Down memory lane 1926.cropped

PITAJI’S DIARIES AND PHOTO ALBUMS

 Pitaji’s Archives

Our revered father, Major Balwant Singh ji, whom we called Pitaji was born in Faruka (Dist Sargodha, now in Pakistan) on 30 June 1911. During the last few years of his life, he recorded the story of his life, in three diaries. The memoirs go back to 1919. Early in life, he acquired a camera, and the pictures which have survived the partition make it possible to get a vivid and graphic description of life as it was, a hundred years ago.

When he was born, our grandfather, Bhai Hira Singh ji was already a celebrity. Early in life, he had been chosen to perform kirtan in the Golden Temple, Amritsar, and was invited to travel to places as far as Myanmar (then called Burma). Even though he was austere and humble, he moved among the elite of the land.

Then disaster struck. When he was barely 46 years old, he was afflicted with cancer, and passed away, on 2nd Sep 1926. He was survived by four sons and one daughter. Of them, the eldest was 21 years old and the youngest was merely four. What ensued was a period of intense struggle. I am rather impressed to note, that the family measured up to the challenge and braved all odds. Despite the economic crisis, the brothers completed their education, and rose to reasonably high levels in the social hierarchy.

In this account, I propose to talk about their vicissitudes. The pictures, as they say, are worth  thousands of words.

Some Pictures, to start the Narrative

We begin with our ancestors. The first picture shows our centenarian ‘Bapu ji’ from whom we learnt all about our ancestors.

 Bhai Bhag Singh JI

Our Great Grand Father, Bhai Bhag Singh ji (1843-1947)

 BHS Young

Next, we have the Saintly Bhai Hira Singh ji (1880-1926). This picture is dated 1903

 

Bhai Hira Singh ji 

Bhai Hira Singh ji, in 1918, at the peak of his life.

 Bhabhiji in salvation from dukha

Our Grandmother, Bhabhi Prem Kaur ji (1880-1967)

 

 

The four sons,

Jagjit Singh 1923 

The eldest: Jagjit Singh (1905-1983) The picture is dated 1923

Pitaji KC 1928new 

Number 2, Balwant Singh (1911-2004) at the age of 17

Uncles 1929 

The youngest two : Agyapal (1922-97) and Tarlochan (1919-2002) in 1929

 Family in Faruka 1928 Davinder

The only sister, Gian Kaur (age 11) is standing at extreme right in 1928

The Tale of Jagjit Singh

The brother who was the most affected by the tragic demise was the eldest, Jagjit, (whom I shall refer to as Uncle JS) Born in 1905, he was lucky to arrive at a time when a High School had already been built in Faruka. Consequently, he passed his matriculation examination in 1921. As per the custom of that era, he married a young lady from Amritsar, in 1923,  while he was studying for his F Sc (equivalent to 10+2 these days).  Soon thereafter, he was blessed with a son in 1924. Simultaneously, he managed to obtain admission in the University of Edinburgh,UK for a degree in Electrical Engineering. Leaving his wife and son behind, he left for the three year course in April 1925. The journey to London used to take nearly three weeks, and the letters took about 15 days to reach India, and therefore the family got to know about his arrival more than a month after he had left home. Education abroad used to cost quite a package, but a devotee of our grandfather had promised to bear the entire cost.

Lightning struck, just a year after he had gone. The celebrity left us in Sep 1926, and uncle JS was stranded, in ‘vilayat’. To add to his woes, he had to repeat a year, and the gentleman who was funding his education threw his hands up. Uncle JS took up an apprenticeship to earn some money, but that resulted in his having to spend one additional year overseas.

At long last, he returned to India in 1930. The four month old son whom he had left behind was well over five, when he saw him after his prolonged stint abroad. When he returned  he was a changed man; anglicized to the boot, and filled with an intense desire to rise in life. Given below are two pictures, one taken in 1923 when the community was charged up for revolt against the British Empire, in the wake of the Jalianwala Bagh massacre, and the other one in the UK with an Anglo-German friend.

