamsakhis tell of his captivity at a stonemill. By tradition Guru Ji stayed with Bhai Lalo after the destruction, sitting and lying on small stones, called rori in Punjabi. The gurdwara marks that spot.

   The Encyclopaedia links this to Var 1, pauri 24, of Bhai Gurdas, which says Guru Ji made stones his bedding. That pauri speaks of Guru Ji's discipline in general and does not name Saidpur. The link between the verse and this place is therefore one of later tradition.[EoS][Src]

3. Sikh period

   The gurdwara and its endowment

   The Pakistan government's 1962 survey says a gurdwara of cut brick was raised over the platform once Sikhs came to power, and that some of the stones were shown to the faithful at the Vaisakhi and Diwali fairs. Iqbal Qaisar records an estate worth Rs 5,000 a year and 9 squares of farmland dating from the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Wikipedia also dates the building to his reign.[Khan][Qaisar][Web]

4. 1922 to 1947

   Reform and Partition

   The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ran the gurdwaras of the town from 28 February 1922 until 1947. The Encyclopaedia says a mob set fire to the multi-storey building soon after 15 August 1947.[EoS]

5. Today

   Since Partition

   Qaisar, writing in 1998, describes the building as decaying until the government of Pakistan built a boundary wall around it. He says a Vaisakhi fair still drew people from Gujranwala and nearby areas. Wikipedia says the gurdwara remains in use, which has not been confirmed from another source.

   Two related sites stood inside the town. Gurdwara Chakki Sahib kept a stonemill believed to be the one Guru Ji was made to turn, and Gurdwara Khuhi Bhai Lalo marked Bhai Lalo's house and well.[Qaisar][Web][EoS]

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