One of the greatest sons of Punjab in the US, Didar Singh Bains is no more is a heartrending news. I regret not looking him up in Yuba City during my visit to Fresno and San Francisco last month. I spoke to his youngest son Karam to inquire after Mr. Bains’s health which I knew was deteriorating, and I was keen to look him up on being told that he was not well, but the visit to Yuba City did not materialize. I regret now not having met him. I cherish the memories of more than three decades of my association with him, beginning from the turbulent days in Punjab when he decided to lend his support to Khalistanis which he later withdrew in favor of the moderate Shiromani Akali Dal. A devout Sikh, to him nothing was dearer and more venerable than the Word of the Guru.He lived by the code prescribed by the Sikh Gurus which includes kirt kamayee, vand chhakna and naam japna(making an honest living , sharing with others, and meditating on God).
He will be remembered as a shining example of being a Guru da Sikh.
I hope his departed soul finds place at the feet of the Guru.
RIP, my friend.
