It was early evening and Daarji’s little were friends were already at the gate. Soon the atmospherics were charged, and 1 Link Road was inundated by a cacophony of sounds that pervaded the house, breaking the quietness of siesta silence. Animated children’s laugher infused with the yelping of Hektor and Zach vying for attention.
Bebe patted Daarji’s shoulder and said, “Daarji utho, bache te agaye”.
“Agaye”! he queried still in a dozy ditsy daze.
“But it is only 4 o’clock. Their school only gives over at 2.45 PM ?”
Chatter preceded the little people and then came warm hugs and dutiful Sat-Sri-Akal. The kids flopped around on big floor cushions were strewn around the still sleepy Daarji.
The excitement was writ large on their faces and Baani smiled engagingly to interject, “Daarji, is it coming off Babaji today”?
“Yes, Yes, my dear one”, nodded Daarji. ”Punjab and Coming of Nanak”
"As you all know Punjab is the land of our ancestors,” he recapped. ‘And it means the land of five rivers.
Do you remember what I told you all earlier, that in ancient times it was called 'Sapta Sindhu'!
“Punjab, do you know, was big at one time. Very big”, he said spreading
his arms wide.
Let us call that the –‘The Greater Punjab'.
This Greater Punjab was once made up of massive spreads of land, from Eastern Pakistan to North-western India. You could easily say, from the mountain ranges of Afghanistan to the plains of Ganges and up north taking up parts of Jammu Kashmir all the way to Tibet.
This Indus belt, my dear ‘bacheyo’
was the Land of Nanak. The land of your 'Baba Nanak', Baani.
This was the land he walked on. Guru Nanak walked this path in the midst
of all his people from Tibet to Sind and from the mountains of Afghanistan to the plains of Ganga.
And do you know people of these areas still ardently revere Baba Nanak, be it Sind, Balochistan, Ladakh and even Tibet... and more.
“Did he travel abroad also Daarji”, asked Baani innocently with her round questioning
eyes.
“Sure! My beti Ji, Later his journeys did take him to the faraway lands
spreading his message of oneness.
Not quite done, Baani continues, “Did he need a passport Daarji?”
Bunty, quick to retort said, “now keep quiet Baani … there were no passports or
visas then.”
With a little laugh and a pat on Baani’s shoulder, Daarji started his story, picking up the picture book on Mughal India.
So coming back to the land and people of Punjab and their tragic turmoil’s …. Let us begin from where we left of…. Tamerlane, he was also called Timur the Lame. He ransacked the entire countryside of Punjab, massacred many of its people.
Leaving nothing but chaos and mayhem
everywhere.
Centuries upon centuries had slipped by, and with one invasion after another, the wealth of this land was plundered and unbelievable carnage was allowed to run riot on the suffering people.
The torture, the agony and sufferance of humanity had continued to the second half of Fifteenth-century and early sixteenth century …
This was a century timeline in history
shared by Guru Nanak and Babar.
Babur was born in 1489 in the Timurid
Empire, which is now in Uzbekistan
Guri Nanak was born on 15th of April 1469 at Rāi Bhoi Kī Talwaṇḍī, which was then part of
Delhi Sultanate.
The Lord Almighty! The Waheguru! The all-knowing master of the universe would have known the script of all that was to come.
He brought a saviour into this world and positioned him as such to become a spiritual barricade to weather the atrocities that were to happen later in the century on our ancestors.
A series of these invasions culminated with Babar …. Folklore goes that Babur before he came to invade India with a desire
to build his kingdom, he came on a lookout mission and slipped in quietly, hidden behind a ‘burka’. Incognito.
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Do you know what it means? It means, disguised like an undercover agent, like a spy, to see and gather information.
Later, Babar was to become the founder of
the great Mughal Empire.
Babur, the tribal warlord was the grandson of Tamerlane who is chiefly remembered in history for the raiding and robbing of the Great City of Samarkand which lay along the ancient Silk Road. In turn, Tamerlane was the great-grandson of Ghengis Khan, the Great Khan who conquered half the world.
It was only in the first half of the 16th century, that is around 1519-1520, Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire crossed the Chenab River, which flows through the erstwhile ‘Greater Punjab’, in search of new territory, to capture.
On his path was a big
city and his ferocious warriors unleashed unthinkable terror on it, killing
thousands of people living in it, and imprisoning many more.
This city that came
under the barbarous path of this invading army was Saidpur. Babur later
changed its name of Saidpur to Eimanabad
Babur was simply an invader motivated only by greed and glory, so much so that all, who came in the way were destroyed whoever they may be….be they Hindu or Musalmam.
Guru Nanak, it is said was an eye witness to the havoc created during these invasions and the city remained in the grip of death and fury. Guru Nanak, a pious soul and a messenger of the Almighty had the courage and conviction to stop Babur and say, "Tu Zalim hai", and assured him of God's wrath that would one day fall on him.
Coming of a Savior - Guru Nanak
There was so… much suffering. Men and women killed, small children orphaned and young girls were snatched and captured by these tribal warriors ….and this was tragic.
The masses became desolate and helpless.
So children, now that you have become aware of the torment our beloved land suffered, we must stop a moment to appreciate and be inspired by the bravery and courage of our great great great grandfathers and great-great great…grandmothers.
But then, there sure is a limit to human endurance…. after that God steps in.
When God
remembers you, then those who have been torturing you will have to answer their sins sooner than later.
When God
remembers you, your tears will be turned to joy.
When God
remembers you, the unimaginable, unexpected, uncommon miracles
will happen
And like always, Waheguru’s ways
are divine. And Saintly souls have a way of arriving when times are bad, and
sure enough, this was one such time.
The people of Punjab prayed.
They asked for mercy,
For them an extraordinary
messenger of God had arrived– a saviour who would transform Punjabi thinking
forever.
This divine soul was Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
Thus Guru Nanak had to take birth …
He was sent to help the suffering humanity of this unbearable suffering.
He spent his entire adult life wandering through Punjab – and beyond Punjab to the farthest corners of India and even westward to Mecca. Some say that he even went as far as Rome.
It was said of him:
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