Aaryan and Gurudwara/Church



 The world seems beautiful as I look into the eyes of my 3.5 year old son who is happily spinning away yarns sitting on a swing in the Empress Gardens. His eyes twinkle when I mention on our way back home that there is a Gurudwara nearby and perhaps we can drop in. I know he wants to buy a Kada (steel/iron bracelet) and shall be overjoyed...but little do I suspect that the brief visit would openup a flurry of questions in the days to come …

While we are spending a leisurely time in our terrace in the evening – looking at the noisy street and varied people, Aaryan asks “Baba, why do we go to Gurudwara?”
Me: “ To pray to the God”
A:  “and temple?”
Me: “Same to pray” as I prepare myself for tougher questions now
A: “then why Gurudwara”

I pause for a moment and then say “Well, there are more such places of worship. There is a temple, gurudwara, church and mosque. Some people go the temple and call themselves Hindu while some go to Gurudwara and are Sikhs. Christians go to Church and Muslims to Mosques”

I am sure this is heavy stuff for a 3 year old and am expecting him to be bored by such dull information.

A “What is a church? Baba, tell me the story of church”

I am a little perplexed now but knowing that it is hard to put off Aaryan once he gets a question in mind, I tell him about Jesus Christ, about Jews, a little about crucification and start of Christianity. He is sleepy now and asks with half eyes closed “Baba, Will you take me to the Church?”

“Certainly” I say and a look at your face tells me that you are already in the comfortable arms of mother sleep....

Comments

sumi singla said…
Very very soft loving writings ..... garibon ka Gulzar
January 26, 2020 at 1:34 PM
Ganga said…
Very nicely expressed in words.
January 26, 2020 at 1:52 PM
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