A dying wish that brought communities, continents together
Pooran Singh was born in Punjab, India, in the late 19th century, arriving in Australia in 1899. He lived and worked for the rest of his life in various country towns of Victoria, dying in Warrnambool in June 1947. He had verbally conveyed his wish to be cremated and that his ashes be immersed back home in India, in the holy river Ganga.
When SBS Punjabi was told by Melbourne historian Len Kenna that Pooran's ashes were still being held by the Australian family that oversaw his cremation back in 1947, it conducted a series of interviews that led to the discovery of Pooran's family in a small village called Uppal Bhopa (near Jalandhar) in India and dubbed 'cricketer of the century' Kapil Dev to personally collect the ashes from Australia and escort them back to India to fulfil Pooran's last wish.
at Haridwar on 31 July 2010 by Pooran Singh's great-nephew, Harmel Uppal, who had travelled from England to Australia to collect the remains of his 'Baba'. Pooran's remaining family in the village of Uppal Bhopa, near Jalandhar, also got a chance to conduct the last rites at the ancestral home, before the ashes were finally disposed of in accordance with his wish, 63 after his death in Australia.
Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev with Pooran Singh's great nephew Harmel Uppal as they landed in India with the ashes from Australia Source: Manpreet K Singh, SBS Punjabi
At a time when media attention was saturated by reports of violence against Indian international students in Melbourne, this story came as a breath of fresh air, highlighting the history of early Indian arrivals in Australia, and especially the , despite the enactment of the White Australia policy.
Perhaps the most enduring symbols of this mutual respect are two inscriptions about Pooran Singh etched in two different languages - Punjabi and English - in two very different worlds. The niche in the cemetery in Warrnambool where Pooran's ashes had remained for decades bore the inscription "Pooran Singh, died 8 June 1947, An Indian hawker, in Western Victoria". And in the remote Indian village of Uppal Bhopa, through his will still reads, "S Pooran Singh, Australian, 1950, Uppal Bhopa."
A plaque at the niche at Warrnambool cemetery that remained home to Pooran's ashes for decades Source: Manpreet K Singh, SBS Punjabi
A Punjabi inscription outside the family home in village Uppal Bhopa that says S Pooran Singh, Sultani Ram, Australia 1950 Source: Supplied by Harmel Uppal to SBS Punjabi
Who was Pooran Singh?
Pooran Singh left Bilga in Punjab as a 30-year-old, when he landed on Australian shores in 1899. Like many other Punjabis at that time, he worked as a hawker, selling goods laden in his horse-cart, from one country town to the other. Typically, he had left his family behind in Punjab and spent the remaining 47 years of his life in country Victoria. He died on 8 June 1947 at Warrnambool & District Base Hospital, Victoria, aged 77 years.
His funeral was arranged by Guyett's Funerals, and perhaps the current co-owner, Alice’s grandfather, presided over the service in Warrnambool. Pooran had left instructions that he desired to be cremated, not buried; therefore, his body was sent to Melbourne by train to the only crematorium at that time, which was in the eastern suburb of Springvale.
Records at Guyett’s Funerals show that he was cremated on June 10, 1947, at 11.45 am. Interestingly the records show his religion as “Hindoo”, and that an amount of just over £53 was paid for the funeral service, which would have been six month’s salary for an average hawker at that time.
Alice Guyett-Wood recalled that just before her father Jack Guyett died in 1986, he told her “We should have done something about Pooran’s ashes. We should have sent them to India because he wished them to be immersed in the River Ganges”. There was no written instruction to convey this wish, but it has been passed down the generations of the Guyetts family. When asked why they have still kept the ashes, even after six decades, Alice simply said, “We didn’t have the authority to dispose of them, so we just held them. In fact, I had thought that we may even go to India one day and fulfil Pooran’s last wish.”
Pooran Singh, the Indian hawker who worked in Western Victoria Source: Supplied by Len Kenna and Crystal Jordan
In the meantime, Melbourne based historian Len Kenna and his research partner Crystal Jordan found a copy of Pooran Singh’s will, which showed that he had grown to be quite a wealthy man. When he died, his assets amounted to £2,376.04, clearly a result of many years of diligent saving. The money was distributed according to Pooran’s wishes by the executors of his will, with some money going to a few local residents of Warrnambool, who presumably took care of him in the last stages of his life. But nearly £1,500 was sent to India, with £360 apiece for each of his four nephews Gurbachan Singh, Chanan Singh, Milka Singh and Kartar Singh. The will names them as the sons of Sultani Ram, of Upper Bhopa in Bilga, who was Pooran’s brother.
Another aspect of this story worthy of being pointed out is, that the White Australia policy was officially enforced in Victoria in 1901, which excluded all non-whites from entering the country. According to Len Kenna, it is possible that many thousands of Punjabi hawkers were already living and working in Australia by then.
