To read and know more about Pooran Singh and how the story of his ashes brought communities and even continents together, click on the link below.
Read full transcript of part 4 of audio documentary Pooran's final journey:
Manpreet: (in car, India): Today is 28th July, we’ve reached New Delhi and are now on our way to Jalandhar. Accompanying me in this car are Harmel Uppal, Len Kenna, Cyrstal Jordan, our cameraman and our driver and we are heading towards Punjab. First up I’m going to speak to Harmel Uppal. Tell me, Harmel ji, Pooran ji has come back to India 111 years after he left it, how do you feel today?
Harmel (in car): Well this is a very happy occasion since my great Uncle’s last wish is about to come true – when we touched down on Indian soil last night, my mind truly felt at peace. And now, all our other family members can also feel the same inner peace when we reach our village with the remains of our ancestor.
Manpreet: It strikes me that when Pooran ji left India, it was the 19th century and now when he has returned, we’re in the 21st century. How long can one person’s journey last for? Just how did he travel to Australia back then?
Harmel: We can only guess how that happened. Talking to Len and others, we were all wondering whether Pooran went by sea …by boat … through Malaysia... we can only guess. It must have been really difficult to even get onto a ship in those days.
Manpreet: Well, Punjab is landlocked and he would have had to go to some port for the sea journey – even getting to a port must have been a big ask…
Harmel: Absolutely… that must have been a really long journey in itself. Who knows for how long he would have walked… Whether it took months or even years to get to a port.
Manpreet: It’s hard to say which port he embarked from - whether it was Bombay or Calcutta or Karachi…
Harmel: That’s right, and it must have been so difficult back in those days. Len has promised to research my great Uncle’s journey further when he returns to Australia. I feel that all Punjabi hawkers, all of those who went to Australia back then, must have made so many personal sacrifices, just to even get there.
Studio: Harmel went on to say, that thanks to Pooran ji, he has found a brother and sister in Brian and Alice (of Warrnambool):
Harmel (in car): Alice and Brian, I think words can’t really describe them – well all of the people of Warrnambool, but specially Alice and Brian…..
(Voiceover in Punjabi): Then Harmel described how Alice used to fuss over him and take care of all his needs, just like a sister or a mother would do. He recalled a very special gift that Alice gave him on the day he left Warrnambool – it was a clock, with a golf bag and some golf clubs, obviously something very personal to her. She told Harmel “after your day’s work is finished, throw all of your problems and issues into that golf bag, take out the clubs, which represent your own quality time …”
Harmel: ….quality time for your family and for yourself. And I can never ever forget what she said to me. I think it’s a great lesson for the rest of the world to learn, that to love each other doesn’t take much. I just can’t say how great Alice and Brian have been.
Studio: That is a great learning for all of us indeed, that love doesn’t cost us anything, but the relationships we get through love are priceless. And obviously, love can transcend all barriers and even generations, as we see with Harmel, Brian and Alice.
Harmel: Alice had said some very very personal messages which she…
(Voiceover in Punjabi): Harmel said that Alice has asked to be kept informed of every thing that happens in India. She also mentioned, that she would sense when Pooran ji’s ashes are immersed in the Ganges and the moment that soul is released, even if Harmel doesn’t telephone her right away.
Harmel:…..will in her heart, know exactly when that spirit has been released to where it should be.
Studio (and music): Since we were talking about such serious matters, we didn’t even notice that we were stuck in Delhi’s traffic jam. An hour had passed and we were still sitting in Delhi. We had barely crossed Delhi’s border and guess what happened – we had a flat tyre. The driver quickly fixed the puncture, we restarted the journey, only to stop again – our suitcases, which were perched on the roof rack threatened to fall over! The driver and cameraman physically climbed over the roof of the car, tied the suitcases down with ropes, put on the tarps and we began again – but this time, the car’s tyre burst on us! (Music)
(Studio and music continue) The car literally shook, and we were shaken too. Luckily no one was hurt, but this meant yet another delay of half an hour! We had barely started to move again, but then, the Indian monsoon fell upon us in its full glory… We laughed, thinking that yesterday, the impatient Pooran ji egged the aircraft to land early, but today, he seemed to be asking us to slow down a bit… to soak it all in (music….”slowly slowly”)
(In car…sound of the rain)
Manpreet: So Chris, we started out from Delhi this morning, we’ve had a flat tyre, our suitcase nearly fell off, we’ve had lunch early to make up for time, and now it’s raining… Tell me how do you feel?
Crystal (laughs): Well, it feels like a totally Indian experience, I’d say, anything can happen, and it is!! (laughs again)
Manpreet: I’m glad we can laugh about it because we’ve all been feeling very emotional. And I think it’s a very emotional time for you because your father was born here and now that you’ve come here for the first time ever, what does it mean for you personally?
Crystal: Personally I think, well, what my father went through when he was here….and if he was to see it today, how different it would be for him as well. To think back even to Pooran’s time, 63 years, which is when I was born, it would have been totally different to today as well.
Manpreet: You said to me earlier that Pooran Singh ji was very special, the name stayed in your mind, the year 1947 stayed in your mind. And somehow in the year 2010, you are here with his grand-nephew, because of him. How does that make you feel?
Crystal: It makes me feel privileged to be able to be a part of Pooran’s journey and to be with Harmel, to help him bring this story back to his family and his homeland. I feel like in a way I’m bringing my family here too. And it’s a type of closure, in a way, I suppose, for a lot of people, but also, it’s a beginning… it’s a beginning, if people from different cultures can get together and do a simple thing like this, then there’s a lot more that could be done in the world with people working together.
Studio: Crystal has just said something really beautiful – that if various communities can make a small effort, then the world can be a much better place to live in. Nevertheless, the monsoons continued for quite a distance, we had to stop and get four completely new tyres for our car, and believe me, having left Delhi at 9 am in the morning, we only reached Jalandhar at 10 pm at night – a journey that should normally take only 6 or 7 hours… But, slowly slowly, we reached Jalandhar and stayed there for the night.
Music
Studio + music: Coming to Jalandhar as part of Pooran ji’s final journey was really significant for me, personally. Jalandhar is the city of my birth, but I have never seen it in my living memory. It was amazing to think that all of us, despite our different backgrounds, were united by Pooran’s journey home, but alongside that, we were also travelling on our own personal journeys too. Even I got the opportunity to see the city of my birth – so thank you Pooran ji! Even though you were born 100 years before me, you were the catalyst to bring me to my birthplace for the first time. So, on the morning of July 29, we went to his ancestral village, Uppal Bhopa, which is in Phillaur district, and we barely took an hour from Jalandhar to reach there.
Listen to more of the audio documentary Pooran Singh's final journey
'It's time for Pooran to go home'
