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To: Mohan Marette who wrote (4066)	4/18/1999 8:47:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Respond to of 12475

This above all-Khushwant Singh on endless talkers. Rendezvous with great talkers A MORE appropriate title would be endless talkers. They are drawn to me like iron filings to a magnet. I am a patient listener but after an exposure or two, I do my best to dodge them without hurting their feelings; most crashing bores are also well-meaning, good people. The other day, having nothing better to do, I made list of those who came into my life and what made them go on talking by the hour. The first man on the top of my list was Danial Latifi. We became friends in Lahore. He was taken ill, eating bad food served to him in the Communist Party headquarter's canteen. I persuaded him to shift to my flat. Every evening while I had my alcoholic beverage (Danial was a teetotaller), he provided Marxist background music to my Scotch. One point in favour of endless talkers is they do not interrupt their monologue by asking questions: the listener need not listen provided he or she keeps his or her eyes fixed on the monologist. Once two of my friends dropped in after dinner. Both of them were a little drunk. I introduced them to Danial and decided to take an after-dinner stroll. When I returned Danial was propounding the theory of class struggle: both my friends were fast asleep. After Partition, Danial and I moved to Delhi and found our-selves living in neighbouring blocks. Dodging Danial became a game of wits, as another thing endless talkers share in common is that they dislike making appointments or bothering about trivialities like other people's pre-occupations. The last time I ran into Danial was at a French Embassy reception. It was a buffet dinner where guests had to line up for their drinks and food. The French make their guests as uncomfortable as they can so that they do not overstay their welcome. No chairs or tables are provided so you have to keep standing while you eat and drink. I ran into Danial holding a plateful of food in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other. The crowd of guests jostled us for attention. I greeted Danial and remarked how nice it was to see him drinking wine. That was enough for him to launch on a long explanation of there being nothing in the Koran or the Hadith declaring that alcohol was prohibited for a Muslim. We were interrupted many times but Danial kept on going till it was time to depart. The next great talker I got to know was General Nathu Singh. He was a tall, strapping soldier, proud of his aristocratic Rajput lineage and his martial exploits. He used to stay with my parents, and after they died, with my elder brother. When they were out, the old General would drop in on me (unannounced) and keep me in thrall like the Old Mariner. I protested to my sister-in-law. "We've inherited him from your parents, so you must be patient and polite with him," she admonished me. But she also warned me of his arrival at Delhi, "General sahib will be staying with us all next week. Don't complain I didn't tell you well ahead of time". I had to tell my servants to tell anyone who came that I was not at home. Now that General Nathu Singh is no longer with us, I feel ashamed of myself because despite his being inordinately long-winded, I liked him. I could not say that for Ranbir Singh once in our Foreign Service. After retiring, he settled abroad with his foreign wife. But every winter he was in Delhi, he made it a point to call on his old acquaintances (unannounced). I was not an old acquaintance but acceptable to him being a Sikh. This was strange as Ranbir was a Christian, descending from the branch of the Kapurthala family which had converted to Christianity, (Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was his aunt). Ranbir was proud of his Sikh ancestry, notably Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, the founder of the house of Kapurthala. Winter after winter, hour after hour, he would regale me with exploits of the Ahluwalia misl and the feats of valour his ancestor Jassa Singh performed. He would flex his biceps to convince me that he had inherited his bulging muscles from his forefathers. Like others of his ilk, he never bothered to find out whether I was free to receive him. After having my morning schedule upset many times, I put my foot down and told my servant to tell him he should ring up before coming. He was outraged. I heard him shout at my servant to tell his master that he would never see me again. Thank God! It was different with Nazar Hayat Tiwana. He is the eldest son of Sir Khizr Hayat Tiwana, Chief Minister of Punjab before its Partition and one of the biggest landowners of his time. The Tiwanas' estate included Hadali, the village in which I was born. I had great respect and affection for them. Nazar fell out with his father, married a Hindu girl and migrated to the USA. He got a job as assistant librarian in Chicago University.Every winter he came to India and Pakistan. Since his father was long dead, he revived his affection for his Tiwana ancestors. He had his father's biography written; he set up an organisation to promote Indo-Pak amity. He was, and is, a very lovable character. Also, an endless talker. Once he got started you never knew when he would run out of breath. He sensed I had begun to avoid him. The last time he came to see me, he was his old self going on and on till my head was dizzy with his words. He paused for a second or two before he delivered the punch line. "You know what my wife says? She says I lose friends because I talk too much". I did not contradict him. The champion of all talkers I had to suffer was my security guard, Sita Ram. He was a Jat from Eastern U.P. and a follower of Chaudhary Mahinder Singh. Sita Ram was into religion and prone to deliver long pravachans on spiritual matters. Though a Jat, his fellow policemen addressed him as Shastriji. Once travelling with me and film crew to Jaipur, he talked all the way from Delhi to the Pink City. It did not do him much good. While others who joined the police force along with him became head constables and SHOs, Sita Ram still remains a constable. While musing on the subject of great endless talkers, it occurred to me that I have never encountered a female of the species. tribuneindia.com

