a MISSED CHILDHOOD HOLIDAY

"It wasn’t me who put the money in the purse!" gasped Parvinder, years later, still haunted by that one family decision that may have saved their lives.
 

Back in the early 1990s, ten-year-old Parvinder Bhamra was bursting with excitement. Her family was gearing up for their annual summer trip to Amritsar, a journey that meant meeting cousins, uncles, aunts—and receiving the kind of affection that only Punjab’s extended families know how to give.

This was an era before UPI and ATMs, when travel meant months of preparation. Her mother cooked heaps of puris and aloo sabzi, packed snacks in steel dabbas and made sure everyone had new clothes for the trip. Her father, ever the planner, arrived two days before departure, holding a thick bundle of cash meant for travel and stay. He handed it to her mother to keep safe.

Then came an unexpected visit.

Her father’s rakhi sister called from Delhi, saying she was in town and wanted to meet. As per tradition, a gift had to be given. With no time to buy anything and unwilling to touch the journey money, they scanned the house for options. Her mother,  offered her new leather handbag—the one she had bought especially for the trip.

The sister was gifted the bag. 

Dinner was served.

Goodbyes were said.

Everyone went to bed, preparing for the early morning train to Amritsar.

But just before they could leave the next morning, chaos broke out.

"Where’s the money?" her father asked. It was gone. The entire house was turned upside down. Every drawer, every box, every suitcase was searched.

After a tense 30 minutes, they had no choice—they had to cancel the trip.

Parvinder remembers the tears, the frustration, the confusion. Where did the money vanish?

The next day, the news came like a thunderclap.

The train they were supposed to board—the same train to Amritsar—had caught fire. Several passengers lost their lives in the mishap.

Hours later, the rakhi sister called, puzzled and slightly irritated:
“Who gives so much money as a gift stuffed into a purse?”

That’s when it hit them. The entire cash bundle had accidentally been left in the handbag gifted to her.

Till this day, no one remembers who placed the money in the bag. Parvinder swears it wasn’t her. Her mother too swears it her, nor her father. Could it have been divine intervention? An act of fate? Or just an extraordinary coincidence?

She never made it to Amritsar that summer.
But she may have lived because of it.