Page 1 or Pooran Singh's will Source: Supplied
He says, "The hawkers were endeared by all sections of the local population here, especially the Punjabis – the children loved them since they played games with them and told them incredible stories, the women loved them because they brought them exotic goods apart from items of daily need and showed them a great deal of respect, and the men loved them because they played good cricket!" The Australian countryside is dotted with memorials and remains of these men, even though they are almost forgotten in the annals of history.
As for Pooran Singh’s ashes, even though Alice got fairly emotional while talking about them, she was keen for them to make their final journey back to India. she says. Although it is truly amazing that this Australian family has respected the last wishes of an Indian hawker who they didn’t even know personally, it is clear that Pooran is an integral part of their family history. Incredibly, even the trustees of the Warrnambool cemetery have extended this respect to Pooran Singh, who they regard “as their own”.
Page 2 of Pooran's will which also bequeathed money to his family in India, which was used to build the house that still stands in village Uppal Bhopa, Punjab Source: Supplied
In the late 1980s, they decided to commemorate Pooran’s presence in Warrnambool by installing a plaque at a memorial wall at the cemetery - his ashes are safely placed in a niche behind it. And when Alice brought up the possibility that the ashes may soon be returned to India, the trustees reportedly said, “We’ll send the ashes back, but we’ll still keep the plaque on the niche wall, because Pooran was here!”
Kapil Dev and his involvement as a 'goodwill gesture'
Around the same time as SBS Punjabi program's was working on the Pooran story, she interviewed cricket legend Kapil Dev in relation to the upcoming Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. This was also the same time when media reports of violence against Indian international students were making daily headlines around the world. When Mr Dev heard about the story of Pooran Singh's ashes being held by an Australian family in western Victoria, in deference to his last wish, the cricket legend offered to travel to Melbourne and carry the special delivery of the ashes back to India, so they could be immersed in the Ganges river.
The author documented the entire story as it unfolded, and wrote blogs on each day after the ceremony in Warrnambool when Pooran's ashes were handed to Kapil Dev who had flown in from India, and Pooran's grand nephew Harmel Uppal, who had specially flown in from England for this final chapter of Pooran's journey. The blogs are now reproduced here below, to mark 10 years of this remarkable story, which was one of the stories for which author was named winner of the Victoria's Multicultural Award of Excellence, Media Award 2011. It went on to be commissioned by Education Services Australia as a resource for high school students, and also included as a chapter in the book 'The Indian Diaspora: Hindus and Sikhs in Australia'. Importantly, as a positive story of cultural cohesion in Australia, at a time when incidents of violence against Indian international students in Melbourne were generating much debate.
Also, the Moore family mentioned in Pooran's will donated a horse cart believed to be Pooran Singh's. It has now been fully restored and adorns the entrance of the Maritime Museum in Warrnambool.
Kapil Dev stands alongside Harmel Uppal as they receive Pooran Singh's ashes from the Guyett family of Warrnambool, Victoria Source: SBS Punjabi
Front page of the daily newspaper Hindustan Times in June 2010 which led to the discovery of Pooran's family in India Source: Hindustan Times
The fully restored wagon, believed to be Pooran Singh's, which is on display at Warrnambool Maritime Museum Source: Supplied
Read the daily blogs filed by the author to find out how the story of Pooran's final journey unfolded ten years ago in July - August 2010.
The Pooran Phenomenon
26 July 2010
of a simple Punjabi Australian man has just begun – but there is nothing simple or ordinary about Pooran Singh’s journey itself. It encompasses three centuries, has brought people from various cultures, backgrounds, cities and indeed, three different continents together; it has united two families, one in country Victoria and another in rural India in an unusual familial bond, even inspiring an international sporting superstar to fly in especially from India, to fulfil a long-dead man’s final wish. This is the Pooran phenomenon, which saw nearly 300 people from the Indian community in Melbourne converging at Warrnambool, joining many locals, the Guyett family (of Guyetts Funerals), Harmel Uppal (the grand nephew of Pooran Singh, who flew in from Wolverhampton, UK) and extraordinarily, cricket legend Kapil Dev, to accord the ashes of Pooran Singh a grand send-off from the Warrnambool cemetery.
If you haven’t caught up with the background of this story yet, Pooran Singh was a young 30-year-old Punjabi man who migrated from India to Australia in 1899, lived and worked in country Victoria as a hawker for a better part of five decades, and died in Warrnambool aged 77. He was cremated in Melbourne on June 10, 1947, and his ashes have been preserved by three generations of the Guyetts family, in deference to Pooran’s wish that his ashes be sent to India and dispersed in the River Ganges. After this story was initially broadcast on SBS Radio’s Punjabi program on June 24, 2010, an amazing chain reaction led to the ashes handover ceremony at the Warrnambool cemetery on Sunday, July 25, when Alice Guyett-Wood and her brother Brian handed the ashes they had preserved for 63 years, to Kapil Dev and Harmel Uppal, in the presence of the hundreds of people gathered there. The ceremony was warm, dignified and emotional, but everyone had an unmistakable feeling that what they were witnessing was very unique, even historic.
