• Source: Virasat-e-Khalsa

Virasat-e-Khalsa is a museum of Sikhism, located in the holy town, Anandpur Sahib of the state of Punjab, India. The museum celebrates 500 years of the Sikh history and the 300th anniversary of the birth of Khalsa, based on the scriptures written by the tenth and last human guru, Guru Gobind Singh. It serves to attract tourists and pilgrims. This results in a consultation between religion and emerging need in the building environment. One side it promotes hand crafts to locals as well as nurturing a sense of heritage, besides it recalls to infinity by the volumetric interference of existing skyline is another phase of a visible Urbanism dilemma.




Structure


The buildings are constructed of poured-in-place concrete; some beams and columns remain exposed, though a great deal of the structures will be clad in a local honey-colored stone. The rooftops are stainless steel-clad and exhibit a double curvature: they gather and reflect the sky while a series of dams in the ravine create pools that reflect the entire complex at night. The smaller western complex includes an entrance plaza, an auditorium with 400 seating-capacity, two-story research and reference library, and changing exhibition galleries.
Parkash Singh Badal was very inspired by the Holocaust Memorial- Yad Vashem in Israel and asked the architect, Moshe Safdie to construct a memorial as an ode to the Khalsa. The artificial lake as a sarovar/moat with the bridge representing 'crossing the world-ocean' referenced in Sikh scriptures multiple times by Guru Nanak, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das and Guru Arjan. The first building is a boat-shaped building named 'Punj Paani' which is right after the bridge. The central building in the shape of a leaf represents the Kikkar symbol prevalent in most Sikh coins up until British rule. Safdie designed the turrets to resemble the old fortresses of Punjab, the cluster of five evoke the fortress architecture of the region (most evident in a nearby Gurdwara) and form a dramatic silhouette against the surrounding cliff terrain. The gathering of the galleries in groups of five reflects the Five Virtues, a central tenet of Sikhism. There is one angular turret representing the Kalgi of Guru Gobind Singh. Moshie Safdie stated that the Dholpur stone represents the works of Sir Sobha Singh, a leading Sikh contractor and businessman, since most of his constructions including the Rashtrapati Bhavan and Secretariat Building, New Delhi used Dholpur stone.




Visitor numbers


Visitor numbers have broken records as the museum has been recognized as the most visited museum in the Indian subcontinent. The footfall for a single day on March 20, 2019, was the most ever recorded for a museum in India.
Over 10 million people have visited since its inception 8 years ago.




References






Photographs

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Virasat-e-Khalsa
• Gurdwara Qila Anandgarh Sahib
• Anandpur Sahib
• Moshe Safdie
• Kabir Bedi
• Punjab, India
• Panjab Digital Library
• Orijit Sen
• Giani Gurbachan Singh
• List of museums in India