One’s who forget history are destined to relive it! While the past can’t be changed, but it can serve as a rear view mirror to guide us into the future, to not repeat what could have been avoided. At Rawalpindi in Pakistan, with a heavy heart, I gazed into a...
For seven decades, the egos of the people of India and Pakistan have fed each other on hate! Like every year, I chose not to watch the world cup cricket yesterday. While on the face people may say ‘Cricket is just a game’, if observed from expressions, it has actually...
If we all can passionately advocate that this world is a bouquet of coexistence then differentiating words like ‘Kafir’ that breed one-upmanship can hopefully lose relevance? ‘Kafir’, a derogatory word has its origins in the Arabic culture and applies to anyone who holds a different view about the Creator and...
Standing at the Khyber Pass, I could feel the energy of Hari Singh Nalwa. The feeling was indescribable as my mind resonated with the qawwali of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Ali Ka Naam Sun Kar Ab Bhi Khyber Kaanp Jata Hai Hearing the name of Ali, even today the Khyber...
North-West region was in news because of Taliban infestation when I first travelled to Pakistan in the year 2014. However I had a strong desire to visit the Jamrud Fort that was built by Hari Singh Nalwa to guard the entrance to the strategic Khyber Pass. At Peshawar, I gathered...
As I roll back in the memory lane, the becoming of an ‘ACCIDENTAL’ author has been the most fulfilling. Even for many of the readers, the books are a deeply emotional ‘ACCIDENT’. Of the many who reach out to me regularly, one such ‘ACCIDENTAL’ reader wrote, “I got a hold...
Nanak sang the songs of love to ‘illuminate’ the hearts of mortals! However today, ironically, at a short distance from the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan where Nanak breathed his last, a barbed wire along the Indo-Pak border remains ‘illuminated’ with high powered lights even during the bright daylight! Nanak’s...
A visit to the Hassan Abdal Railway station in Pakistan was very important for me to relive the inspiring story of Dayal Singh, my maternal grandfather. In Gorakhpur, as the body of Dayal Singh was being lifted for cremation, there appeared a twitch in the face and he AROSE FROM...
Nanak once sang the song of love to bring together mankind. He was the pied piper of 15th century, with whom the masses associated. Till the early 20th century the followers of Nanak belonged to a wide array of sects, loosely termed as Nanakpanthis. Then some decided to define the...
A journey across the salt range in Pakistan enabled me to reflect on the tumult of human existence, our daily battles between the realms of spiritual and existential desires! From the abandoned remains of Choa Baba Nanak Gurdwara (left picture), where Nanak spread the message of spiritual love, as I...
