There are events in the lives of different people which, at the time they occurred, may not have appeared to be of great significance but, with the passage of time, became turning points in their history. There are two such incidents in the history of the Sikhs which made them change from being pacific followers of their founder, Guru Nanak, to being the militant khalsa of the last guru, Gobind Singh. First was the persecution of their fifth guru, Arjun, who compiled the Adi Granth and installed it in the Harmandir Sahib built by his father, and made Amritsar the emotional capital of the community. His only ‘crime’ in the eyes of the rulers was that he had acquired a large following and threatened to become a rival power base in the north. He was taken to Lahore and was cruelly tortured. He died as a martyr.

His son, Guru Hargobind, decided to take up arms. Then the ninth guru,Tegh Bahadur, a saintly man who composed some of the most soulful hymns later incorporated into the Adi Granth by his son, became widely known. The songs have been beautifully rendered by the Bollywood singer, Mohammed Rafi.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was arrested on fabricated charges and executed in Delhi on November 11, 1675. His body was stolen by one of his Dalit disciples who burnt down his own thatched hut to cremate it. Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Chandni Chowk marks the site of his execution, and Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib next to the Parliament, the site of his cremation. It was this wholly gratuitous act of criminality that made his son come to the conclusion that when all other methods have failed, it is righteous to draw the sword. To mark the martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, I reproduce my translation of one of his hymns, “Jo nar dukh mein dukh nahi manai”, devoted to describing an ideal human being:

He who in adversity grieves not/ He who is without fear,/ He who falls not in the snare of sensuality,/ Who has no greed for gold, knowing it is like dust;/ He who does not slander people when their backs are turned/ Nor flatters them to their faces./ He who has neither gluttony in his heart/ Nor vanity, nor attachment to worldly things,/ He who nothing moves/ Neither good fortune nor ill,/ Who cares not for worldly applause;/ Nor its censure./ Who ignores every wishful fantasy/ And accept what comes his way as it comes./ He whom lust cannot lure,/ Nor anger command/ In such a one lives God himself/ On such a one God’s grace descends,/ For he knows the righteous path/ O Nanak, his soul mingles with the Lord,/ As water mingles with water.

Silly point

Entries to The Washington Post competition asking for a two-line rhyme with the most romantic first line and the least romantic second line:

My darling, my lover, my beautiful

wife:

Marrying you has screwed up

my life.

I see your face when I am dreaming

That’s why I always wake up

screaming.

Kind, intelligent, loving and hot;

This describes everything you

are not.

Love may be beautiful, love may be

bliss,

But I only slept with you ‘cause I

was pissed.

I thought that I could love no other

— that is, until I met your brother.

(Courtesy: Amir C. Tuteja, Washington)