 Uncle Jagjit Singh

Uncle JS is seen with his  friends on the left. Notice the ‘kirpans’ carried by all the three young lads

 

Uncle JS 1928

Uncle JS with a friend in England. Do you see the change?

 

The family had been awaiting the return of Uncle JS with bated breath. The cash reserves with our grandmother had dropped by 1931, and everyone looked up to him for help. Unfortunately, that was a period of great depression, and jobs were hard to get. After much struggle, uncle JS got a job on a hydroelectric project in Jogindernagar (near Mandi, in HP), but the salary was much lower than what he had expected.

As if all this was not bad enough, a serious domestic feud erupted between our grandmother and the wife of Uncle JS, whom I will refer to as Aunt JS. The discord had been brewing right from the date of marriage, but it was smothered by our grandfather and Uncle JS. After the demise of the Saint and departure of uncle JS, there was no one to pacify the belligerent ladies. Apart from the generation gap, there was a cultural divide. Aunt JS was born and brought up in Amritsar, and so she considered herself to be superior, while the elder lady was a rustic rural creature. Pitaji has given a very candid and balanced account of the discord.

Another feature of the story is a narration of the culture of that time. Daughters-in-law were treated with disdain, and were expected to be subservient to the mothers-in-law. If  ever their relatives visited them, they were not supposed to accept even water from the host. I found this very odd. Given below is a copy of a page from Pitaji’s diary.

 Diary pitaji edited

 Given below is a gist of what is written in Punjabi:

“There was continuous squabbling. To escape from the constant acrimony, Aunt JS used to go away to the house of a relative. This infuriated Bhabhiji furthermore, and she used to take it out on the hapless young lady at the earliest opportunity…Then, one day, the ‘bride’ delivered a baby. And soon after that, her mother, whose name was Durga Devi, dropped in. Called ‘Durgi Mausi’ by the family, she was an unusually congenial person. She never intervened in the unending quarrel. On her part, she had her food and brought in from a nearby vendor and went to the extent of not drinking water drawn out of our well. She brought water for herself from the village! When she went, she gave generous tips to all those who had served her

Upon the return of Uncle JS, she was naturally keen to set up the house of her dreams at the earliest opportunity. And as soon as Uncle JS got a job in Lahore, she left the village; never to return. Uncle JS did well, and very soon he was able to acquire a good house on the Lawrence Road in Lahore and even buy a car (It was a British made Singer car) Way back, in 1936, owning a car was a big thing, and those who possessed an automobile were entitled to several privileges. It was clear to everyone that Uncle JS had ‘arrived’.

For his success, the family had to pay a heavy price. Very soon, Uncle JS was in a different league, and Aunt JS took every opportunity to snub her in-laws, especially the old lady. Slowly, but surely, the ‘England returned’ uncle drifted away from the family fold, and by 1947, when the Punjab was partitioned, we did not even know his whereabouts. The transition of Aunt JS is clearly visible in the following pictures. The first one is taken in 1927, when Uncle JS was away, and the second is dated 1952, soon after they got a grandchild.

 Tayi ji Amritsar Nov 1927

 S Jagjit and wife 1953

Uncle JS with his wife and a granddaughter in 1952. Notice the change!

The Story of the other Brothers

Egged on by the prosperity of Uncle JS, the younger brothers pressed on. With sheer dint of hard work and commitment, all three acquired suitable qualifications. Pitaji, and the youngest uncle earned commissions in the Army and the middle uncle became an officer in Punjab government. Given below are two pictures of Pitaji, which show how he progressed in life.

 Pitaji 1936

Pitaji uniform

Pitaji, in 1951, when he was an instructor in IMA, Dehradun

 jhaiji pic

Our Mother, whom we called ‘Jhaiji’

I am tempted to insert pictures of Pitaji’s sons. I have been able to locate three.

 manjit 1936

This is Air Vice Marshal Manjit Singh, 83 years ago.

