This has been a long pending post; I probably even have some drafts stored but no clear memory of it.
The city of the famed golden temple, the historically important jallianwala bagh and the capital for the Sikh religion.
(No points for guessing, unless you are some foreigner)
High seated rickshaws (just like the ones you find in Calcutta), Auto rickshaws which are the equivalent of Hyderabadi seven seaters in terms of size. Over enthusiastic people. Roads with no traffic sense whatsoever (a very small town version of Hyderabad traffic). Hotels that reside in archaic buildings. Tandoors sold at the road side in a size range that reminded me of the cauldron shop in HP. Houses that made me think 'So this is where ekta kapoor got inspired fort portraying sizes of middle class houses'.
Our three bed roomed flat with all its junk would fit into the halls of all the houses I visited (or just saw).Even the smallest house we went to was huge!!
I have never seen any other city or town with so many girls driving vehicles (cars and bikes of all kinds mainly).Made me feel quite ashamed of myself actually.
Distances seem so short in small cities like this. In the time we take to go from one end to the other in my native city you could tour the entire of Amritsar (this is stating the obvious, but every time I go to a new place I tend to look at it like this).
Public transport is well not too great. Thankfully we had a driver (come field worker, come good guide) and so did not face too much trouble. Yes, I did get to travel in a rickshaw. (I like rickshaws, maybe it is because of the childhood memories I associate with them)
The first place I visited while there was Wagha Border. We managed to get a decent view (though I will not get started about by haath giving camera, lets just say I DID not have a camera there).The entire 'panchi nadiya pavan key ...' feel happened. It was so nice to see this entire patriotic drama happening there. The viewers at our end (Indian end) were playing all kinds of 'desh bhakt' songs (including shanker ehsaan and loy's first bollywood attempt).And kids and youngsters were dancing non stop. The entire 'coordinate-concentrate-perform' was happening. Reminded me of school independence day celebrations.
The other end I couldn’t see so much naach gaana happening but maybe I did not notice too well.
Then came the entire ceremonious 'lowering of flags' What worried me the most was, how do those BSF jawans not have knee problems when they stomp their feet so hard. EVERYtime! Quite scary! But it is totally worth seeing. To me it was like watching a shoot for some film.
I dislike posing somehow (especially without company).So I did the clicking while the person who came with me posed against the background of the gates. (Right after the ceremony they announced that you can come near the gate (near as allowed) and click away.)
Then we landed up at golden temple, quite unplanned. Trust me, the feeling is unbelievable. I always heard about it. Seen it so many times on television. Seen its photographs. Nothing feels like just standing at the gate and seeing the temple.
First we had to pick up scarves (kept in a basket right outside the gate), wrapped it around our heads. And our guide for the day Mr.Akshay Kumar (Yes that IS his name and he is very sportive about it) was directing me very patiently (the other person with us was not new to all this).After that we had water near the free stalls right beside it. There is a set of people continuously washing the used utensils (even inside at similar stalls).Then we washed our hands. And while stepping into the temple grounds there are small (can I say puddles?) of water where you wash your feet. The water was very clear.
And there you can see it, standing in the middle of a small lake. The golden temple, shining, with all its glory. We reached there around 8pm.So I saw the temple for the first time with all its lights etc. We were walking past the 'langar' (the community kitchen and hall) where free food is given (people who cook and serve there are all volunteers).Mr.Akshay just wanted to show me the kitchen and the hall. I wanted to eat later, but he said something which is what they believe in Sikhism--you have to take care of your worldly needs only then you can believe in god and worship him wholeheartedly. Worldly needs and not wants mind you. (He said it in better words, I wish I had noted them down then).So we ate at the langar, roti kheer and dal. Such simple delicious food. Yum.
Then we proceeded to the main shrine. I have probably never seen any holy place so crowded (this was a non peak time and day) but I did not expect it to be so peaceful. While coming out we had some prasad and visited 'beri baba buddaji' which is a beri tree and that part of the lake is said to have healing powers. I almost fell into the lake while trying to washing my feet and hands in it. I saw white with reddish design fish in the lake. The lake for all this is if I may add, cleaner than you expect.
After this we got out (before which Mr.Akshay also told me the reason behind what is called the Nishan sahib--sort of two poles(flag staffs?) crossed and risen to a great height-basically to direct people towards the gurdwara, every gurdwara has a similar one and showed me the akal takht which was damaged during operation blue star.)
