Oye! Amritsar here we come

It was an unusual welcome; we were woken up by the loud pronouncement of Amritsar by the bus conductor! Just as I was about to disembark, I saw my dear friend standing outside ready with his backpack. I was surprised; next to him was an unknown face. I later learnt that he was an auto driver who was willing to take us around. Mind you, it was 5:30 in the morning! Though we had other plans, we went with him. He did find us an affordable place to stay. After some rest and freshening up, it was time for us to explore the city.

Before I get on with my story, I would love to take a peek at my eager friend who had a thing or two on his mind about Punjab and its marvels; the spicy hot paranthas and the beautiful girls who made them. He was in awe of Amritsar and also expectant of the langar at the Golden Temple ever since we embarked on this journey.

Our plan for the day was pretty much chalked out, Golden temple and Jalianwala Bagh by afternoon and Wagah border in the evening when the gate closing ceremony would happen. After enquiring we understood that Golden Temple and Jalianwala Bagh, were pretty close to where we had put up.

We were so excited to see the Golden Temple that it made us forget even the oppressive sultry weather. We hired a cycle-rickshaw which is commonplace in these parts of the country, to take us there. As we got down from the rickshaw, we realised that contrary to what we had imagined, the temple complex was located in the crowded city centre.

As we entered the temple complex, looking at the mammoth proportions, we were perplexed for a moment wondering what to do next. I guess the best thing one could do was to follow the crowd of devotees; hopefully we would end up at the right place.

There it was, the magnificent Golden Temple right in front of us, positioned exactly at the centre of a man-made pond shining with full intensity in the bright afternoon sun. We could barely open our eyes to see. For once, I realised that what we had heard, seen (in photographs) and spoken about since the beginning of the journey, was so very true. In fact, it was a lot more than what we had expected it to be. We were awestruck!

The first thing one would do is to take a photograph of oneself with the temple as the backdrop. Walking around the temple taking pictures we lost our bearings. It took us sometime to realise where exactly we were.
The entry into Golden Temple was possible from one particular side only. There was a huge crowd and a long queue to enter the temple. On enquiring we learnt that this was a festive season for the Sikhs when more devotees gathered at the temple to offer their prayers.

Golden Temple is the largest gurudwara on the planet. Sikh devotees from all over the world come here to offer prayers to the Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs.

To get into the temple, there was no other option for us but to come together with the other devotees. It was a long and a tiresome queue but, I guess it was worth all the pain.

Once inside, it was rather cool. If you thought that the outside look was spectacular then you would be mesmerised by what you see inside. After I had finished offering my prayers, there was not a moment of hesitation to capture all that I saw in my camera.

It is a distinctive Mughal style two-storyed building with all the intricate carvings and designs made on a plate of gold. It would be difficult to take your eyes off it.

And then, an elderly Sikh gentleman quietly approached me and reminded me in a soft tone that taking photographs of the interiors, within the temple premises, was prohibited. I politely agreed with a nod. Lucky that he did not ask me to surrender my camera! I wouldn’t have carried the camera with me if there were to be a proper sign board to that effect. We left the temple premises with a deep sense of fulfilment like never before. It is a place you want to come back again and again. If not, at least, once in a lifetime.

Finally, it was time for my dear friend to fulfils his life-long dream of eating to his heart’s content in the langar at the Golden Temple!