SOMEDAY YOU'LL LOOK BACK AND UNDERSTAND WHY IT ALL HAPPENED THE WAY IT DID!
This trip was being planned since past 23 years and even the tickets got wasted a couple of times due to last-minute cancellations. A hushed phone-call brought in the bad news "Lovely is no more". I had to be besides my dear old friend Gurudev Singh 'Vinky' since Lovely was his right arm.
The smiling face of Lovely, his innocent demeanour and his childlike banters, haunted me. Dazed, tossing through the night,I planned my itinerary to Burla - the sleepy hamlet, which also happens to be my birthplace. After having spent 60% of my present life in Burla, I had moved to Delhi in 1994.
The drive from Raipur airport to Burla was quite a pleasant one and it hardly took us 4 hours. This was a far cry from the overnite 6 to 7 hours journey that we used to slog upon in the 90's. I could see the old-village charm yet the infrastructure was eye-popping.
23 years!! Yours truly was quite excited despite going there on a sad note. The trip to the 'world of Nostalgia' was all the more emotional and rememberable.
The trip to the Gurdwara Sahib was very touching. Dad had setup and managed this Gurdwara for atleast 30 years. The old Jamun tree had been chopped. Under this tree, I was taught Gurmukhi during the summer holidays by Giani Takhat Singh ji. Thankfully, the Mango tree is still there. The tin roof of the Darbar is now a pucca structure. But sadly, the entry roads to the Gurdwara sahib are now quite congested and cluttered with houses. It used to have more open spaces in the past.
The Gurdwara was an extended home for us. Come Gurpurabs and we kids used to find an excuse to stay out late nights for 'Sewa' at the Langar. I miss the brick-lined flooring on the verandah, which now has been replaced by concrete. The brick flooring used to be cooler during summers and water was sprayed on it from time to time.
Many a faces are missing in Burla, most of them passed away timely or untimely. But the best part is that relationships are still warm in Burla and people are still affable and uncomplicated!