The ceremony attracted widespread media attention, both in India and Australia, and even as we drove back from Warrnambool to Melbourne, strangers called in with their personal memories of Pooran Singh ji, – more evidence that Indians and Australians have shared a special relationship for many generations, that the warmth and deep emotional bonds simple Punjabi hawkers shared with local Australians transcended all barriers of colour, creed nationality or any other difference.
It occurred to me that history does great injustice to society by only recording cold facts; by chronicling disasters/accidents and not acts of decency, love, and friendship that occur in day to day living. History books only tell us that the White Australia policy was enforced in Victoria in 1901, but don’t offer any insight into the personal bonds that existed between locals and migrants – and amazingly, the story of Pooran Singh ji has given us a chance to rectify that. Fortunately, we can also attempt to rectify the image of Australia – India relations which have been much maligned and tested in recent times.
While the respect and humanity of the Guyett family has "humanized" history for us, the personal anecdotes shared by Avis Quarrell, Moore family, Ben Whitham and others have "personalized" it and undoubtedly, the generosity and human spirit displayed by Kapil Dev has truly "internationalized" it, jointly creating a repository of goodwill that can drive Australia – India relationship from hereon.
Early this morning, Kapil Dev, Harmel Uppal, historian Len Kenna, his research partner Crystal Jordan and I have boarded a flight from Melbourne, bound to India, with the ashes. All of us feel privileged that we are joining Pooran Singh ji on his final journey home – a journey he began alone in the 19th century, and now in its final leg, he is accompanied by an international celebrity, a member of his extended family from the UK, two historians from Australia, and a radio journalist who was born almost exactly a century after him, in the same city that he came from – Jalandhar. This is the continuation of the Pooran phenomenon.
Alice Guyett-Wood with Harmel Uppal pointing to the niche in the cemetery wall, where Pooran's ashes had been stored for decades Source: Supplied by Harmel Uppal to SBS Punjabi
The ceremony in Warrnambool when Pooran's ashes were handed to grand nephew Harmel Uppal and cricket great Kapil Dev Source: Supplied
Everyone present at the ceremony participated in the final prayers for Pooran, in Sikh tradition : another tribute to multicultural Australia Source: SBS Punjabi
Discovery of Pooran's family in a small village in Punjab also made front page news Source: Hindustan Times
A necklace made with seashells, which Warrnambool resident Avis Quarrel believes was hand made by Pooran Singh and gifted to her Source: SBS Punjabi
‘So you’re taking the ashes to India, are you?’
27 July 2010
This story had already touched an unbelievable number of people – even the Immigration officer at Melbourne airport knew about the journey we were embarking upon and had asked me, "So you’re taking the ashes to India now, are you?" At my surprised look, he said, "Oh I read about it in today’s newspaper".
We’ve flown out of Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur, excited that everyone’s personal journey is intersecting at this point, and somehow the common denominator seems to be Pooran Singh. It occurs to me that when Pooran Singh first came to Australia in 1899, the only mode of transport available to him was a ship. Yet, in the year 2010, his mortal remains have already been escorted in a car, a train, and now an airplane, returning him to the land he was born 110 years after he left it. Harmel felt the significance of that quite deeply and seemed completely immersed in thought as we took off. Cyrstal Jordan was really excited that thanks to Pooran Singh, she was finally going to see India for the first time – the country where her father was born. Len Kenna was keenly looking forward to his second trip to India because he has spent the last two decades researching Indian arrival into Australia and this time, it’s the fruits of his research that bring him to the land that has always fascinated him.
Kapil Dev and Harmel Uppal at New Delhi airport, after collecting the ashes and flying from Melbourne on 27 July 2010 Source: Manpreet K Singh, SBS Punjabi
Kapil Dev ponders his Pooran connection
Kapil Dev, in his interview with me in the SBS studios yesterday was extremely emotional and had mused whether he had a connection with Pooran Singh through a previous lifetime. He said that offering to carry the ashes back to India was a spontaneous decision, but now that it was a reality, it felt like nothing he had ever done before – and he felt extremely proud that he was a part of this. As for me, even though I was meant to be an observer who was supposed to watch from a distance, somehow I had become an integral part of the story and felt deeply involved – there were many mixed emotions and it was impossible to dissociate myself from the situation.
After a long stopover in Kuala Lumpur, we take the flight to Delhi – everyone seems to be feeling a cocktail of emotions…there’s excitement, apprehension, and uncertainty, but above all, there is a deep realization that this is a unique, even historic opportunity. We land in Delhi half an hour before the scheduled time, as if Pooran ji couldn’t wait to touch down and was egging the aircraft on. But there are others who can’t wait to hear more about this story soon after we land too – at the airport and as soon as we step out of the arrival area, all hell seems to break loose. The media scrum lasts the better part of an hour, and we feel humbled and honoured that the story of this simple Punjabi Australian, Pooran Singh, has inspired and touched millions across the world.
