Biking down ancestors’ path

Vandana Aggarwal 

His grey beard gives away his age, but then you see a Harley Davidson parked next to him and want a confirmation of his years in number. Gurcharan Singh will officially be a senior citizen in less than a year’s time. A restaurateur based in Singapore, Singh’s zeal for adventure pushed him on a road trip from his present homeland to Punjab on his favourite mode of transportation — his bike. 

He and his friend Sukhwinder Singh planned a trip meticulously and the journey, he says, helped them test their endurance. The biggest lesson from the trip, he says, is, “The realisation that people are basically nice.” From Myanmar to Manipur, Maharashtra to Chhattisgarh and Punjab, he says that remained a constant.  “When we were tired and hungry, complete strangers came to our aid and offered food and a place to rest.”

Capitalising on the ride, he turned it into a pilgrimage of sorts and visited the five Sikh Takhts. It was no small  a task to cross India on his motorcycle. Beginning with Takht Sri Patna Sahib, Singh ended his journey at the Akal Takht Sahib in Amritsar. In all this, he must have travelled 15,000 km to 16,000 km on his motorcycle. Later, they two also went to Pakistan on their bikes. They visited the gurdwara at Panja Sahib. “I also felt that there isn’t much difference in people’s hospitality on both sides of the border. We were treated equally well, may be it has to do with the Punjabi roots that both sides share.” 

Currently the secretary of the Pardesi Khalsa Dharmak Diwan in Singapore, Singh takes pride in his Sikh heritage. His parents migrated to Singapore in the 1940s from village Nangal Farid in district Hoshiarpur. After completing his education, Singh joined the Singapore army as a career soldier. “We are a martial race and I knew I can only work in the armed forces.” 

As for his restaurant business, he started it after retiring from active service in 1991. “Young IT professionals who were migrating to Singapore for employment would demand ghar ka khana. I saw an opportunity in this and began the food business from a stall.” Singh admits that the initial years were a bit of a struggle, but as Indian diaspora in Singapore increased its base, his business flourished. 

 “Young boys from Punjab would ask for aloo paranthas and masala chole. I was among the few others preparing and providing Indian cuisine. Sales increased, so did the profits and, from a stall, I soon graduated to a restaurant.”  Also, he was soon delivering packed food to offices and Indian students studying in Singapore universities with the brand name Jaggi’s. As business expanded, he went back to college to do a diploma in food & beverage management. “Learning is important. Like the bike trip to my parent’s village helped me learn that people are basically nice.”