 Pensketch Surjit 1942

And this, if you like, is how I looked in 1942, when I was a year old.

 Surinder 1945 with Prem

And this is Brig Surinder Singh in the lap of our Uncle, Prem Singh

 

 

 Family Karachi 1942ed

 Ford Prefect

This story would be incomplete if I do not show our family car, a Ford Prefect, which Pitaji owned for 35 years, beginning from 1951!

A word about Pitaji

Pitaji was all set to go to the UK for higher education. But the untimely demise of our Saintly grandfather shattered his dreams. He was only 15 years old when the tragedy occurred. But despite the fatal blow, he managed to complete a Degree with Mathematics and Physics from Khalsa College Amritsar. He was also able to pursue his hobbies. He bought a camera and also acquired a double barreled gun for Shikar. And, indeed, he brought up his sons very well. All four went to IITs, in due course of time. Given below are two pictures

 Pitaji camera  1927

It was a ‘box’ camera, which could take pictures only in bright sunlight, but if he had not bought it, we would not have these pictures to tell the tale of our family.

 Khalsa College patiala hostel 1927

This is Khalsa College, as seen from the Patiala Hostel, in which Pitaji was housed in 1927-31

 

 Pitaji diaries

The college had a swimming pool, and in this, Uncle Gian Singh is enjoying a dip

 

Epilogue: Vicissitudes of Life

The diaries date back to 1919, and that is exactly one hundred years ago. We have come a long way since then. After our independence, we have caught up with the rest of the world, and are no longer in awe of the brown ‘gora sahibs’ Our indigenous engineers are as good as any in the world, and the future seems sanguine. The story of how Pitaji earned a commission in the British Indian Army in 1942, his war days and the partition trauma are described in another post which may be accessed by clicking on the link given below. It was an intense and profound struggle, and therefore, the on the first page of the diary, Pitaji has given written, ‘Ik sangharsh bhare jiwan diyan abhul yadaam’ (Unforgettable memories of a life filled with struggle) A notable feature of the story is that Pitaji has not written a single unkind word about the British bosses or his Muslim friends and colleagues. The foes of the present day were friends, then!

              http://amolak.in/web/friends-and-foes/#comments

           

However, there is one thing that has not changed. Individual fortunes fluctuate as they did a hundred years ago. People acquire wealth, and then sometimes, they squander it. In our family, Uncle JS had a head start over the rest of the family. He moved up on the success ladder very swiftly and even the partition could not thwart his progress. He rose to be the country head of an English company. In due course, he acquired two houses in Bombay and two in New Delhi. He had three sons, and he gifted a house to each of them, while he settled down in his house in Jangpura. After his retirement in 1960, he bought a ticket of the Delhi Stock Exchange and was active in the stock market. Sometime in the early seventies, disaster struck. He suffered heavy losses, and had to sell off his car. Around 1975, when I was able to locate him, I was told that he commuted on an omnibus.

In the evening of his life, Uncle JS was the only one in the family, who could not afford the comfort of a car, when everyone else had one. Such is life!

  1. Anita says:

    I would request the contact details of Major General Surjit Singh Ji..Please !
    My Father,Amodh Prakash Singh Chawla, son of Jagjit Singh would like to connect with him.
    Request details.

    • Maj Gen Surjit Singh says:

      Dear Anita,
      Thanks to the current state of telecommunications, I was able to get in touch with your parents and also your brother.
      Now I need to hear your voice!
      My phone numbers are 0172 4676192 and 9915797823.
      The mail ID is surjit97eme@gmail.com
      Stay safe and God bless you.
      Surjit Uncle

  2. Col Chinnappa Kuppanda says:

    Most interesting
    Successful sons

    But what are your sons doing and are they doing better than the father??
    Do come to Bangalore. We are well settled and happy. Still working though

    Regards

    Chinnappa

    • Surjit Singh says:

      Thanks. Nice to hear from you.

      The boys are in Gurgaon. The elder one is a Lawyer. He and his wife run a Law Firm. The younger brother has taken up the dealership of Royal Enfield Motorcycles.

