Fauja Singh British Marathon Runner

Bereft of any education and schooling, added to which was his physical limitation, and the fact that he could barely walk a mile till the age of fifteen, nobody had any hopes pinned on Fauja. He was destined to be just a farmer and spend the rest of his life as a countryside peasant. As expected, he soon started working on his father’s farm, but to everyone’s surprise, Fauja proved to be an outstanding worker and someone who could labor for many hours. Those spindly legs could walk for hours behind a pair of oxen that were used to till the land. Fauja was full of energy when laboring and many in his village still vouch for that fact! When the oxen would get fatigued, he would herd a fresh pair to complete his job. Not only was he turning into a role-model farmer, but the dedication with which he cared for his oxen was also something that everyone in the village envied.

Fauja’s father died young, and the burden of looking after the family fell on his shoulders – a responsibility that he took on very seriously. Fauja, however, from a young age was also known for being witty, naughty and garrulous, which was more than evident during the numerous walkathons we both undertook in Ilford.

Fauja was soon married to Gian Kaur. She hailed from village Kalkat, in Hoshiarpur district of present Punjab and matched Fauja’s illiteracy. The ceremony was simple and performed as per Sikh rites at the village gurdwara.

Fauja Singh and Gian Kaur had six children: three daughters and three sons. The firstborn, a girl, was named Gurbaksh Kaur. Two more girls followed, Jaswinder Kaur and Parminder Kaur. The urge for a son assured that Gian Kaur remained pregnant till she finally gave birth to a son. He was named Sukhjinder, with whom Fauja now lives in England. Two more boys followed, Kuldip Singh and Harvinder Singh.

Life was at a subsistence level, and the children did not acquire much education. The girls were soon married off to Non-Resident Indian grooms, a craze of epidemic proportions in Punjab, more particularly in the Doaba region (land between two rivers). Sons were also encouraged to immigrate for greener pastures, as fragmented land holdings could not provide a good livelihood. While two sons went abroad, Kuldip Singh stayed back with his father to help manage the farm.

Fauja, whose life traverses through many major world events including the Second World War and India’s Partition in 1947, hits a tragic phase in the late nineteen eighties and nineties. Gian Kaur, his wife, passed away leaving behind a huge void. Just when Fauja was coming to terms with the loss of his life partner, another mammoth tragedy struck him. His son Kuldip Singh, whom he loved the most died in a freak accident in August 1994. The monsoon winds that month were in a tearing hurry and an iron-sheet from the roof of a construction site, which Kuldip was supervising got swept away and hit him on his head. He died instantaneously.

All hell broke loose. The loss of his favorite child devastated Fauja and affected him severely. As per the village folks and close associates he lost complete interest in life after the tragedy. The man, the epitome of Punjabi joie de vivre had suddenly turned into stone. Villagers recount countless incidents where they would have to fetch a wailing Fauja from the village cremation ground, where his son had been cremated.

This caused a panic amongst Fauja’s other children, all of whom lived overseas. A plan was devised to bring him to England and settle him down with the eldest son, Sukhjinder. Fauja vehemently opposed the plan but gave in after much persuasion and moved to England in 1995. He made London his new home, a place he had visited a few times before.

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8