VEER (THE BRAVE) VIKRAM – A STORY OF REAL LIFE FAITH FROM WEST AFRICA.
Vikram Akoliya Patel, or in short Veer Vikram, wherein Veer (the brave) is a title given to him recently by the Sikh sangat (congregation) of Ghana, is a young man who has displayed extraordinary courage amongst the most adverse circumstances. Veer Vikram had the misfortune of getting kidnapped by Al-Qaida operatives in September 2018 somewhere in the northern region of Burkina Faso. He was kept blind folded with his hands tied during the first month, and his abductors regularly relocated every few days during the night in pitch darkness. They drove amidst sounds of gunfire and the thundering of French aircrafts flying above looking for possible targets. Their vehicles rattled and moved in the dark with headlights off, simply based on judgements with their experience of the local terrain.
Veer Vikram is a practicing Hindu and a staunch vegetarian. He did not relent on his faith and convinced the abductors to provide him with vegetables and pasta. In spite of being a mother’s favorite, who always got served even with a simple glass of water with love, he had to soon learn how to light his own fire using wood or charcoal and handle scorching hot pans with bare hands. On the name of vegetables he ate mainly potatoes, onions and at times could add some pepper for the 16 months of his captivity.
However it was his 5am Puja (devotional worship), which he would perform every day and remembering Lord Yogeshwar Krishna without fail, that kept him safe from unpredictable dangers. He recalls snakes frequently slithering by, and scorpions sneaking into his blankets during the night looking for warmth. When moving and passing through deserted villages of the disturbed areas of Burkina Faso and Mali, he spent countless nights in the desert under the open skies guarded by two armed men at all times. One of those nights, a French helicopter flying close to the ground just missed bombing their group by a short distance.
With nothing to do, Veer Vikram practiced yoga and other fitness routines at least three times a day to maintain his mental balance. For his first 6 months, he had the companionship of another captive, a 52-year-old South African gentleman, who struggled to live both mentally and physically due to his diabetic ill health. Unfortunately after a few bouts of meltdowns, he was removed from the group and is later thought to have been killed by the abductors. There was also a time Veer Vikram himself escaped shots fired at him by one of the short-tempered guard over a misunderstanding he had with one of his colleague guards.
In this game of hide and seek with death, Veer Vikram did not lose his faith in God. It was his faith which protected him through three episodes of sickness and kept him calm and stable, which in turn bought the mercy of his abductors who somehow chose not to harm him. Veer Vikram is not so strong in body but yes he surely proved his mental agility and strength.
Veer Vikram had no instrument to keep time and relied on nature, the trees and the open environment, to guide him on passing hour of the day and the changing weeks and months. After a few weeks he even began to observe that the sun changed its rising position daily as the Earth continued to move in it’s orbit. It was extremely challenging to remain sane in an alien environment without any inclination of the chances of survival, but what kept him alive was his belief system, his upbringing in a family where he grew up with stories such as the hardships of Lord Rama, his wife Sita and brother Laxman, the tribulations of the five Pandava brothers of Mahabharata, and more, but most importantly the power of Puja (devotional worship) his family performed regularly at home. Not so important looking daily routines of his family became the life giving support system of Veer Vikram during the most difficult period of his life.
On the other side of the fence, the challenge that his family was faced with was no less daunting. His young wife was divided between consoling herself and raising their 3-year-old son who was completely ignorant of what had transpired with his father and completely unaware the terrible condition of her mother who was tormented continuously regarding the safety of her husband.
The biggest responsibility in these precarious times fell on the father. Vishram Akolyia Patel’s first duty was to stay strong for the family, then relentlessly search for Veer Vikram in life-threatening surroundings, and all this while also endure the allegations of being the cause of his son’s and family’s miseries. How to mention the condition of Veer Vikram’s mother whose eldest born hardly seemed to have any chances of survival. Altogether it was a devastating time for the entire Patel family.
Not a moment went by where the family, especially the father Vishram was ruminating about where their son was and how to get him back. They forsake their business and gave up celebrations and social events and found solace and strength only in their Puja. Mornings and evening were dedicated entirely in reading Lord Krishna’s biggest gift to the mankind ‘the Gita’ and their solemn prayers to Him. There was nothing else that could precede their faith in these worst times of their lives. This faith strengthened further each day their separation increased. They continuously held this firm belief that it was only Almighty who would protect their son and bring him back, and this is what they expressed to every well-wisher who enquired about their wellbeing. So long was this separation that the well wishers also lost hope and stopped asking. For everyone else life became normal but not for the Patels who continuously kept their hopes pinned to His grace and His Intervention. The family knew where the security intelligence couldn’t work, where armies couldn’t work, it will be their faith one day that will work. Over the time they became a living example of how pure dedication towards our Lord, and in whatever form we may chose to worship him, comes to our rescue in bad times.
And it finally did. As his son Veer Vikram’s shadow rose from the dust of the barren lands, Vishram Bhai was in complete awe of God’s miracle. After one year and four months his son had surfaced from the dungeons of death that he had to endure for so long. But was it soon to be over? Both were still in an unknown territory and at the mercy of strangers around them. Veer Vikram was alarmed at seeing his father rescuing him in such risky circumstances. His fear quickly turned into remorse as he apologized to his father for putting him in a life threatening situation, and the entire family through the anguish of his separation. In turn his father replied that it was rather him who was at fault for not being able to protect his son. But then who out of the two, or can Mother Sita be blamed for her abduction during Lord Rama’s exile? As the father and son continued to struggle between pleasant and at times not so pleasant thoughts, God’s will continued to prevail and after many hours of a long journey they managed to reach a safe area.
Now since 18th Jan 2020 when Veer Vikram is back to his loving family, we thank Almighty for keeping His blessings on every actor of this saga including the abductors who showed tolerance and mercy with the victim irrespective of what their cause may have been. We pray that the abductors find peace and tranquility in their land, along with education, jobs, hospitals and everything else which we humans have built for the appropriate living of our fellow beings. We pray that their good heart shows similar mercies with other captives too as they have shown with Vikram. We thank them immensely for releasing our child safe and sound.
I salute Veer Vikram for being a steadfast, nonviolent and peaceful warrior against all the odds he encountered, I salute his father Vishram Bhai, mother Amari Behan, wife Bharti Behan and every member of their family for being dedicated to their faith in every moment of their seemingly never ending crisis.
In the Sikh faith’s holy book Guru Granth Sahib, Guru Arjan Dev ji writes ‘Taati wao naa lagai, par brahm sharnayee’ (The hot winds do not burn those who live under the shelter of Almighty). Surely we all saw that with the Patel family. It’s our wish that in the coming times may Waheguru (the one Supreme Lord) bless them with even more of His dedication. Faith works where everything else fails.
Footnote : The writer Amar Deep Singh Hari is a family friend of Patel’s who along with some other community members stayed close to them during the various aspects of this unfortunate incident.
