Sunny Dua
Going down the memory lane one can find several such instances wherein Hindus and Sikhs have confronted each other triggering riots and leaving indelible scars on each others’ souls. Those unpleasant moments had not only drifted these two communities away from each other but also preached hatred amongst them from time to time. At a time when Punjab was burning and people were being killed on the basis of their religion or whenever there was any unrest anywhere in the country and people were massacred, a small hamlet located in not-so-dense forests of Sundarbani area of Jammu and Kashmir State was calmly rather in oblivion sermonizing Hindu-Sikh harmony.
The village Chani Prat located about 10 kilometers from Sunderbani town of district Rajouri in Jammu division of J&K State had been sermonizing Hindu-Sikh harmony but has never been recognised by anyone at any given point of time. Village Prat is surrounded by Kalakote Tehsil towards North, Nowshera Tehsil towards west , Akhnoor Tehsil towards East , Reasi Tehsil towards East .
Located in this village is a two storey Hindu temple – the first of its kind in Jammu and Kashmir which dons murals from Mahabharata and Ramayana besides that of other Gods and Goddesses. Strangely the walls of this temple have equally been divided into equal segments wherein murals have been painted with natural colours. Maximum murals have been defaced and are craving for their restoration. A couple of few more years and unattended visitors would definitely erase this history from the walls of Chani Prat Temple forever. This is high time Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) begins restoration or at least document the architect and murals of this temple before it becomes a history.
These wall paintings of Hindu Gods and Goddesses are self descriptive and narrate many epic stories. Amidst these murals one has completely been dedicated to Sikh’s first Guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji who has been depicted with his two disciples Bala and Mardana. Strangely even the locals don’t have any knowledge about this one particular mural which had found place amongst others and that too inside a temple dedicated to Lord Rama.
This majestic two storeyed Raghunath temple located at an isolated place near village Chani Prat, is believed to have been constructed during the reign of Maharaja Gulab Singh, through the efforts of a Sadhu who used to visit this place while wandering. The builders of this magnificent temple had taken much care of depicting epic stories drawn not only from holy books of Hindus but also from Sikh religion. These stories have been depicted in the form of Murals on the first floor of Temple, structure of which is also unique.
Housed in this double story temple are murals of Radha-Krishan, Lord Rama, Lord Vishnu Shravan Kumar, Mahabharat and amongst them is that of Guru Nanak Dev Ji sitting under a tree with his disciples Bala and Mardana. Known as Bhai Bala and born in Talvandi Rai Bhoi, now called Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, he was believed to be a constant companion of Bhai Mardana and Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
Bhai Mardana who has also been portrayed in the mural sitting under the tree shade was also the first follower and long time companion of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism. Mardana, a Muslim born to a Mirasi couple, Badra and Lakkho, of Rai Bhoi di Talwandi, now Nankana Sahib of Pakistan always accompanied Guru Nanak Dev Ji during his different journeys around the globe. Strangely this Muslim has also found his place in the Hindu Temple which further shows the kind of harmony people of that time preached and practiced.
Along with Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Mardana has been depicted in the mural with his Rubab and singing hymns as well. Though this temple has been declared as a protected heritage site by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) yet no one has ever been able to find out what the murals on the walls of this temple exactly depict. Much has also been written and said about this Temple located in village Channi Prat but no one has ever cared to find how Sikh murals are donning the walls of this Hindu temple.
It is said that this temple is replica of a double storey Varansi temple but that too has not been confirmed by anyone. The structure and design of the temple is unique because there is no temple of such structure in this region. It contains the images of Lord Rama, Goddess Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman. Miniature paintings on the walls depict various episodes of Mahabarata and Ramayana epics.
Stairs case of this temple is an engineering marvel. At first go, no one can find the way to first floor as the staircase has been built inside a wall. Being part of the wall the staircase is not practically visible but just few steps lead the visitors and devotees to first floor. The temple has ample space to be developed as a heritage site as well as pilgrimage but lack of resources and any attention by the Government has camouflaged this unique temple in not-so-dense forests of Sunderbani. In reality this is a forgotten site and has lost its relevance even when it has many things for scholars, religious people, researchers, historians and archaeologists.
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