Anandpur Lipi

Anandpur Lipi
*Anandpuri Lipi*
ਆਨੰਦਪੁਰ ਲਿਪੀ
Anandpur Lipi; Anandpuri Lipi; ਆਨੰਦਪੁਰ ਲਿਪੀ
	Detailed example of calligraphic Gurmukhi (Anandpur Lipi) in the hand of Guru Gobind Singh, from a manuscript held in the Bhai Rupa Collection
Script type	Abugida
Time period	1670's–Unknown
Languages	Sant Bhasha;
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician Aramaic Brahmi script Gupta Sharada Landa Gurmukhi Anandpur Lipi; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
	This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Anandpur Lipi (Punjabi: ਆਨੰਦਪੁਰ ਲਿਪੀ; also known as Anandpuri Lipi or Shehkasteh) is a calligraphic (Punjabi: Shikasta^[1]^{[note 1]}) style of the Gurmukhi script associated with Guru Gobind Singh.^[2] It is commonly found among early manuscripts of the Dasam Granth scripture as the employed script.^{[citation needed]}

Features

The font is characterized by "long flowing animated strokes".^[3]

History

Origin

According to Sikhologist Gurinder Singh Mann, Anandpur Lipi first appears in the decade of the 1670's, developing further in the following three decades after.^[4] Surviving examples of the font can be found on copper plates and scriptural manuscripts from the time-period.^[4] The development of its physical appearance may have been influenced by Persian.^[3]

Decipherment

In 1963, the late Sikh scholar Manohar Singh Marco rediscovered a historical Sikh scripture, which came to be known as the Anandpuri Bir.^[3] The manuscript was rediscovered in a highly-decayed condition in the home of Pandit Om Prakash in Anandpur Sahib.^[3] It was found lying amid other historical, handwritten texts.^[3] The manuscript was written the calligraphic Anandpur Lipi font.^[3] Marco would later devise a key to decipher the glyphs of the calligraphic font and match each glyph to their modern-Gurmukhi counterpart.^[3] He accomplished this by separating each glyph individually.^[3] A pamphlet was published by the Delhi Gurdware Parbandak Comittee to inform the Sikh congregation about the discovering of the manuscript and its deciphering.^[3] The manuscript used to decipher the script has since been conserved, restored, microfilmed, and digitized.^[3]

Notes

^ Alternatively transcribed as "shiksata".

References

^ "Styles of Gurumukhi script". Central Institute of Indian Languages.
^ "The Sikh Review". The Sikh Review. 58 (673–678). Sikh Cultural Centre: 36–38. 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Singh, Jasprit (10 October 2011). "To Give Our Past a Future". The Sikh Foundation International. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017.
^ ^a ^b Mann, Gurinder Singh (2008). "Sources for the Study of Guru Gobind Singh's Life and Times" (PDF). Journal of Punjab Studies. 15 (1–2): 240–242 – via Global Institute for Sikh Studies.