Religious space as a stage for love: Translating Sikh scripture as a woman

Abstract

The sacred book of Sikhism, Ādi Granth, which is known by the faithful as the Guru Granth Sahib, is a compilation of the utterances of the Sikh Gurus and other figures, both Sikh and non-Sikh, whose writings reflect a similar worldview. The first English translation of Ādi Granth was commissioned by the British administration and entrusted to a German scholar, Ernest Trumpp (1877). Since then, almost all translations have been produced by men, with the first English translation of the entire Guru Granth Sahib by Sikh scholar Gopal Singh appearing only in 1960. This article showcases the work and person(a) of Baljit Kaur Tulsi (1915-1997), one of the first women translators of the Sikh sacred texts. I begin by contextualizing Tulsi’s life and work, then move on to her English rendering of Anand, a sacred composition in the Guru Granth Sahib. I compare the first stanza with that of the translation by Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh. I conclude that despite having different idiolects and worldviews, the two translators, both of whom are deeply religious, speak first and foremost as women and their woman-centered position is evident in their translations.