A daughter of Punjab travels to Pakistan, reconnects with her roots – and fulfils her grandfather’s last wish

“My gramps Bahadur Singh and 1 of his brothers Wadhawa Singh had moved to India during Partition, portion their different member Ujagar Singh had stayed back. Years aboriginal we got to cognize that helium had converted to Islam and his caller sanction was Ghulam Mohammad. Then our families started connecting via letters. I had sent him my wedding invitation years ago, but nary 1 was capable to be owed to the bitter ties betwixt some countries. They had adjacent preserved my wedding card,” says Kiran, a therapist based successful Leicester, who went to Pakistan via the Attari border.

Kiran collecting mitti (soil) from the ancestral fields of her family. (Photo courtesy: Jeevay Sanjha Punjab)

Though she had respective apprehensions earlier travelling to Pakistan, she was welcomed “like a joined girl visiting her parents’ location for the archetypal clip since her wedding.

“My uncle Nazeer Ahmad Ghuman (Ujagar Singh’s son) cried hugging maine and took maine astir the village. They had preserved everything that my gramps utilized to archer maine astir — the peepal histrion successful their family’s fields, the aged chakki (traditional grindstone), the letters that they had written to his member successful Pakistan,” Kiran told The Indian Express implicit telephone from Sialkot.

“Though I was precise young astatine that time, I retrieve my gramps crying due to the fact that helium missed his member and wanted to conscionable him. That’s erstwhile I decided that I would 1 time spell to my family’s ancestral colony successful Pakistan to fulfil his dream,” says Kiran.

In India, Kiran’s gramps and member re-settled successful Jalandhar territory aft migration during partition. Though the household connected Indian broadside wrote aggregate letters to Ujagar Singh, she says helium received a reply lone successful 1986.

Kiran and household successful beforehand of the peepal histrion astatine their colony successful Sialkot of Pakistan. (Photo courtesy: Jeevay Sanjha Punjab)

“We learnt that Ujagar Singh had converted to Islam. Despite converting to Islam, they inactive utilized Ghuman arsenic their surname. The speech of letters continued, and adjacent I utilized to constitute letters to Pakistan. We would constitute successful Gurmukhi (Punjabi script) and get replies successful Urdu. I would petition my school’s peon to construe them for me. The speech of letters concisely ceased aft my gramps and his member (Ujagar Singh) some passed distant and I excessively shifted to the UK successful 1997,” she says.

Spooked implicit the deteriorating relations betwixt India and Pakistan, she says her household and in-laws some discouraged her from penning to her household successful Pakistan. But Kiran kept sending letters to Pakistan.

Kiran utilizing the aged chakki owned by her family. (Photo courtesy: Jeevay Sanjha Punjab)

“Amdad Ghuman, a nephew of my uncle Nazeer Ahmad Ghuman, past started replying to my letters. Later, we besides stayed successful interaction via telephone. However, the stringent visa rules and different issues made question impossible,” says Kiran, adding that her sojourn was coordinated by Jeevay Sanjha Punjab, an organisation that helps reunite families surviving crossed the border.

Kiran, who mislaid her begetter successful 2015, says her paternal uncle Santokh Singh was reduced to tears erstwhile she told him astir her question plans to Pakistan. “Tayaji (elder paternal uncle) said, ‘Take maine with you’, earlier helium started crying. Since helium is wheelchair-bound, I decided that I would instrumentality immoderate ungraded from the household tract for him. I had told him, ‘Otthon di mitti laike aaungi, tuhade kaleje nu thandak pau (I volition bring the ungraded from the colony and your bosom volition beryllium astatine peace)’,” says Kiran, adding that she besides paid her respects astatine Ujagar Singh’s grave.

Though Kiran is scheduled to instrumentality to India soon, she says her lone regret is that her gramps died without ever seeing Ujagar Singh again. “My family’s nonaccomplishment successful 1947 — the brothers getting separated — tin ne'er beryllium recovered. This symptom tin lone beryllium felt by those who were really separated. For others, it’s conscionable successful their conversations and stories,” she says.