My home in my maternal village of Butala in Amritsar frequently hosts guests from Germany. All credits to my uncle who has been living there for decades. He has been lovingly bringing along his colleagues, neighbours, a friend and sometimes even friends of friends during his holidays.
Like the villagers, I do remember all of the visitors but I certainly have no words for the guests we hosted last December: an elderly mother and her two daughters, my uncle’s new German neighbours.
At the break of dawn, their plane landed at the Amritsar airport. I had gone to pick them up. As I knew a little German, I got busy rehearsing some sentences. But as they stepped out, I was awestruck to listen to their ‘Sat sri akal’, ‘Ki haal hai’ and ‘Dhanwad aaun layi’. My uncle said, “They learnt all this during the journey from me.”
As we reached home, it was time for breakfast. We had arranged for an European fare. But they politely requested: “How about we get an opportunity to try something local?” And within minutes came the parathas topped with fresh homemade butter along with sweet lassi. They were elated.
Cut to the most entrancing episode of their visit—the wedding they attended with us in the neighbourhood.
First, the ladies evening, when during the giddha hour, they stole every heart and within minutes picked up all the steps from the women. Seeing their enthusiasm, almost every woman danced with them. In no time, their pictures and videos went viral on social media. When we went back home, they asked if we could get them new Punjabi suits just like what the women wore at the function.
We took them to our tailor in the village. He had already seen one of their videos and was excited about the opportunity. Within a day, the suits were ready. Now they wanted jewellery and juttis. They were finally ready for the wedding. At the wedding hall, every eye followed them. Many even recognised them from the giddha. I doubt if the bride and the groom got any attention. Certainly, as expected, they became celebrities.
I now wonder if they drew inspiration from an old adage for this visit: ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’ and hence making it ‘When in Punjab, do as the Punjabis do.’ They came to the village as strangers and left the place after enchanting everybody they met.
Rameshinder Sandhu
Email: rameshinder.sandhu@gmail.com