Amritsar – home to the “Golden temple “. We boarded Amritsar Shatabdi express to Amritsar in the morning from Delhi. All of us were eager to visit this religious and historic place.
Well , on reaching Amritsar station, we saw a replica of the golden temple at the Railway Station itself.
Model of Golden Temple at Railway Station
We had checked in a hotel which was a walking distance away from the Golden temple. This time we did not book any package stay with meals so that we could enjoy Amritsar street food. There are restaurants and hotels to cater to all budgets. After relaxing for a while , we went to Golden temple complex in the evening. Sikhs visit this holy shrine from all over the world.
On enetering the Golden Temple , I could actually feel the divine presence.We quietly removed our shoes and deposited them at – joda ghar , where sevaks kept them safely. Then tied our scarfs on head as a sign of respect to the Golden Temple. In a small pool of water, we washed our feet and went to the main complex.There are four enterences to the temple complex signifying the openness of Sikhs to all people and religions.
View of Golden Temple from entry
Everyone was quietly walking and praying. Harmandir sahib means the temple of God. Its in the middle of a tank of holy water (Amritsar – Pool of nectar of immortality) , giving name to the city around it.I was standing by the holy waters and meditating when suddenly my younger kid shouted – “Mama see beautiful fishes!”
Sarovar and Golden temple
The cool wind was blowing as we started walking around the sarovar. In the evening, reflection of gurudwara in holy waters was a spectacular sight. The upper floors of the temple were covered in Gold by Maharaja Ranjit Singh – giving its spectacular view and the English name.We visited the main complex and decided to come back the next day again.
It was time to treat ourselves to delicious Amritsari food. We went to most popular near by ‘Do Bharawain Da Dhaba’ and had tasty dinner.
Bharawan da dhaba
We then took a cycle rikshaw for the famous Jalebi chowk to have hot jalebis as sweet dish.
Next day we got up early in the morning and reached Golden Temple Gurudwara again. All of us had a dip in holy sarovar and then visited the main complex. We had Guru ka Langar in the temple complex . I was surprised to see the huge number of people having Prasada and tea. We also saw holy trees and many memorial plaques that tell about Sikh historical events, saints and martyrs.
View of Golden Temple complex surrounding the holy sarovar
Another view of Golden Temple complex
It was time to go to another historical place – the Jallianwala Bagh. In this park, hundreds of Indian civilians were fired as ordered by British General , Edward Dyer. It was on the day of Baisakhi -13th april 1919. We entered through the same narrow lane and my heart sank. I saw the teardrop memorial , museum , the martyrs well and bullet marks on the wall. I imagined what must have happened in those 10 mins of indiscriminate firing.
Museum at Jalianwala Bagh, Amritsar
Jalianwala Bagh, Amritsar
Bullet marks at Jalianwala Bagh
Tear drop memorial
Martyr’s well
Bullet marks were actually telling a story of sacrifices of our people who fought for our independence. I came out with a heavy heart.
We then took a cab and reached another Hindu temple – The Durgiyana Temple , constructed on the pattern of golden temple. It is also called Silver temple for its silver doors. It houses hindu Goddess Sita mata mandir and Bada Hanuman.
Durgiana Temple complex
Our family friends picked us up from bypass and we reached the Wagah Border by 4 pm. It’s the road border crossing between the India and Pakistan on Grand Trunk Road between cities of Amritsar and Lahore. Its named after the village Wagah through which during partition of India , the Redcliffe’s line crosses. India has eastern half of village while Pakistan has the western half. To tell you the truth , I was wondering if dividing nation helps anybody in any way because sign board read Lahore – 22 kms from Wagah & Amritsar – 32 kms. So , actually I was standing closer to Lahore than Amritsar.
The lowering of flags ceremony or the Beating Retreat ceremony at International level takes place daily at sunset by perfectly coordinated military men from Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers. It starts with a parade, followed by opening of gates at sunset , lowering of flags and a brusque handshake between soldiers from either side and closing of gates.The spectacle attracts people from both sides of the border and international tourists as well. There was a euphoria of public singing patriotic songs which even I enjoyed. But, the place was very crowded and audiences remained stood for the show making it difficult to watch the scene.
Parade at Wagah Border
Beating retreat ceremony
We retired to our hotel tired but I could not stop thinking of partition and its effects on Amritsar city.
I had so many different experiences in two days that I actually started to like this historic city. We had our breakfast at hotel and packed our luggage. We did a bit of shopping from Katra market , took some beautiful suits , papad, various masalas and laddos from Bansal sweets. We had a glimpse of Lawrence road before boarding our train to Delhi.
Some facts about Amritsar
- Golden Temple was built by 5th Sikh guru , Guru Arjan Dev ji , who completed the Holy Adi granth – Guru Granth Sahib and installed it in the gurudwara in 1604 .
- Golden Temple is also known as Harmandir sahib or Darbar sahib. It’s the supreme centre of Sikhism & home to the Akal Takth the supreme Sikh Religious council .
- Sri Harmandir sahib runs one of the largest free kitchens in the world , serving almost 100,000 people daily.
- Sarovar is fed by river Ganga
- General Dyer had taken along with him 50 Gurkha riflemen
- According to British Raj 379 people were killed but as per other sources, more than 1000 were killed
(Reference wikipedia)
I would recommend this city to all for its high cultural & historical nature.
Nidhi KM
©Viharin.com
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