Objective

 

The objective of setting up of the Faculty of Arts and Cultural Studies at the Qilā Sarāi, Shāhi Bridge and Hadīrā in the historical town of Sultānpur Lodhi, Kapurthala is to produce, for times to come, some of the finest exponents of our endangered cultural heritage.
Setting up institutions of learning and not necessarily oriented to earning formal academic degrees. The uniqueness of the educative processes (santhyā) of the intangible heritage (sukham virsā) is that there is no grey area - there is no approximate reality.
To create a world-class environment where only the finest exponents with a yearning to share and perpetuate their knowledge are brought together with deserving pupils. 

Goals

 

The ANĀD Foundation’s mission is to patronize (establish institutions as a means towards facilitating the recovery and) revival of the intangible (sukham virsā) and tangible (sthul virsā) heritage of South Asia as a priority.

1. Preservation and development of an important historical city of Sultānpur Lodhi.

2. A symbol of the rich heritage of Punjab in terms of history, culture and geography, which defines Punjab and can be preserved to celebrate the distinctive Punjabi identity in the emerging global context.

 

To achieve the above goals, we shall have to pay careful attention to;

1. Cultural diversities rooted in inter-civilizational encounters, which the region has continually experienced, since the days of the Harappan civilization.
2. Buddhist and pre-Buddhist heritage of the region.
3. Contacts between Punjab and Greece from the time of Alexander the Great.
4. Presence of Jain influences.
5. Arrival of Islam and Sufism.
6. Culmination of the above heritage in the birth and evolution of Gur-Sikh tradition.
7. Punjab through the period of colonialism and partition.
8. Present Punjab in the global era.

 


"I do not keep the Hindu fast or the Muslim Ramzan
I serve him alone who is my refuge
I serve one master, who is also Allah."

 

Guru Arjan Dev

The Fifth Sikh Master

 

In

 

Perspective

 

The traditional educative modes in South Asia that produced master-exponents and bearers of knowledge, generation after generation, for thousands of years have been disrupted since the 1920’s. In 1989, Bhai Baldeep Singh envisaged resurgence where worthy individuals could again undergo santhyā (the educative processes or simply - tutelage) evolved and honed by some of the greatest sages in the history of this blessed land.

Mission

 

1. Seeing and understanding Tradition(s) of Punjab from inside as wāris (inheritors), and the codification and institutionalisation, of Punjabi heritage.

2. Creating a vision for Punjab of the future where traditions are preserved not merely as archival material but as sources of inspiration on which the future generations of Punjab will build - traditions that will be cherished, valued, lived and propagated.

3. To spread the message of this rich heritage across other cultures all over the globe.