If you're like us and many other Sikhs around the world, you've been using the windows mobile/iPhone/other device to read gurbani with.
Although reading bani is a very healing process, reading it on a traditionally backlit TFT screen is not good for your eyes.
Fret not O siblings of destiny, for the great Guru has blessed us with another type of device to grace us with the Sabad.
The device you see in the pictures is a Sony PRS-505 e-Reader and renders the Guru's word beautifully. The screen technology is called e-Ink and it is very readable and puts very little strain on the eyes
Thie mode pictured is no longer retailed, however you can get the newer PRS300 for about $200. Details at: Sony USA or  Amazon.com.
The process of getting gurbani on it is very simple and all you need do is to copy the appropriately formatted PDF files to your e-reader.

Advantages of using the ereader

1. Little eye strain, just like reading a paper gutka sahib.
2. Gurmukhi is rendered beautifully and is very readable.
3. with 256mb of memory you could have all of Guru Granth Sahib jee and a many Kosh's as you can eat.
4. It's great for travelling, the battery will probably see you through a few sehaj paaths before it needs recharging.
5. It's great for reading other books on.
6. It also plays MP3's.
7. The bookmarking feature is awesome, and allows you to resume your bani from where you left off; especially if you're like us and take like a week to finish a Sukhmani Sahib.
8. You can get a backlit case for reading in the dark, for all you crazy Amrit Vela types out there.

Disadvantages of using the ereader

1. Have to fork out $200
2. No gurbani search functionality
3. Have to carry an additional device around with you (as well as your phone)
4. All the dudes from India will ask where you got it from and pester you for one

This is still work-in-progress, so we're interested to see what the demand is for a device such as this so please let us know what you think. Below are links for morning nitnem formatted for the 505, if demand arises (and is communicated to us) then more gurbani will be added.
In all honesty they are just word documents converted to PDF with a border of 0.62cm and a font size of 30. If you convert any of your own then please send them to us and We'll upload them.
There is no reason why other non latin scripts can't be catered for so long as we can get a word/rtf copy.  Potentially you could read your nitnem in  Devnaagri, Shaamukhi etc..
Preliminary tests of this method of reading gurbani have proven very promising. We'd love to hear your story.
if you have any furthur questions or wish to see more, then please email us at ereader@grdtrust.org

The Downloads

Bani	Gurmukhi
5 Amrit Banis	Download
Sukhmani Sahib	Download
Asa Di Vaar	Download
Raag Mala	Download
Rehiraas Sahib (Taksali)	Download
Keertan Sohila (now with added protection)	Download

FAQ

Q. Will this work on other e-readers such as the coolaris range or the kindle range?
A. Can't say for sure, personnaly we favour the Sony range anyway as we believe they are superior devices. If you have any luck with these devices let us know.
Q. Are you receiveing commsion from Sony?
A. Your aspersions wound us. No we do not.
Q. Can we have a larger/smaller font?
A. Yes, but we have to render a seperate PDF for each font size as the native font sizing feature will not work due to the way the e-reader handles PDF's.
Q. Can we have our English/Hindi/Urdu/Japaneese/Spanish bani?
A. Yes, drop us an email and we'll look into it for you.
Q. Where can I get a reader from in the UK
A. Play.com

Share This Post