A media scrum awaits the arrival of Pooran's ashes in India Source: Supplied
28 July 2010
After a long flight from Melbourne and a brief attempt at rest during the night, we set out for Jalandhar, Punjab. Kapil Dev had already expressed his regret that he wouldn’t be able to accompany us since he has multiple commitments both in Delhi and interstate. Tongue in cheek, Chris had already said to Kapil last night that she wouldn’t want to travel with him too often since the public obsession with him is almost oppressive. Indeed, the repeated requests for autographs, photographs and any other form of ‘graphs’ have left us exhausted and we marvel at the grace with which he handles it all. But we feel truly privileged that we shared the international leg of our journey with him and commend him for setting aside all of personal and professional commitments to make that happen. Widespread media coverage of the Pooran story on all television channels in India today, confirm this sentiment.
We’ve hired a car from Delhi and have our own cameraman too. Len, Chris, Harmel, and I begin wondering how Pooran ji would have undertaken his journey from his native village in 1899. Since Punjab is landlocked, he would have had to travel far to reach a port, so as to embark on a sea journey to Australia. We wonder if he walked or sat in an animal-drawn cart for that journey…we try to second guess if he went to Bombay, Calcutta or Karachi to board the ship bound for Australia. Len promises to research that part of Pooran’s journey thoroughly when he returns to Melbourne.
The car journey from Delhi, to Pooran's village in Punjab and finally to Haridwar was slow due to frequent breakdowns, but progress was steady Source: SBS Punjabi
But all this while, we’ve hardly made any headway towards our destination, and realize that we’re caught in the much dreaded Delhi traffic jam. We inch our way through and let patience take over – the only virtue that can help in this situation because everything else is out of control. We barely leave the city and feel the car sway to one side – Half an hour later, it's take two and even that doesn’t last long. We almost lose a suitcase perched on the overhead carrier, so its another stop and take three. This time, the car moves really sluggishly until we hear a blast and feel it wobble – we have a tyre burst this time!!! Another stop to fix the tyre and another and another means that we have taken four hours to cover the distance that would normally take an hour. It begins to rain too. I wonder if all the fast-paced excitement has become too much for Pooran ji and he’s forcing us to pace ourselves down…so as with everything in India, we just resign to our fate, take the atmosphere in and soldier on.
We reach Jalandhar really late at night. By the time we settle in the hotel and reflect, our minds are unexpectedly calm and the nerves are stoically holding on – in fact, the excitement is building up now, because tomorrow, we’ll be going to Pooran ji’s ancestral village, Uppal Bhopa.
I notice something really interesting with Harmel – in his mind, the box containing his grand uncle’s ashes has almost become a living entity. Harmel (and his entire family) calls Pooran ji "Baba" and has kept the bag containing his "Baba" reverently in his lap all along. Even when we stop for a toilet break and I offer to look after the bag in the car so Harmel can go, he spontaneously says "Baba needs to go too". Harmel says, "Ever since the Guyetts have handed over my Baba, I feel I can eat with him, sleep with him, talk with him, pray with him. I’ve never seen my own grandfather, but accompanying my grand uncle’s ashes has given me a chance to associate with my elders in a way I never could before". I hope Harmel doesn’t get so attached to his Baba that he doesn’t want to let him go - we’ll find out when we reach the Ganges.
An emotional Harmel holds on to the box with his great Uncle's ashes, as Kapil Dev and Alice Guyett-Wood look on Source: SBS Punjabi
After 110 years, a very public homecoming for Pooran Singh
July 29, 2010
We’ve rested in Jalandhar for the night and early next morning, we set out for Uppal Bhopa – Harmel’s ancestral village. That’s the village where Pooran Singh was born in the 19th century, and which he left behind in 1899; he was returning today after 110 years, in a very public homecoming. We pass through Jalandhar cantonment (the army base) and my heart is in my mouth – this is where I was born too, almost a hundred years after Pooran ji, but had never visited in my living memory. Somehow Pooran ji was the catalyst who brought me back to my birthplace too. A large building with the sign “Military Hospital Jalandhar Cantt” catches my eye; with a lump in the throat I get out of the car and take photographs that I will always treasure in my life. Strangely, Pooran ji had ensured that the day of his final homecoming was my personal day of homecoming too.
In less than an hour, we are at Uppal Bhopa, a scenic green village near Nurmahal. The village has character – every house seems to have a unique icon built on its rooftop. Built-in concrete, some houses have hawks adorning their roofs, some have peacocks, one has an eagle perched on a globe, but the mother of all these motifs is a house with a life-size aircraft built on the roof – clearly marked Air India, the jumbo is a replica of an old Boeing aircraft, which apparently is a rooftop outhouse, fully kitted out with two bedrooms and living areas. Completely enamoured by the sights around us, we reach the city centre, where the whole village is waiting for our arrival.
