Book Review | Walking With Nanak

The Pakistani author Haroon Khalid was captivated by the life of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith in the late 15th century in Punjab, India. When he learned that Guru Nanak spent a significant part of his life in Pakistan, the author decided to take a journey mirroring the footsteps of Guru Nanak and the sites he visited.

Khalid also creates a fictionalized account of Guru Nanak's life, giving us a flawed human searching for his path to God—from a young boy, to a husband, an accountant, a father, a poet, a wanderer, and finally a saint. It's a vivid portrayal of what Guru Nanak might have experienced during his travels, thereby humanizing the revered prophet and making his experience relatable. Khalid keeps the reader engaged by sharing what he was experiencing in the present day locations Nanak had visited then going back to Nanak's time and recreating his world. Khalid also shares the religious, historical, and cultural moments of the subsequent Sikh Gurus and how they helped shape the new spiritual movement into an organized faith.

I think it helps that Khalid isn't Sikh so he can approach his work with objectivity and curiosity not already subjected to cultural or religious bias if he was born a Sikh. He brings a fresh, unique perspective unafraid of portraying a revered religious founder with human qualities not often portrayed this way by Sikh authors. Ultimately, his book provides a story anyone from any faith can appreciate, reflecting the intent of Guru Nanak's own scriptures welcomed by all to learn his universal truths.

Khalid's passion for his subject clearly comes across the pages. There are several memorable passages throughout but I think this is my favorite, capturing Guru Nanak's message of finding God on whichever path that takes you on:

I personally found the author's structure inspiring by telling Guru Nanak's tale in the past and then the author's own in the present, rather than a straightforward narrative leading to a dry historical read. I used this in my own book to help keep the reader engaged, transitioning from Sikh history to the present, my family's journey from Punjab to the US, and my travels with my father through present day Punjab.