      I used to go to B’lore quite often, but now age is catching on, and I avoid travel. Where are you in Bengaluru?

      How are your children doing? Sarab Vir, the son of HV got married a few months ago. We attended the wedding. A big fat Punjabi ceremony. I was reminded of a Coorg wedding ceremony which we attended, It was the closest to Punjabi marriages. Eating drinking dancing…with every one displaying daggers and sporting their unlicensed weapons!

      Awesome!!!
      Surjit

  3. Brig JS Sidhu says:

    Jagbir Singh Sidhu
    to me

    I remember ur respected father very well in 1960-61in IMA.
    Nice reading the family history, The talent of writing that u have developed over the years,u owe a lot to ur respected father.
    Waheguru bless u & ur family

    • Surjit Singh says:

      Dear JSS,
      Thanks.
      I agree with you. Pitaji was a talented writer.
      When are you coming to Chandigarh, next?
      Surjit

  4. Col Surinder Singh says:

    Dear Surjit
    Wondful .I am sure you have published Family History

    Although my father was not from army your and my parents were friends I remember staying with.them during SSB at Merrut They also stayed with you at Dehradun during our passing out in ,,1961

    Surinder

    • Surjit Singh says:

      Dear Surinder,
      Thanks.
      I also remember your elder brother and sister.
      You have always been a part of our extended family.
      Surjit

  5. Lt Gen DB Singh says:

    Dharambir singh

    to me

    My Dear Surjit
    Great Memories .I envy you for possessing such fine Golden Records
    DBee

    • Surjit Singh says:

      DBee Sir,
      I must acknowledge the contribution of my brothers and the kinsfolk for having sent all documents and photographs to me. I am preserving them for the posterity!
      SS

  6. Bimal Sarkar says:

    Thank you sir, for sharing.
    It’s experience to go through old history.
    Thank you once again.
    With regards,
    Bimal

  7. Surendra says:

    I have just one word, Sir, for your well articulated and chronicled narration of this important phase of history – Excellent.

  8. Bhavneet Singh says:

    Bhavneet Singh
    May 2, 2019,

    Okay thanks for sharing
    Rimpi

  9. Maj Gen Neeraj Varshnet says:

    neeraj
    May 1, 2019,
    to me

    Sir
    Amazing story and narration. I salute the foresight of your ancestors to invest in a camera and keep the memories intact.
    The history of your family, reinforces the mathematical concept of mean reversion and the Hindu concept of Karma. The wheels of fortune keep turning. What was up once comes to the bottom and what is continuously at the bottom will also rise to the top at some point in time. The car incident of your Uncle alludes to that.
    Regards

    • Surjit Singh says:

      Neeraj,
      When we walk, one foot is ahead, and the other trails behind. If the leading foot feels elated, it would be a short lived pride, because the situation changes, with every step!
      I think, equanimity is a necessary attribute for us mortals.
      Where are you headed for, on promotion?
      Surjit

  10. Lt Gen RK Mehta says:

    Thanks. Felt so very good to read it
    Raj

    • Surjit Singh says:

      RK,
      Thanks.
      Where are you now? And have you been able to obtain a full remission from the disease?
      We pray for your complete recovery.
      SS

      • RK Mehta says:

        Dear Sir,

        It was lovely going through Pitaji’s Diaries. Amazing how you have been able to
        keep so much information and photos.
        We are at Delhi and doing well. Will certainly look you up, whenever
        we come to Chandigarh next.
        Warm regards and good wishes,
        RK

  11. Maj Gen MPS Kandal says:

    Thanks. Felt so very good to read it
    Madan

  12. Prem Prakash Batra says:

    PremParkash Batra
    Apr 30, 2019,
    to me

    Dear Surjit,

    Thanks for sharing.

    SARGODA, if I remember correctly, from Train from Jehlum City was last station of LILLE/Tehsil LALA MUSA and then to BHERE and then on to Sargoda.

