Young children learning Gatka Akhara at Guru Nanak Public School Rajori Garden Delhi under the leadership of Gatka coach Bhai Jagpreet Singh demonstrated the essence of Gatka in the Nagar Kirtan taken out from Gurdwara Singh Sabha Rajori Garden on the occasion of the Parkash Purb of the first Patshahi Sahib Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
Talking to the media, Bhai Jagpreet Singh said that Gatka is an integral part of our Sikh heritage and to promote the game of Gatka, we should make it mandatory to teach it in all schools and colleges of the Sikh Panth because the future of Gatka is very bright in the coming times.
Baba Zorawar Singh Baba Fateh Singh Akhara as the head of the Akhara, Bhai Jagpreet Singh, who is running the Akhara and is teaching Gatka Akhara to children at Guru Nanak Public School, said that the word ‘Gatka’ is formed from the letter ‘G’ meaning speed, ‘T’ from the letter ‘Tal’ meaning coordination and ‘K’ meaning time and the combination of these three is the word ‘Gatka’ which is blessed by the sixth Satguru Sri Guru Hargobind Singh Ji. While playing Gatka, coordination of movements, speed as well as attention to the right time to stop and strike makes someone a good ‘Gatka’ player. The word ‘Gatka’, derived from the Persian word ‘Kutka’, means stick or stick. The martyrdom of the fifth Guru Guru Arjan Dev Ji created a wave of anger in the Sikh community and Guru Hargobind Singh Ji also decided to give the kirpan in the hands of the rosary.
He said that ‘Gatka’ based on the principles of Miri and Piri to make Sikhs proficient in war skills was indeed started by Guru Hargobind Sahib, but its foundation was laid by the founder of Sikhism, ‘Guru Nanak Dev Ji’. ‘Gurdwara Barchha Sahib’ built in the memory of Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Danpur, Assam, ‘Gurdwara Malh Sahib’ built by Guru Angad Dev Ji point towards this idea that the importance of physical strength and weapons has been propagated by every light of Guru Nanak. By combining devotion and power in the sixth Jama and by starting the Sikh weapons education ‘Gatka’, Guru Ji started giving practical form to this idea.
