I am suffering from acute "Writer's block" owing to months of inactivity,as I begin to blog our trip to Amritsar, where we went to see the Golden Temple.
We spent a cool evening in Delhi and caught the short flight to Amritsar the next morning and found the weather cool and pleasant (16C) on arrival. It was a short drive to our hotel on Mall Road which also boasts of Navjoth Sidhu's residence.Malls have sprung up cheek by jowl here and makes me wonder about their feasibility.
It was now much beyond mid-day and hunger pangs were at work.We decided to engage a cycle-rickshaw to enjoy the weather and take in the sights as we traveled to Brothers' Dhaba amidst the welter of discordant sounds and unruly traffic.
This modern Dhaba dished out wholesome food... Dal,Chana and with Kadak Rotis for me and stuffed Kulcha for her.We gobbled it up very quickly wondering why we weren't half our age to eat much more of this stuff.As weather was far too cool we desisted from consuming the famous Punjab da Lassi, malai marke.....
I will come to Bharawan da Dhaba later in this blog
We passed through Gandhi gate, popularly known as Hall Gate, the entrance to the shopping hub of Amritsar - Hall Bazaar.
We passed through Gandhi gate, popularly known as Hall Gate, the entrance to the shopping hub of Amritsar - Hall Bazaar.
A typical maharajah
type gate with a clock and a glow sign which reads "Amritsar - Sifti Da
Ghar" meaning "the adorable abode of the pool of Nectar".
It was now time to visit the main attraction looming not very far from the eating place.As we approached it through the narrow and crowded streets teeming with traffic we could have hardly imagined what was to follow.At the undistinguished entrance we discard our foot wear,cover our heads and walk through a trough of water that cleans our feet.From here on "cleanliness" is there to see everywhere.
As we enter the spacious complex we first see the Akal Takht,the seat of the S G P C, the religious governing body of the Sikhs.This is where Bindaranwale and his henchmen were holed up prior to Op Blue Star in 1984.It was destroyed then and has been rebuilt since.
If you want to read all about Op Bluestar I highly recommend the book "Amritsar..Mrs Gandhi's last battle" by Mark Tully and Satish Jacob
The entrance to Harmandir Sahib (GT) is busy with devotees thronging the vestibule.They are let in every 10 minutes to enter the temple complex.
The temple sits on a rectangular
platform, surrounded by a pool of water called the Amrit Sarovar 
It is a two storey
marble structure reached by a causeway. The lower storey is in white marble
with the walls decorated with inlaid flower and animal motif in the style of
the Taj Mahal. The upper storey is gold plated, crowned with the Golden Dome. As the sun shifts, the temple presents myriad views,each magnificent and captivating.
What happens inside?
The Adi Granth, compiled by Guru Arjan Dev,
rests on a throne beneath a jewel encrusted canopy. Priests conduct continuous
recitation of verses from the holy book in 3-hour shifts. The original copy of
the Guru Granth Sahib is kept in the Golden Temple
during the day and is returned to the
Akal Takht at 10 PM every day..The daily processional ceremony at dawn brings Guru Granth Sahib from Akal Takht to the Sanctum.
We were captivated by the vast and orderly lay-out of the complex and the cleanliness prevailing there.The perimeter of the lake is mostly laid out in marble and is carpeted to an extent.We saw a great hoard of people walking the threshold on this auspicious holiday.
A word of praise for the volunteers who make the temple buzz without a hitch day in and day out.They are washing the floors,rolling the carpets, sweeping, swabbing,safe keeping your shoes and polishing them for you and dishing out Prasad.They come in all age groups, shape and size.I have not seen a cleaner temple in all of my travel as I have seen here.
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa.
It is lunchtime at what may be the world’s largest free eatery, the langar, or community kitchen at the temple. Everything is ready for the big rush. Thousands of volunteers have scrubbed the floors, chopped onions, shelled peas and peeled garlic. Enormous quantity of metal plates, bowls and spoons have been washed, stacked and are ready to go.
Anyone can eat for free here, and many, many people do. On a weekday tens of thousands come and on week-ends it is twice as much. Each visitor gets a wholesome vegetarian meal.We tasted the special tea that was being served in bowls and found it invigorating.We then walked slowly around the perimeter enjoying the views of the GT,the devotional songs wafting from the speakers and the general sense of discipline,cleanliness and order resulting in a calm that urges you to want more.But exit we must to come back again.
The rickshaw was waiting to carry us to our next port of call.
Jallianwala Bagh
We visited the park created at this historical location looking up the few monuments that have been put up to recognise the martyrdom
of the thousands who fell to the bullets of the British in 1919.This
must go down in history as the biggest public shoot-out against a
peaceful protest.Many bullet holes have been preserved as in the wall above
David Cameron's visitor book entry calls it "a deeply shameful event in British history"
We settled down on the hard seat of the cycle rickshaw for our return journey after a satisfactory day in the city
Day 2
Another cool overcast day as we come out of the Hotel after completing our breakfast.We take a walk along Mall road saying NO to many Rickshaws who want to show us around the city. Soon we are at the gates of the garden/park ...Ram Bagh
An attractive garden, Ram Bagh is famed as the summer palace of the erstwhile Raja of Punjab, Ranjith Singh. This garden is a prototype of Shalimar Gardens at Lahore from where he ruled and carries his summer Palace which is now under restoration.