    My NAANKAS were in WARWAAL/CHAKWAAL/JEHLUM. My DADAKAS were Tehsil TALAGANG then part of District Campbelpur. Now CHAKWAAL is a District and both WARWAAL and TALGANG come under it. My NAANKAS were Rich Seed Merchants. DAADKAS lost due heavy drinking and womanising of one Uncle. My Father was in PP but 35 years of his Service, he spent in IB.

    In 1947, we came to Amritsar. Then JAMMU, Gurgoan, Rohtak and Jallander and finally he retired from Delhi where I was born before Partition.

    There was River SWAN in WARWAL. GEH was about 15 Miles from WARWAAL. TALAGANG was an oasis forAgriculture and was about 20 Miles from WARWAAL. Once we went for summer vacation via KHEWRA to WARWAAL.

    Great Memories.

    My Father was born in 1906/06 at TALAGANG. My DADA was a PATWARI.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Warm regards,

    Prem Batra

    • Surjit Singh says:

      Dear Prem Batra,
      I am sure, that your story will be just as interesting. If you record it, do send it to me.
      We are from a Chawla family, and many of our relatives write your surname. So in all probability, we are cousins!
      SS

  13. Col BK Rai says:

    Dear Surjit,
    many thanks for sharing the story of a remarkable family and so carefully kept chronicle.
    I knew your Father at the IMA.
    Bhanu Rai

    • Surjit Singh says:

      Sir,
      Thanks for the kind words.
      Yes. We also remember many GCs of that period. Several of them used to com over to meet our father.
      That is what motivated me to join the Army!
      Surjit

  14. Col Parminder Singh says:

    Fascinating.
    Thanks for sharing
    PS Dhanoa

  15. AVM RP Mishra says:

    Dear General Surjit,
    It was really interesting to go through the material posted by you. Please do convey my regards to Manjit.
    Regards
    Veteran AVM RP Mishra

  16. Lt Gen Paramjit Singh says:

    Dear Sir,
    It’s very rare that a family has a well documented history. Your compilation of the historical events is wonderful. It does bring out the struggle and hardships that our seniors went through just to make a living.
    Absolutely fantastic!
    Regards
    Paramjit

    • Surjit Singh says:

      Dear Paramjit,
      Thanks.
      You are now reaching the end of your ‘First Innings’ I suggest that you carefully preserve all the relevant pictures and historical documents. In the evening of one’s life, one tends to want to go down the memory lane!
      Regards for Gudiya.
      Surjit

  17. Brig Surinder Singh says:

    Surinder Singh
    Apr 30, 2019,
    to me

    Thanks a lot

  18. Zal Kabraji says:

    Dear General,
    This is very interesting—-photographs always are of great value & remind one of the past–specially the black & white ones from olden days ! Each snap has its own story to tell & can even bring back forgotten memories of family & friends.
    I think its important that we should carefully preserve these valuable pictures for as long as we can so that the younger generations can also see & learn something about what things were in the long past.
    Thanks for sharing.
    With warm regards,
    Zal Kabraji.

    • Surjit Singh says:

      ZAl,
      Thanks.
      I have accepted the suggestion made by Ms Varma to share these documents and pictures with the Museum in Amritsar. I will soon get in touch with them.
      Regards,
      Surjit

  19. Maj Gen S Rishi says:

    Dear Surjit,

    Beautifully compiled monograph on family history. Very enjoyable reading and appreciating your enchanting style.

    Thanks for sharing

    Surendra Rishi

  20. Col IP Singh says:

    Col I P Singh
    Tue, Apr
    to me

    WITH WARM REGARDS

    IP Singh

  21. MD Gupta says:

    Murli dhar Gupta
    5:10 AM (6 hours ago)
    to me

    Wow… beautiful

  22. Col CK Sharma says:

    CK Sharma
    3:25 AM (7 hours ago)
    to me

    Quite fascinating sir! Thanks

    CKS

  23. Col YC Mehra says:

    Respected Gen,
    OMG, a history which shall translate to many families Pre Partition but all were not lucky to carry such memoirs as they had to flee like Kashmiri Pandits in recent past.

