On hearing the name Ramsar Sahib, one immediately remembers the holy place in Amritsar where Guru Arjan Dev compiled the Adi Guru Granth Sahib and composed Sukhmani Sahib. However, there is another Ramsar Sahib, a gurdwara at Bilaspur village near Doraha in Payal tehsil.Locals call the village Ramsar Bilaspur.The story of the place is largely unsaid. It can barely be found in books either and is mostly carried forward by the word of elders.It is said that the residents of the village, which was water-scarce at the time, sheltered Guru Hargobind even as a nearby village closed its doors on him out of fear of the Mughals.Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh master, was travelling through Malwa after the Battle of Mehraj in 1630 and was coming from the Machhiwara side towards Dhilwan when he halted at Sehani village. Sehani translates to people with a lion’s heart.The Guru asked for shelter, water and rest for his companions but the people, scared of the Mughals, refused to help and kept their doors closed.Village elders say that the Guru, annoyed with their attitude, said the people who called themselves Sehani were behaving like ‘geedars’ (jackals). The village then came to be called Gidri.After uttering the words, the Guru and his companions moved to a nearby village—Bilapsur. Elders in both the villages tell this tale. In Bilaspur, people were living in conditions far from satisfactory at the time. There was a severe shortage of drinking water.However, even as the villages were starved for water, they welcomed the Guru with an open heart.In the words of Ranjit Singh, a resident of Bilaspur village: “SSadde vadde vadere kiha kehnde si ki pind vich pani ghatt si, par hosle vaddh si. Bilaspur walian ne Guru ji da dil khol ke swagat kitta. (Our elders used to say that though there was scarcity of water in the village, there was no dearth of courage. Villagers welcomed the guru with an open heart.)”Impressed by the selfless hospitality of the villagers, despite their hardships, the Guru blessed them in abundance.It is said that he struck the parched earth with his spear and sweet water gushed out from the spot.Later, the villagers dug up the spot, lined it and named it Ramsar, after the sacred Ramsar Sarovar in Amritsar. The Guru stayed in Bilaspur for a short while, held diwan under the trees, met the congregation and blessed the sarovar that it would never go dry.Today, the gurdwara is built around the same sarovar. Devotees first bathe in the sarovar and then go to the prayer hall. Just beside it is the langar hall, where the same hospitality continues to this day. The villagers believe the blessing has held true. Even in the worst summers, the sarovar has never dried up.Today, the youth of the village proudly say that they are from Bilaspur. They are known less to be from Bilaspur but more to be from ‘Ramsar Bilaspur’. For the present generation, the story is a feeling of pride.“When I look at my elders, I feel proud. Two villages were asked for help. One had a lot but still refused. The other, though scarce in means, opened their heart. It was because of their benevolence that Guru sahib gave to our small village and it was named Ramsar Bilaspur,” said Amanpreet, a college student from the village.If one were to visit the village, it is likely that the people would first take him or her to the gurdwara, even before their fields or houses.The gurdwara has the small, clear sarovar at its centre. Devotees from Payal, Doraha, Khanna, Rara Sahib and surrounding areas gather here to celebrate the birthday of Guru Hargobind every year.