Anandpur Lipi
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.
Further reading
- Marco, Manohar Singh. Sri Anandpuri Bir Babat Mudhli Jaankari (in Punjabi). Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandak Committe.
- Marco, Manohar Singh (2011). Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Di Pawan Puneet Bani Diyan Hath-Likhat Pracheen Biran Di Parikarma (in Punjabi). Satvic Media. ISBN 978-8187526384.