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| Title |
'Holy Books' at Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India |
| Short Title |
Haridwar |
| Author |
Ajoy Eric Lal |
| Publisher |
Pundit Deepak Sharma & Family, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India |
| Call Number |
+91-78300-85103 |
| Source ID |
S1 |
| Text |
Most references pertaining to the “Sharma & Lal Families” are kept in old and partially decaying books of huge dimensions maintained in the Holy City of Haridwar, Uttarakhand*, located upon the banks of the River Ganga (Ganges) at the foothills of the Himalayas. These ‘holy books’ are approximately 20cm wide, 80cm in length and can even be up to 20cm in thickness. They comprise of individual pages (papyrus type paper) that are held together between two hard covers, all of which are tied together with string at one end. Each book in itself is kept within folded sheets of cotton cloth for better storage.
Multiple generations of the Sabban family of Pundits (Hindu Priests) had maintained these books for centuries until these were handed over to the Sharma family of Pundits.
The records are all hand-written and kept chronologically. Individual entries pertaining to the “Sharma & Lal Families” need to be searched manually. A reference to the village or town of origin (Urapar, Punjab, India) and the Gotyra (Brahmin, Kashyap, Bajra) helps the Pundits of Haridwar seek out these records easily.
Entries in Urdu (a language in its’ own right, derived from Persian/ Farsi) dating back into the late 17th century have been documented there for posterity by our forefathers and other relatives. Entries are also to be found in Sanskrit and Hindi, with some of the youngest even having been made in the English language ... how times change but roots do not!
*) Political and historical reasons led to Uttarakhand (previously also called "Uttaranchal") breaking off into a new state from the erstwhile much larger "Uttar Pradesh" that lies just along the Southern boundary of Nepal, along the great Gangetic Plains!
Side note:
The Sabban clan of Pandits looked after our records until about 2016. Pandit Vinod Sabban died sometime in 2011-2012, afterwhich his son Ashish 'Tinku' Sabban had taken over. Record books were split and handed over to the Sharma family, now led by Shri Pandit Deepak Sharma (+91-78300-85103) who is responsible for the family records. |
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