On our way out we collect our footwear at an amazingly organised counter (again you find only volunteers here).The best part you get to wash your hands after you wear your shoes (very unlike many temples).
I did get to visit the temple on one of my last days in Amritsar but I did not visit the shrine then. Plus I did my shopping there (very little)
Food. Say the golden word in this place and people will be all set to stuff you down. I ate in Amritsar came to know the meaning of the word eat there.
Amritsari Kulcha -A paratha without stuffing made in a tandoor and lots n lots of ghee (clarified butter).
Chole Puri- Chole was different than whatever kind I ate before, but more that that what I liked were the aam ki chutney (sweet..Like the Marathi jam but this was chutney) and meeta aloo (I never imagined potato would taste good as a sweet curry).And these latter two are always (I am told) served with puri chole.
Paneer Paratha,Gobi Paratha,Aloo parantha- lots of ghee and served with butter and/or dahi
Sweet Potato-Roadside, My god! those 'dumppalu' are soooooooooo big! We do have them roasted even at home, even boiled. But these are sold boiled on 'bandis' and served with chaat masala on top.
Aloo tikki-By far the best aloo tikki I had on earth! Yum! Served with dahi and two other chutneys.
Pani Puri- I laughed when I ate pain puri there. It was an experience by itself. They serve pani puri with chilled water there. Cold-chilled. Hence making it a third variety of pani puri I tasted. Hyd and Mumbai have similar ones so they are counted as one. My favourite ones are Hyd and Kol waley.
Lassi-Oh my god! Lassi! Heaven! Served in those gigantic glasses shown in any punju by nature movies/tv shows. There’s lassi, topped with lather, garnished with cream and butter. It is so filling; it is as good as having two meals at once. I have had great lassi before. But the best was in Asr.
Kulfi-Served with what they call faluda. Quite nice.
I think I missed out a thing or two in food. But I will leave that there.
(Gosh this post is way longer than I thought it will be..And there is more it!!)
On the last day of our visit, I was visited by a friend whom I had not met in over 5 years! She came down from Beas (where her dad is currently posted) to Asr to see me. She has a special connection to the place because she studied there for 6 years. So there I had nice company again for the third place I really wanted to see in Asr. Jallianwallah Bagh. This dear advocate friend of mine can always have a brilliant part time career of being the perfect guide.
It was like revisiting history. The single gate entrance, the bulleted walls, the well. The musuem, the memorial, the amar jyot.One set being the witness to the massacre and the second being the respect giving symbols.
Standing in the bagh it was so difficult to picturise all those people going helter shelter to save their lives. The one or two old high rise buildings showing us the story of people who would have witnessed the massacre and hid for days. The well is now surrounded by a mesh and fencing (and why not, it is so very deep).You can see bullet marks on the few old walls. (Some parts have been renovated).I sadly missed out on seeing a main painting in the museum (the museum is actually just an exhibit of pictures of martyrs killed in the massacre and people who escaped it).I wish I had more time to spend there, but I did manage to see everything.
Apart from this I came to know facts like there is a walled city of Amritsar which has 12 gates. And within this lies everything culturally important to the city. Including the harmandir sahib (a.k.a darbar sahib a.k.a golden temple), the jallianwala bagh (which is just a stone throw away from the golden temple).The shops and market called 'hall bazaar’. I did not have the time to explore this market completely. Neither did I have time to hunt for non leather punjabi joothis.
Now coming to the cons....:)
People are much more regressive (is that the right word?) than back home. (Home=south India) or for that matter North East of India. Girls are seriously a mighty burden for them. To the point that financially well of families send their daughters to government schools and sons to the best of private schools. Girls if there are educated more than graduation find a matrimonial match with great difficulty (unless they settle for someone less than that).It isn't really about educational qualifications. It is how they look at girls there. We do find people like that here but the degree varies. The degree of how the girl is treated also varies. All men we encountered (except one or two) were pretty against the concept of women working. To them the traditional home maker was the ideal woman. (These are my observations of there, not personal views, that’ll take another post).
But all said and done, Amritsar people are cordial and warm. Without knowing us for more than a day we were treated so well by everybody we met! In fact to the extent that we hardly ever paid for a meal during our week long stay. That has not happened to me in many places.
Overall I loved this place. I hope I will visit it again with people I could show around (and show off to).
The lake of nectar of immortality.
I may have missed out a point or two.
