As part of Britain's national Anglo-Sikh Heritage Trail, a small selection of some of the finest Sikh manuscripts and drawings held in the British Library highlighting the legacy of the first Guru of the Sikh faith, Guru Nanak and the heritage of the Khalsa will be going on display from July until September 2004.

The first case concentrates on the message of Guru Nanak and his teachings. It includes the oldest known manuscript copy outside India dating to the 17th century - a substantial part of the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib. This is also one of the twenty oldest known copies in existence. Other manuscripts in this section include a Janam Sakhi which was given to the Library of the East India House by the Sanskrit scholar, Henry Colebrooke and a manuscript prepared in 1828-30 for Maharani Jindan Kaur comprising selections of three hymns from the Adi Granth, one by Guru Nanak and two by Guru Arjun.

The second case explores the formation of the Khalsa, the community of Sikh warriors, by Guru Gobind Singh in the 17th century. All male Sikhs began to adopt the name 'Singh', meaning lion and all female Sikhs adopted the name 'Kaur' meaning princess. The Sikh state was established in 1799 under the dynamic leader, Ranjit Singh known as the Lion of Punjab and a lavishly illustrated miniature shows the man that created the flourishing cultural life of Punjab.

Exhibition curator, Jasleen Kandhari said, "The Anglo-Sikh Heritage Trail is an important initiative to celebrate and promote the heritage of Sikhs through art. This is a wonderful opportunity for the British Library to highlight the fine Sikh treasures the Library contains. I shall be delivering gallery talks highlighting the Legacy of Guru Nanak and the Heritage of the Khalsa through these exquisite Sikh manuscripts and drawings."

The Policy Advisor for Asian Affairs to the Mayor of London's Offfice, Atma Singh said, "The British Library exhibition on some of the great treasures of Sikh manuscripts and drawings enhances its world class reputation. I would urge all Londoners and visitors to come and see it. This sort of exhibition is the soul of a living multi-faith and multi-cultural capital city."

ABOUT JASLEEN KANDHARI

Jasleen Kandhari, 29, combines her job as Specialist of the Asian Collections in the British Library's Education department with previewing Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Islamic art auctions in London and writing articles on Indian art collections in Museums worldwide for the Asian Art Newspaper. She is the Assistant Secretary of the Indian Art Circle, London which is dedicated to the promotion of scholarship and appreciation of Indian art and is currently studying for a Diploma in Asian Manuscripts at the University of London having attained an MA in Asian Art from Sotheby's Institute of Art and BA in Asian Art History and Music from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

In her role at the British Library, Jasleen is currently curating an exhibition of Sikh manuscripts and giving a series of gallery talks from July 2004. Before joining the British Library she assisted with research on the Victoria and Albert Museum's Indian Jewellery collections and has worked at both Sotheby's and Christie's in the client services section for Asian Art sales.