A tireless trekker
Prabhjot Singh

A FORMER Chief Fire Officer of Chandigarh,D.S. Panchhi, this year made a record 31st visit to Hemkunt Sahib, located in the picturesque Himalayas.

"It all started 31 years ago when I had a dream of an unknown hand guiding me to Hemkunt Sahib. When I got up the next morning, I decided to go to Hemkunt Sahib the same day. Though it was my first visit to the area yet every thing appeared familiar. I passed the sites and places which I had seen in my dream. I had seen in my dream the same gurdwara.

"Since then I have been going there every year. This time I requested the chief granthi of Hemkunt Sahib to pray on my behalf to Guru Gobind Singh that I may be forgiven if I cannot make it next time due to my old age and failing health. Believe me, it is Guru Gobind Singh who gives me immense strength and calls me there each time. I have several times seen his baaz there," he says, narrating several anecdotes and incredible stories about his adventures in the difficult and inhospitable terrain that one has to traverse to pay one’s obeisance at the shrine.

His 31 visits to Hemkunt Sahib may be "unprecedented" as there is no evidence of any other individual making so many visits in succession. It is all the more noteworthy keeping in view his physical condition and age. He is in his late 70s.

An ardent follower of the 10th Sikh Guru, Panchhi recalls how "the Guru had helped him" to come out of a crisis after the Administration had suspended him following a major fire in the city in early 80s. "Subsequently, however, I was not only honourably reinstated but my work was also appreciated," he said. Panchhi was also given extension. His association with the Administration lasted 27 years. Earlier, he had worked for the Municipal Committee for 11 years.

After retiring from the Administration in 1994, Panchhi worked as Honorary Fire and Security Adviser to The Tribune Trust. The Tribune, in a special gesture, allowed him to continue working even after the expiry of his contract since he offered to accept an honorarium of only Re 1 per month to continue his "emotional association" with the newspaper.

Panchhi, who is also a poet and writer, worked as fire adviser to the Punjab Agricultural Marketing Board and the Punjab State Electricity Board too. In 1979, he received President’s Medal for meritorious service.