Paonta Sahib is considered as an exceedingly holy city for Sikh people. Paonta Sahib is one of the main industrialized towns of Himachal Pradesh in India. It is a significant place of worship for Sikhs, hosting a great Gurdwara, named Gurudwara Paonta Sahib which is situated on the banks of the Yamuna River.
The city is revered to the loving memory of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Guru of the Sikhs. Paonta Sahib is named after the Guru received its name chiefly from the Hindi word `paon` meaning `foot` because he visited this place and he had misplaced an ornament which he wore in his foot, called a `paonta` while bathing in Yamuna River.
Location of Paonta Sahib
It is located near the town of Nahan in Himachal Pradesh, Yamunanagar in Haryana, Saharanpur in Western Uttar Pradesh and Dehradun in Uttarakhand. It is located on the western extreme of the Doon Valley with a distance of about 44 kilometres from Dehradun. Kalesar National Park is 12 kilometres from Paonta Sahib.
History of Paonta Sahib
Paonta Sahib was founded by Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. The Gurudwara Paonta Sahib also has connections with the Sikh leader Banda Singh Bahadur. The original name of Paonta Sahib was Paontika. It is believed that Guru Gobind Singh and his horse stopped at this place and decided to live here. He lived here for four and a half years. The Gurudwara is also houses a museum which holds a lot of traditions and weapons used by Guru Gobind Singh throughout his stay.
Geography of Paonta Sahib
Paonta Sahib is situated at 30.438 degree North and 77.624 degree East. It has an average height of 389 metres. It is located on the bank of the Yamuna River.
Climate of Paonta Sahib
Paonta Sahib has a sub-tropical monsoon, weather characterised by hot summers, to some extent cold winters, changeable rainfall and great variation in temperature. It also gets irregular winter rains from the western uproar.
Demography of Paonta Sahib
Paonta Sahib has a population of 1, 58,268 according to the 2011 census where Males constitute 53% of the population and Females 47%. Paonta Sahib has a standard literacy rate of 76% which is higher than National average of 74.04% where male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 72%.
Education of Paonta Sahib
There are a lot of educational institutes in Paonta Sahib. Following are the educational institutes in Paonta Sahib:
•Govt. Industrial Training Institute
•Pt Shiva Nand Remoual ITI
•Gyan Shakti Vidya Peeth ITI
•Galaxy ITI
•Bibi Jeet Kaur School
•Bright Foundation Academy
•D.A.V Sirmour Sr. Sec School
•Doon Valley School
•Guru Nanak Mission Public School
•Hill View Public School, Majra
•Kid`s Paradise
•Indian Institute of Management
•Himachal Institute of Dental Sciences
•Himachal Institute of Technology
•B.K.D. College of Education for Women
•Doon International College of Education
•Guru Gobind Singh ji Govt. Degree College
•Govt. Polytechnic
Tourism in Paonta Sahib
Gurudwara Paonta Sahib and Paonta Fort both are situated within this sanctified city. Guru Gobind Singh written a significant portion of the Dasam Granth (a collection of writings, composed by Guru Gobind Singh along with several other poets and writers) while his stay in Gurudwara Paonta Sahib. Poetry recitation sessions and conferences were held in Paonta Sahib. Paonta Sahib Gurudwara is also a centre of different places like the Shri Talab Ashthan (where he used to issue salaries), the Shri Dastar Ashthan (where he used to judge the turban-tying challenges) and the Kavi Durbar (the venue of poetic conferences).
Guruji built the Paonta Fort that covers hundred acres of land which gave protection to the supporters and other prominent poets. There is also a museum that exhibits pens of the Guru and weapons of the erstwhile times and a memorial which is also dedicated to Kalpa Rishi. The city draws loads of curious visitors during the spring festivals of Baisakhi and Holi. The city also houses two Hindu temples, one committed to Lord Rama, addressed as Devi Ka Mandir, built by a princess, and the other is dedicated to Lord Krishna.
Visiting information of Paonta Sahib
Paonta Sahib is within reach by a road from Dehradun and Shimla which are well-connected with the rest of the country. The airport at Jolly Grant is the nearest airport and is located about 70 kilometres from Paonta Sahib. Dehradun is the nearest railhead, situated about 45 kilometres from Paonta Sahib. Trains from a number of cities like New Delhi, Lucknow and Mumbai halt at the station. Paonta Sahib is well connected by road. It is situated on NH-72 and the town is well connected with Dehradun and Chandigarh.
