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Just then, the people heard
the sound of hooves, and turning saw a handsome figure ride up to them. He
was fully armed, and was wearing a bright orange turban on his head. His
face was radiant and his eyes shone with loving compassion. He got off his
horse and stood quietly.
Suddenly, Saraswati 's mother
ran forward, and took the young rider in a warm embrace. She had recognized
her elder son, who had left home some time ago to become a Sikh, and had not
been heard of since
Seeing him like this, all of a
sudden, their anger against him vanished, and the father and brother also
rushed forward to embrace him, The joy of meeting him, however, was soon
dimmed by the recent sad events, which were narrated to the young Sikh
warrior.
Balwant Singh, as was his name
now, was filled ,with rage as the sad story came to an end. Quickly he asked
for directions to the Nawab’s camp, then without another word he leapt onto
the horse and weeling him around, qallopped off. His parents kept calling
out to him not to go there as he would surely lose his life. But by
this.time the brave young man had vanished.
Balwant Singh reached the camp
and Seeing no one began to circle it. Behind one tent he saw a pile of logs,
with smoke pouring out of it. Then faintly, he heard a voice reciting "Japji
Saheb". In an instant, Balwant Singh got: off his horse, and reaching the
pile saw his sister. Quickly he lifted her to the ground. She was overjoyed
to see him. "My dearest brother. I was not afraid to die and
had only one wish, to see you
before the end. Guruji has been very kind and fulfilled that too, SHUKAR HAI.
Now go quickly. I want to die before the Mughal comes "
The brother refused and wanted
her to go with him. But Saraswati. was desperate and said "To die in order
to save ones ‘dharm’ is not wrong. I am not afraid. Guru TegBahadurji. Will
protect me. If I go with you, the Nawab will destroy the whole village, and
you too will not be spared. I can't bear the thought of causing so much
suffering, Please, please go."
Hearing some sounds. Balwant
Sinqh hurriedly picked up his sister and in spite of her protests, placed
her on the horse and rode away like the wind.
When he reached his fathers
house, they turned on him with anger, "You fool! What have you done! Wasn’t
it enough that you put all of us in such danger by becoming a Sikh! Now you
have snatched the girl away from that Mughal! He will come roaring like a
hungry lion and destroy all of us. Have mercy on us and go right back and
return the girl to him,"
Balwant Singh was horrified at
this reaction and taking his sister with him he at once rode off. After an
hour or so he reached an open place, which was littered with bodies and the
blood had soaked into the ground turning the earth a dark red color. He was
shocked at the sight and wondered how to find the whereabouts of the rest of
his companions whom he had left only a short while ago.
Slowly Balwant Singh began to
check the bodies lying on the ground and came upon one who was still
breathing, and did not appear to be mortally wounded.
Balwant Singh recognized him
as one Sher Sinqh. Tearing up a turban into strips, he bandaged his wounds
with Saraswati's help and trickled some water into his mouth. Sher Sinqh
took a deep breath opened his eyes and whispered, "Brother, I am so glad to
see you."
Balwant Singh - "Sher Singh,
what happened? When I left - all was peaceful. How could all this happen in
such a short time?"
Sher Singh: "After you left,
brother, we were busy setting up camp, when the Mughals attacked taking us
by surprise. We fought as best we could, but they were too many. After I got
wounded, I don't know what happened. I hope some of the Singhs managed to
reach the deep woods."
Leaving Sher Singh under the
shade of a tree, the brother and sister started searching for other
survivors. But they could find only one who was unconscious, but not
wounded. As soon as he recovered consciousness, he gave them some more
details of the attack.
They had to join the rest of
their companions at the earliest, so finding another horse tied behind a
tree they quickly rode off with Balwant Singh holding Sher Singh in front of
him.
Saraswati used to listen to
her brother talking about the Sikh religion and had develop a great liking
and respect for it. On the quiet, she would recite the prayers of Gurbani,
and was now, so strong in her faith, that she could confidently console her
father and brother, and then prepare to immolate herself, before her brave
brother came and rescued her. Now when she saw so many dead and wounded
Sikhs, she was overcome and decided that there could be no better way to
live than to serve these brave people who were constantly risking their
lives for the sake of their religion. She had seen the transformation in her
brother who was not only courageous but compassionate as well. She too
wanted to become like him and also to become a warrior.
With this thought in mind she
had picked up a sword from the ground and slung it around her neck before
leaving the battle ground on a horse.
She was deep in her thoughts
when she heard her brother shout. Looking back, they saw a dust cloud in the
distance. Soon it became clear that they were being chased by the Nawab and
his soldiers.
Balwant Singh and Saraswati
urged their horses to go faster and faster, but were soon overtaken.
A short and fierce battle was
fought, but how long could the three hold out against three dozen! Sher
Singh and his companion were killed, Balwant Singh and Saraswati were
wounded and taken back to the camp to face whatever hardships the Nawab
planned for them. |
