SALDEF Interview

Exclusive interview with Sikh author, Indira Kaur Ahluwalia on her book, "Fast Forward to Hope" 

How have the teachings of Sikhi impacted you on your journey--both while battling cancer and while writing your book?

I am not a learned person and have failed many times in my efforts to learn Gurmukhi. Sikhi has been a practice based on family values, and my friendship with Waheguruji since I was a child has built my sense of consciousness and spirituality. I know I am not alone.

I trust in Waheguruji’s for how I will fulfill my life’s purpose. So, its really simple for me. I have a direct relationship with my Waheguruji. I have acceptance of the truth. I believe in humanity being one. I value the opportunity to do sewa in ways that I am equipped to do. I will always stand up for the rights of all people, and am willing to work hard and ethically albeit strategically for my causes.

Did you have an inspirational figure you looked up to while you were fighting cancer? If so, how did they help you on your own journey?

As I say in Fast Forward to Hope: “There can only be one hero in any story, and in my story, it is only and always Pa—Jayant Singh Kalotra.” While this may well be unfair to say as I have been tremendously inspired by my maternal grandmother Lakhvir Jaspal and my mother Amrit Kalotra as much as my own children, my father shone the light on the paths I have walked.

From hearing him do path in the mornings as I woke up to watching him in awe as tied his pagri when I was a child, to working with him when he set up his business to competing with him when I set up my business (!), to seeing how he treated people equally be they leaders or waiters, to witnessing him walk past all his challenges without a murmur but instead with peace, I learned how to become me in his shadow.