Woke up at 6:45 am, took a quick shower and headed towards the Golden temple at 7:30 am. It's mandatory for everyone to cover their head inside any Gurudwara, so I got myself a scarf to cover my head and got one for Chitti (that's what Linda calls my Royal Enfield. Inspired from the movie of one of our favourite actors - RAJNIKANT !!! ) too.
At the gates of the Golden Temple I was asked to deposit my camera bag as no bags were allowed inside. The arrangements for such deposits were well managed.
The first sight of the sun-kissed Golden temple, and I knew that the day was not gonna be just another day in my life*. It's a sight that makes your spirit buoyant. The soothing kirtan (Punjabi devotional song) sung live from the temple added to the magic. One doesn't need to understand Punjabi to feel the Kirtan through the veins. Standing beside the holy pool, I stared at the Golden temple experiencing something which words fail to describe.
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| My first glimpse of The Golden Temple |
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| The sight got grander |
As I walked around the temple, I saw many volunteers sweeping the floor, cleaning the pool or engaged in some noble activity or the other.
Inside the temple, I was lucky enough to see one devotee offering a chadar to be laid over the holy book. It took two men to unfold the chadar. I swear I had not seen a design like that before. The patterns in the chadar were beautiful. Everyone in the prayer hall was just staring at the chadar. I am not sure, but it looked like the chadar was embroidered in silver. It was a heavy one. It took some effort from the two volunteers to place it over the holy book. What struck me was the fact that few moments after the beautiful chadar was placed over the holy book, another devotee offered a chadar. It was a regular chadar, not regular in terms of prayers it held but regular in terms of design. This chadar was immediately placed over the previous one and the intricate beautiful design of the preceding chadar could only be felt but not seen. ‘All is one in the house of God’ - a sweet lesson at the Golden temple.
Soon it was time to execute my next plan.
I had langar for breakfast at the Golden temple*. I had always admired the Langar concept in Sikhism where the healthy, wealthy, sick, poor all sit together, one beside the other, having the same meal. It was for this reason that I had listed Golden temples Langar on my wishlist some years back and I would not have left Amritsar without striking it off from the list. I can confidently say that such a strong humanity lesson cannot be seen elsewhere apart from Sikhism. Oh, I forgot to mention. It's free for all.
The Langar started with roti, dal and vegetable curry. It was then followed by rice and there was kheer for dessert.
After the Langar, I wanted to volunteer to wash the plates but there was a long queue for that. I guess one needs to be destined to serve in the Golden temple. It was not my time yet.
After this beautiful start to my day, I walked towards a rather gloomy place. A place where one can still listen to the cries of pain - The Jallianwala Bagh. It was at this place during the British rule where British General Dyer mercilessly ordered his troops to fire on the hundreds of unarmed people who had gathered there.
It was a bright sunny day, but everything that I saw in the Jallianwala Bagh that day sent a chill down my spine.
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| Something funereal about this tower |
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| The well where many jumped to escape the rain of bullets |
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| All the surrounding walls have bullet marks on them |
In the Jallianwala Bagh museum, I learned about Udham Singh. A name that I don't recollect reading much about in my history textbooks. Not a very iconic national figure by that measure. In fact, Udham Singh would have a very low familiarity score, across the nation (except Punjab) as compared to other freedom fighter icons (will not name them to avoid controversy). I learned that Udham Singh was the guy who went to London and shot General Dyer as a vengeance killing, rightfully. He was later executed in London. The museum, which has all the chronicles of Udham’s life kept me engaged for about an hour. Some of the statements that he made during his trial in London after he was caught were too bold which explained why his contribution was underplayed in our ‘An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind’ fairy tale education system. The highlight of the museum is the urn which holds the ashes of the Udham Singh. I had walked in Jallianwala Bagh as a regular tourist, but when I walked out, I had a freedom fighter icon who I had started idolizing.
I walked out of the museum at 11 am. I was feeling very tired after the strenuous ride of the previous day. My forearms were also aching due to the exertion. I had to leave for my next destination at around 2 pm, so I decided to take a short nap. Before that, I called Linda and learned that she had a fever the previous night. She told me she was angry with me for not being there to support her when she was sick and needed me the most, but quickly added that she was angry only for some time. Funnily she was supporting me even when she was in need of support only to ensure that I enjoy my trip. Tigress, my Linda is.