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (4066)	4/18/1999 8:55:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12475

Divine glory By Varinder Walia tribuneindia.com "DITHE Sabhe Than Nahin Tudh Jeha" (Of all places that I have seen, none compare with you), wrote Guru Arjan Dev, the Fifth Sikh Guru, on the completion of Harmandar Sahib — the abode of God. These words of the Guru reverberate in the ears when one bows one's head at Harmandar Sahib (Amritsar). Founded in 1588 A.D., Harmandar Sahib acquired the name of Golden Temple when its upper portion was covered with gold-plated copper sheets during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (in the 1830s) at an approximate cost of Rs 65 lakh. Since Harmandar Sahib was planned to be an abode of God — a place open for everyone without any discrimination — its foundation stone was laid by a Muslim saint, Sain Mian Mir. The plan was to have a temple blooming amidst the Amrit Sarovar (pool of nectar) from which the present city of Amritsar drew its name. Sri Harmandar Sahib is held in great reverence because this is one of the few places visited by six of the 10 Gurus. The Ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadar, was born a few yards away from the Golden Temple complex. Since the gold put up by Maharaja Ranjit Singh about 170 years ago had started losing its sheen, experts felt the need of regilding the shrine. The task of regilding (with approximately 500 kg of gold) the domes and upper portion was entrusted by the SGPC to the UK-based Guru Nanak Sewa Jatha — an apolitical organisation headed by Baba Mohinder Singh in June, 1994. However, the work was started on February 3, 1995. by Panj Pyaras (five beloved ones), including Bhai Narang Singh, Prof Manjit Singh (the then acting Jathedar Akal Takht), Giani Kewal Singh, Head Granthi, Golden Temple, and Sant Baba Labha Singh, Mukh Prabandhak, Kar Sewa, Anandpur Sahib.The Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (GNNSJ) is one of the major Sikh organisations of the world with an international membership of over 1 million devotees. The organisation was founded by Sant Baba Puran Singh, with the help of Bhai Narang Singh, who left for their heavenly abode in 1983 and 1995, respectively. The leadership of the jatha is now entrusted to Bhai Mohinder Singh. The first phase of the task of renovation of the Golden Temple has been completed ahead of the schedule. The jatha was asked to complete the target before April 13, 1999, to coincide with the tercentenary of the foundation of the Khalsa Panth. The jatha has also been given the task of re-development of Anandpur Sahib. The holy project entailed four years of multi-disciplinary work like gold-gilding, gold-plating, marble work, fresco painting by artisans and craftsmen from different parts of India. The aim of this project was to restore the splendour of the Sikh shrine. According to Bhai Mehnga Singh, supervisor of the jatha, care had been taken to retain the intricate embellishments which had left devotees awestruck since the past two centuries. The traditional skills required were varied and complex in nature. The "of gypsum and water, is applied to the surface onto gach", a paste which intricate floral and stylistic designs are etched. Later, these are painted and inlaid with gold leaf. "Tukri" work requires painstaking cutting and inlaying of thousands of mirrors and semi-precious jewels into the "gach". Bhai Mehnga Singh said the level of deterioration was immense and the original gilded domes and copper plates had to be replaced. "However, all-out efforts were made to retain the 170-year-old original designs. We could have done this by using machines as suggested by a foreign designer and architect. However, we preferred the age-old traditional methods of gilding", he said. During gilding, the gold bars pressed into strips of ribbon are cut into less than one square inch sections, placed in a leather-bound book and pounded by hand into the gold leaf. For greater durability, the original gilding of approximately 12 layers of gold leaf has been increased to 24 layers of 24-carat gold leaf. Finally, polishing with hakik (a natural stone) brought the glittering gold in all its glory. Earlier, the gilding work was done by Mohammad Yar Khan Mistri under the direct supervision of Bhai Sant Singh Giani during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. After the death of Bhai Sant Singh, his son, Bhai Gurmukh Singh Giani, supervised the work. The entire work which continued for about 25 years was completed in 1830 AD. Devotees from all over the world donated gold ornaments and cash for completing the first phase of the regilding. After regilding, the temple stands dazzling in all its glory.