'Guru' is a Hindi word; it means 'teacher'. But the mainstreaming of the word is due more to Sikhism, wherein the religious leaders are called gurus, such as the founder of Sikhism, Baba Guru Nanak.

According to an Urdu dictionary published by the Urdu Dictionary Board, the Sikh scripture is known as Guru Parnali. Similarly, places of worship in Sikhism are called 'guruduaras'.

The everyday word for the Sikh religious book is Guru Granth.

Gurudev is a name in Hindi, which can be translated into 'a great being', where greatness implies might and bigness.

You must also have heard both Urdu and Hindi speakers calling someone Guru Ghantaal. This is more an insult and I would advise you against using it, unless maybe among friends!

In Karachi, out of the millions that inhabit its ever-swelling urban radius, it might be near to impossible to find a person who has not heard of the place Guru Mandar (wherein, 'mandar' means temple).

Almost every Karachiite has been to this square. I, for one, have always been curious about visiting the actual Guru temple.

Whenever I am at the Quaid-e-Azam Academy, which is in the vicinity of Jinnah mausoleum, and I have to get some documents photocopied, I end up at the Guru Mandar square. Adjacent to the square is a mosque called the Sabeel Waali Masjid. On the right to the square, there is a circular market, which hosts an orphanage and a meat and vegetable market. All this, but no temple.