Amritsar

The heart and soul of Amritsar is the famous Golden Temple, the most sacred place of pilgrimage for Sikhs. Amritsar, literally meaning Pool of Nectar, derives its name from the Amrit Sarovar that surrounds the Golden Temple. Enter this Gurudwara and you will experience the serenity and calmness born of spirituality despite being situated amidst a maze of narrow lanes and bustling markets. The Akal Takht, next to the Golden Temple, is the seat of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, the religious governing body of the Sikhs. The Guru-ka-langar or community canteen is a Sikh institution started by Guru Amar Das in the 16th century. The practice of eating together encouraged the shedding of inhibitions and the principle of equality. The community kitchen feeds up to 10,000 people in a day, free of charge.
Amritsar holds a very significant role in the history and culture of Sikhism in the world. The Jallianwala Bagh, is a small stretch of plain ground now converted into a park. A memorial plaque at the entrance recounts the history of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Inside, a martyrs memorial stands on the eastern end, while the well and bullet-ridden walls remain testimonials to the bloodbath.
Other places of interest in Amritsar are the Gurudwara Baba Atal Sahib, Durgiana Temple, the Ram Bagh Gardens with a museum housed in the palace built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Flag lowering ceremony at Wagah Border. The city is well connected by air, road and railways.
Best time to visit: November to March
Languages spoken: Punjabi
Climate: Hot and dry summers and a cold sometimes freezing winter.
Holy Places: Golden Temple, Gurudwara Baba Atal Sahib, Dhan Dhan Khalsa, Durgiana Temple
Historical Sites: Jallianwala Bagh
Places of Interest: Ram Bagh Gardens with a museum in Maharaja Ranjit Singhs Palace, Wagah Border

A visit to Jallianwala Bagh, Golden Temple & Wagha Border

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Today India is a vibrant Nation. However, we tend to take many things for granted. In our normal day to day, routine life we hardly remember them who sacrificed their life to free our motherland. On our 66th years of Independence, let’s make a resolution to make India beautiful and fight against terrorism, anti-social elements, corruptions…each one of us can make a difference.

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Trip to Darbar Sahib-Where self meets the soul…-I

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There is this railway crossing on the Dinanagar-Gurdaspur stretch of NH-15 which lies miraculously at the centre of a leftward curve. Most of the drivers usually get caught unaware at this crossing. I was familiar with the notoriety of this curve and hence was attentive to its arrival. Just after crossing over the railway line, we stopped near a fruit-seller to fill our empty stomachs and sat on the nearby tube-well to chat. Our jokes and pranks didn’t seem to end anytime soon but we realised that we should pull ahead. Back to the car, we hit the road again and entered Gurdaspur city after 10 kms. There is a bypass which you can take to avoid the traffic and congestion at the Gurdaspur town but since it was a national holiday (2nd Oct), the traffic was sparse and we drove through the city. Looking around for some nice place to have a proper breakfast, all four of us had our necks craned out of the window. However, any place proposed by one was put down by the rest…a big disadvantage of traveling in an all-guys-group i think. Suddenly, I saw a turbanated policeman signalling us to stop. I just wanted to zip ahead as we were on the right side of law in every respect (thats what I believed till then) but Jaspreet insisted that we should stop as the Punjab Police cops chase such cars which dont stop and then harrass you even more…the job they are best at. Stopping a few metres ahead, I asked everyone to relax and not to get out of the car…a mistake that cost us 200 bucks!!! The Sardarji policeman came upto our car…positioned his elbows on the window and asked where we were from. We replied in Punjabi that we are from Jammu and heading towards The Harmandir Sahib. The Sardarji smiled at us and asked us why we had not fastened our seat belts…..HOLY SHIT… We realised that after we started driving from our last stop where we had fruits, we had just forgot to fasten our seat-belts.

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Balle Balle To Amritsar!

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We got more proof of people’s devotion when we saw children happily mopping the marble steps as people left or entered the hall. Then there were volunteers who were continuously cleaning candle wax from the marble pavement, even as new visitors kept lighting more candles.

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5. Naggar (HP) and road back home via Chandigarh-Rothak-Ajmer-Ahmedabad-Mumbai

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Had it not been for the book, Outlook Traveller Gateways (on HP), Naggar would not have happened. Books are still much much superior as compared to host of blogs and websites. Online forums, at best, are good for an “occasional tip” and that too happens cause people speak about the content which is quite recent. Books need to re-published. The Outlook Traveller Gateways (on HP) which I referred to was published in 2008 and two years down the line nothing much had changed….

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