Bagga Singh represents a class of agricultural labourers who have a long history of struggle, both financial and social, in Punjab, India.
Born and raised in the country town of Bilaspur in Ludhiana district of Punjab, Mr Singh has lived an exhaustively difficult yet ‘contentful’ life.
Not a social media user himself, rather far from it, he is blissfully unaware of even the existence of it. However, he recently came into the limelight on Facebook after he reached Melbourne to visit the descendants of the family he has been serving in India for nearly half a century.
“I am an ordinary man. It was totally unexpected. I don’t have a big bank balance, neither do I have a blood-relation relative who could sponsor me, and yet it happened,” he told SBS Punjabi.
"I am very happy and thankful to my friends who have organized my visit to Australia."
Bagga Singh's audio interview in Punjabi -
LISTEN TO
Social media shares the joy of an ordinary man’s ‘unexpected’ visit to Australia
SBS Punjabi
04/07/201911:36
In an interview with SBS Punjabi, Mr Singh said: "you don't need to have deep pockets to dream big - All you have to do is believe in God and miracles."
Mr Singh said he had the dream to fly in the sky and to visit the foreign lands that are ‘seven seas apart’.
Bagga Singh at SBS studios, Melbourne. Source: Supplied
He expressed his desire to visit Australia and visit the Indian Australian family he has been working for over the last 45 years in Punjab.
“I wanted to see the place where they are currently living in Australia,” he said.
Mr Singh said the family has given him ‘much respect’ and his services have always been highly regarded by all the family members living both in India and Australia.
“I have served this family all my life. There is a strong family-like connection. The kids lost their father at a very young age and I served the family to the best of my ability.”
Melbourne-based Amritpal Singh 'Babba' sponsored Bagga Singh’s visit to Australia.
His Facebook video showing Mr Singh’s arrival in Melbourne has since gone viral with nearly 10,000 people sharing it.
Mr Babba - a small business owner in Tullamarine, in Melbourne’s north-west, visited his native village Bilaspur early this year when Mr Singh told him of his desire to visit Australia.
“I helped him to get on with his passport formalities. I also sent him some money as financial help to get the process done,” said Mr Babba.
Mr Singh said once he had his passport he told his friends and villagers that he would soon fulfil his dream of going overseas.
Amritpal Singh 'Babba' (L) with Bagga Singh at SBS studios, Melbourne. Source: Supplied
He said people mocked his enthusiasm and told him he'd never get a visa.
“His innocence attracted some harsh comments from some in the village who made fun of his poverty,” said Mr Babba. "It even affected his mental health."
Listen Bagga Singh's interview in Punjabi
Social media shares the joy of an ordinary man’s ‘unexpected’ visit to Australia
Mr Babba added that when Mr Singh worked in the farmlands his co-workers used to tease him, pointing towards the sky, and saying 'there goes Bagga’s airplane' or they’ll jokingly ask him if he had purchased his luggage yet.
“This hurt me a lot before I discussed it with my business partner Pamma Gill who suggested that we must do something about it. So we applied for a visitor visa which was thankfully granted,” Mr Babba told SBS Punjabi.
He said he was not very ‘optimistic’ about the visa prospects but had shown willingness to give a $20,000 bond as a security to the visa authorities.
Under normal circumstances, anyone wanting to visit Australia from India is required to give evidence to show to authorities that they have sufficient money to pay for their travel, besides evidence that they have a strong reason to return to India after concluding their visit.
However, Bagga Singh who earns $200-250 a month was granted a visitor visa to live his dreams.
In the next few days, he plans to visit many of Victoria’s famous tourist attractions including the Great Ocean Road, the Grampians, Yarra Valley, Phillip Island and much more. We will let him know in case you suggest some other getaways.
