On 23 Jan, 2017, seven decades after the partition of the Indian sub-continent, this extant village Gurdwara in Pakistan finally received a Sikh visitor.
As I stood besides, it whispered, “In 1762 AD, Ahmad Shah Abdali wiped out the entire Sikh population from the plains of the Punjab, but you did not abandon this land of the five rivers. So why in the year 1947, you thoughtlessly walked away? Didn’t you have a responsibility towards us, the monuments, who served your spiritual needs for hundreds of years?” 

Empathetically, I touched its frail legs and sighed, “It’s the search for this very question that has brought me to you! I may not be able to find the answer but as you perish, let your soul find peace that finally a Sikh was able to touch you in your final days.”

Its walls resonated, “I CAN NOW PERISH IN PEACE!”

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