Virasat-e-Khalsa

Virasat-e-Khalsa is a museum of Sikhism, located in the town of Anandpur Sahib, and is close to the Takht Kesgarh Sahib,located in the state of Punjab, India. The museum celebrates 500 years of Sikh history and the 300th anniversary of the birth of Khalsa, based on the scriptures written by the tenth and last of Sikhism's gurus, Guru Gobind Singh. Tourists and pilgrims visit.^[1]

Virasat-e-Khalsa

Official logo
Virasat-e-Khalsa
Location within Punjab
Established	13 April 1999 (1999-04-13)
Location	Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, India
Coordinates	31°13′55″N 76°30′09″E
Type	Sikh museum
Architect	Moshe Safdie
Owner	Government of Punjab
Nearest car park	Open
Website	http://virasat-e-khalsa.net/

Structure

The buildings are constructed of poured-in-place concrete; some beams and columns remain exposed, though a great deal of the structures will be clad in a local honey-colored stone. The rooftops are stainless steel-clad and exhibit a double curvature: they gather and reflect the sky while a series of dams in the ravine create pools that reflect the entire complex at night.^[2] The smaller western complex includes an entrance plaza, an auditorium with 400 seating-capacity, two-story research and reference library, and changing exhibition galleries.

Parkash Singh Badal was inspired by the Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem in Israel and asked the architect, Moshe Safdie to construct a memorial to the Khalsa.^[3] The artificial lake as a sarovar/moat with the bridge representing 'crossing the world-ocean' referenced in Sikh scriptures multiple times by Guru Nanak, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das and Guru Arjan.^[4] The first building is a boat-shaped building named 'Punj Paani' which is right after the bridge.^[5] The central building in the shape of a leaf represents the Kikkar symbol prevalent in most Sikh coins up until British rule.^[4] Safdie designed the turrets to resemble the old fortresses of Punjab, the cluster of five evoke the fortress architecture of the region (most evident in a nearby Gurdwara) and form a dramatic silhouette against the surrounding cliff terrain. The gathering of the galleries in groups of five reflects the Five Virtues, a central tenet of Sikhism.^[4] There is one angular turret representing the Kalgi of Guru Gobind Singh.^[4] Most of his constructions including the Rashtrapati Bhavan and Secretariat Building, New Delhi used Dholpur stone.^[4]

Visitor numbers

On March 20, 2019 the museum set a record for the most people visiting a museum in the Indian subcontinent in a single day. Over 10 million people have visited since it opened.^[6]