Aeroplane Gurdwara

Shaheed Baba Nihal Singh Gurdwara,which looks like a typical Sikh shrine with its pristine white domes,was a bone of ­contention between Jats and Dalits a decade ago; the two communities had fought for control of its management,and the dispute had even led to riots and curfew. But no one remembers or cares for that bitter past any more. Instead,the gurdwara is now a symbol of hope and a brighter,wealthier future,somewhere in New Jersey or Toronto. ­Shaheed Baba Nihal Singh Gurdwara,or the hawai jahaz gurdwara,is a ticket to the West; if you offer a toy aeroplane there as prasad,you can be “assured” of a visa. Or so,believe devotees who flock to the shrine with miniature aircraft as offerings,from across Punjab’s Doaba region,which consists of Jalandhar,Hoshiarpur,Kapurthala and Nawanshahr ­districts,and which has over six million of its natives settled abroad. It is believed that every family in Doaba has at least one ­member living overseas.

The gate to Talhan village has a cement model of a British Airways aircraft sitting on top of it,and the road to Shaheed Baba Nihal Singh Gurdwara is lined with shops selling toy models of international carriers such as Lufthansa,British Airways,Air Canada,etc,priced between Rs 50 and Rs 550. Sukhpreet Singh,who runs one such shop,says the trend of offering aeroplane models started four to five years ago. “A visitor from Ludhiana came here and prayed that he would offer a model of an aeroplane if he got a US visa. Four days later,he came with a big model of an aircraft and offered it as prasad for having got the visa. The news spread,and it became a tradition.”

Over the years,the gurdwara has acquired an impressive stock of colourful,plastic toy aeroplanes,which sit neatly on a white sheet on the floor of the shrine. “We get hundreds of toys every month. We used to stock them in a room,but now we distribute them among children,” says head priest Bhai Manjit Singh,who doesn’t remember the origin of the custom,but dismisses it as superstition. “God needs true feelings,not such offerings. If one prays with a true heart without an offering,he will get God’s blessings. But we can’t stop people from offering toy planes,as it is their choice,” he says. Just then,Narinder Kaur,from the village,walks in with a model of Qantas Airways (of Australia),and gives it to a priest,­after making a prayer. “My son’s visa was ­rejected twice for Australia and then his friend told him to offer a jahaz here. He did so,and now he is in Australia. I have come here to pay my respects,” she says.