The city of the famed golden temple, the historically important jallianwala bagh and the capital for the Sikh religion.
(No points for guessing, unless you are some foreigner)
High seated rickshaws (just like the ones you find in Calcutta), Auto rickshaws which are the equivalent of Hyderabadi seven seaters in terms of size. Over enthusiastic people. Roads with no traffic sense whatsoever (a very small town version of Hyderabad traffic). Hotels that reside in archaic buildings. Tandoors sold at the road side in a size range that reminded me of the cauldron shop in HP. Houses that made me think 'So this is where ekta kapoor got inspired fort portraying sizes of middle class houses'.
Our three bed roomed flat with all its junk would fit into the halls of all the houses I visited (or just saw).Even the smallest house we went to was huge!!
I have never seen any other city or town with so many girls driving vehicles (cars and bikes of all kinds mainly).Made me feel quite ashamed of myself actually.
Distances seem so short in small cities like this. In the time we take to go from one end to the other in my native city you could tour the entire of Amritsar (this is stating the obvious, but every time I go to a new place I tend to look at it like this).
Public transport is well not too great. Thankfully we had a driver (come field worker, come good guide) and so did not face too much trouble. Yes, I did get to travel in a rickshaw. (I like rickshaws, maybe it is because of the childhood memories I associate with them)
The first place I visited while there was Wagha Border. We managed to get a decent view (though I will not get started about by haath giving camera, lets just say I DID not have a camera there).The entire 'panchi nadiya pavan key ...' feel happened. It was so nice to see this entire patriotic drama happening there. The viewers at our end (Indian end) were playing all kinds of 'desh bhakt' songs (including shanker ehsaan and loy's first bollywood attempt).And kids and youngsters were dancing non stop. The entire 'coordinate-concentrate-perform' was happening. Reminded me of school independence day celebrations.
The other end I couldn’t see so much naach gaana happening but maybe I did not notice too well.
Then came the entire ceremonious 'lowering of flags' What worried me the most was, how do those BSF jawans not have knee problems when they stomp their feet so hard. EVERYtime! Quite scary! But it is totally worth seeing. To me it was like watching a shoot for some film.
I dislike posing somehow (especially without company).So I did the clicking while the person who came with me posed against the background of the gates. (Right after the ceremony they announced that you can come near the gate (near as allowed) and click away.)
Then we landed up at golden temple, quite unplanned. Trust me, the feeling is unbelievable. I always heard about it. Seen it so many times on television. Seen its photographs. Nothing feels like just standing at the gate and seeing the temple.
First we had to pick up scarves (kept in a basket right outside the gate), wrapped it around our heads. And our guide for the day Mr.Akshay Kumar (Yes that IS his name and he is very sportive about it) was directing me very patiently (the other person with us was not new to all this).After that we had water near the free stalls right beside it. There is a set of people continuously washing the used utensils (even inside at similar stalls).Then we washed our hands. And while stepping into the temple grounds there are small (can I say puddles?) of water where you wash your feet. The water was very clear.
And there you can see it, standing in the middle of a small lake. The golden temple, shining, with all its glory. We reached there around 8pm.So I saw the temple for the first time with all its lights etc. We were walking past the 'langar' (the community kitchen and hall) where free food is given (people who cook and serve there are all volunteers).Mr.Akshay just wanted to show me the kitchen and the hall. I wanted to eat later, but he said something which is what they believe in Sikhism--you have to take care of your worldly needs only then you can believe in god and worship him wholeheartedly. Worldly needs and not wants mind you. (He said it in better words, I wish I had noted them down then).So we ate at the langar, roti kheer and dal. Such simple delicious food. Yum.
Then we proceeded to the main shrine. I have probably never seen any holy place so crowded (this was a non peak time and day) but I did not expect it to be so peaceful. While coming out we had some prasad and visited 'beri baba buddaji' which is a beri tree and that part of the lake is said to have healing powers. I almost fell into the lake while trying to washing my feet and hands in it. I saw white with reddish design fish in the lake. The lake for all this is if I may add, cleaner than you expect.
After this we got out (before which Mr.Akshay also told me the reason behind what is called the Nishan sahib--sort of two poles(flag staffs?) crossed and risen to a great height-basically to direct people towards the gurdwara, every gurdwara has a similar one and showed me the akal takht which was damaged during operation blue star.)
