Chapter 7

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Epilogue

Ik Onkaar Sat Naam, Karta Purakh;

Nirbhau Nirvair, Akaal Moorat;

Ajoonee Saibhan, Gur Parsad Jap.

Aad Sach, Jugaad Sach;

Nanak Hosee Bhi Sach, Sochai Soch Naa Hove;

Jay Soche Lakh Vaar, Chupai Chup Na Hove;

Jay Laal Rahaa Liv Taar.

Bhukhi-aa Bhukh Na Utree, Jay Bannaa Puree-aa Bhaar;

Sehas Si-aanpaa Lakh Hoh Taa, Ik Naa Chalai Naal;

Kiv Sachi-aaraa Ho-e-ai, Kiv Koorhai Tutai Paal;

Hukam Rajaa-ee Chalnaa, Nanak Likhi-Aa Naal.

Sunday was the day to walk to the Gurdwara. Roya, Viaan and Pratidhi were all grown up and settled into lives of their own in different countries. Randhir and Sanyukta retired to a small town named Vishnupuri in the Nanded district of Maharashtra. They had their share of life and hardship; old age was the time to retire and celebrate the small joys of life. Children are like birds; parents must let them fly out when the time is right or else they don't fly as high as they are born to.

Nanded had the second most populous citizenship of Sikhs in the world after Amritsar. The Sachkand Shri Huzur Sahib Gurdwara, Nanded is the only other Gurdwara except the Golden Temple to have an authentically gold plated internal shrine.

The walk from Vishnupuri to Nanded lasted for an hour and a half. When they were in Mumbai, the walk to Juhu to the Siddhivinayak Temple on Tuesdays lasted for the same amount of time, so Randhir and Sanyukta were accustomed to the walk. The walk gave them the faith and strength to persevere even when all the odds were against them. They discovered themselves in the vast amount of time the walk took up. To continue the tradition, they walked to the Gurdwara every Sunday and encouraged their children to do the same, in their own cities.

Each Sunday, Randhir would handpick Sanyukta's attire and dress her. Adorning her with the most fragrant flowers was Randhir's favorite part of the day. He picked her perfume and combed her hair. Though they were almost seventy, they didn't look a day older than fifty. To an outsider, Randhir would seem like an ardent devotee and Sanyukta, his omnipotent Lord.

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They began walking and a conversation was born of its own accord. The tar of the road held a certain power that caused words to flow even when there were none. But between Randhir and Sanyukta, even silence was relished as much as intelligent conversation was. These words Randhir had been meaning to ask since they met at the hotel for the second time.

"Why did it take you so long to pick up the phone and ask for me when the policewoman guise might have been there on your mind all the time?"

"If I were to say that I didn't want to call you the morning after Kaustuki's party, I would be lying. I have never needed to lie to you, so I will give you the entire truth."

"I'm glad you keep an open mind, Sanyu."

"Dhir, it is you who lets me be who I am. Thank you. On with the reason. After I met you, it was different. It was as if you came and turned my existence upside down and made it my life. And then, all the love songs were about you. But what I didn't know was what you were thinking. It took me too long to put you out of my mind first. When it wouldn't stop thinking about you under the sun and dreaming of you under the moon, I made peace with it. I thought of you and yet didn't get my hopes up of seeing you. One fine day, when I was done with the life I didn't want, I decided to right the wrongs and call you. What happened after that, you very well know."

"This is proof that time takes it all. It eats away our ebbing strength, it confuses us and asks us if we're sure about what we already know, it makes right into left and left into right."

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Why was the Gurdwara chosen instead of the many temples? Because of its name. It meant "doorway to the teacher". And what other blessing would one seek than to be lead directly to a higher and more spiritual entity. There was a different sensation that stepping into the Gurdwara made them feel. They couldn't put it in words, no matter how hard they tried. Temples were fine in their place, but Gurdwaras were another world altogether. The discipline one saw in all the sevaks, with their kesh, kangha, kirpan, kadda and kachcha, chanting their mantras with utmost devotion. The shira that was served as prasad was indulgently pleasing to the taste buds and yet chaste.

The holy Guru Granth Sahib is seen in the Darbar Sahib, covered by extensively embroidered golden muslin, perpetually fanned by sevaks. The Langar is a place where people can eat free food served by the Sikh community. The food served is a trademark of the strength and simplicity that the Sikh community believes in. While walking to the Gurdwara, Randhir and Sanyukta looked up into the sky and identified, from a distance, tall flagpoles bearing the Nishan Sahib, the Sikh flag.

Each person, each sound, each breath, each drop; everything about a Gurdwara emoted peace and tranquility at another level, on another plane.

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In the fast flash that life is, take the time to know what and who counts and makes you who you are. There are too many options, too many choices, too many people. Find what drives you and die doing it. Find who loves you senselessly, hopelessly, breathless, no matter the discrepancy in the strata of society. Give them your all. You will stumble and fall, but God gave you hands and legs so you can stand up again. Love your family. They will be the only constant in this variable life. Do what you love with passion or not at all. Believe in God as a superior power that will lead you to know who you are. Because that is the person who will lead you to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Always,

Through and Through,

Arushi