Jartauli, Punjab – Birds fly over lush green fields as an announcement made from the loudspeaker of a local Sikh temple, gurdwara, breaks silence on a misty, winter morning.
“Our trolleys and volunteers are ready to leave in a while. People are requested to come over to bid farewell to our brave hearts,” a male voice reverberates in Jartauli, a nondescript village 25km (15 miles) southwest of Ludhiana in Punjab province of India.
Without any delay, men, women and children – all visibly excited – start pouring in the lawns of the gurdwara. They surround seven tractors decked with colourful flags and attached with trolleys.