Gift Given by an Englishman

When I used to walk to Secondary School, I used to walk past a house where an elderly English couple lived. Sometimes on the way to school or on the way back from school I would see the elderly gentleman gardening or washing his car. I would say hello to him and we would talk about the weather or something.

Every time I would go past their house they began to take time out to talk to me and ask how was school and how I was getting on and I would then ask about them. They asked my name and from then every time I saw them they would say "Hello Manvir, how are you today."

There was another elderly English lady about 90-years-old who walked with a metal walking frame. She would take her dog for a walk at about the same time I would go to school and come back from school. She lived on the same road as the elderly couple. She would also stop and always talk to me when she saw me. I would talk to her but used to say "Hope you don't mind but I don't like dogs licking or touching me." She would laugh and say "She wants to lick you because she has not seen you for a long time." Waheguru. She would regularly ask about me from the elderly couple (as I walked pass their house - her house was further up the road). It is amazing how Waheguru causes us to meet certain people and how we have connections with certain souls, perhaps these are rishte (connections) we had with souls from previous lives.

Time went on and I got to Sixth Form College. The elderly couple and the old lady would always ask me about university and say they will miss me and our conversations when I go to university. In my final year at Sixth Form College the elderly couple said that they have a special present to give me. The man said, "Manvir I have something special to give you. When I was in the army I used to collect these cards which used to come with match boxes. I have collected a set of cards of Indian soldiers, I think they could be Sikhs - the soldiers are wearing turbans. I want to give you them." The man had nicely mounted some of his cards in a frame and gave them to me one day while I was on the way back from school. I was honoured how this man and his wife, who I didn't even know properly, could give such Pyaar.

The cards don't feature any Sikh soldiers but of the different regiments from across India including Panjab. The cards are from a collection of match box cards from World War II. Below are two of the cards in the frame: