India-bound, bag and baggage - Part 3

Remembering 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh 

From the archives of Milkha's little-known autobiography: Flying Sikh, Milkha Singh, which was published first in Punjabi in 1970 and later translated into Hindi in 1977 and in English in early 80s, we are bringing you the life of legendary athlete from witnessing tragedy, deprivation, survival against all odds and victory in the face of loss. The pre-partition and post-partition era.

 Flashback - Part 3

India-bound, bag and baggage

After around four or five days of the incident, Makhan, who had to stay back in Pakistan for some time, boarded his wife Jeet Kaur and brother Milkha in an army truck headed to India. They were dropped at the Ferozepur-Hussaniwala area, where, writes Milkha in the book, he often visited the local army camp in search of work. At times, he used to polish shoes to get food.
Sudden floods and a lack of job forced Milkha and his sister-in-law to shift base to Delhi. “We travelled to Delhi sitting on the roof of a train,” writes the athlete. “With no place to stay, we even spent some days at the railway platform. Later, we discovered that my sister-in-law’s parents have settled in a locality called Shahdara,” recounts Milkha, about the locality situated on the banks of river Yamuna and is now a part of Purani Dilli.

Next: Turning a rouge