To those not familiar with the name of Pritam Singh Chahil, this appears to be his first foray into the area of Sikh gospels. But in this monumental work of 1430 pages he has undertaken not an excursion but a complete immersion.

In his foreword, Chahil notes that the project arose when he saw the needs of those who were born and raised in the United States and had adopted the Sikh religion. Most of them were not conversant with the Gurmukhi script and could not enjoy the aural pleasure of reading or hearing the original text of the Guru Granth. He started on his mission in 1986; six years later the transliteration and translation are in our hands. For a man not so young in years (he started this after retirement), his energy, zeal and dedication are indeed remarkable.

Chahil's original rationale applies with equal validity and force to another group of Sikhs. The past 25 years have seen a new generation of Sikhs particularly in the United States, Canada and in Great Britain. These are the offspring of immigrants from India. These young people are being raised outside Punjab or away from India. Even if their conversational Punjabi is passable, their mastery of the Gurmukhi script falls far short of the ability to read and enjoy the Guru Granth. I should also include here many young adults - recent arrivals from India - who have been educated in the primarily Hindi medium in modern India and lack the facility to read the script of the Guru Granth.

As a result the pleasure of reading the poetry of the Guru Granth in its original form is denied to a vast number of Sikhs. Thus ease of reading, not only for converts to our cause but for the many who are being raised in the U.S., UK and Canada is the best justification for this extraordinary effort.

Such books are indications that we who live outside India and the Punjab perceive and accept that, with each passing generation our ties to the old world grow progressively weaker and we need to become self-sufficient here. In our quest for self-reliance, these volumes are a step in the right direction and define a milestone in our progress.

Following Ernest Trumpp, Manmohan Singh, Gopal Singh and Gurbachan Singh Talib, Chahil's is now the fifth translation of the entire Guru Granth into English. Trumpp's work, only in English, was somewhat of a cross between translation and commentary. Whereas Gopal Singh and Talib presented only an English rendering in verse, Manmohan Singh's achievement was set in three columns: the original text, and translations into prose both in the English and Punjabi languages.

Chahil also presents the entire Guru Granth in three columns but consisting of the original, transliteration in Roman script and a line by line English translation in prose. Unlike Manmohan Singh, Chahil does not identify difficult words in the original text so that they could be understood in translation. With this work the sacred scripture of the Sikhs is now available in Devnagri, Arabic and now Roman scripts.
Heretofore, the Guru Granth was not available in Roman script. Now it is. Since earlier translations were available, one could ask the rhetorical question: Why another?

The sacred poetry of the Guru Granth is allegorical, philosophical and sometimes also historical. It is not so easy to capture the nuances of meaning and present them unsullied in modern English, much less to keep intact and convey a sense of its meter, rhythm, style and beauty. Therefore, more translations and translators are welcome. The more minds that look at the poetry of Gurbani, the more ways there are to capture its true essence, and better the probability of understanding it.

The pitfalls of translating become obvious when a comparison is made of the extant ones. For instance, Manmohan Singh translates the first line of the third stanza of the Jap into an interrogative form, the other translators including Chahil present it as a declarative statement.

Trumpp's translation was the first but rooted in a misunderstanding of Sikhs and Sikhism. In perceiving a mystic's revelation and insight one needs the faith of a believer for one is then in a realm that transcends the limits of reason. And as far as Sikhism goes, Trumpp was decidedly not one.

The best translation still remains the one authored jointly Trilochan Singh, Bhai Jodh Singh, Kapur Singh, Bawa Harkishen Singh and Khushwant Singh, published in 1960 under the aegis of UNESCO. But that book presented less than ten percent of the Guru Granth and has long been out of print.

The translations of the entire Guru Granth by G.S. Talib and Gopal Singh perhaps come as close as one man can in trying to demystify the language and poetry of the original while still retaining some of the beauty and magic that has moved generations of Sikhs and non-Sikhs to heights of religious experience. But their books do not include the original text. Only Manmohan Singh and now Pritam Singh Chahil provide the original text alongside the translation. These two also provide a line by line rendering but in prose that is not always graceful. Chahil in this four volume set hews faithfully and precisely to the literal meaning of Gurbani.
For phonetic transliteration into the Roman script Chahil did not always follow the internationally accepted system found in most dictionaries and used by linguists and lexicographers. He devised instead a simplified version of it but at times it is confusing. Also, his system fails to distinguish between several closely related sounds, such as the sound of 't' in English and in Spanish. Punjabi uses both but not interchangeably and that can lead to problems. To be fair, Chahil admits to similar difficulties in other sounds as well. To use Chahil's version effectively some knowledge of the Gurmukhi script is essential. I noticed several typographical glitches, spelling errors and awkward phraseology. They are distracting. In his English prose I often found that the majesty, power and flavor of the original were lacking.

I wish Chahil had also provided a brief historical note - an Addendum to the Guru Granth - for the reader. The Guru Granth represents the contributions of several Gurus, saints and bards. Many languages are used in it. Its history and compilation make a fascinating story. An introduction would have been most valuable keeping in view the target audience who are largely distanced from the roots of Sikhism. Gopal Singh and G.S. Talib provided excellent material of this nature in their translations.

When I look at my own modest library, I can see the Holy Bible as well as the Koran in Gurmukhi script and language. These two books have been translated and written in perhaps every language known to man, which has a written script. With our relatively young history of just over 500 years and a religious philosophy in which proselytizing is not the corner stone, Sikhs have lagged far behind. But now Sikhs are flourishing in just about every corner of the world and the needs have changed. Our increasing contacts with the non-Sikh world require a different and enhanced vision. Chahil's effort contributes towards the recognition of this new and changing reality.

In short, by this work Pritam Singh Chahil has rendered a signal service to Sikhs, particularly those living away from Punjab, its language and culture. His translation is straightforward but more importantly he presents the original text in Roman script. The oversized volumes (17.5 x 11.5 inches) are apparently designed not to be displayed in a bookcase but to be used in the Sikh tradition as the Guru Granth.
The set is expensive but only for those who live and work in India. It is not prohibitively priced for those who earn, spend and think in dollars or sterling. For the cognoscenti it is a lifetime investment.

This review was written in December 1993.

Dr. Inder Jit Singh is Professor & Co-ordinator in Anatomy, New York University. Among other publications, he is the author of two books: 'Sikhs and Sikhism: A View With a Bias' and 'The Sikhs Way: A Pilgrims Progress'.

I.J. Singh is on the editorial advisory board of 'The Sikh Review', Calcutta and 'The Encyclopedia of Sikhism', Punjabi University, Patiala.

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