The Giani and I (A humorous tale)

Last weekend, after a hard day's work, I hopped abroad a bus to the Botanic Gardens.

As I passed the evening sun setting behind the British High Commission, I gave a slight chuckle (I was thinking of the irony: The sun will never set on the British Empire).

Casting aside the aside, I soon found myself ambling into the leafy bushy Gardens. I headed straight for the Pond of the Great White Swan, where, I had information, the Great Giani held court.

The Great Giani (which means a learned person) is Giani Goodu Singh, the last bastion of the Nirankari Sikhs (a small Sikh sect that has been outlawed by the keepers of the Sikh faith in Amritsar)

He was seated on a bench, cross-legged and surveying all that was in front of him. There was no doubt a great deal to survey as couple slithered into seats waiting for the sun to set.

" Greetings, Goondu-jI, " I said, "I come to seek spiritual uplift from your bubbling inspirational brain."

The Giani's eyes, till then previewing the couples in their various stages of togetherness, slammed shut. As the courtesy campaign was on, I courteously declined to acknowledge what I had noticed. After all, a man wise in spiritual matters could not be an expert on non-spiritual rituals.

" Close one eye and shut the other, son and tell me what ails you", the Giani said in a slow humdrum hymn.

" Your holiness,"I said, "I find the ways of the world troubling."

"Speak, my son," he said, "The Giani is tuned to hear."