Every nook and corner of the Baba Sahib Singh Bedi Gurdwara at Gujranwala in Pakistan is occupied by migrants from India who moved here during the partition of 1947. Cautiously, I asked to be permitted inside the private room of a couple. This room, which is now their bedroom was once the congregation hall of the departed Sikh community.

As I stood gazing at the bed, I was reminded of Baba Sheikh Farid, the 13th century Sufi poet’s simple expression of twisting his hands in an insane yearning to be able to make love with the Supreme! The verse on page 794 of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scripture, reads as

Thap Thap Luhi Luhi Haathh Maroro 
Baaval Hoee So Sahu Loro 

Burning and writhing in pain, I wring my hands
I have gone insane, seeking my companion

To fulfil the yearning of their souls once the Sikhs would congregate in this very room. Through the tresses of the melodious songs of union they would delve into the spiritual realms of making love with the Supreme.