Amritsar, Punjab

Sri Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar. Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hungrymice/18279695344/

Amritsar is one of the busiest cities in Punjab, and why shouldn’t it be? The home of Sri Harmandir Sahib, also known as The Golden Temple, a nexus of Punjab, the place is a tourist hot spot, for very obvious reasons. Being the spiritual and cultural centre for the Sikh religion, Amritsar is one of the busiest cities in India, if not the world, but there is beauty amidst the chaos here. The people are benevolent, the food is scrumptious, and the heritage is rich. At the very centre, the humbling spiritual sight of the Golden Temple, and all around, busy streets, honking cars, ringing rickshaws, and sizzling street food, a sensory overload that is simply amazing.

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/30120194@N02/16577007841/

Sri Harmandir Sahib/Sri Darbar Sahib (The Golden Temple), is the holiest Gurudwara of Sikhism and is open to every person, male and female, young and old, small and big, as symbolised through the four entrances into the holy shrine. Over 100,000 people from every walk of life visit the temple every single day, and the free community kitchen (langar) serves just as many free meals daily, a practice that mirrors the fundamental beliefs of equality and oneness of the Sikh religion. As I went around the Shrine, listening to the recitations of the Guru Granth Sahib resonating in my ears, watching people of all faiths taking Holy Dips in the Sarovar (a tank of holy water), catching small war commemorative inscriptions on memorial plagues around the edges in the corner of my eye, beholding the gleaming coats of gold, intricate layers of marble work around the exterior and interior, I felt at awe of the sheer, zealous spirituality of the people who wandered within just these four walls. As the birds dipped through the clouds, gliding through the clouds, I understood the legendary nature of this huge Gurudwara. I understood why pilgrims from every corner of the Earth travel thousands of miles and cross the seven seas to bathe in these sacred waters. The Golden Temple is exquisite. A symbol of the brotherhood of man. 

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gandara/2086569142/

Langar hall in The Golden Temple. Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lemmo2009/30301453536/

Sikh man taking a Holy Dip in the Sarovar. Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomastamos/9552452555/

- Tanya.