Amritsar, India

Amritsar is located in the Punjab and is right near the only land border to Pakistan. The Punjab is known as the "Bread Basket of India" producing almost 1/4 of all India's wheat and 1/3 of India's milk and dairy products. We specifically went to the city of Amritsar to visit the Golden Temple, which is the the spiritual centre for the Sikh faith. We arrived here late in the day, so we first saw the Golden Temple by night and what a stunning, special place it is! The Golden Temple appears to float within an artificial rectangular lake and beautiful white marble walkways surround it all. In the evenings the Temple is well lit and beautiful sublime music (shabad kirtan) is played live from within the Golden Temple. Every Sikh tries to make at least one pilgrimage here to hear this beautiful music and listen to the readings read by the Gurus from their holy book the Adi Granth. We felt so serene here and at peace walking barefoot, (which is required, plus our heads had to be covered) on the beautifully patterned white marble and enjoying the views of the Golden Temple from all angles. Being cooler at night, it seemed many Sikhs came to just walk and enjoy the space as we did. In the morning, there was a lot of praying and spiritual bathing in the artificial lake and again a beautiful sight. We didn't want to leave. So we went to eat at the giant communal canteen located here which provides free food to all visitors, regardless of creed, colour, caste or gender. Sharing meals with strangers in this way is intended to reinforce one of the central ideas of the Sikh faith, which is the principle of equality, to help break down caste barriers. Over 10,000 chipatis (flat bread like a pita bread) and dhal meals (a staple food here in India which is like lentil stew) are served each day. We sat on the floor with hundreds of others and quickly ate our tasty meal. Although a bit cramped for space, it was a great experience.


Well, we did manage to leave Amritsar to head up to Dharamsala, despite a general strike (called a bandh) in the state of Punjab. Due to the general strike everything was closed, no buses were running and we were told no trains either, but we did manage to get onto a train leaving the state. So typical. The whole strike was basically to do with a Sikh Guru who had given a sermon and copied the sermon of the 10th Sikh Guru (yet passed it off as his own). This was considered an act of mockery and an insult to the Sikh faith. So, while we were in Amritsar there was a considerable amount of shouting and sword waving going on and then of course the general strike, which was an act of protest against what this offending Sikh Guru had said. The day of the strike was the day which he was to go to the Golden Temple to apologise for his actions and also the day we were trying to leave Amritsar. Business people who did not obey the general strike order faced punishment by the Sikhs, which could include having their business' vandalised. We did make it out, though it took about 10 hours to reach Mcleod Ganj (normally a 6 hour journey).