If you want to fulfil your dream of landing on a foreign land for greener pastures, come to this small village called Talhan in Punjab, offer toy plane to the local gurdwara and your dreams might turn into reality.
It sounds amazing, but after witnessing a large number of devotees, seeking greener pastures abroad, heading towards a gurdwara devoted to Sant Baba Nihal Singh Shaheedan in Talhan of Punjab's Doaba region, one cannot find any reason not to believe this.
Thousands of individuals in the Doaba region hold this holy shrine in high esteem. And, these devotees include many of those who have long been nurturing a dream to get a visa to go abroad but couldn't get it.
The popular feeling about this gurdwara is that anyone offering a toy plane here can have his or her wish to go abroad fulfilled. Hence a lot of people visit this holy shrine and make a wish to go abroad.
For this, the devotees make an offering of toy planes; inscribed with names of different carriers. Devotees buy these toy planes from the shops outside this gurdwara and they offer it to Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
It all started a few months back, when the word spread that wishes of settling abroad would be fulfilled if one offered a toy plane at the shrine.
On Sundays, about 40-50 planes are offered. In most cases, devotees who wish to fly to a particular country offer a toy plane of the airline of that country. In Doaba region, where going abroad is dream of most people, a large number of people have an unshakable faith in the gurudwara.
"I was trying to go to abroad for a long time. I heard a lot about this gurudwara, that if Akhand Path or prayer is organised here, all your wishes are fulfilled. I have come here to offer my devotion. I am thankful to this place, as my wish of going abroad has been fulfilled," said another devotee. "I went to Germany two years back. I decided to offer a toy plane at the gurudwara when I come back from there, as my wish of going abroad was fulfilled," said one devotee.
It has become a difficult task for the gurudwara authorities to store so many toy planes. Punjabi youth, who dream of greener pastures abroad, come in large numbers after they hear stories of wishes of their friends to settle abroad being fulfilled after they offered planes at the Talhan Gurudwara.
"Whenever somebody's wish of going abroad is fulfilled, they come here at the gurudwara to offer a plane. Punjabis from all parts of the world - England, America , Canada and many other countries come here," said one young devotee.
"Our family has organised Akhand Path at the gurudwara. I had a wish of going abroad. I came to know that people come here to offer a plane if their wish of going abroad is fulfilled. So, I have also come here with a wish and if it gets fulfilled, I will also come here to offer a plane," said another youngster.
For the Punjabi youth, spending 3 to 10 dollars in buying a toy airplane hardly matters, if it increases the possibility of ultimately realising a million-dollar dream.
