From Guru’s Doorstep to Down the Wire!!

I was a globe trotter then don’t misjudge me. It was work which took me there, yet. some of my visits were unforgettable. Frankly speaking moving around India gave me more pleasure than somewhere else. The travelogue today I am going to share was one of my best. My destination was north, Kulu-Manali-Simla-Delhi but I decided to drop at Amritsar before going through others.

Specially Amritsar was my idea because traveling through the mountains itself is a tiresome job and Amritsar to Manali was a quite hectic, so my family was against it but finally they gave in to my wish. We decided to stay in Gurdwara, so before traveling I met the people in the local Gurdwara to get an idea. So, we started with Amritsar and the famous Golden Temple.

Amritsar

Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. Amritsar is situated 217 kilometres northwest of state capital Chandigarh and is 32 kilometres east of Lahore, Pakistan and therefore, very close to India's western border with Pakistan.

Harminder Sahib

The Harmandir Sahib, also referred to as the Golden Temple, Construction of the gurdwara was begun by Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru, and completed by his successor, Guru Arjan Dev. In the early nineteenth century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh secured the Punjab region from outside attack and covered the upper floors of the gurdwara with gold, which gives it its distinctive appearance and English name of "Golden Temple".

It was October and it was durga Puja time. We reached Amritsar by a train with same name. We reached Amritsar around eight in the morning and got bus waiting there that belongs to Gurdwara itself. It was a free ride. Once we reached there we got a room too in Guru Arjan Dev Niwas. After the bath first thing we did was visited the Golden Temple. I was amazed by the beauty and surrounding. That afternoon we had food at the Gurdwara itself. Visiting Gurdwaras and having food at langar is not new for me. I had long association with some wonderful Sikh people but the arrangement in this Langar was exceptional. It is opened to all throughout the day and rich and poor eating together. The other things which fascinated me was the discipline in the temple. There were Kar Sevaks, those are serving the temple in every department, cleaning, washing dishes and helping in other area too. Lakhs of peoples visiting every day yet there is not a single untoward incident registered.

The real surprise was stored when we visited Wagah border, I heard about it but never knew that the experience would be the

Wagah Border

Wagah is the only road border crossing between India and Pakistan, and lies on the Grand Trunk Road between the cities of Amritsar, India and Lahore, Pakistan. Wagah itself is a village through which the controversial Radcliffe Line was drawn. The village was divided by independence in 1947. Today, the eastern half of the village remains in the Republic of India while the western half is in Pakistan.

The Wagah border, often called the "Berlin wall of Asia", is a ceremonial border on the India–Pakistan Border where each evening there is a retreat ceremony called 'lowering of the flags', which has been held since 1959. At that time there is an energetic parade by the Border Security Force (B.S.F) of India and the Pakistan Rangers soldiers. It may appear slightly aggressive and even hostile to foreigners but in fact the paraders are imitating the pride and anger of a Cockerel. Troops of each country put on a show in their uniforms with their colorful turbans. Border officials from the two countries sometimes walk over to the offices on the other side for day to day affairs. The happenings at this border post have been a barometer of the India-Pakistan relations over the years.

We traveled there by a car but then have to walk a kilometer. The mood in the crowds were very charged one during 'lowering of the flags' at sunset. In the evening we came to back to Gurdwara but my mood was remain charged with same emotion.

Next day we explored the places near by the Gurdwara and no need to say that includes Jalianwala Bagh and day after that we left Amritsar by car. Those two days was very special one, one for the Golden Temple itself and other one for Wagah Border.

!!!While standing at the border had a unique feeling, I felt like more Indian than before!!!