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To a modest open-air school he had established at Fiirozpur, he added in 1904 a boarding house which marked the beginning of the Sikh Kanya Mahavidayala. The institution, the first of its kind, gave a fillip to education among Sikh women and became a centre of cultural and literary activity. In running this school, Bhai Takht Singh received great support from his wife, Bibi Harnam Kaur. Upon her decease in 1906 he married, on 17 September 1910, Bibi Agya Kaur, who also proved a worthy helpmate. Bhai Takht Singh travelled to distant places, such as Rangoon, Malaya and Singapore to raise funds for the Mahavidayala. In 1907 was begun the erection of the main building
of the school. The same year was launched a literary and social
magazine, the Panjabi Bhain (Punjabi Sister). At the Sikh Kanya
Mahavidayala, Bhai Takht Singh started assembling books, manuscripts,
journals and newspapers, mainly in Punjabi. This was the beginning
of what in course of time grew into a prestigious collection, named
Bhai Ditt Singh Library in honour of his teacher of Oriental College
days. The collection came to the Punjabi University at PatiAla in
1983. Bhai Takht Singh remained actively associated with the Sikh
Educational Conference and was, as a rule, called upon to say ardas,
supplication prayer, at its annual sessions. Such was the quality
of his dedication to his work that his colleagues affectionately
called him Zinda Shahid, the Living Martyr. |
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