“In The Everlasting Memory of My Grandfather“
Jagmohan Singh Barhok
“We Knew So Little That Morning,
That God Will Call Your Name,
In Life We Loved You,
In Death We Do The Same”
On His 57th Death Anniversary
My Grandfather’s famous quote was “Jo Sukh Chajju De Chubare,Na Bulkh Na Bukhare”. Balkh, is a town in Afghanistan, about 20 km from the the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif.Marco Polo described Balkh as a “noble and great city”.Bukhara is the fifth-largest city in Uzbekistan.In the village Noorpur Sethi he was known as’Chajju Bhagat’,a person gifted with qualities of a saint. Interestingly,his elder brother was a well known Saint called “Kaale Chole Wale Sant”. He eloped in 1939, my grandmother had told me sometime in mid 1950s.Noorpur Sethi was in Chakwal District now in Pakistan. I used “Noorpuri ” as nom de plume in 1970s & 1980s . Later my younger brother adopted this as part of his name as Amarpal Noorpuri.
His younger brother was bestowed with the title “Sardar Bahadur” for his distinguished services during The First & Second World Wars. My grandfather’s youngest brother Sardar Mahant Singh was a leading money -lender in village Noorpur Sethi in West Pakistan. He was the first to be done away during the riots in 1947. His whole family was killed. His youngest son Narinder Singh Broca was saved by a Muslim lady whom his father financially helped. She kept him hidden in a stack- yard for days. He was recovered by the Army later & air lifted to India .He married in 1964 .Visited us many times at Almora, Delhi & Chandigarh. He served as Chief Instructor at Jaipur Police Academy.
My grandfather never talked of money, power, politics or religion .My father almost followed him. This later passed on to all of us .No member in my family has any religious or political connection whatsoever. While my grandmother told us religious stories relating to gurus and keeping traditional values, my grandfather ,on the contrary, told us how to protect or defend us under unfavourable situations.
