That’s the thing with tangible objects. They demand to make their presence felt. It’s impossible to ignore the texture of paper made brittle over time, the smell of it, the weight of history that’s contained within. More than the fact of the object, a book in this case, it suggests the owner’s state of mind.

The Janamsakhi tells many a riveting tales of Guru Nanak’s weary travels on foot with Mardana and Baala to distant lands including Mecca and Medina, across countless “jojans”

I asked her what she had found. Through her smile, she whispered, ‘Sri Dasam Granth’ – the sacred scripture containing texts composed by the Tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji.