Living Memories of the Punjab (A Visit to a Gurdwara)

I am from Punjab, Pakistan, the province of five rivers. This land is full of green fields, beautiful canal views and stunning landscapes. Its fields are fertile, it has a very beautiful culture, people with generous hearts and hospitable nature. It observes four seasons in full strength throughout the year, warm in summers and severe cold in winters but pleasant in spring and rainy in monsoons. In our side of Punjab, there are many villages naming Khalsa like, Thoa Khalsa, Choa Khalsa, Dehra Khalsa and Nakka Khalas Pur etc.

A view of ready to harvest wheap crop, taken in Spring 2016, district Gujrat, Pakistan

The word “Khalsa” is so common and I listened it so much that I never noticed, that it is a word that belongs to Sikh dictionary. But after learning that Khalsa is a related to pure Sikhism, there was a desire in me to explore these places. So I have explored many such place where Sikh people lived and also visited there sacred places. Now I am writing about the village of Choha Khalsa near Kallar Syyedan, Rawalpindi, which I visited some days ago.

The word Choha means a water spring and Khalsa is related to the Sikh movement. Khalsa is a strict Sikh religious order founded in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh. The term Khalsa is an Arabic word. There are various interpretations to the term Khalsa, one of the general meaning of the term is free from impurities or pure. This term is also defined as the land or estate which belongs directly to the king, without any intermediary claims of lords/ noble or farmer to the same in the district Rawalpindi. Some villages go by the name of Dehra Khalsa, Thoa Khalsa, Choha Khalsa, etc. they were so named because they were state owned villages during Sikh rule in Punjab. Choha Khalsa village is located about 60 km from Rawalpindi [Wikipedia].

A view of Gurdwara from road

I and one of my friends were travelling from Kallar Syyedan to Mangla dam on bike, during our journey we came across a doomed building which can be seen from the road. I was a bit curious, so I asked my friend to stop for a while, we were enjoying so much that my friend didn’t want to stop but I insisted him so much that he reluctantly stopped the bike. I was sure that it was a Sikh worship place, I asked him to drive to that place. He angrily replied that if you are that much interested you must go to the other side of Punjab to see more such places. Saying this he turned the bike towards the Gurdwara in a harsh mood.

View of Gurdwara from south

As we reached the place, we were a bit shy to go inside because it was surrounded by houses, while some ladies were washing clothes at the nearby well. A young guy saw us standing, so he welcomed us in a pleasant mood and took us to the building.

Picture courtesy dawn.com

I was really surprised by the grandeur and grace of the Gurdwara. It was intact in its original form, the main gate, the arc structure and the blocks that were used to build the Gurdwara were still in their original form. There was multiple notices in Hindi language that were written on marbles and fixed in the walls. The boy named Wasif took us inside, it was three storied building in a round shape. There were rooms around the walls and the inner side of the Gurdwara was wide opened. The inner structure was modified by the family who took residence when they migrated from Kashmir at the time of partition. The roof of the Gurdwara was a bit blackish because of the smoke of fire woods. Wasif told us that it was white when they first came here. He also told us about a Sikh family from England who came last year and said that their forefathers built this Gurdwara.

Pic courtesy dawn.com

Wasif took us to the top of the building after approximately stepping fifty stairs. There was a canopy at the top of the Gurdwara as it can be observed in all the Gurdwaras of Punjab. Reaching to the top of the building made me feel like I was gone to the past. I felt that people were coming from different sides and there were recitation voices of the holy book. I could see how people were gathered there to undertake their prayers and worship. Suddenly my friend patted me on the shoulder and said lets go. I did not wanted to go, I resisted and requested him to stay for some more time. I wanted to feel the historical memory of the place. So I went down at the second floor, the windows, the roof and the doors, all were telling a story of the past. These walls and doors had witnessed thousands of Sikh pilgrims who came for worship. I wanted the walls to talk to me and tell what happened here some seventy years ago. How they felt when the last Sikh came here to say them good bye. How they wept while the last person rested his head on its floor. Suddenly my heart drowned into deepest of seas, and I felt that the walls also started to mourn, so do I. The light that was coming into the Gurdwara was lightening the darkness of the inner side and making the environment gloomy. How difficult is to migrate, my heart was melting. I was starring the walls and thinking about the people who left this place. After a while Wasif and my friend came down, so Wasif told us more about the place, how they came here after independence and how they resided inside the Gurdwara. He revealed some interesting facts about the building that, in severe hot summers you don’t need to have any air conditioner or fan, it is naturally cooled.

A pathway at first floor

Gate at east side of the Gurdwara

We came down and pushed the main gate, it was so heavy made up of thick metal plate. Wasif told us that these four gates were specially brought from Delhi on cart. There was a nice marble work on the walls. There was some notes written at the front wall, but sadly I couldn't understand any of them, I wish I could narrate what was written. I capture some parts of the building, while we were to left the place, Wasif took us to his home and offered tea and we discussed about their migration from Kashmir and how they settled here. After spending two beautiful hours there, we came back taking a lot of memories.

Walk around at second floor

A view of Gurdwara at third floor

Picture courtesy dawn.com

The sacred places of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims tell about the harmony and brotherhood of the people who used to live here some seventy years ago. These buildings remind of them who had to leave their sacred places. These buildings have seen many periods of the past and paid farewell to whom who left them and embraced to those who took shelter at the time of unrest.