    I was the youngest one with parents at Peshawar & we flew to Delhi then. My elder brothers were sent earlier to my Chachji who was at BHARATPUR. So no albums, no history till i met our Haridwar panditji who went upto 100 yrs but only with brief history of family. It was interesting as actors Prem Nath etc were sons of youngest brother of my G father.

    You are lucky to have such a treasure sir. Give it the needed shape for posterity.
    Regards,
    Yogi

    • Surjit Singh says:

      Dear Col Mehra,
      I was born in Peshawar. My father served in a School there for about nine years. I intend to write about his days in the land of the ‘Pathans’ They are a great people!
      SS

  24. satya deva prasad Khandavalli says:

    Sir,

    Nostalgic

    SDP Khandavali

  25. Jaspreet Khurana says:

    Dear Uncle,

    A truelly beautiful chest of memories. Will pass this mail onto the kids.

    Preeti

  26. Maj JS Bedi says:

    Sir I am Major JS Bedi
    I want to speak t you please
    Where may I call you Sir?

    Thanks

    • Surjit Singh says:

      JSB
      Thanks for the kid words.
      My phone numbers are:

      0172 4676192 and 9915797823

      Regards,
      Surjit

  27. Kishan Bhatia says:

    Kishan Bhatia
    Apr 30, 2019, 9:49 PM (3 days ago)
    to me

    Thanks for sharing!

  28. Lt Gen RK Gaur says:

    R K Gaur
    Apr 30, 2019, 10:16 PM (3 days ago)
    to me

    Thank you for sharing this fascinating account.
    Incidentally, in an earlier email concerning your mother, you had mentioned that she was called Jhaiji. I think that is a short form of Parjhaiji ( Bhabhiji).

    • Surjit Singh says:

      Dear Bhai Jaan,
      Yes. In our case, two of our ‘Chachas’ lived with us, and they addressed our mother as ‘Bharjai ji’ I suspect that we abbreviated it to ‘Jhaiji’
      In Peshawar, many families used this word.
      Surjit

  29. Brig Anil Adlakha says:

    Anil Sunita
    May 1, 2019, 6:00 PM (2 days ago)
    to me

    Thanks a lot for sharing.

  30. Lawrence VJ says:

    Truly good information of 100 years Sir.Very rare indeed

    Regards
    Lawrence

  31. Col SK Kohli says:

    I have composed many
    Moms’ poems
    on dad
    perhaps only one

    but your dad
    I would love to salute
    and
    add what a charming one
    he has produced in you
    as a loving son

    Dads have to be outwardly harsh
    spare the rod and spoil the child

    all moms love sons and daughters
    but from harsh treatment
    they shy away

    and

    How I wish I had a dad like yours
    would he care to bless me
    kindly ask
    for me

  32. Surjit Singh says:

    Dear Ms Varma,
    Thanks for the kind words.
    Our family did not suffer physical harm during the partition. Since my father was in the Army, he was able to go to Pakistan, with a few vehicles provided by the MEO (Military Evacuation Organization) and bring all our relatives. Land was allotted to us in lieu of what we had left behind and some money was given as compensation for our houses. What we lost was our memorabilia, and some Muslim friends. We got over the trauma.
    I wrote a detailed piece on the Partition, based on my father’s diaries. A link to it is given below. When I read it now, I discovered that Pitaji received a lot of help from his British bosses and Muslim friends.

    http://amolak.in/web/friends-and-foes/#comments

    Who do I contact in Amritsar for the Partition Museum?
    Regards and best wishes,
    Surjit

  33. Ms Ashali Varma says:

    Dear Gen,

    I read your absolutely fascinating story of your family. I urge you to share it with the Partition Museum in Amritsar. They may be interested in the photos and diary. Do you know how and when your Uncle from Karachi returned to India? Anything else about your family during partition?

    Thank you for sharing.

