In the Corporate, where I worked for 25 years, as leaders we were trained to communicate by ‘defining reality and giving hope’. It’s because, psychologically, everything that makes man work and get excited, hinges on hope that springs from the reality of the present situation.
At Rawalpindi in Pakistan, when I reached the site of the Gurdwara Guru Singh Sabha, it having stood for seven decades was now under demolition. A solitary wheel barrow on the premises affirmed that the last of the remaining walls were soon to be carried away. Helpless, I stood staring in silence for a few moments and then walked away.
I could offer no hope as the reality was evident!
For three years, I have been intoxicated with the passion to research and document for posterity, the remnants of the Sikh legacy across Pakistan. Interestingly, now I operate in a world where I am only able to accept the reality but unable to provide hope! In this pursuit for documentation, many a times, I have felt that thoughts devoid of hope are sterile. Still, I have stayed on course under a personal belief that one day, when all imprints of the legacy will cease to exist, the 1000 pages of my two books will still provide a glimpse of the past.
Photographed in Jan 2017, during the research for the book “THE QUEST CONTINUES: LOST HERITAGE The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan”
