Part fiction, history, and mythology, this unconventional retelling of the life of divine spiritual master Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion and revered by Muslims and Hindus alike, provides an intimate look at the enlightened Guru while bringing his ancient wisdom to a modern audience.

From the best-selling author of Ganesha Goes to Lunch and Rumi’s Tales from the Silk Road comes an original novel about the life and travels of Guru Nanak, a musician, enlightened thinker, and one of the most beloved figures in Eastern spirituality. 

In this fascinating book, Kamla K. Kapur weaves together facts, legends, folktales, myths, and over forty of Guru Nanak’s poems—preserved in the Sikh holy book, the Granth Sahib—to form this captivating depiction of the leader’s life. From being seduced by deadly women to almost getting eaten by cannibals, the exciting account presented in The Singing Guruincludes moral tales without being proselytizing. Factual details are intermingled with fantasy to produce a symbolic portrait in which humor and imagination combine to convey a profound and entertaining spiritual narrative.

Kamla K. Kapur is well known in her native India as a poet, author, and playwright. Her previous work includes Ganesha Goes to Lunch (2007) and Rumi’s Tales from the Silk Road (2009). Kapur has also published two books of poetry, As a Fountain in a Garden and Radha Speaks, numerous short stories, and a series of award winning plays. Kapur was on the faculty of Grossmont College in San Diego, California, for eighteen years and taught courses in play writing, poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction, mythology, Shakespeare, and women’s literature. She and her husband, Payson Stevens, divide their time living in the Kullu Valley in the Indian Himalayas and in Southern California.

Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh is Professor of Religious Studies at Colby College. She holds the Crawford Family endowed chair. She has published extensively in the field of Sikhism. Her views have also been aired on television and radio around the world. She serves as a trustee for the American Institute for Indian Studies, and is on the editorial board of the History of Religions.