Bibi Sharan: The Courage of Kaurs was originally submitted to SikhNet as a script by 14-year-old author Sahib Kaur, having had some personal experience of bullying Sahib Kaur felt compelled to write about it. Harijot Singh, manager of SikhNet Stories, decided to animate the script and turn it into a short film.
This film tells a very important story of how we all face challenges at different times in our lives. When we are children, these challenges can seem insurmountable, impossible or never ending, but we have evidence that people throughout history have overcome these and much greater challenges.
One such example of this is Bibi Sharan Kaur, an inspiration for Sikhs everywhere. After the valiant sacrifices of the elder Schabizade and numerous brave Khalsa warriors at the battle of Chamkaur, she faced an unimaginable choice. Her extraordinary decision secured Bibi Sharan Kaur's eternal legacy within the hearts and minds of Sikhs worldwide.
Bibi Sharan Kaur: The Courage of Kaurs features Taren Kaur UK as Bibi Sharan Kaur, she also sings a version of "Songs of the Khalsa" in the film. Her epic episode in history is sandwiched in the middle of the drama of a girl named Jind who is facing bullying and teasing on her first day back to school because of her Sikh identity. Jind, desperately looking for a way to deal with her problems, is able to spiritually meet Bibi Sharan who inspires her and awakens her fearlessness.
“This is amazing! I got tears in my eyes just listening to it. I don't think anyone could have played the role of Bibi Sharan Kaur better than Taren Kaur.” (Sahib Kaur scriptwriter)
“We had already produced some stories from the last script competition, but this one stood out...I was impressed when a teenage girl from Texas made this great script on a character in history that many Sikhs may not know about. After the audio was made our animators put in a lot of extra effort because they wanted to honor what had clearly become an exceptional story…” (Harijot Singh)
The short film will be released on SikhNet on August 28th 2023 and will be available for viewing on SikhNet and Sikhnet youtube channel after this date.
About SikhNet Stories
In the past Sikh education for children was done by the grandparents and village elders. Today exposure to Sikh history and teachings is less common and it's sometimes hard to know how to apply it to modern life. Our passion with SikhNet Stories has been to provide Sikh history and lessons in sakhis, or story format. Because there are so many kids growing up in English speaking communities, our stories have been provided in English. We have over 125 stories in English. Now in 2023 we are producing our animations in both Punjabi and English.
Extra Details
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Film Trailer: (17) TRAILER ~ Bibi Sharan: The Courage Of Kaurs - YouTube
Interview with author: At Age 14 Young Kaur Wrote Amazing Animation - YouTube