Gurudwara Bhai Bala Sandhu – Shivpuri

Gurdwara Bhai Bala Sandhu stands at the location where Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji stopped briefly, while travelling from Dholpur, Rajastan to Shivpuri, and then on to Bhopal and Nepal. Here, he gave an audience to the local sanggat (congregation) and took water from a well that still exists at the Gurdwara. Gurdwara Bhai Bala Sandhu (also referred to as Gurdwara Padora) lies on National Highway Number 3, which leads to Agra and Sri Hazoor Sahib. Sikh pilgrims travelling to Hazoor Sahib will usually make a stop at this Gurdwara for food and accomodation. Shivpuri is located almost 970 km from Hazoor Sahib. Over the years, the Gurdwara, under the direction of Baba Hakim Singh, has helped many members of the sanggat who are in need, eg. accidents via travelling and other problems. All this has been carried out free of cost. Other sewa projects of the Gurdwara include the Baba Amrik Singh Residential High School (Gurdwara Pandora, Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh) - which offers free education to needy/orphaned children. Students at the school include local children, who attend as day pupils, as well as children who board at the school. The school is named after the late Baba Amrik Singh, son of the late Baba Charan Singh ji of Sampardai Kar Sewa Sarhali Sahib, Amritsar. A recently started project, Sant Baba Tara Singh, Sant Baba Charan Singh Charitable Hospital, located opposite the Gurdwara, was due for completion in 2008 or 2009. It is being constructed due to the lack of medical facilities in the area for needy people.