The glory of the Golden Temple of Amritsar

Like Taj Mahal, the Golden Temple at Amritsar too is one of the celebrity hotspots. What makes this a compelling place? Read on... It is always such a nice feeling to visit a place of worship. And the Golden Temple at Amritsar was on my list for long and my friend tagged along. First, I took a flight to Delhi, and from there it was an overnight journey to the temple town by train. Loud noises awakened us and we realised we were almost there! We hailed a cycle rickshaw from the station to reach the hotel. As the cycle rickshaw took us through the empty streets, aromas of freshly brewed tea from the hotels who had just begun their business, hit our nostrils. The scene near the temple though was buzzing with activities. People were seen going about their business. We chose a hotel opposite the temple so that we could hop in and out of the place to see the Gurudwara at any hour. Soon as we settled into the comforts of the hotel room, it was time for out customary steaming cup of lemon tea. We set out to take a first look at the golden marvel. Scores of people washing their feet before covering their heads with bandannas (scarves) was a common sight at the temple entrance. Covering your head is mandatory, so you can either buy one or pick up a free one at the entrance. We walked on the cold marble floors as we admired the ornate domes of the gurudwara. The belief and faith is infectious as you reach the Amrit Sarovar (the water body around the marvellous structure reflecting the Golden Temple in all its glory). Our murmurs turned mute as we approached the Harmandir Sahib that houses the sacred Adi Granth scripture. Sikh saints/Gurus could be seen reading the holy book. There's pin drop silence as each visitor bows before the holy granth as a mark of respect. As we stepped out of the temple complex, we could see volunteers (sewadars) peeling vegetables and washing dishes. All Sikhs are expected to offer free service at the Gurudwara at least once in their lifetime. On our way out of the temple we bought some karas (the Sikh religious bangle) as a souvenir. It was time for breakfast and we headed straight to a nearby hotel that served us the yummy stuffed parantha with a dollop of butter on top that melted away. The rich Indian bread made us feel stuffed too and thus we decided to walkit up to reach our next destination on our sightseeing list - the famous Jallianwala bagh. The site (park) has proof of the 1919 massacre in Amritsar. It is there that the soldiers of the British Indian Army opened fire on an unarmed gathering comprising men, women and children! The firing that lasted 10 minutes killed 1579 people. The wall bears evidence to the tragedy in the form of bullet holes. Another protected monument inside the bagh (park/garden) is the Martyrs' well in which many people jumped to seek refuge only to drown. The sight of bullet hole marks that stands testimony to the British atrocities then makes every visitor go numb. We could sense a change in our emotional state too as we examined one of the most tragic events in our history. The memorial visit was a sobering experience indeed! I wasn't sure if it was the heat orthe site visit that made us exhausted! In any case, we needed a breather. We sipped some fresh sugarcane juice and set out for some retail therapy! Sometimes, retail therapy can do wonders to your spirit. Besides elevating your mood, it can also kill your hunger. That's exactly what happened to us. We gave lunch a miss, took a quick siesta and headed out to our next destination which was a maze of sorts. The Mata Lal Devi Mandir is similar to Vaishnodevi shrine in Jammu. We had to pass through labyrinth of caves and low tunnels. We also waded through ankle-deep water to reach some mirrored halls (sheesh Mahal) and catch sight of some colourfully decked-up deities. After the temple visit which felt more like a fun activity, we settled for an early dinner. On our walk back to the hotel room post dinner, we treated ourselves to the popular kesar pista kulfi - it was as if we had saved the best for the last, Kulfi was the perfect dessert after lip-smacking paranthas and sarson ka saag (a punjabi specialty). We reached our room only to realise we couldn't retire yet as we hadn't seen the spectacular night view of the beautifully lit up temple. We quickly pulled out our head scarves and headed straight to see the breathtakingly beautiful golden glory! The experience was worth the effort as we took a tour of the entire temple complex again. Even though we were drained out after a jam-packed-eventful day, the soul had no remorse at all as the calming effect of the place made the body forget all its pain!