Pakistan High Commission, Singapore, hosted the screening of a docuseries “Allegory – A Tapestry of Gugu Nanak’s Travels” today, to commemorate the 552nd Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak. The screening arranged at RELC International Hotel, was attended by a select audience comprising senior officials from the Ministry Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade and Industry, cultural organizations, think tanks, media, historians, researchers, scholars, academicians, and Sikh and Pakistani community. Due to the Covid-related restriction on the number of guests, the event was live streamed on social media for those who could not attend in person.

The screening of select segments from the 24-episode docuseries produced by Singaporean Sikh scholar Mr Amardeep Singh was followed by an interactive session moderated by Ms. Zehra Zaidi, Psycho-Therapist and member of Singapore-Pakistan Association. The docuseries takes its viewers on an exciting journey of nine countries where Baba Guru Nanak traveled and preached his message of oneness of God, truth, integrity, love and service of humanity. As he spent large part of his life in areas which are part of Pakistan, almost 80 % of the docuseries has been filmed in Pakistan’s Sikh heritage sites, bringing a sharp focus on faith tourism potential of the country.

The event began with the opening remarks by the High Commissioner, Ms. Rukhsana Afzaal. She briefed the audience on the launching of Kartarpur Corridor in November 2019, to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak. She noted that the Corridor had facilitated Sikh pilgrims from across the border to visit the birthplace of Baba Ji to rejuvenate their faith. It was named as Corridor of Hope by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres when he visited the Gurdwara in 2020. He was moved to see Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and Hindus praying side by side in harmony.

Mr Amardeep Singh who had earlier authored two books on the Sikh heritage in Pakistan shared his experience of visiting various Sikh heritage sites in Pakistan. He expressed deep appreciation for the facilitation provided by the government of Pakistan for the completion of his project. The interaction generated a lot of interest among the audience in Pakistan’s Sikh heritage sites.