At the Khyber Gate, opposite Jamrud Fort, as I read the seven large plaques affixed on the Khyber Memorial, on which are inscribed detailed history of the region, from the ‘ancient times’ to the ‘present’, it was evident that History is nothing else but ‘HIS STORY’. The Sikh Empire in...
In Pakistan at lunch with Malik Ikhtiar Sahab and the villagers of Narali, there was only respect and love for each other. I was reminded of Baba Bullhe Shah, I am not a Hindu, nor a Muslim. I have forsaken pride and become unsullied. I am not a Sunni, nor...
At Gujranwala in Pakistan, the young students looked dazed as I peeked into their classroom. Their startled expression revealed that they had never seen a Sikh. The hall in which they were being taught, was once a gurdwara of the Sikh community. Till 1947, it is here that the Sikhs...
As I flew over Nanga Parbat in Pakistan, on the right of the plane was Baltistan and on the left, Gilgit. The diversity that existed across these remote high altitude territories before the partition of India, is reflected in the book entitled, “Gilgit Rebellion – The major who mutinied over...
At Skardu, in the region of Baltistan in Pakistan, having visited the remains of the abandoned and dilapidated gurdwara, I thereafter strolled through the market. As per the Jammu & Kashmir census of 1941, of the total population of 106,289 in Skardu, there were only 131 Sikhs and 141 Hindus....
At Islamabad Literature Festival, a member of the audience asked, “How do you feel travelling across Pakistan as an identifiable Sikh?” My reply was, “Bollywood Fakir!” Across Pakistan, at every nook and corner, people wish to interact, feed and more importantly, want selfies and photos! At Bhai Pheru, every step...
The web of roots represented in the word ‘Singh’ that every Sikh man would once proudly use as part of his name, may have lost its significance, primarily because the community’s relationship with the lands where they had once made a glorious history, was severed in the partition of 1947....
While travels across Pakistan in search of the Sikh legacy has been uplifting but also a highly emotional experience. A view of the Panja Sahib Gurdwara through the grills conveyed a feeling of being in a prison. Freedom wrenched! In 1849, the machinations of the British India, resulted in the...
‘Ishq’ in its ultimate form means unfettered passion! For years, I had dreamt of being inside the forts across the turbulent North-Western region of Pakistan from where the Sikh Empire in the early 19th century had successfully plugged the Khyber Pass, putting to stop the invasions into the Indian sub-continent....
In an interesting encounter with a Fakir, he smiled and said, “Climb the heights of depth!” For years, I was focused on scaling the ‘Heights of Height’, and am now attempting to climb the ‘Heights of Depth’. So during my return in 2017, I tried to search for the Fakir!...
