Traveling to Amritsar
The project that I had been working on in 2008 was on the verge of finishing and at this juncture I wanted to pay homage at the Golden Temple at Amritsar to thank the Almighty for a successful completion. The route is to fly from Bangalore (where I was stationed) to New Delhi and then either take a connecting flight or alternatively take a train. There are limited flights operating from New Delhi to Amritsar and they cost about 5k one way. To avail this mode of transport I would have to shell about 40k for a return trip for my wife, myself and our 2 kids. While the flight is only about 40 mins or so I guess the price was too steep. A much cheaper alternative is the trains taking the Amritsar Shatabdi or the Swaran Shatabdi which costs about just 900 per person per way taking the total bill up to 8k. The only drawback is that the train takes about 6 hours to reach from New Delhi to Amritsar. So, if you’re not on business trip or have too much money to throw then my advice is to take the train.
The train is very comfortable and starts at 0700 hrs whilst another starts at 1600 hours. We took the latter and with regular service of tea, snacks, soups and dinner and the comfort of a good book at hand we reached Amritsar at 2230 hrs. I have always preferred to stay in Hotel Ritz (not that I have experimented any more) as I found it to be conveniently located at the Mall Road, is reasonable (I generally pay about 2.5k-3k) and the rooms and toilets are very neat and tidy. The rooms on the ground floor are much better and spacious than the one’s I have seen on the first floor. The only drawback is there is nothing much to expect in the buffet breakfast. They can be contacted at http://www.ritzhotel.in/
I took a cycle rickshaw to the Golden Temple which costs about Rs 20 and the view of the temple from afar is breathtaking. Men have to wear a handkerchief and tie it on their heads whilst the women have to put a ‘chunni’ or ‘dupatta’ to cover their heads. The entire visit to the temple with the prayers could take about an hour or so and one can sit there and also volunteer for some ‘kar seva’ by either giving a helping hand in the community kitchen or offering water to thirsty pilgrims. A word of caution – no tobacco of any kind or in any form is to be taken into the temple premises.
With the ‘darshan’ complete I took the family for lunch to ‘Kesar da Dhaba’ which any rickshaw driver in Amritsar would know of. The establishment was started in 1916 and continues to be run by the future generations without much deviation in the manner of cooking or serving (only change I could see over the last 20 years is that they have now installed air conditioning). We ordered for 2 thali’s and a glass of lassi….an unbeatable combination and a meal which eliminates the need to have dinner.
One of the other not to be missed attractions is to go to the Wagah Border which is just about 35 to 40 kms away from Amritsar and is the border between India and Pakistan. There is a daily military practice that the security forces of India Border Security Force and Pakistan Pakistan Rangers have jointly followed since 1959. This ceremony takes place every evening before sunset at the Wagah border. I strongly suggest that you make a move to reach there early so as to get a good seating else the surging crowds make it a difficult proposition to get a good view of the ceremony.
The ceremony starts with a blustering parade by the soldiers from both the sides, and ends up in the perfectly coordinated lowering of the two nations’ flags. One infantryman stands at attention on each side of the gate. As the sun sets, the iron gates at the border are opened and the two flags are lowered simultaneously. The flags are folded and the ceremony ends with a retreat that involves a brusque handshake between soldiers from either side, followed by the closing of the gates again. Officers in full dress uniform came marching down, as late comers flocked into the VIP seats.
Soldiers kicked their legs high in the air as if in a slapstick comedy spurred on by shouts from the crowd. On the other side the Pakistani’s cheered on their own ceremony but were drowned out by the passion of the Indian crowd. The flag ceremony commenced and we watched on as flag bearers lowered the two flags at the same time before exchanging the most brief of handshakes and salutes. The gates were slammed shut, and the music was turned up. There is no shortage of testosterone in the air. This was all purely theatrical and nothing more. The once and sometimes still warring nations, basically try to out do each others performances. And, it was fantastic. The noise, the pompous over acting, the passion from the crowd all made it quite a spectacle with both the sides trying to out do each other.
As all good things must come to an end this visit also came to a close and the return journey in Shatabdi started promptly at 1630 hours and at 2300 hrs we had touched New Delhi.