Ram bagh boasts a statue of the legendary king with his horse.
The garden holds a Panorama of the great King of Punjab. depicting the important events in his life through three-dimensional montages.
Here the King is receiving the Kohinoor diamond from Shujah Shah Durrani.
Let me refresh your memory .....
After the defeat of Shah Jehan it was Nadir Shah who carried off the Koh-i Noor D embedded in the famous Peacock throne to Persia in 1739.It was allegedly Nadir Shah who exclaimed Koh-i Noor! when he finally managed to obtain the famous stone.
After the assassination of Nadir Shah in 1747, the stone came into the hands of his General, Ahmad Durrani of Afghanistan.Much later In 1830, Shujah Shah Durrani the deposed ruler of A, managed to flee with the diamond. He went to Lahore where Ranjit Singh forced him to surrender it. In return for this, R.S. won back the Afghan throne for Shah Shuja.
After the death of R.S. in 1839 the British administrators did not execute his will. On 29 March 1849, the British annexed Lahore and the Punjab was formally proclaimed part of the British empire. One of the terms of the treaty of Lahore, the legal agreement formalizing this occupation, was as follows.
The gem called the Koh-i-Noor which was taken from Shah
Shuja by Maharajah Ranjit Singh shall be surrendered by the
Maharajah of Lahore to the Queen of England.
And they are not willing to part with it since ..
Durgiana Temple
Dedicated to the goddess Durga, this 16th-century temple, also surrounded by a holy water tank, is a Hindu version of the Golden Temple, sometimes known as the Silver Temple for its carved silver doors.As the crowd was sparse we completed the Darshan quickly.We were by now hungry and yearned for a good meal.
The best fish in Amritsar, it is argued, is the makhan fish, ostensibly soft as butter on the inside of the batter-coating. Surjeet Singh claims to be the originator of the recipe. In the late 80s, he was discovered by the BBC, then making a film on Amritsar, and consequently by the likes of Madhur Jaffrey and finally Bollywood, even as he made his way from that single fish shop to the posh environs of a restaurant at Lawrence Road.So to Makhan fish we went for a our lunch of this delicious fish served with Pudina chatni,Pyaz and lots of Rotis.
Wagah border ceremony
The afternoon saw us in a rented car traveling towards the Wagah border located at a distance of 28km from the city. Wagah Border is the only open border crossing between India and Pakistan.
We crossed the Attari border on Indian side and our car stopped half KM before the Wagah border.We walked from here along with the huge crowd that were approaching the venue where the spectacle was to unfold.
A separate Queue had formed for VIP's and we joined these guests as the person in charge was courteous to offer us,Sr.Citizens,these seats. Shortly we were settled in our enclosure and could see the border gates of India and Pakistan.
Tall,broad and impeccably turned out BSF Jawans in attractive orange colored Turbans were controlling the crowd and an M.C. was whipping up patriotic frenzy by shouting Vande Mataram, Jai Hind etc. Rafi and Lata were also contributing with their famous tear jerkers of yester years."Pakistan Zindabad" could be heard from the other side.
The ceremony starts with a stiff-march by the soldiers.It was awesome seeing the lead guy marching as if he will be subject to court martial if he did not raise his legs as far as his head!
Then there were a couple of female soldiers in the act.BSF is an equal opportunity employer and if seeing is believing have a look at them turned out smartly for the march.
On the opposite side the Paki's were
quite muted in comparison.One could see their soldiers in Green with similar head gear as ours,also
the Lahore wales/walis in the distance
Now the heavy gates are flung open; two soldiers approach each other,
exchange fierce looks, give out mimicked threats, and show anger. They
shake hands and begin to lower the flags simultaneously. At this point the noise in the open-air theater drops to almost pin drop
silence. The spectators remain hushed in awe
of the ceremony. The only sound being that of the pounding of boots of
the soldiers on both the sides as they match steps and try to outdo each
other as a part of the ceremonial splendor. There is a final brisk handshake between the
soldiers from either side
followed by the slammed closing of both the gates and blowing of trumpet
to mark the end of the grand ceremony. This high decibel flag-lowering performance at Wagah Border is a true spectacle and attracts many visitors from both sides of the border, as well as foreigners.
We returned to the city and went back to the Golden temple to see it in all its splendor after dusk when it is lit.This is what we saw.
Day 3
Having seen all the important sights the city had to offer all we had to do today was to laze,enjoy the weather and do some shopping.For lunch we chose Bhrawan da Dhaba.
In a sibling rivalry between brothers this Dhaba is an off shoot of the more famous Brothers' Dhaba which is next door and where we dined on Day1.Not to lose sight of the brand image Brother which translates to Pra in Punjabi they decided Bhra wan was the way to go.
I chose to eat Roti and Bengan Bharta while she had Sarson ki Saag and Makai Roti.
We shopped for a while and got dropped at GT for the rest of the afternoon.She went around the tank and also tasted some Langar food while I rested listening to music over the speakers and observing the volunteers in action and so on.The Sun was shining today on the golden temple which was sparkling.
Day 4
End of an interesting holiday and back to Mumbai
Adios
