The day finally arrived when we would see one of the most well-known attractions in India and probably in all of the world, the Golden Temple of Amritsar.
Thousands and thousands of people of all faiths and of no faith come to this northern Indian city to see and experience this iconic landmark.
Cintra and I were exceptionally fortunate to be the guests of Baldev and Manjit Singh Kaur and their son Satbir. The Kaurs are devout Sikhs and visit the temple on an almost daily basis to pray and pay respects to their spiritual leaders and teachers.
We first experienced the Kaurs' hospitality when we arrived at the Amritsar Airport. We had not known the family before, but we are friends of their daughter, Prabjot, and son-in-law, Gagan, in Regina.
As we left the baggage area of the airport, there were our hosts with big wide smiles and a lovely bouquet of flowers. They received us as family and made us feel at home in their house. We met Manjit and their two and a half year old British granddaughter Japleen.
The Gaurs wasted no time the same afternoon in taking us to the Golden Temple, not far from their house. We were almost breathless seeing this holy place in the midst of a large lake. We relied on our hosts to guide us through the routine procedures of taking off our shoes, covering our heads, and entering the complex, first by walking through a shallow stream to wash our feet.
It boggles the mind that huge crowds frequent this temple 24 hours a day, year round. Hundreds sleep on the floors overnight. Not surprisingly, we joined a line about 10 deep as we inched our way to the temple.
Another small procedure is to purchase a small amount of "prashad" to present as an offering upon entering the temple.
It seemed to take about 30 to 45 minutes before we finally entered the Gurdwara and had a closer look at this gold plated centre of the Sikh faith. The temple itself occupies a small area in a massive complex consisting of the lake and a rectangle of buildings used for a variety of purposes.
While trying to concentrate on the beauty and majesty of the building, it is hard to miss the throngs of worshippers squatting or sleeping throughout the complex. Most were praying, some would walk and pause and hold their hands in the posture of prayer, some went into a special section of the lake for a holy dip, some would reach into the water and sprinkle themselves and whisper a prayer.
The complex was filled with the amplified sound of the spiritual leaders reading from the holy book. One could see worshippers following the chanting or reading from little books.
Worshippers pause to stop and kiss any of the many symbols that they consider holy. These include the many shrines in the complex, objects or places that were significant in the lives of the Gurus.
We entered the temple in silence and witnessed the reading and chanting as well as the holy book, the centre of the Gurdwara experience.
We walked through as many rooms as possible and everywhere there were worshippers praying or chanting. Copies of the holy book are in numerous rooms and worshippers walk past and pray or sing in front of them.
There was so much more to being in this most famous Sikh place of worship in its golden splendor. Our hosts decided we would need more than one visit, especially to see it in lights.
However, in the intense heat of this blazing sunny day, we took some time to visit other parts of the complex such as the kitchen and the museum.
The visit to the museum was as educational and interesting as it was disturbing. It effectively summarized the history of the Sikh religion in large graphic paintings. While many simply showed images of the 10 Gurus who played varying roles in Sikhism, it also portrayed the struggles Sikhs had at the hands of others who inflicted gruesome punishments on them.
Outside of the museum, we saw signs of military actions taken to destroy the Golden Temple.
It is hard to imagine more graphic examples of a faith community bearing up under such adversity.
The Golden Temple is one of many Gurdwaras in Amritsar and in all of Punjab. We had the opportunity on the second day of our visit to tour two other large temples. One of these was at Tarn Taran and was built on a large lake. However, rather than being in the middle like the Golden Temple it was situated on the side, and was only partially covered in gold plating. The lake is larger than at the Golden Temple and is effectively the largest body of holy water attached to a Sikh temple.
The second Gurdwara at Goindwal has many of the features of other temples plus a pool where worshippers bathe for cleansing and healing. The distinctive quality of this pool is it at the bottom of 84 flights of stairs. The 84 is significant in Sikhism. This pool and Gurdwara were built under the supervision of the fifth Guru. He used to run a home for leprosy patients in the temple.
This Gurdwara also has a stipulation laid down by the Guru that all visitors of any faith must partake in Langar, the Sikh communal meal. So, before leaving the temple, we joined in Langar and did a quick tour of the kitchen.
Our next stop in Punjab was a most interesting and unexpected treat. We drove to the India-Pakistan border to witness the famed changing of the guards.
We were caught up in a massive frenzied crowd jostling to enter the gates to see this daily display. For Cintra and me it was slightly helpful that we had to join a much smaller queue for foreigners.
By the time we made it inside, we were seated in a less crowded section, but were separated from Baldev, Manjit, Satbir and Jableen.
We waited almost two hours in the blazing sun, while being entertained to loud Indian music. About an hour before the border ceremonies, young women carried the Indian flag in front of spectators. Then young women were invited to the front to dance to the music.
Shortly after 6 p.m. a most amazing ceremony, also called Beating the Retreat, took place where guards from both nations marched in various orders to the common gate. There they performed some symbolic acts of military strength, marched on both sides of the gate and then at sundown in a simultaneous action they lowered the flags of India and Pakistan. After the lowering of the flags, the iron gates are shut. The pre-ceremony shows were similar for Pakistan spectators as the were for the Indians, with boisterous cheering from both sides.
Following the ceremony, Satbir met us on the way out and suggested we see the small post that symbolizes the border. He actually persuaded two different guards to allow us to take the shorter but wrong route to this spot. He pleaded with them to let us through because "we were from the West Indies." I asked him why didn't he tell them we were from Canada. He said they connect better with West Indies because of their love for cricket.
So there we were just a few feet away from a throng of Pakistini visitors on the other side of a railing. And across from them was an equally large crowd of Indians. This for me was the most memorable and touching part as the Pakistinis were frantically waving in friendship to the Indians. (See 3rd photo above).
That made for a full and fascinating day of touring in Punjab. We made it home exhausted by the day's activities but energized especially by the exuberance of the guards and the spectators.
We immediately made plans to attend the early morning procession of the holy book at the Golden a Temple. After a few hours rest, I was up and joined Baldev and Satbir to see the procession.
We arrived just a few minutes late to see the holy book delivered to its holy place, but we saw the carriage being brought back.
On arrival at the complex around 4 a.m., I was able to see the temple in the glow of lights and reflected in the water. It was a sight I was anxious to see and it was worth it. Here it is at dawn.
My hosts then took me on their walk through the various holy places as they paused to pray and sing. We had the opportunity also to visit the Sri Durgiana Hindu Mandir that was built with a similar appearance as the Golden Temple.
On our last night in Amritsar, we returned to the temple around 10 p.m. to witness the closing procession of the holy book and to see the temple as it looks lit up. Here it is at night.
After a special Punjabi lunch and a bit of shopping, Baldev and Satbir surprised us with a brief tour of Jallianwalla Bagh, a location known to anyone familiar with the fight for Indian independence. This is the garden where in 1919 Brig. Gen. Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to shoot a group of unarmed civilians who were meeting to protest British policies. It is believed close to 400 were killed and thousands wounded. This marked the start of the non-co-operation movement led by Mahatma Gandhi.
Another surprise was when the father of a friend, Kulbir, from Regina dropped in to say hello after I called him to say hello rom his daughter. It turns out he was the Deputy Chief of the Punjab Police, who invited us to his home on our way to the airport for our flight to Delhi.
The thought keeps running through our minds that there just isn't enough time to see the many more things we want to see in this country. All our hosts have said, "Next time you come..."
Thanks for joining us on this last leg of our visit to the Indian subcontinent. I apologize for the length of this blog, but hope you found it informative.
We hope to have a final chapter when we return to Regina, unless something very exciting happens before that.
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