father but I met him again
thirty years later yes thirty years
later so let me go back in time and
introduce you to this man with a little
kid he’s my father
and of course that sweet little kid is
but sadly shortly after this photo was
taken my father was killed by the
militants so as a child I did not spend
a lot of time with my father I did not
know anything with my father I did not
know anything but he did what did he
like to eat what did he like to drink
was he a traveler or a big foodie so all
the things I knew about my father was
either through my mother or my father’s
friends but my father’s friends and the
people from my native village told me he
was the people’s man every day a lot of
people lined up to see him to get their
work done because he was one of the
youngest leader of the village the
elected leader of the village or a
serpent’s after my dad’s death my mother
at a young age of 32 with two children
had to pay the ultimate price she had to
play both roles being a mother and a
father she had to start everything from
scratch she had to start from zero I saw
my mom working overtime stitching
clothes day and night she used to stitch
4 to 5 those beautiful Punjabi suits per
day to make money for us
my mom’s dedication and hard work really
inspired me it inspired me to have a
dream a dream to find my father a dream
to recreate and
my father’s memories I wanted to talk
with my father I wanted to have a
dialogue with my father I wanted to have
a conversation with my father I wanted
to tell my father that all the things
his wife has done for the future of his
children but the real question was how I
don’t know my father
how can I connect with my father so when
I was growing up all the things I wanted
to know about my father my curiosity to
so almost 30 years later after
re-establishing myself in life
I saw a Google advertisement an
advertisement in which two childhood
friends were separated overnight during
india-pakistan partition but they met
again through their grandchildren their
grandchildren using Google searched the
places where they used to play together
as a children and let them meet again
this Google advertisement really touched
my heart deep inside this was the moment
I felt maybe I could do something
similar to find my father to reconnect
with my father so luckily I had some
very old photos of my father when he
travelled to Europe
but I did not know exactly where so I
went on to Google just like they did I
went onto Google and I found out that
those photos were clicked were taken in
a beautiful city of Berlin in Germany so
let me share one of that photo with you
the old photo in this photo my dad is
actually standing in front of a statue
if you look
fully it is a statue of an old man with
a long beard and holding something like
a three shoe in his hand and little kids
around him naked kids around him
so I’m sure you do use Google every day
in your life
to search places go to restaurants so I
went on to Google and I searched
something like an old man with the long
beard holding something like a short
weapon and naked kids around him so
going through the Google results and
Google Images
I am sure many of do you see those
images so I go through the images and
scrolling down and scrolling down and I
found out that this is a statue of a God
of freshwater rivers and sea called
Neptune doing some more precise search I
was able to find the exact location of
this statue in Europe next I am sure you
do use Google Maps in your life you go
you do navigation and go from one place
to another so there is an option called
Google Street View I’m sure many of you
have heard so once I knew this liquid
exact location of this statue I did the
Google Street View and I found out four
to five other beautiful places where my
father the photos were taken 30 years
ago what could have been more rewarding
than this I found the very spots where
so one by one I found all the statues
monuments buildings sculptures where my
dad had traveled 30 years ago not only
around this statue but in the entire
city of Berlin and the first thought
came to my mind was I need to go back in
time and travel to all these places to
follow my father’s footprints so guess
what I just picked up my bag camera
applied my visa and left for Germany
after arriving in Germany for the first
couple of days I just went to visit all
these places but honestly I did not take
any photos I just wanted to feel the
presence of my father
and I wanted to have a dialogue and I
told my father your wife has done it she
fulfilled her dream she worked very hard
day and night to let me come and see
this day and talk to me it was the
silence moment I felt my father’s
presence for the first time in life it
was the first time I felt how it feels
like to have a father so on the third
day I wake what up very early in the
morning and has started to visit all
these places again and to have my photos
at the very spot where he did so this is
the same natural statue
and you can see I’m standing at the very
same Neptune statue in front of the
Neptune statue and in this photo my dad
is actually standing in front of a big
TV tower if you were in Berlin there is
a big TV tower and this is one of the
famous places in Europe called it’s also
called Time Square of Germany called
Alexander Platz maybe some of you know
and I had my photo at the very same spot
with the same long coat with the muffler
and a turban and thanks to this
gentleman who clicked my photo and I
said you clicked the most memorable
photo of my lifetime after that I met
some group of tourists from Uzbekistan
they didn’t understand my language I did
not understand their language but I
tried to explain my story that I came
this far to connect with my father
I showed my father’s old photos and one
man on the extreme left he wanted to
stand next to me just like someone stood
next to my father 30 years ago and we
my dad is sitting very calmly and
someone is you can see someone standing
on on his right and I’m at the same
place what do you think about this photo
look at the smile on my dad’s face it’s
very visible he seems very happy next to
this beautiful women right what do you
think about this photo so I try to live
my father’s life again I did not want to
miss any moments but my father may have
felt what do you think about this photo
this is actually an interesting photo if
you look at this photo my dad is looking
at a statue statue of a soldier soldier
who is paying respect after the battle
with holding his gun and a helmet and if
you pay more attention to this photo it
seems like a rainy day you can clearly
see a moisture underneath the statue on
the right side of a certain shape and if
you see my photo I am standing at the
same place my dad is standing at the
same place looking at the statue and 30
years 3 decades have been passed and the
same moisture is on that statue in my so
I tried imagine 30 years ago what my
father may have felt I tried to felt the
same thing in this photo if you see
another ladies eye the statue and if you
see the trees around the statue is
exactly the same so when I was there I
really felt like I am actually walking
like like him in this photo my father if
you see the background in my father’s
photo is not so clear but I tried my
best to find that place and I was lucky
to find it and have my photo at the same
place because I did not want to miss any
moments my father may have that
and in this photo my dad is standing
next to a big church called Berlin
Cathedral it’s in the museum island of
Berlin and it’s also the unesco world
heritage site so this particular travel
really touched my nerve it was the first
time I felt the value of my parents not
only my father but also my mother when
my dad after my dad’s lost my mom didn’t
know where to start
how to fill the gap of my father she
never went to any university or school
or having any degree but being a mother
she passed the most difficult test of
of course and I want to all of you ask
you tonight if you close your eyes and
put your hand on your heart and ask
yourself how far you can go for your
family and lastly all this thirty years
of project wasn’t possible without this
beautiful lady a great lady she is my
mother and I could not get better
picture for her when I graduated from an
American University and I you can see the gone on her body thank you so much