Gurdwara Sri Bal Leela Sahib
About Gurdwara Sri Bal Leela Sahib
Gurdwara Bal Leela is located just 100m right in front of Janam Asthaan of Guru Nanak – The Gurdwara marks the field where Guru Nanak used to play along with other children of the village. The Gurdwara as apparent with its name is to commemorate childhood of Guru Nanak. This site is related with the wonderful adventure of the early childhood of the Guru. The Guru in his infancy, used to transport the enlightenment of the Naam (God’s name) and other philosophies of life to the minds of his friends, while playing with them. Now a new building of Gurdwara has been built to commemorate 550 salgirah.
The original holy pond Nanaksar with this Gurdwara is the largest pond that was originally built by Rai Bular, the ruler of Talwandi – later on enlarged during different periods. Guru Har Gobind during his visit to the town is said to have enlarged the site. Diwan Kaura Mall, a Hindu noble (d. 1752), after his victory over Multan with the assistance of the Sikhs in 1748, further enlarged this Gurdwara.
From Maharaja Ranjit Singh to the present
During the early 1800s, Maharaja Ranjit Singh renovated this Gurdwara and enlarged the Sarovar Sahib properly lined. Maharaja allotted about 3,000 acres to Gurdwara Sri Bal Lila Sahib. After the 1921 tragedy at Gurdwara Janam Asthan, the custodian Mahants of this shrine voluntarily handed it over to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in exchange for suitable maintenance allowance for their sevadaars. The sarovar adjacent to the Gurdwara is lying dried up but the Gurdwara is opened throughout the year and Parkash of Guru Granth Sahib is on year around.
Before the Saka of 1921, the arrangement of this Gurdwara was in the hands of the Nirmala Singhs. Besides Tirath Singh, the Mahant there were also 37 other patidaars. The Gurdwara came under the panthic management at the time of the Gurdwara Sudhar Movement. This Gurdwara remained in the panthic hands up to 1947, but after the partition, the Pakistan Waqf Board has been serving the Gurdwara. The present Gurdwara is recently reconstructed with the help of ETPB of Punjab. The Gurdwara now can be seen from outside the