The entire village turned out to greet the group escorting Pooran's ashes from Australia. Harmel, Crystal, Len and Manpreet are seen here with Pooran's family Source: SBS Punjabi
, flower petals are showered on us, Len and Chris are garlanded by many village elders and we head up to the ‘gurudwara’, the Sikh temple. A large media contingent is present too. After a brief ceremony, I was invited to speak and tell everyone about this remarkable journey of Pooran Singh ji – as I speak, I see tears rolling down many cheeks; yet I also see bright smiles, with everyone resonating with our message that love, respect, humanity and friendship have always underpinned relations between Indians and Australians.
Len and Chris are almost overwhelmed by their ‘superstar status’. Len says, “That’s an experience I’ll take to my grave. No amount of money in the world can replace its significance”. Chris says, ”This will be talked about for many generations because I’ll make sure I pass it on”. As guests of honour, we receive gifts and blessings at the congregation, (even for the Guyetts in Warrnambool and for the Melbourne Sikh temples); then we share an elaborate meal with the people gathered and finally proceed to Harmel’s ancestral house. I had known about the inscription outside the house, but seeing it in person was quite something. It simply read “Pooran Singh, Sultani Ram, Australian” and mentions the date of October 1950. As we’ve reported before, Pooran ji bequeathed his four nephews (the sons of Sultani Ram) with nearly £1500. That money was used to renovate and extend this house – with the inscription bearing testimony to it, six decades after the event. Inside the house, Harmel hands the ashes to his oldest living relative, Amar Singh, and after a brief ceremony in which the box containing the ashes was bathed in yoghurt, we bid everyone farewell and set out for our final destination – Haridwar. Symbolically, we stop for lunch at an iconic wayside eatery in Ambala called “Puran Singh da Dhaba”.
The group from Australia received gifts from the village, including some for the Guyett family back home. Len Kenna is seen here receiving his souvenirs. Source: SBS Punjabi
A Punjabi inscription outside the family home in village Uppal Bhopa that says S Pooran Singh, Sultani Ram, Australia 1950 Source: Supplied by Harmel Uppal to SBS Punjabi
Pooran Singh's family members perform the last rites before the ashes are taken to Haridwar for immersion in the Ganga river Source: SBS Punjabi
Ready to fulfil Pooran’s last wish
30 July 2010
After a full day of community celebration at the village Uppal Bhopa, we head out from Jalandhar to Haridwar, stopping symbolically at “Puran Singh da Dhaba” in Ambala. We drive for nearly seven hours and reach Haridwar late on the night of July 29th; in a matter of five days, we’ve travelled from Warrnambool to Melbourne, flown into India, where we’ve driven through five states of northern India to get to Haridwar. But any exhaustion we feel evaporates at the first glimpse of the ancient city, nestled majestically on the banks of the holy Ganges. This is the first time ever that Len, Chris, Harmel and I have seen this city and the light display mesmerizes us. We reach the ashram where we’ll camp for the night, very aware that this is it – we are finally on the banks of the Ganges, ready to fulfil Pooran’s last wish.
The colourful Haridwar, on the banks of the holy river Ganga, where last rites are usually performed Source: SBS Punjabi
The next morning, full of emotion and anticipation, we leave for the ‘ghat’ where last rites are usually performed. Since I had never been to Haridwar before, I expected a morose, gloomy city, burdened with morbidity and death. To my utter surprise (and delight), Haridwar is a bright and colourful city, teeming with life and celebration, more so because ‘Kanwadiyas’ are on their annual procession today. Thousands of devotees of Shiva, brightly attired in orange or red robes are carrying the holy water from the Ganges in small urns (Kanwads), which are cased in ornately decorated frames. The Kanwadiyas are meant to walk back to their villages once they’ve collected the holy water, some of them covering hundreds of kilometres by foot, even walking for over a month. They are gaily dressed, cheerful and spirited, shouting out mantras and slogans, egging each other on.
Harmel is asked to open the box containing Pooran's ashes
30 July 2010
At Har Ki Pauri, the priest waits for us; he asks Harmel to strip down to his shorts, take a dip in the Ganges, and sit down for the last rituals. The rituals are performed solemnly and earnestly, with the priest explaining every step to us since none of us has ever witnessed this before. After ablutions and prayers, the priest asks Harmel to open the box containing the ashes. We are already carrying a screwdriver with us, aware that the box needs to be prised open. As soon as Harmel opens the side lid, the ashes just pour out…. as if they didn’t want to wait even a millisecond longer … just like that….a white mound of mortal remains from 63 years ago.
The enormity of the moment dawns on us…I cry, Len and Chris are elated, yet fighting back tears, but Harmel is completely stoic –he performs the ceremony with absolute grace and dignity. Within a few minutes, the ashes are poured into the River Ganges, and we look at them merging with the water, mingling, dissolving, disappearing…..We hug each other and Harmel says with a smile, "Pooran is happy now". It’s almost as if Harmel feels a release, a mighty unburdening that one feels at the completion of an enormous task.