    Ashali

  34. AMIT BHADHURI says:

    A GOOD EFFORTS HOLDING ON TO FAMILY HISTORY WITH PRIDE, SOMETHING, WE INDIANS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN VERY CARELESS ABOUT. I HOPE, OTHERS FOLLOW YOUR EXAMPLE.

  35. Maj Gen VK Singh says:

    Very interesting story. It was a pleasure to go through it. My own father who passed away in 1998 has an an equally eventful life. I have been planning to write about it but never got the time. He too had bought a car – a two door Ford Anglia – in 1951 which he used for several years. After spending some time in jail in 1942 during the Quit India movement (Lal Bahadur Shastri was his cell mate), he joined the UP Police as a DSP. He was a close friend of Feroze Gandhi and had made a movie film of his marriage with Indira. In Ewing Christian College Allahabad in 1938-39 he had bought a 8 mm projector, 3 cameras and a .32 Beretta Pistol from an American student or Rs 300, a large sum those days. He too kept a diary in which he reorded everything. I will have to go through all of them to write the entire story.
    Thanks to Gen Surjeet for the excellent write up.

    • Surjit Singh says:

      Dear VK,
      You must write the story. I will wait for it with bated breath!
      I have read your book on your days in the Intelligence outfit. It is well written.
      Incidentally, I attended ECC, Allahabad for about six months in 1957 before joining the NDA.
      Surjit

  36. D N Sood says:

    What atreasure to go through.
    All families in Punjab had a similar fate.
    All survived and through sheer determinationrose to find a rightful place in the Society.
    Makes an interesting read.

    • Surjit Singh says:

      Dev,
      Thanks.
      Indeed, the Punjabis have tremendous resilience. Within a couple of years after 1947, our ancestors recreated their houses. Several new towns came up, and they went all over India (and in many other countries)
      Regards,
      Surjit
      PS
      Don’t you ever come to Chandigarh?

  37. J Thomas says:

    Your cover picture of Route 66 tells a story by itself. It is the most famous highway in USA and is called “Historic Route 66″ or “Mother Road.” It ran from Chicago to Los Angeles and was the main route taken by westward migrants.

    Thanks for an interesting story. A hundred years is a long time.

    • Surjit Singh says:

      JT,
      Thanks.
      Yes, indeed. And in the line below, it mentions 1926. That is the year in which our saintly grandfather passed away.
      I have now picked up the pages that narrate the story of my father’s days in Peshawar, where I was born in 1941. That comes next.
      SS

  38. A great chronicle and a tribute to the legacy of a distinguished family by Gen Surjit. It is very rare that one even thinks of penning down this type of family history. As Sanjeev Kumar as Arjun Pandit says in the film with that title ” We know the Mughal History from Babur to Bahadur Shaw Zafar but many can barely name beyond their own grand father”

    • Surjit Singh says:

      Hari,
      Thanks.
      The credit for this goes to two persons: our great grandfather, who lived to the ripe old age of 104 years, and told us the details of our ancestors, and our father, who recorded the story in the diaries.
      Yes. I agree. I think we should all write down whatever we know about our ancestors. The posterity will appreciate the record. And now, we have pictures and videos. We must pass them on.
      Surjit

      • Brig K Harikumar says:

        Harikumar Krishnannair

        I totally agree Sir. We have the means and technology to preserve the legacy through visual and audio records now. But will the bonding- I mean the real one , will be there,is a big Question Mark!
        Regards
        Hari

        • Surjit Singh says:

          Hari,
          I agree with you.
          However, in every generation, we get people who want to find out details of the lives of their ancestors. If you go to Haridwar, you meet ‘Pandas’ who tell you the names of your forefathers.
          Our kinsfolk who are migrating to the ‘New world’ do sometimes tend to erase their past. But even among them, we find an occasional person, who looks for the past.
          Many years ago, I read a book entitled “ROOTS” I think the author was Alex Haily, an African American. It inspired me to study my own ‘Roots’!
          Regards,
          Surjit

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