On our way out we collect our footwear at an amazingly organised counter (again you find only volunteers here).The best part you get to wash your hands after you wear your shoes (very unlike many temples).
I did get to visit the temple on one of my last days in Amritsar but I did not visit the shrine then. Plus I did my shopping there (very little)
Food. Say the golden word in this place and people will be all set to stuff you down. I ate in Amritsar came to know the meaning of the word eat there.
Amritsari Kulcha -A paratha without stuffing made in a tandoor and lots n lots of ghee (clarified butter).
Chole Puri- Chole was different than whatever kind I ate before, but more that that what I liked were the aam ki chutney (sweet..Like the Marathi jam but this was chutney) and meeta aloo (I never imagined potato would taste good as a sweet curry).And these latter two are always (I am told) served with puri chole.
Paneer Paratha,Gobi Paratha,Aloo parantha- lots of ghee and served with butter and/or dahi
Sweet Potato-Roadside, My god! those 'dumppalu' are soooooooooo big! We do have them roasted even at home, even boiled. But these are sold boiled on 'bandis' and served with chaat masala on top.
Aloo tikki-By far the best aloo tikki I had on earth! Yum! Served with dahi and two other chutneys.
Pani Puri- I laughed when I ate pain puri there. It was an experience by itself. They serve pani puri with chilled water there. Cold-chilled. Hence making it a third variety of pani puri I tasted. Hyd and Mumbai have similar ones so they are counted as one. My favourite ones are Hyd and Kol waley.
Lassi-Oh my god! Lassi! Heaven! Served in those gigantic glasses shown in any punju by nature movies/tv shows. There’s lassi, topped with lather, garnished with cream and butter. It is so filling; it is as good as having two meals at once. I have had great lassi before. But the best was in Asr.
Kulfi-Served with what they call faluda. Quite nice.
I think I missed out a thing or two in food. But I will leave that there.
(Gosh this post is way longer than I thought it will be..And there is more it!!)
On the last day of our visit, I was visited by a friend whom I had not met in over 5 years! She came down from Beas (where her dad is currently posted) to Asr to see me. She has a special connection to the place because she studied there for 6 years. So there I had nice company again for the third place I really wanted to see in Asr. Jallianwallah Bagh. This dear advocate friend of mine can always have a brilliant part time career of being the perfect guide.
It was like revisiting history. The single gate entrance, the bulleted walls, the well. The musuem, the memorial, the amar jyot.One set being the witness to the massacre and the second being the respect giving symbols.
Standing in the bagh it was so difficult to picturise all those people going helter shelter to save their lives. The one or two old high rise buildings showing us the story of people who would have witnessed the massacre and hid for days. The well is now surrounded by a mesh and fencing (and why not, it is so very deep).You can see bullet marks on the few old walls. (Some parts have been renovated).I sadly missed out on seeing a main painting in the museum (the museum is actually just an exhibit of pictures of martyrs killed in the massacre and people who escaped it).I wish I had more time to spend there, but I did manage to see everything.
Apart from this I came to know facts like there is a walled city of Amritsar which has 12 gates. And within this lies everything culturally important to the city. Including the harmandir sahib (a.k.a darbar sahib a.k.a golden temple), the jallianwala bagh (which is just a stone throw away from the golden temple).The shops and market called 'hall bazaar’. I did not have the time to explore this market completely. Neither did I have time to hunt for non leather punjabi joothis.
Now coming to the cons....:)
People are much more regressive (is that the right word?) than back home. (Home=south India) or for that matter North East of India. Girls are seriously a mighty burden for them. To the point that financially well of families send their daughters to government schools and sons to the best of private schools. Girls if there are educated more than graduation find a matrimonial match with great difficulty (unless they settle for someone less than that).It isn't really about educational qualifications. It is how they look at girls there. We do find people like that here but the degree varies. The degree of how the girl is treated also varies. All men we encountered (except one or two) were pretty against the concept of women working. To them the traditional home maker was the ideal woman. (These are my observations of there, not personal views, that’ll take another post).
But all said and done, Amritsar people are cordial and warm. Without knowing us for more than a day we were treated so well by everybody we met! In fact to the extent that we hardly ever paid for a meal during our week long stay. That has not happened to me in many places.
Overall I loved this place. I hope I will visit it again with people I could show around (and show off to).
The lake of nectar of immortality.
I may have missed out a point or two.
Comments
@aishwarya - :)
tsk tsk.
Ag.