BANNU (KHARI) BIR
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SIKHISM
BY
HARBANS SINGH, Panjabi University Patiala.
Dear Giani Ji and all,
It is for information of the members who were blaming me for sowing seeds of doubt. Now either Encvyclopedia of Punjabi University is wrong or you all have wrong information. Down below is the bibliography. It seems your information depends on oral traditions.
Here is a copy from Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Page, 279 describing the history of Banno and his carrying the 2nd copy of Pothi Sahib to his house.
BANNO BHAI (1558-1645)
BANNO, BHAI (1558-1645), a prominent Sikh contemporary of Guru Arjan and Guru Hargobind, was the son of Bhai Bishan Dev of village Mangat, also called Khara-Maligat, Khara being its older name, in Phalia. tahsil of Gujrat district (now in Pakistan). He was born on Saturday, Baisakh sudi 13, 1615 Bk/ 30 April 1558. Banno grew up with a deeply religious disposition. He turned a Sikh and rendered diligent service during the construction of Harimandar at Amritsar under Guru Arjan. On the completion of the compilation of (Guru) Granth Sahib in 1604, Guru Arjan deputed Bhai Banno to carry the holy volume to Lahore for binding. The later with the Guru's permission first carried it to his village and then brought it back to Lahore. During his journey to and from his village he prepared his own copy of the Holy Book. He got, both the copies bound and brought them to the Guru, who installed the original copy (Adi Bir) in the Harimandar and returned the other copy to Bhai Banno. This recension came to be known as Bhai Banno Vali Bir or Khare Vali Bir, because the Bhai had installed it in his own house at Khara-Maligat.
Bhai Banno continued to preach Sikh tenets in the north-western parts of the Punjab till his death in Magh 1701 Bk/January 1645.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Bhalla, Sarup Das, Mahima Prakash. Patiala, 1971
2. Bal, Rajinder Singh, Bhai Banno Darpan. Jalandhar, 1989
3. Bhai Banno Sahib. Kanpur, n. d.
4. Gurbilas Chhevlri Patshahi. Patiala, 1970
Cordially,
Virinder S. Grewal
Williamston, MI