Chohla Sahibਚੋਹਲਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ

The village of the chohia

Chohla Sahib is a large village in Tarn Taran tehsil of Tarn Taran district, in Punjab's Majha region, about 12 kilometres from Tarn Taran town. It began, by the account its gurdwaras preserve, as a village called Bhaini, and it carries its present name because of a simple meal. Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Guru, came to Bhaini on his travels, arriving, by the account kept at Gurdwara Sri Chola Sahib, after his stay at Goindwal Sahib in 1597. There was little time to cook a full meal, so a Sikh's wife served what could be made at once: churi, also called chohia, broken bread mixed with sugar and butter. The Guru was pleased with the devotion behind the simple food, and the village took the name Chohla from that day.

The story is remembered in the Guru's own shabad, rendered in the World Gurudwaras history of the village as: "God is our wealth, His Name is our food; this, O Nanak, is our chohia." Two Gurus visited the village: Guru Arjan Dev Ji, and after him his son Guru Hargobind Ji, the sixth Guru, who spent part of his childhood here with his parents. Chohla Sahib is counted as a village in the census, though it also works as a small town and has a nagar panchayat.

Four historic gurdwaras

Four historic gurdwaras stand in Chohla Sahib, and together they hold the memory of the Gurus' stay. Gurdwara Sri Chola Sahib stands at the western edge of the village, where Guru Arjan Dev Ji sat and preached after the famous meal; the gurdwara has its own sarovar, and its very name carries the chohia story. Gurdwara Sri Guru Ki Kothari Sahib, also known as Mata Ganga Ji Da Asthan, marks the house where Guru Arjan Dev Ji lived with Mata Ganga Ji and the young Guru Hargobind Ji; the stay remembered here lasted, by the gurdwara's own account, 2 years, 5 months and 13 days.

Gurdwara Sri Dukh Niwaran Sahib is the village's third historic shrine, its name promising the removal of suffering. Gurdwara Sri Baba Adli honours Baba Adli, a devoted Sikh of this village who served four Gurus: Guru Amar Das Ji, Guru Ram Das Ji, Guru Arjan Dev Ji and Guru Hargobind Ji. Baba Adli worked on the digging of the baoli at Goindwal Sahib and on the building of Sri Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar, and it was he who brought the famous Bhai Bidhi Chand into the Guru's fold.

People and work

The 2011 Census counted 11,561 people in Chohla Sahib: 6,097 men and 5,464 women, a sex ratio of 896 women for every 1,000 men, better balanced than many Punjab villages of its time. Children under seven numbered 1,334, and Scheduled Castes made up 3,107 people, about 27 percent of the village. Literacy stood at 70.71 percent: 75.64 percent for men and 65.27 percent for women.

Work here still runs on the land more than in many big villages. Of 3,734 workers, 3,488 held main work: 1,017 cultivators and 421 agricultural labourers worked the fields, 91 people worked in household industry, and 1,959 were other workers, in transport, trade, services and the workshops of nearby towns. Another 246 people were marginal workers, and 7,827 people were outside the workforce.

Land, water and farming

Chohla Sahib covers 1,918 hectares. Of these, 1,588 hectares were sown in 2011, and every sown hectare was irrigated: 1,492 hectares by canal and 96 by wells and tube wells, an almost fully canal-watered farm economy in the canal country of Majha. Land put to non-agricultural uses took 194 hectares. Power supply ran about 16 hours a day for both homes and agriculture in 2011, among the better supplies recorded for a Punjab village that year. One gap stands out: the Village Directory recorded no tap-water supply in the village, neither treated nor untreated, and drinking water came from wells and tube wells.

Schools, health and services

The village had one government school at each level in 2011: primary, middle, secondary and senior secondary, with a college and an industrial training institute within 5 kilometres. Health care here is stronger than this page once suggested: the 2011 Village Directory recorded a community health centre and a dispensary inside Chohla Sahib, along with a veterinary hospital for its livestock, and an anganwadi centre and ASHA worker served mothers and children. The village also had banking inside its own boundary: a commercial bank, a cooperative bank and an ATM, plus a post office and a sub post office, and a public distribution shop. Public buses ran through the village and private buses were available within 5 kilometres; the nearest railway station was more than 10 kilometres away.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the village called Chohla Sahib? The village was first called Bhaini. When Guru Arjan Dev Ji visited, a Sikh's wife quickly served him chohia, broken bread mixed with sugar and butter, and the Guru renamed the village Chohla after that simple, devoted meal.

Which Gurus visited Chohla Sahib? Guru Arjan Dev Ji renamed the village and stayed here with Mata Ganga Ji and the young Guru Hargobind Ji, a stay remembered at Gurdwara Sri Guru Ki Kothari Sahib as lasting 2 years, 5 months and 13 days. Guru Hargobind Ji visited the village as Guru as well. Four historic gurdwaras mark these visits.