Gurdwara Gangsar

Located on the western side of the Jaito Town in the district of Faridkot is a beautiful and tranquil white Gurudwara Gangsar. This Gurudwara receives a regular pilgrimage annually because there is a belief that the water from the holy river flows into it. The Gurudwara also holds a huge history behind it as it witnessed a historic event here. The rise of the Sikh people fighting the British regime which is known as the martyr squad happened right around this Gurudwara. This Gurudwara is also closely linked to the Tenth Sikh Guru as he was the reason behind the construction of this Gurudwara.
According to some story, the pond near this Gurdwara got its water from the Ganges River. This is because Guru Ji had recovered a Brahmin’s Gadva from this point of which the Brahmin had previously lost in the Ganga River at Haridwar.

History

The building of this gurdwara was said to be sanctified by the Tenth Sikh Guru himself. It was told that while Guru Gobind Singh met a pilgrim here while he was on his way to a pond here. The pilgrim was on his way to his pilgrimage to the Ganges River when Guru Gobind Singh told him that he can take a bath in the pond as it will give the same advantages to him. It was from this event that the pond near the gurudwara was called Gangsar and a gurudwara was built here subsequently near the pond.

Gurudwara Gangsar was also used as the place where Sikh had organized an ‘Akhand Path’ on 25th to 27th August in the year 1923. Even though the event was declared as illegal by the British government at that time, many devotees kept on coming as a signal to the government not to intervene with what is happening in the country. One thing lead to another, a martyr squad was established by the Sikh forcing the government to step back and create a Gurudwara Act.

Architecture and Covered Area

The Gurudwara was built in front of a big pond with its main building consist of one big dome and the other smaller one that act like a minaret. Besides the big pond inside the Gurudwara's compound, there is one bigger pond located next to the Gurudwara where according to the story a pilgrim had taken a bath there as instructed by Guru Ji.

Location and Its Surrounding

Located on the Jaito-Kotkapura Road, this gurdwara is strategically located because it is just 17 Km travelling distance from Kotkapura Town and 30 Km from Faridkot City. This gurudwara is situated in the western part of Jaito town while there is another famous gurudwara in the eastern part of the town known as Gurudwara Tibbi Sahib.

Celebrations

There is no special celebration held here besides the regular festivals celebrated by all Sikh according to Sikhism. However, devotees visiting this gurudwara will often pay their tribute through prayer to the martyr who had fought the British regime during the invasion times.

Visitors Info

Best Time to Visit

The gurudwara can be visited all year long since there is no restriction. However, the Jaito Town is known to have a very high temperature. During summers, the temperature can be as high as 45˚C and heavy rainfall can be expected during monsoon season starting from July to September.

Travelling to Faridkot

By Air

There is no airport in the district of Faridkot and the nearest major airport is around 125 Km away which is the Raja Sansi International Airport in Amritsar. There are lots of air services providing a direct flight service from United States, London and even Dubai to this airport. From airport, visitors can choose to travel by taxi or by bus to Faridkot which is roughly around 3 Hours travelling time.

For the domestic traveler, Bhatinda Airport is the closest airport to Faridkot. The distance from the airport is only 60 Km.

By Train

It is easy to reach there by train as Faridkot is situated on the Ferozepur-Bathinda-Delhi railway line. The train service here is handled by the Northern Railway team.

By Road

There are lots of regular bus services to Faridkot from the major cities of India as the district is linked with lots of major highway. One of them is the National Highway 15 that runs from Pathankot to Samkhiyali.