Zahari Kala [The Art of Revelation]

Here, Keerat Kaur sought to capture the sense of wonder instilled in the 36th ballad written by the sixteenth-century scholar and poet Bhai Gurdas. In it, Guru Nanak reveals the infinite universe in a single moment. While in Baghdad, Guru Nanak met a Muslim cleric (pir) to whom he recited the most important Sikh prayer, the Japji Sahib, which describes countless suns, moons, worlds and the life within them. When challenged to prove this vision, Guru Nanak gently held the hand of the cleric’s son and flew with him into space, revealing the infinity of creation. The child also received an offering made of clarified butter, wheat flour and sugar (prashad), a moment believed to mark the beginning of the Sikh tradition of offering sweets (Karah Parshad).