On my second day in Amritsar I was very excited to meet my tour guide and head over to the Golden Temple. The roads leading to the Sikh temple in Amritsar were closed to lay marble on the streets. When I first heard this, I didn’t think there was anyway that they would be covering the entire streets in marble. But they did! This is quite impressive, and a tad dangerous, as we had to walk amidst the construction for several blocks. I can only imagine how magnificent this will look when complete.
The Golden Temple
Upon entering the temple complex, we first dropped our shoes at the shoe counter. Next it was time to cover our heads. All that enter the temple must cover their heads, which my tour guide had nicely given me a heads up on. If you forget to bring a head covering there are barrels outside the entrances that have scarves in them for visitors to use. We then washed our feet by walking through a shallow pool of water, and were ready to enter the temple.
As soon as you walk in you can see a rather large pool of water (the sarvour), and then the glorious golden topped temple.
I was taken back by the size of everything in the complex. For example, the pool that surrounds the temple is 510 feet on each side. After taking in the enormity of the site, the next thing that I noticed were the people in the water. This is considered holy water and bathing in and taking bottles of it home are permitted. However, I only saw males partaking in the bathing. It turns out the women have special areas where they bathe, that are covered so that they can maintain modesty.
The Langar
We walked around the complex, stopping at the temple’s dining hall (the langar), getting to see volunteers preparing the food, visitors partaking in the meal, and volunteers washing all the dishes (each dish gets washed 6 times before being deemed ready to use again). All visitors are welcome to enjoy the free meal, and can have as many meals per day as needed. The food is paid for through donations, and preparations are done by volunteers.
Next we continued our walk around, seeing the many rooms that are opened up at night for those that need a place to sleep. During the day they are locked, so I couldn’t see inside of them. These rooms are available at no charge, and along with the daily meals must be a welcome site for the less fortunate living in the area, or those on long journeys who need a place to stay. This is a great service to the community, and showcases the Sikh commitment to caste equality.
As we continued around, we came to archway that one must walk under to reach the actual temple. However, there was a long line and my guide said it would be a 2 hour wait to reach the temple. Given the heat and the flies, I decided to forgo the wait and we continued our walk around the complex. Finally we came to a centuries old jujube tree that is believed to have healing powers. This was the final site we saw before exiting the marble complex. We then retrieved our shoes and were off to our next stop in Amritsar: Jallianwala Bagh.
Jallianwala Bagh
About 500 yards away from the outside of the Golden Temple complex we came to a narrow corridor, which we turned into, and in about 10 feet it opened up into Jallianwala Bagh – a memorial garden.
The garden memorializes the events of April 13, 1919, a Sikh holiday, and day that some 20,000 Indian people gathered on the site to protest British legislation. The British had instituted rules against gathering, so this was considered unlawful. The British learned of the protest and positioned troops at the entrance to the garden (the only way in or out of the area), and ordered them to start shooting. Several hundred people were killed, and thousands were injured. Some people even jumped into the well, seeing it as the only potential way to survive. These events contributed to the start of Gandhi’s noncooperation movement, and can be seen in the movie Gandhi.
I have never seen a memorial like this. There is an eternal flame burning and memorial to those that lost their lives. However, the rest of the garden really attempts to paint the picture of April 13. There are topiaries through out the garden that have been shaped into soldiers shooting guns. The bullet holes from the shooting remain in the walls with circles around many of them to show the many rounds of gun fire, and the sounds of gun fire fill the air of the garden. Being in this space is quite an experience, one that I am at a loss for words to truly explain.
Another Wonderful Day
These two Amritsar sites were quite remarkable, each in their own way. This wonderful day in Amritsar was full of learning, and one of my most favorite days of the trip. If you get the opportunity to visit Amritsar, I suggest you take it!
