Amritsar: Sikhs Holy City
Amritsar is another of the places we went, that is quite a popular tourist attraction for domestic Indian tourists. It houses the Golden temple (Harmandir Sahib), which is the most significant and holiest site within Sikhism.
After getting settled in the hotel we took a taxi to central Amritsar, and walked in the direction of the Golden temple. The streets were packed with people, many of whom seemed to be tourists. There were also a lot of military police present, which had been the status quo since earlier in the year, when members of the Khalistan movement (independence movement) had held rallies outside the Golden Temple and also across Punjab.
The Golden temple was quite the structure. To enter you have to leave your shoes outside, so there is a whole system for quickly depositing them outside. The actual Golden temple is located in the middle of a pool inside the compound's grounds. The temple was originally built in the early 1600’s, but has since been improved upon several times. The gold ceiling of the main temple was first added by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the early 1800’s.
The white stone of the building complex surrounding the inner pool, greatly contrasted with the golden outline of the Main Temple, and the whole complex shone brightly, when the sun finally showed up. In one of the other temples outside the pool area, they served food for everyone who came by, similar to our experience in some Hindu temples.
The Sikhs have their own holy book (named Guru Granth Sahib), and similar to Islam and Christianity they believe in one deity, the Waheguru. In other words Sikhism is a monotheistic religion, which makes it stand out from Hinduism and the many sects of Hinduism. Sikh men are most easily recognised by the colorful turbans they usually wear, worn to hold and cover their long hair, which they are not supposed to cut for religious reasons.
Next after visiting the Golden Temple, we took a taxi from Amritsar to the Indian-Pakistani border to witness the border crossing ceremony, which is quite the spectacle. I already realised there was gonna be quite the crowd inside the stadium as the parking lots were packed to the brim with cars. Inside loud music was being played to entertain the crowds, who were eagerly waiting for the actual ceremony to commence.
We had great seating as we had been led into what was called the VIP grandstand, this because we were foreign tourists it seemed. Men in colorful ceremonial uniforms were doing all kinds of dances, and the Indian crowd watching it all started chanting “Hindustan, Hindustan, one nation!”. The smaller stadium across on the Pakistani side of the border was entirely empty. This was because it was in the middle of Ramadan, we were told.
Outside the stadium, after the ceremony had ended Boye and I walked past what seemed to be an exhibition of military equipment used during the wars with Pakistan. The ceremony and exhibition showed a more nationalistic and different side of India, that we hadn’t experienced thus far, and the show was certainly something else.
Next time I post a blog I will be back in India. My going back to Kashmir, will coincide perfectly with the next chapter of the current story I’ve been telling, being in Srinagar, Kashmir. I’m thinking of trying to incorporate the present with that past in some shape or form. We’ll see how it turns out. A happy new year to friends, family and other readers of my blog. Cheers!