Interview with Gurdayal Singh (Alias Bhajan Singh)
Date: Feb 2021
Q: What is your name?
A: My name is Bhajan Singh. But on papers its Gurdayal Singh.
Q: What is your date of birth?
A: I am now 85 years old. Date I don’t know.
Q: What is your father and grandfather’s name?
A: My father’s name is Bhajan Singh. I don’t know about my grandfather’s name.
Q: Do you know anything about your village history?
A: Most of our grandparents moved from Gharka. I was born here in Karmuwala. Those who had land in Karmu di Patti mostly moved here rest sold their lands to others. This village had many Hindu families, but after 1984 all left the village and sold their lands at whatever price they could gather. There are many villages with Muslim names but have no Muslim population here; too many Muslims left after 1947. Some came here started living in nearby villages and some living in our village too.
Q: Do you know anything about Sunder Singh?
A: There are two Sunder Singhs.
Q: I am asking about the one who lived in Singapore?
A: Yes. His son Hardit Singh was of the same age as me. He left with his father to Singapore too.
Q: What do you know about them?
A: He was a good man, but I can’t fathom what went wrong. They once lived like royalty, but now his family is left with almost nothing. They had to sell their land just to survive. His grandson, Jaspal Singh, still lives in the village. This land here (pointing towards the area near the river) was once theirs, but now, most of it has been claimed by the river.
Q: Who was the elder brother among them?
A: Hardit Singh. Bhal was younger.
Q: Tell me something about yourself?
A: I have worked in the fields all my life and never left the village to live anywhere else. Now that I am retired, I spend my days sitting under the sun in winters and seeking shade beneath the trees near the shrine in summers.
Q: Is it true that Sunder Singh bought land in Faridkot?
A: Yes, it’s true. He bought the land, but the Nawab did not allow him to settle there. As a result, he lost a significant portion of his wealth.
Q: What kind of trading business was he involved in?
A: I don’t know about it.
Q: Do you know anything about the wells that Sunder Singh dug?
A: Yes, I do. It was really challenging for everyone to bring water from the river to our fields, and we used to do it with the help of cows. Sunder Singh dug seven wells, which made farming much easier for him. We even used those wells for drinking water.
Q: Where were these wells?
A: No. they were everywhere around the village but all on his land as he had land in many places in the village only. He used to lend money to others in exchange for land. So he got many fields in the villages.
Q: Is there anyone older than you in the village or of your age?
A: I don’t know. There was one that I know, but he recently died at the age of 95 years. You can talk to Gurbachan Singh, chairman; he is politically active so he might know many things about this place.