The Path

Sukhmani Sahib Path Invitation

Sukhmani Sahib is read in a single sitting. The path begins in the morning, the Bhog comes about two hours later, and Kirtan, Ardas and Guru Ka Langar follow. Because the whole programme fits into one morning, families hold it on a birthday, in the week before a wedding, when they move into a new house, or as shukrana when something they had prayed for has come through. The card only has to carry one date, a start time, a Bhog time and the place, which is why these designs keep the text short and the artwork large.

Lines the card needs

• The invitation from the family: S. Balwant Singh and family, or the Sandhu Parivar
• One date with the day spelt out, such as Sunday, 22 November
• Path aarambh and Bhog times, for example 10 AM and 12 noon
• Kirtan, Ardas and Guru Ka Langar after the Bhog
• The Gurdwara, or the house address when the path is at home (more on that below)

What is on the 93 designs

Palki Sahib under a canopy, Harmandir Sahib and its sarovar, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the Khanda and Ik Onkar, and floral frames in cream, navy, maroon and pastel shades. The birthday cards include two with a baby and jungle animals, one with a photo slot, and three with a QR box that opens the venue on Google Maps. Two designs run to a second page for a longer programme. Use the buttons above the designs to see only birthday, wedding or new home cards.

Sharing

Path Invitation on WhatsApp

A Sukhmani Sahib Path invite often goes out only a few days ahead, since it is a morning programme rather than a big function. WhatsApp does most of the work: the card goes into the family group, and a separate forward goes to the bibi ji and bapu ji who are not in any group. PNG keeps the small Gurmukhi lines on the card crisp. Put one of these messages under the image so the date and address are there as text too.

Ghar da path

Sukhmani Sahib Path at Home

Most Sukhmani Sahib paths are held at home rather than at the Gurdwara. The family sets aside a clean room, spreads white sheets, and the Granthi Ji or a family member reads. Guests sit on the floor with heads covered, and the langar is served in the courtyard or the next room. For the card this changes one thing: the address has to be complete. Write it the way you would give it to a cab driver: house number, gali or sector, and the gurdwara or school nearest to you. Many of the designs already carry an address block in that shape, and three of them have a QR box where you paste your Google Maps link.

Home or Gurdwara, what changes on the card

• At home: full address with a landmark, and a line about where to park if the lane is narrow
• At the Gurdwara: the Gurdwara's name and area is enough, everyone knows the way
• At home the Bhog time matters more, since guests plan to arrive for the Bhog and stay for langar
• For a new home, many families write the new address in bold, so relatives update it in their phones

ਪੰਜਾਬੀ

Path Invitation in Punjabi

Twenty-one of the designs open in Punjabi, with the wording elders expect, and every other card has a Punjabi version in the editor's language menu. To put your own family name in Gurmukhi, such as ਗਰੇਵਾਲ, add the free Punjabi keyboard on your phone (Gboard has one) or paste the name in from WhatsApp.

Punjabi lines printed on the designs

• ਸੁਖਮਨੀ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਪਾਠ ਦਾ ਸੱਦਾ: the invitation heading
• ਲੱਖ ਖੁਸ਼ੀਆਂ ਪਾਤਸ਼ਾਹੀਆਂ ਜੇ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਨਦਰਿ ਕਰੇਇ: the shabad line many families put at the top
• ਪਾਠ ਆਰੰਭ and ਭੋਗ: the two times on the card
• ਉਪਰੰਤ ਕੀਰਤਨ ਅਤੇ ਗੁਰੂ ਕਾ ਲੰਗਰ: what follows the Bhog
• ਸਮੂਹ ਸੰਗਤ ਨੂੰ ਬੇਨਤੀ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਦਰਸ਼ਨ ਦੇ ਕੇ ਗੁਰੂ ਦੀਆਂ ਖੁਸ਼ੀਆਂ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਕਰੋ ਜੀ: the closing request to the sangat

Guru Ka Langar

Langar Seva Invitation

Langar after the Bhog is part of the path, and there are two invitations hidden in it. One is to the guests, to stay and eat. The other is to the relatives and neighbours who will help with the seva, cooking the evening before, making the karah parshad in the morning, and serving. That second invite is usually a plain message, not a card, sent a few days earlier so people can plan their time.

What the seva message should say

• The evening and time the cooking starts, and where
• Roughly how many are expected, so the sabzi and dal are planned right
• Head covered and hands washed before entering the langar kitchen, said gently for friends who are new to it
• A thank you line, because nobody is paid for seva