The more I see the vestiges of the Sikh legacy across Pakistan, the more I believe that even though most of it has vanished over seven decades, it would still take more than a lifetime to document.
In a remote village, as I positioned myself within the hollowed foundation of a gurdwara which still has faint remains of beautiful frescos on its roof, I was reminded of the haste with which I was travelling across Pakistan. This maniacal desire to document for posterity had left no time for me to relish other aspects of the country.
A voice within was telling me, “Hasten not, the cause has ended. These uncared structures have offered no meaning to the locals and neither their documentation will offer much to the ignorant descendants of the community that abandoned them in 1947.”
I whispered back to the voice within, “Disturb not my insanity! Let me look at these ancient ramparts and the domes of the prayer halls which our forefathers turned their back towards, leaving their entirety to smother in smoke. Let me cherish the moments while the boatman of destiny carries me towards them.”
Photographed in Jan 2017, during the research for the book “THE QUEST CONTINUES: LOST HERITAGE The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan”
