Mr. Singh

Our Sikh driver — Sadly, I have no photos of Mr. Singh. I doubt that he would have been comfortable being photographed. This trip was in 2006. Maybe times have changed, even for Mr. Singh.

Everything is for sale in India. Looking for something you don’t see? Just ask and a young boy will scurry off through a maze of meandering streets and alleys; almost sure to return within 15 minutes with the desired product.

Mr. Singh was Sikh. Not surprising, since most male Sikhs carry the name Singh so, I imagine you’re safe addressing any Indian male you see as Mr. Singh, particularly if he had, as our Mr. Singh had, a beard, a turban, and uncut hair. The other items, five in total, that observant Sikhs are expected to always have on them include a knife, a comb, and a steel or iron ring.

Mr. Singh had long hair — -I never saw it, but I could tell that it was tightly coiled under a turban, wrapped in a cloth of several yards that he wound around his head before leaving his room each day.

“Most” Sikhs have this name. Not 100 percent, but close.

The year was 2006. Gino and I were doing a splendid tour of northern India. Yes, it was a “Highlights of India” tour but with a difference. We drove through what, at the time, seemed like most of the sub-continent, but it was probably no more than 500 miles spread over eight or nine days.

Mr. Singh was our driver. The car provided by the tour operator was non-descript but functional. I took…