Harmel is ready to perform the last rites at Haridwar Source: SBS Punjabi
The box containing Pooran's ashes is opened, so that Harmel can immerse them in the Ganga, according to his grand Uncle's wish Source: SBS Punjabi
In the priest's ‘gaddhi’ at Haridwar
30 July 2010
Finally, we go to the ‘gaddhi’ of the priest, a sort of office, where they keep records of all ancestors. We are amazed to see ancient-looking scrolls, which are essentially family trees that run back to many hundreds of years, each inscribed painstakingly by generations of the priest family. We want to see if a family tree/genealogy is available for our Pooran. The priest tells us that there are 2,500 other ‘gaddhis’ like this one in Haridwar, each with immaculate records of many previous generations, each covering different areas of India. The priest we go to doesn’t have the records for Uppal Bhopa village, but he and his brothers promise to search through everyone else’s records for Pooran ji’s ancestry. For the moment though, the priest begins a family tree for Harmel and asks him about each family member that he knows of, living or dead.
The exercise takes half an hour, by the end of which the priest has inscribed more than half a page of his long ledger – amounting to a foot and a half of writing. At the end, Harmel is asked to sign and date this record. And since we have accompanied him, Len, Chris and I are asked to sign the manuscript as well – a physical testament to the fact that our destinies have magically come together, all because of a beloved Punjabi Australian, Pooran Singh. The priest tells us that the records that they keep are legally binding, and can’t even be challenged by the Supreme Court of India.
Soon, we leave the ghat, reminiscing about what had just happened. We are also celebrating, and what’s more, the orange-clad Kanwadiyas were celebrating too, turning the occasion into a mass celebration. Len, Chris, Harmel and I feel a wonderfully strong bond, having been together for days in which we became an integral part of Pooran Singh’s final journey. But we also know very well, that each of us was travelling on a very personal journey too, a deep soul-searching journey that may well become a defining point in our lifetimes. After lunch we disperse, going our separate ways for the first time in many days, but united by our unique kinship, united by one man named Pooran Singh.
The priest at his gaddhi, making entries after Pooran's ashes were immersed in the holy Ganga Source: SBS Punjabi
Harmel talking to the priest at Haridwar as Manpreet looks on Source: SBS Punjabi
Traditional ledger where records of births, marriages and deaths are kept for generations Source: SBS Punjabi
The rain held out for the ceremony, every time!
31 July 2010
I can’t get past the feeling that perhaps there was some divine intervention in making all of this happen. On the day the ashes were handed over to Kapil Dev and Harmel Uppal in Warrnambool, the rain held out just for the ceremony – we were hardly twenty minutes into our drive back to Melbourne when Alice Guyett Wood called to say that it began pouring in Warrnambool straight after we left! We were in Malaysia when an unknown traveller met us and offered to look after all our arrangements in Haridwar – a town that none of us had connections in.
Not only did this helpful stranger (Dr Himanshu) arrange for our accommodation, but he also arranged for a priest who would handle the ash immersion for us! On the day of the ash immersion (July 30), the downpour of the Indian monsoon threatened to sabotage everything at the eleventh hour, but suddenly, the heavens cleared, we made our way to the ghat, performed the final ceremony and came back…our tears of joy, the only ‘wetness’ we felt! To top it all, a day after we left Haridwar to reach Delhi, the highway connecting the two cities was shut down, because of the large number of Kanwadiyas (devotees of Shiva) walking on the road! Everything seemed to be timed with clockwork precision – yet it didn’t feel like we had to micro-manage anything…it all just seems to fall into place…..perfectly!!
A story a journalist can only hope to cover once in a lifetime
3 August 2010
For the five of us in India – Kapil, Len, Chris, Harmel and I, it feels like an experience of a lifetime, shared closely with Alice, who kept in touch from Warrnambool throughout our journey in India. The journey to fulfil Pooran’s last wish has grown each of us individually too -- Kapil Dev has said repeatedly that this may well be the most rewarding experience for him personally; Crystal has had a chance to visit Bareilly, the city in which her father was born; Len says his lifetime’s work has paid off and no amount of money can replace his experience at Uppal Bhopa, (Pooran Singh’s village); Harmel and his family have had a chance to connect with their ancestors, in a way that perhaps no one could ever dream of; and as for me, apart from being part and parcel of Pooran’s final journey, a sort of story that a journalist can only hope to cover once in a lifetime, as a bonus, I got to visit the very place that I began this lifetime - my birthplace, Jalandhar.
The Pooran story may now be over, but I suspect that the Pooran phenomenon will continue. Against the backdrop of recent stories of violence against Indians in Australia, the Pooran story has provided a unique insight into the history of Indians in this country and has become a catalyst for re-igniting old memories, bonds, and community spirit. The story of this simple Punjabi Australian has helped us celebrate a humane face of the multicultural history of Australia. All of us at SBS are humbled by the response within the community and are in complete awe to see this story resonate so strongly throughout Australia and India, and indeed many other parts of the world.