A short nap for about an hour went a long way to address my fatigue. I left for another exciting destination @ 1:30 PM - Wagah border.
Wagah border is the historic place where every evening, two archenemy countries, display their superiority over the other, in a mutually well-choreographed drill of Flag lowering ceremony. Personally speaking, if I had to name ‘two things not to miss in India’, one would be Taj Mahal and the other would be Wagah Border flag-lowering ceremony (sitting at the India side. Not being biased here)
I was told that the Wagah border gates open for the drill at 4 Pm, but to secure a good seat I had to reach early. Wagah border is about 20 kms from Amritsar. I reached the border at 2:30 pm. I learned that helmets are not allowed across the border and this hidden truth gave an opportunity for the local hawkers to make some money. The hawkers had an arrangement of storing the helmets for a charge of Rs 10. It was a subsidised rate because I had Maggie from the same hawkers for my lunch at Wagah border*.
There was one guy who was selling video CDs of the famous flag-lowering drill. He was a master salesman and a smooth talker. He was doing a good business as compared to others selling the same CD. His killer sales pitch made all the difference. His street-smart business science deemed fit for a marketing case study. He knew he had a product which had the interest of his target audience and he had got the behavioural science right too. He had understood that all those who come to the Wagah border would already have their patriotism stimulated. If someone would refuse to buy the CD, he would spike their patriotism by saying, "Aab aapne desh kay logo se he toh aapna pet ka gujara karunga. Ye CD border kay uus par Pakistan may toh nahi bech sakta na ? Khali 50 rupay hai meray dost" (Now I can only depend on my own countrymen to make my living. I can't sell this CD to Pakistanis, right? It's just Rs.50 my friend).
He pitched his proposition to me too and it took some real endurance to convince him that I would not convert. I told him that I personally wanted to record the event. He had one look at my camera and said, "Chalo, ek photo toh le lo hamaray saath" (At least take one photo with me)
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| "Ek photo toh le lo hamaray saath' , said the maverick |
Meanwhile, I got a call from Sarada, one of my business partners in Bangalore who works for a leading news channel. I thought it was just another business extraction call, but I was grossly mistaken. It was not a “Oh Ok! I didn't know that. Bye. See you soon” call, but it was a call of genuine concern. He had learned about the floods in J&K and he knew that I was riding the same route. He had genuinely called to check if I was fine. In that blistering heat, his call served as a cooling effect on me. It was ‘cool’ to know that some still believe in a meaningful relationship, much beyond economics. That call form Sarada won me for life.
There was no point of reaching the border early because the merciless heat prevented anyone to queue in front of the gate in hope of securing a good seat to view the parade. Everyone present there were on a lookout for a shady place to save them from the sweltering heat. The ice cream and chilled water sellers were making easy money.
Soon the drama unfolded. The emcee of both side (India & Pakistan) leaves no stone unturned to charge each side of the crowd.
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| The other side |
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| The emcee: He is quite often seen in YouTube clips of Wagah Videos |
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| And he gets into the act |
Pretty soon the overcharged crowd (We don't know how to handle our charge & drinks) started to shout, “Aab gate khol do. Aab dikha dengay uun logo ko” (Open the gates now, we will show our might to them). The situation was funny, but it took some sensible senior citizens to calm the crowd and take it in the right spirit.
Then, it was showtime. The opening act from the India side was left to the women power. It was more of a well-designed ‘In your face’ punch from India to Pakistan.
Once I reached the hotel, I had my dinner from one of the dhaba right in front of the Golden temple. The ‘special nan’ was something that I never tasted before.
After dinner, I walked into the Golden Temple to see it in the night.
I sat beside the holy lake for about 45 minutes and was fortunate to see the end of a prayer session where the holy book gets carried away to a different part of the temple. With that lucky sight, my stay in Amritsar came to an end.
At the end of the 25th Day, I had covered a distance of 67 km . The memory, gold plated, forever.
*All the special moments which I would not get a chance to do otherwise are in bold
(Do read the other days chronicle listed on the same page)
#Royalenfield #trip #leh #bikeride #adventure #ladakh #travel
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