A story that a journalist can only hope to cover once in a lifetime

The Pooran story may now be over, but I suspect that the Pooran phenomenon will continue. Against the backdrop of recent stories of violence against in Indians in Australia, the Pooran story has provided a unique insight into the history of Indians in this country and has become a catalyst for re-igniting old memories, bonds and community spirit. The story of this simple Punjabi Australian has helped us celebrate a humane face of the multicultural history of Australia.  All of us at SBS are humbled by the response within the community and are in complete awe to see this story resonate so strongly throughout Australia and India, and indeed many other parts of the world.

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 For the five of us in India – Kapil, Len, Chris, Harmel and I, it feels like an experience of a lifetime, shared closely with Alice, who kept in touch from Warrnambool throughout our journey in India. The journey to fulfil Pooran’s last wish has grown each of us individually too -- Kapil Dev has said repeatedly that this may well be the most rewarding experience for him personally; Crystal has had a chance to visit Bareilly, the city in which her father was born; Len says his lifetime’s work has paid off and no amount of money can replace his experience at Uppal Bhopa, (Pooran Singh’s village); Harmel and his family have had a chance to connect with their ancestors, in a way that perhaps no one could ever dream of; and as for me, apart from being part and parcel of Pooran’s final journey, a sort of story that a journalist can only hope to cover once in a lifetime, as a bonus, I  got to visit the very place that I began this lifetime --my birthplace, Jalandhar.

 
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