SBS Punjabi's Manpreet K Singh being felicitated by members of Pooran's family in village Uppal Bhopa Source: SBS Punjabi
Manpreet K Singh receiving the Individual Media award at Victoria's 2011 Multicultural Awards of Excellence from Minister Nick Kotsiras Source: Supplied
Changing the meaning of 'ashes' for all, cricket lovers or not!
4 August 2010
Special thanks to the whole team at SBS (Radio and Television) for taking this story through to its logical conclusion and for providing me with the opportunity of pursuing this story in India. Heartfelt thanks to the Guyett family of Warrnambool, three generations of which have embodied the spirit that underlies the Pooran Singh phenomenon – friendship, dignity, honour and respect. Thanks to Len and Chris for alerting us to this story and sincere thanks to Harmel for letting me share and report on what must be an extremely personal and private story. Sincere thanks are also due to the outstanding sportsperson and outstanding human being, Kapil Dev, who made a special effort to come to Australia for Pooran’s ashes. I joked with him that once he had committed to come here, I dared not ask him about his appearance fee, because I knew we couldn’t afford it! It must be said though when he played cricket, we saw him bowl many spectacular deliveries and saw his bat push many boundaries; but now, with the Pooran connection, it is with his generosity that he’s smashing many a boundary, winning many a heart with a very special delivery that he took back home – an Australian Punjabi’s ashes.
Kapil Dev with the Guyetts (Alice and Bryan) at the ashes handover ceremony in Warrnambool Source: SBS Punjabi
And for all those cricket lovers for whom ashes has had a very different meaning until recently, well, a small Victorian town called Warrnambool and a Punjabi migrant named Pooran Singh, have just changed all of that.
Reflecting on the Pooran phenomenon, back in Melbourne
I’m back in Melbourne now, and this is the first chance I’ve had to reflect on all that’s happened in the past few weeks. Although the pace has been fast and furious, all of us involved in this extraordinary journey feel satisfied, proud and completely at peace. We’ve defied Murphys’ law, since everything that could possibly go wrong actually went right – absolutely, perfectly right!
A staggering number of things needed to happen for the Pooran story to pan out this way – the Guyett family in Warrnambool had to respect a dying man’s last wish for three generations; historians Len Kenna and Crystal Jordan had to chance upon the story and pass it on to me; an international celebrity like Kapil Dev had to set aside his personal and professional commitments and be moved enough to pay his way to come to Australia; the extended family of Pooran Singh had to be traced and be involved in the story; the media in Australia had to warm up to it, despite an election being called and the media in India had to take notice of an Australia-India story that was running ‘against the tide’; and finally, SBS Radio had to award it's inaugural funding to the Punjabi program so I could use the resources to go to India and see this story through to its logical conclusion.
Article on the front page of Hindustan Times in India, which helped trace Pooran's family within a day Source: Hindustan Times
I think if this were a novel, we couldn’t have scripted it better. Normally, we start a story with a few clues and try to piece together different bits of information that we’ve painstakingly collected. But the Pooran phenomenon is so unique, that even though we started with one small piece of information – that his ashes were preserved in Warrnambool cemetery – we are all wonderstruck to see the giant jigsaw that has suddenly fallen into place!
Perfect post-script to the story of Pooran Singh’s ashes
12 August 2010
In a befitting post-script to the story of Pooran Singh’s ashes, a high profile Indian official presented gifts on behalf of all Indian Punjabis to Victorian Sikhs yesterday, adding to the repository of goodwill that the Pooran phenomenon has already generated. The Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Her Excellency Preneet Kaur made a doorstop visit to Australia on her way to a conference at Vanuatu. Stopping at Sydney overnight on August 7, she landed in Melbourne on the morning of August 8, driving to the Blackburn Sikh temple directly from the airport.
In her address to the assembled congregation (easily numbering over 2,500 people), she commented briefly on various issues including the Australian government’s visa capping proposal and encouraged people to tell her of their grievances directly. But importantly for SBS Radio, she singled out the story of Pooran Singh’s ashes as a significant achievement, commending Punjabi program’s Executive Producer Manpreet K Singh for providing a positive story to reflect upon. In a subsequent address to the congregation, Manpreet briefly described the way the ashes were received in India, especially at Pooran ji’s ancestral village Uppal Bhupa, drawing a clear parallel between the inscription at the Warrnambool cemetery that reads “Pooran Singh, Indian hawker, Western Victoria”, and the inscription on the house built in Uppal Bhupa with the money Pooran Singh bequeathed his nephews in 1947, that still reads “Pooran Singh, Sultani Ram, Australian”.
