Anahat Singh: What's in the name? A word from Nanak's prayer, now India's squash sensation
Indian squash athlete Anahat Singh is gaining recognition for her sporting prowess and the unique origin of her name, which is derived from a line in the Sikh scripture Japji Sahib. The article explores her family's athletic background and the cultural significance of her name.
Why it matters
It provides a human-interest profile on an emerging athlete while highlighting the intersection of cultural heritage and modern sports.
NEW DELHI: Aad aneel anaad anaahat jug jug ayko vays. This exact line appears once at the close of four consecutive stanzas, Pauris 28, 29, 30, and 31, of Japji Sahib, composed by Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, in the opening composition of the Guru Granth Sahib.Translated, it reads roughly as: The One is primal, stainless, without beginning, self-existent (unstruck), and the same throughout all ages.Japji Sahib opens the Guru Granth Sahib, Sikhism's central scripture, and it's the prayer devout Sikhs recite every morning as part of their daily practice. Tucked inside that refrain is the word anaahat, which means unstruck, unbeaten, a sound that exists without ever being produced by collision. It is also, as it happens, the name of one of Indian sport's most exciting young athletes, Anahat Singh."My husband came up with it," Anahat's mother, Tani Vadera Singh, had earlier told TimesofIndia.com.
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