Beginning today, the next nine days at National Museum will reverberate with activities soaked in spiritualism. The museum is holding an exhibition, 1-Ness to 1-Identity, which explores Guru Nanak’s eternal message of oneness to the world, wherein his life will be depicted through various
artworks.
Apart from artworks, visitors will get an opportunity to experience and engage with Guru Nanak’s messages through panel discussions, workshops, poetry, musical performances, guided tours and more.
Organised by the Vision and Opportunities for Youth & Community Empowerment (VOYCE), an organisation that works towards empowering through arts and creative content for social impact, in association with USA-based Sikh Research Institute (SikhRI) this exhibition tells the story of Guru Nanak like never before.
The show is divided into five parts, each presenting a different aspect of Guru Nanak’s life.
The Divine Experience Gallery will have narratives from his birth to the declaration of Ik Onkar, 1-Ness while Inscribed Wisdom Gallery features his selected writings. The Transformative Conversations Gallery will feature his conversations with common men as well as those with religious and political heads. The Revolution Continues Gallery will highlight narratives of how he created a highly egalitarian society while the features that are integral to Sikh Faith would be featured in Sikhi Legacy Gallery.
“Guru Nanak Sahib is relevant even today, and will remain relevant in all the times to come. He gave the message of oneness and we need to hear this message from time to time,” says Harinder Singh, Founder, SikhRi.
“This is the year of celebrations of Guru Nanak Sahib’s 550 years of Prakash Purab (illumination day). We are celebrating the life of Guru Nanak, the light that is eternal and shines like the sun. And his message of Ik Onkar, 1-Ness, roars like the lion,” says Anika Singh, Founder, VOYCE. “Working on this project, living and breathing 1-Ness, has been such an incredible journey. We hope to give a flavour of that experience through this exhibition and all the 1-Ness activities planned around it,” she adds.
“But this is not just celebrating 550 years, but building a narrative on Guru Nanak’ s life based on primary and secondary sources. We first developed the narrative and then brought in art pieces as a visual aid to support that narrative. Primary and secondary sources includes Guru Nanak’s own interactions with other people,” says Harinder.
The organisers plan to take this show to other venues too. “South Asia (both India and Pakistan) need to have this conversation,” concludes Harinder.