Jvala Singh, born Sukh Sembhi, [1] is a Sikh linguist and researcher on Braj and Punjabi literature. [2] [3] [4] A major focus of his is creating English translations of pre-colonial Sikh literature to increase their availability to present-day Sikhs. [5] Jvala Singh has been educated through both traditional sampardic and academic institutional means. [5] He specializes in Sikh history, scripture, poetry, and grammar. [5]
Jvala completed his Master of Arts (M.A.) at the University of Toronto, where he focused on Braj literature produced by Sikhs covering Sanskrit epics, such as the Ramayana . [2] Prior to starting his Ph.D., Jvala underwent training through traditional scholarly lineages of mentor-protégé in India. [4] He is currently completing his Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia. [2] [4] The focus of his research is examining pre-colonial Sikh narratives in Braj and Punjabi literature from the 18th and 19th centuries. [2] He is currently working on a dissertation regarding Kavi Santokh Singh's Suraj Prakash. [4] He has researched Vir Singh's publication of the Suraj Prakash. [6] He is a lecturer of the Punjabi-language at the University of California, Berkeley. [2] He is also a lawyer. [7]
He is the author of 54 Punjabi Proverbs, a book covering classic and elusive Punjabi proverbs by rendering them in English. [8]
On 17 June 2024, he presented a lecture titled The All-Metal Text (Sarbloh Granth), A Sikh Retelling of a Jain Text? on the Sarbloh Granth at the CSASA-ACESA's Congress 2024 Meeting. [9]
Jvala Singh runs Manglacharan.com, which is an open-access website that hosts many first-ever English translations of specific Sikh literature. [10] [11] It is an attempt to decolonize the access to Sikh philosophy and to reclaim Sikh works from colonial constructs. [10]
Jvala Singh is the creator of the Suraj Podcast, sourcing his content for the podcast from the Suraj Prakash . [2] [3] Each episode of the Suraj Podcast is a summary in English of a chapter from the Suraj Prakash, covering the life-stories of the Sikh gurus and their associates. [2] [7] Each episode of the Suraj Podcast is around 10–15 minutes long. [7] All the stories covering Guru Hargobind in-particular from the Suraj Prakash have been retold by Jvala Singh in the original Suraj Prakash podcast. [4]
The Suraj Podcast allows for Sikhs who are not well-versed in Braj or Sanskrit, to become familiar with the traditional tales found within the Suraj Prakash, allowing for Sikh reclamation of the text. [3] The Suraj Podcast is an example of Sikhs utilizing the Internet, and social-media in-particular, to narrate Sakhis to a larger and more international audience than traditional spaces allow for. [3] Jvala presents the Suraj Prakash in the podcast as unfiltered, authentic history. [4]
Suraj Podcast X ("Suraj Podcast Dasvi") has since been launched as a sequel to the original podcast, covering the life-stories related to Guru Gobind Singh found in the Suraj Prakash. [12]
In January 2025, Study Sikhi, an online Sikh educational institution with enrollable courses set-up by Jvala Singh, will be launched. [13] [5]
The following courses are planned to be available in 2025: [14]
