Gurdwara Baba Atal

Gurdwārā Bābā Aṭṭal Rāi (Punjabi pronunciation: [ɡʊɾᵊd̪ʊäːɾäː bäbːäː əʈəllːə̆]) is a famous Gurdwara in Amritsar dedicated to Atal Rai, a son of Guru Hargobind and Mata Nanaki.

[5][3] According to Sikh legend narrated in the Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi, Atal Rai revived a friend named Mohan who was bitten by a snake and subsequently died as a result of the injury.

[3] After being admonished by his father for the miracle, Atal Rai retired himself to the bank of Kaulsar and died on 13 September 1628 with the aim of leaving this world.

[1][3] Even though Atal Rai died as a child, he was given the honourific 'baba', usually given to aged and respected men, in commemoration for his spiritual powers.

[3] In India, it is a common practice for the tombs of saintly individuals to be gradually transformed into religious shrines as time goes by.

[6] However, Kanwarjit Singh Kang believes the present-day tower had been erected between circa 1775–1800 (last quarter of the 18th century).

[4] The gurdwara was famed for its langar and many pilgrims and destitute people visited it to partake in it, where it was freely distributed to all visitors.

[4] To the northwest lay the cenotaph of Sant Singh Giani, which contained murals depicting Indic deities.

[6] The first fresco painting in the series depicts Indic deities requesting the divine to send a worthy person to humanity to bring them out of Kalyug (age of darkness).

[3] Kang also provides other arguments for his later dating of the artwork: 1) the style of the Gurmukhi calligraphy inscribed on the paintings belong to his suggested late 19th century dating, and, 2) there exists a painting that depicts and references a certain Pandit Brij Nath, a supposed teacher shown as instructing Nanak in the image but references to this person only began to exist in Janamsakhi literature produced in and after the early 19th century.

[3] Art critic K. C. Aryan considered the murals of Gurdwara Baba Atal to be "inferior" to those of Virbhan-da-Shivala and the temple of Maiyanatha.

[11] Embossed brass plaques were donated by worshipers beginning in the middle of the 19th century onwards as a sign of their devotion.

[3] These embossed brass plaques were likely crafted by the Thathera guilds and craftsman that were located in the Kucha Fakirkhana neighbourhood of Amritsar.

[3] Historical frescoes have been whitewashed or covered by bathroom tiles and plaster during supposed "kar seva" renovations in the structure.

[3] There used to a fresco located on the wall to the left of the large, entrance-door that depicted the life-story of Baba Atal.

Fresco depicting Baba Atal Rai, son of Guru Hargobind, surrounded by other figures, from Gurdwara Baba Atal in Amritsar, circa late-19th century. One of the depicted figures is Mohan, whom Atal is said to have revived through the performance of a miracle after Mohan died from a snake-bite.
Sketch map of the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar, published in Sundar Singh Ramgarhia's Guide to the Darbar Sahib or Golden Temple of Amritsar (1903)
Photograph taken from a high-vantage point of the skyline of the city of Amritsar, 1903
Video of frescoes from the upper-stories of Gurdwara Baba Atal