Our Fazilka Visit - Mr Vinod Gupta & His Family

Mr Vinod Gupta visiting his School- Government Model Secondary School (Boys) 

by Rohit Gupta-

Finally – we finally visited Fazilka!  My father, Mr. Vinod Kumar Gupta, grew up in Fazilka, and his father, Dr. Brij Lal Aggarwal, was the first MBBS in Fazilka.  My parents moved to the US in the mid-1960s, and I grew up in the US.  Even though I've lived outside of India most of my life, I've always felt that Fazilka was also part of my background.

My Parents in front of famous Fazilka Clock Tower Car Free Zone

For many years my parents and I had discussed visiting Fazilka sometime.  We tried twice in recent years, but both times we had to cancel the planned trip due to unexpected situations.  Thus, it was hard to believe when we reached Fazilka on January 29th, 2011, that we were actually here!

My father had not visited for 40 years and the visit brought back many memories to him.  My father met with old friends and their children, and they all showed such wonderful warmth and hospitality towards us.  It was truly an exciting and memorable visit.
And we all found the city of Fazilka to be absolutely charming!  We visited places such as my father's high school and where their house used to be.  We also saw the Clock Tower, the Asafwala War Memorial, and the Border Ceremony.  We really appreciated the Car Free Zone near the Clock Tower which offers a unique walking environment.  We also went shopping and bought jutti and tosha.
But one of the most special memories that we took away from visiting Fazilka was the warmth and friendliness of the people of Fazilka.  Everyone we met was very friendly and talkative, and this made our visit even more memorable.  We hope that we can visit Fazilka again soon!

My parents and me in front of the house where my father grew up

Special thanks to Mr. Surinder Ahuja and his family, Mr. Anu Nagpal, Dr. Bhupinder Singh, Mr. Navdeep Asija, Mr. Gurdeep Kumar, Mr. Ashok Rai, and Dr. Kewal Pujara, for all of their help and support both during this visit and during our preparation for this visit (apologies if I missed anyone's name).  After this visit, I now feel that I can call myself a Fazilite; hope to visit again soon – Rohit Gupta (rohitgupta999@yahoo.com)