Pilgrims' progress at Amritsar

AMRITSAR: A jatha of 1,600 pilgrims arrived here from Hazoor Sahib in Maharashtra by a special train on Monday evening. Their surnames bear the stamp of history — they are the descendants of men in the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, sent to help the British crush uprisings. Some of the say-it-all surnames are Nagaria (men who played the war drums), Topchi (men who fired the cannon), Paidal (foot soldiers) and Tabelewala (stable in-charge)."Our great grandfathers were in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army, sent there long ago. We are very strict about the Sikh rehat maryada. If any one breaks the maryada, he is ostracised by the community," said Mohinder Singh Paidal, in charge of the langar at Hazoor Sahib. "This is my first visit to Punjab," said Raja Singh Topchi, whose great grandfather was a soldier in the Maharaja's army. But for Mohan Singh Gaddiwala, this was not his first visit to the state. Most of these Sikhs from Nanded speak only Marathi or Hindi. "There are about 25,000 Sikhs in Nanded," said Dhoom Singh, jathedar of Bandghat Gurdwara, named after Banda Bahadur. "There are four gurdwaras in Nanded," added Surjit Singh, a community leader. Pilgrims from Bhagat Dhanaji Gurdwara at Dhooankalan in Tonk district of Rajasthan have also reached.