Amritsar,
a city in Punjab which is famous for Golden Temple, Wagah Border, Jalliawala
Bagh and finger licking food. And this is exactly what we did in our one day
stay in Amritsar.
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| The Golden Temple |
Golden Temple – Tranquility
& Spirituality at its peak
The
most famous and the most mesmerizing place in the whole of Amritsar has to be
undoubtedly The Golden Temple whose actual name is Harmandir Sahib.
The
temple gets the name ‘Golden’ because of the golden dome on the main temple.
The temple is open to people of all faith. One can enter the compound of the
temple from different directions but there is one entrance to reach the main sacred
place - Harmandir Temple. The temple is located in the middle of the sacred
pool and is mesmerizing.
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| Entrance of the Golden Temple |
Every
day thousands of pilgrims visit The Golden Temple some for a day visit and some
stay longer and volunteer in the Temple. The Temple also provides shelter to
people without homes, with a place to sleep and a warm blanket during the
chilly nights.
I
recommend that you visit the temple at least twice – One in day time to feel
the vibe of the place and enjoy the beautiful splendor and later at night to
view the sheer brilliance of the temple’s beauty. At night, The Temple lits up
in dark and leaves you starring with its golden beauty.
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| Sight on way to Golden Temple |
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| Right in front of Jallianwala bagh |
Always
keep your head covered within the complex. You can use a shawl, scarf or
handkerchief. There are numerous head covers provided for free at the entrance
of the temple.
Do
not carry back packs – you have to deposit them in the cloak room (for free).
Cameras and ladies hand bags are allowed. You can click pictures in the complex
but not in the main temple.
You
need to wash your hands and feet before entering the temple complex.
At
each corner of the complex, water is served by the volunteers. You must try out
the Langar here – the food is provided free of cost and will have chapatti, one
vegetable, dal, and sweet.
Most of the work in the temple like managing
cloak room, shoe room, kitchen, cooking, cleaning the utensils, cutting
vegetables, serving food, providing water etc are done by volunteers and with a
big and pleasant smile on their face. This volunteering in their word is called
‘Seva’.
The
Golden Temple should be an inspiration to all the other religious places in the
world. This is one place where there is total discipline, total neatness. You
will not find any chaos anywhere in the complex and all the things run
smoothly.
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| First sight of The Golden Temple |
Since
it was winters, the water where you wash your hands and the shallow where you
wash your legs was warm. They think of such nitty gritty details to make one’s
visit comfortable. Hats off to the volunteers at The Golden Temple.
Not
to forget the Khada Prasad that you get after the visit to the Harmandir Sahib
is simply out of the world.
Jallianwala Bagh
Jallainwala
Bagh is located very close to the Golden temple and there is no entry fee. It
is just what it is supposed to be – a park – a garden.
But
it’s the history; it’s the event that happened here so many decades ago that
does not make this park just a simple park.
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| Jallianwala Bagh Entrance |
A
walk in the Jallianwala Bagh will surely remind you of the stories you read in
your History Class.
As
I entered this place I was shocked to see the place brimming with people. It
looked like a picnic spot with kids playing cricket and Frisbee. There were
others that were catching on their afternoon nap.
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| Inside Jallianwala Bagh |
About
a short distance from the entrance is the ‘Flame of Peace’. There is a museum
at the exit that depicts the horrific story of the Jallianwala Bagh
massacre.
You
can see the well in which so many unarmed Indians (women & children amongst
them) jumped to escape from the merciless firing by the English army. The walls
where they were mercilessly shot, butchered and annihilated. The bullet marks
have been chalked out on these walls.
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| Bullet Marks at Jallianwala Bagh |
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| Martyrs' Well at Jallianwala Bagh |
This
is one place which is very crucial in Indian History but the way it manhandled
gives you creeps.
Wagah Border
Around
45 minutes’ drive from Amritsar is the India – Pakistan Border where every
evening a special border closing ceremony is conducted. We took a private tuk
tuk for Rs 800 to reach the border.
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| Enroute Wageh Border in a tuk tuk |
The
ceremony starts at 5:00 pm in winters but it is recommended to go atleast two hours
before the ceremony starts – first to get better seats and secondly to clear
the security check. Please carry only the essential items as they will not let
you to carry anything else to the border area. Locker facility is available in
the parking area. Cameras are allowed.
Before
the ceremony the Indian women (from the spectators) are asked to run on the
road with the Indian Flag followed by them dancing.
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| The Ceremony Starts |
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| Crowd at Wagah Border |
The
main show starts after this. The officers of both the countries – India &
Pakistan – dressed in their respective uniform starts by shouting some
commands. They start marching towards the border gate like gymnasts and
throwing their legs up till their head.
After
lot of marching and shouting commands the flags of both the country are lowered
simultaneously. During the ceremony the border gate is opened for few minutes
and then closed after shaking hands with the commander of the other country.
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| Soldiers of India & Pakistan |
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| Lowering of the Flag |
The
entire ceremony does not take more than half an hour.
Throughout
the time the spectators are shouting slogans with respect to the motherland.
You could see lot of Indian Flags amidst the crowd and hear slogans and
clapping on numerous occasions.
On
the Indian side of the border, construction is on – they are making the stadium
wider and in some time more spectators can come and witness the ceremony in its
full glory.
Food
This
city is the apt place for foodies; from Amritsari Kulcha, to aloo chole puri, to
sarson da saag and makki di roti to Lassis to Jalebis… you can spend breakfast
to dinner relishing delicacy after delicacy, one better than the other. There
are numerous places where you can go and eat and it’s very difficult to decide
which is your favorite. But if you are looking for some recommendations – try
Kesar da Dhaba, Kanha Sweets, Langar at Golden Temple.
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| Breakfast at Kanha Sweets |
It
is the Golden Temple for which I will come back to the
city. And the finger licking food … and the patriotic feeling you get at the
Wagah Border…
Seems
I am coming back to the city again.. for just about everything.