Minister Preneet Kaur at Blackburn Gurudwara Sahib, participating in a ceremony to remember Pooran Singh Source: SBS Punjabi
Yet another reminder, that positive stories about bonds between Indians and Australians definitely exist, only if we care to look for them. Thereafter, Her Excellency, Mrs Preneet Kaur was invited to present the tokens of appreciation that the family of Pooran Singh (and indeed the entire village of Uppal Bhupa) had sent to the Sikhs of Victoria – a ceremonial saffron ‘siropa’, a framed portrait of the Golden Temple at Amritsar, a trophy with a special message of thanks for ‘looking after the ashes for 63 years’ and a ceremonial copper vessel. Similar gifts have been sent for the Guyett family of Warrnambool and a ceremony will be arranged soon in Melbourne to hand these tokens of appreciation to the Guyetts as well.
One thing is for sure, even though Pooran’s last remains have been sent back to India, his memories will forever remain in the hearts and minds of many locals in Warrnambool….and incredibly, some part of Pooran will continue to remain with us, right here in Australia.
Audio: 'It's time for Pooran to go home', says Alice Guyett-Wood
Listen to the audio documentary 'Pooran Singh's final journey' with a transcript in English. In part 1, hear from Kapil Dev, Alice Guyett-Wood, Harmel Uppal and many others, on how an ordinary man named Pooran Singh became a catalyst for something extraordinary, decades after his death.
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'It's time for Pooran to go home'
Audio: Kapil Dev: Pooran's ashes are 'a bridge between India and Australia'
In the second part of the audio documentary 'Pooran Singh's final journey', listen to excerpts of the ceremony at Warrnambool, when the Indian hawker's ashes were handed over by Alice Guyett-Wood and her brother Bryan to Kapil Dev and Harmel Uppal. Hear how the locals of the western Victorian country town still remembered Pooran Singh.
Audio: Pooran's ashes reach India, making headlines around the world
In the third part of the audio documentary 'Pooran Singh's final journey', we describe how almost everyone seemed to know about Pooran Singh's ashes going home, including immigration officials at Melbourne's Tullamarine airport. Hear what Kapil Dev and others told SBS Punjabi in-flight, and how the anticipation built about Pooran's homecoming to India.
Audio: Pooran's ashes return to Punjab, 111 years after he left for Australia
In the fourth part of the audio documentary, hear about the eventful journey from New Delhi, to village Uppal Bhopa in Punjab, where Pooran Singh originally belonged.
Audio: A village in Punjab warmly welcomes 'Pooran Singh Australian'
In the fifth part of the audio documentary 'Pooran Singh's final journey', hear how the entire village turned out to welcome the group escorting Pooran's ashes from Australia. The wall outside Pooran's family home proudly bore the inscription 'S Pooran Singh, Sultani Ram, Australian, 1950.' Family members performed last rites and a ceremony was held at the local gurudwara.
Pooran's wish is fulfilled at last, ashes immersed in the holy Ganges
The epic journey culminated at Haridwar, on the banks of the river Ganga, surrounded by thousands of brightly dressed 'Kanwariyas'. This is the final chapter of the journey of a simple Punjabi man, who was born in India in the 19th century, lived, worked, and died in Australia in the 20th century, and made a grand homecoming to India fulfilling his last wish, in the 21st century.
Kapil Dev's special delivery: Taking Pooran's ashes from Australia to India
Hear a short report (in English) about how the entire Pooran phenomenon took shape, involving communities, countries and continents, and fostering a 'bridge of goodwill' at a time when stories of violence seemed to grab frequent headlines.
Awards, recognition for this coverage by SBS Punjabi
The Pooran story went on to be commissioned by Education Services Australia as a resource for high school students learning about multiculturalism in Victoria. The author Manpreet K Singh was named a finalist at the UNAA Media Peace Awards 2010, in the category Promotion of Multicultural Issues.
In 2011, she went on to win Victoria's Multicultural Award for Excellence, Individual Media Award, with the Pooran story being one of the many being recognised for the honour.The official citation read:
Manpreet K Singh receiving the Individual Media award at Victoria's 2011 Multicultural Awards of Excellence from Minister Nick Kotsiras Source: Supplied
"Mrs Manpreet K Singh was born and educated in India and moved to Australia in 1991. She has worked for newspapers, television, radio and online for 21 years, 18 of them for SBS Radio. Public interest, social justice, positive reporting and cultural cohesion have formed the bedrock of her broadcasts on the SBS Punjabi program.
In the latter part of 2009, Manpreet initiated an investigation int the deaths of international students of all nationalities in Australia. Her reporting widened the scope of public debate, which until then was narrowly focussed on racist attacks against Indian students alone. This was complemented by interviews with Indian victims of violence in Australia.
Many Indian victims were Punjabis who were not fluent English speakers, and the SBS Punjabi program put their story into the public domain. To provide balance, Manpreet looked for inspirational stories of friendship and harmony between Indians and Australians, culminating in the landmark story of Pooran Singh's ashes that inspired international cricket legend Kapil Dev, to travel from India to Australia, building new bridges to strengthen relations between India and Australia.
The Pooran story has now been included as an educational resource for high school students and teachers by Education Services Australia, and Manpreet went on to be named a finalist at the UN Media Peace Awards 2010, in the category "Promotion of Multicultural Issues".
