The Golden Temple

Thursday, July 9, 2009--Amritsar

I went to the Golden Temple at 7:30 this morning. I should have made the effort to get up and be there at 4:00 when they have a great procession, but I was tired from the heat and the outing yesterday. I'll live without having seen the great procession at the temple. There's probably a video of it on YouTube if I really want to see it.

The weather was sunny and the temperature was still comfortable. I deposited my shoes at the booth at the side. I picked up one of the free bandanas to cover my head. After viewing the museum filled with lots of brutal paintings showing the torture and killing of many Sikhs due to their religious beliefs over the centuries, I entered the main compound.

There is a huge quadrangle. Surrounding it is a large white structure which houses the museum, the feeding rooms, the quarters where devotees can stay, etc. There is a walkway around the entire quadrangle. Everyone walks clockwise around this. Inside the walkway is a huge bathing pool for men. (Women have a separated private bathing pool.) Many men are in the pool which is considered a holy place to bath. They wear towels around themselves while in the pool or their underwear. In the very center of the bathing pool is the Golden Temple itself. It's the holiest site of the Sikh religion. It is an elegant and impressive building. Inside, there is a huge chandelier and musicians on the floor playing music all day. I'm sure there are special holy relics there, too. I entered with the crowd and walked through quickly just to see it. It was too crowded to try to stop and see specifics.

I could see clouds approaching as I waited in line to enter the temple. By the time I was out, it looked as if it would rain. Lightning was in the distance. By then, I had seen all that I really needed to see of the complex, so I rushed for the shoe stand. A windstorm hit about that time. Strong winds. I walked back to my hotel and found a surprise. The winds had been so strong that they had blown out the plate glass windows on the front of the hotel. The steps and the sidewalk were covered in shards of glass, and the employees where hitting at pieces still hanging within the framework to try to get them loose. No one could enter the hotel, so I left to go walking. It still wasn't raining. When I returned about 15 minutes later, they had cleared a small pathway so that people could enter or leave the building. Everyone passing by was gawking at the damage.

After two hours at the cyber cafe which fortunately had power today, I needed to check on transportation for tomorrow. I went to a travel agency, but they said I would need to go to the bus station for information about buses. I asked directions and headed that way. Along the way, I kept asking for directions to the "bus station." Everyone seemed confused and kept asking if I wanted the train station. Eventually, someone emphasized: Bus STAND, not bus station. After that, it was easy to get directions and find it. There is only one bus to Dharamsala per day, and it leaves at 12:10 with no advance reservations taken. They told me to be at the station at 11:30 and that the bus would be somewhere in Platforms 21-23.

I ate a fantastic lunch. I had seen a small, clean place that looked popular. I went there. They serve only stuffed chapati plates. The owner suggested potato as the best, so I ordered it. The name is alou wala kulcha. It is a plate with beans, merinated onions, and the stuffed chapati on it. They give refills of the beans and onions. It was spicy and delicious! And it cost 32 cents U.S.!

With the arrival of the front, the day remained rather comfortable. It rained while I was in the cyber cafe, but not any more. I went out walking and exploring. I met a very nice young man who runs a hotel and a snack stand. We visited as he heated some of his snacks for some customers. I took some photos. He, his brother, and I visited for about 15 minutes, and they served me hot milk tea.

Amritsar is a big tourist town for Indians, especially Sikhs, but others who come here just because of the reputation of the Golden Temple or to see the border ceremony, too. They are all in a good mood here. And everyone is friendly. It's impossible to tell who is a local and who is a visitor in terms of the Indians.

For dinner, I had a masala dosa. Afterwards, I drank a sweet lassi--a drink made from freshly-made yogurt.

I finished reading The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh. It is a very interesting saga of multiple strands of families in India, Burma, and Malaysia from around 1900 to the 1990s--three generations of the families. The book is a good read, but there are too many coincidences in the story. I give it 3 stars out of 4.