By Hassan Belal Zaidi

Dawn, June 20th, 2014

You can see it in the distance long before you actually arrive; its distinctive shape nestled majestically among fields of green.

One of the most sacred sites in Sikhism, Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur is revered by Sikhs and Muslims alike. Every year in September, and then again in November, hundreds of Sikh pilgrims from around the world come here to pay their respects.

The gurdwara lies on the road to Shakargarh, outside the town of Narowal. As the crow flies, it is just a few kilometres from the border with India.

It’s nearly four in the afternoon; the sun is making its descent and a cool breeze blows across the plain of Kartarpur. The green fields sway in the breeze as we make our way towards the abode of Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion.

An unexploded bomb that was supposedly dropped on the gurdwara in the 1965 war is mounted on a pedestal just outside the main entrance. A plaque next to the display proclaims it to be a ‘Miracle of Wahe Guru Ji’ (the Sikh word for the Supreme Being).

As we walk into the main courtyard, a man offers us a plastic cap; it is disrespectful to enter with your head uncovered. We wash our feet in the water reservoir and step onto hallowed ground.

There is a small group of sightseers: women and children from the nearby town, labourers from the next village and a few farmers from the adjoining fields.

Inside, we see a large group of men huddled around someone wearing a turban and sporting a backpack. This is Gulzar Singh, a ‘guest’ from Brisbane, Australia. He chats affably with local men in his pidgin Punjabi and offers sweets to children.

Gulzar was one of the hundreds of Sikh pilgrims who came to Pakistan for Jorr Mela, the recently-concluded celebrations to honour Guru Arjun Dev Ji, the fifth Sikh guru. Most pilgrims head to sites in Lahore, Nankana Sahib or Hassanabdal. Kartarpur is not on the pilgrim trail for this time of year. But Gulzar says he’s happy he came.

“This place is quite well-kept. It could use some TLC, but under the circumstances, this is very impressive.”

The circumstances he refers to date back to the time of partition. Kartarpur was originally a part of Gurdaspur, one of the controversial border towns that was said to have been awarded to Pakistan in the June 3 plan, but taken away by Cyril Radcliffe, the cartographer of partition.

This arbitrarily drawn line not only distanced hundreds of thousands of Sikhs from Baba Guru Nanak for many decades to come, it also split Darbar Sahib from Dera Baba Nanak, the shrine dedicated to the first Sikh guru. Both lie on either side of the River Ravi that runs through this area.

But barbed wire and fences cannot deter devotion. To cater to devotees, Indian authorities have constructed a Darshan Sathai, or look-out point, right on the border. From here, the faithful can pray, ask for absolution, seek penitence or guidance from Baba Nanak or peer at his elegant abode through binoculars.

Atypically for such a key religious site, the six men charged with the shrine’s upkeep are not practising Sikhs. Anil is a Christian youth from a nearby village. He and two others are charged with keeping the shrine spotless. The gardener is a Muslim, so is the man who cooks langar every day. Food is available to visitors round the clock, no matter who they are.

A quaint garden adjoins a small cottage just outside the entrance to the gurdwara. These are the quarters of the shrine’s keeper, Gobind Singh. His brother, Ramesh Singh Arora, recently made history by becoming the first Sikh member of the Punjab Assembly.

Over tea and biscuits, Gobind tells us he is happy with the support the government and the Auqaf department provide for the shrine’s upkeep. But when asked about the visa-free corridor, he shrugs and says: “That is a matter for the governments to decide.”

Gulzar, who has visited Sikh shrines in India before, is pleasantly surprised by this camaraderie. “There are no issues here; everyone eats together, prays together and laughs together. One can’t imagine doing this in India.”

I ask him if he has been to Dera Baba Nanak. “No,” he says longingly, “but if I could just walk there right now, I would.”

This is no idle boast. Sikhs on both sides of the border have been pressing for the creation of a visa-free corridor between the two shrines since 1998, which will allow pilgrims from India to walk to Baba Guru Nanak’s shrine.

On Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s recent visit to New Delhi, Sikh organisation Dal Khalsa called on both leaders to talk about the issue and work something out. But so far, the issue seems to be on the backburner for both sides.

“We want Kartarpur to become an international point. Opening up the border would put this place on the map. It would be a great boon for all Sikhs, not just those in India or Pakistan,” Gobind Singh says.

Gulzar, the pardesi, agrees. “Both India and Pakistan should work towards a common good. Tourism, foreign investment; these are things both countries desperately need. If by some miracle Darbar Sahib is opened up, peace between the two neighbours may yet be within reach.”