Binjal (Jagraon): In order to remain emotionally connected with their village, NRIs of a family are constructing a memorial, which will have names of both living and dead kin.
Lakhwinder Singh, a villager and acquaintance of the family of Bahadur Singh of the UK who is getting the memorial constructed, said the ancestors of the NRI had left India several decades ago. He said in 1966, they got a structure constructed at the memorial site on Raikot-Jagraon road. “However, as new members have been added to the family, they are getting two more such structures built with 2020 written on top. The structures have names of around 70 persons from the family, most of whom are abroad. While the names of the dead are being painted in black, those of the living are in white. We have been getting the work done for the past one-and-a-half months and it will take us a few more days to complete,” said Lakhwinder, who gets directions about the work through WhatsApp.
“There will be a parking at the memorial and we are getting ornamental and other trees planted for aesthetics. Bahadur Singh comes to the village sometimes,” he added.
Harkaran Singh, a member of the family who is BBA-I student, said, “Most of our relatives live abroad, but they have an emotional connect with the village, and the memorial is part of that.”
Another member of the family said the memorial depicts history as well as present. “First, I thought names of living persons shouldn’t have been there, but then felt there was no harm in it. Some more names, including that of my father, will also be added. Our ancestors went to England in 1930s for work and later many family members settled there,” said 65-year-old Sukhminder Singh, a driver whose name is also there at the memorial. He added that their family members do come to the village and have seven to eight acres near the memorial and two to three acres near the village.
The structure
The memorial has three cemented structures with 1966 written on the central and 2020 on two smaller ones. Apart from this, on a raised floor, there are statues of two lions in front of the structures. The memorial has a boundary wall as well
Lakhwinder Singh, a villager and acquaintance of the family of Bahadur Singh of the UK who is getting the memorial constructed, said the ancestors of the NRI had left India several decades ago. He said in 1966, they got a structure constructed at the memorial site on Raikot-Jagraon road. “However, as new members have been added to the family, they are getting two more such structures built with 2020 written on top. The structures have names of around 70 persons from the family, most of whom are abroad. While the names of the dead are being painted in black, those of the living are in white. We have been getting the work done for the past one-and-a-half months and it will take us a few more days to complete,” said Lakhwinder, who gets directions about the work through WhatsApp.
“There will be a parking at the memorial and we are getting ornamental and other trees planted for aesthetics. Bahadur Singh comes to the village sometimes,” he added.
Harkaran Singh, a member of the family who is BBA-I student, said, “Most of our relatives live abroad, but they have an emotional connect with the village, and the memorial is part of that.”
Another member of the family said the memorial depicts history as well as present. “First, I thought names of living persons shouldn’t have been there, but then felt there was no harm in it. Some more names, including that of my father, will also be added. Our ancestors went to England in 1930s for work and later many family members settled there,” said 65-year-old Sukhminder Singh, a driver whose name is also there at the memorial. He added that their family members do come to the village and have seven to eight acres near the memorial and two to three acres near the village.
The structure
The memorial has three cemented structures with 1966 written on the central and 2020 on two smaller ones. Apart from this, on a raised floor, there are statues of two lions in front of the structures. The memorial has a boundary wall as well
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