In ecstasy, Nanak would often call out to Mardana, his life-long Muslim companion, “O Maradana, pluck the Rabab, divine verses are descending.” Impromptu, the two would thereafter tune their spiritual antennas, allowing the music of wisdom to flow freely.

Close to Lahore, in village Manak, once existed a sprawling premises of Pehli Pathshahi Gurdwara, built in the name of Nanak. For years, it had offered an environment where the Sikhs would tune their spiritual antennas to divinity. With the migrants occupying it after the unfortunate partition of 1947, seven decades later the premises has caved and is gasping for the last breath.

In a strange play of destiny, today, a dish antenna affixed on the roof of these ruins, pointing towards the heavens, continuously beams worldly entertainment for the migrant families residing on the premises.

Partition altered the antennas forever!

Photographed in Jan 2017, during the research for the book “THE QUEST CONTINUES: LOST HERITAGE The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan”