The Sikh Capital of the World

The Golden Temple in Amritsar
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Amritsar is a place I have been in before, but is a place you could never get tired of coming back to. En route to Delhi I stopped off in both directions. Coming in from Pakistan, the first difference that strikes is the abundance of colour on display. The flowing saris on the women and the Sikh men topped with their bright turbans. The women are no longer afraid to look at a stranger like in Pakistan. They stare with curiosity like everyone else.

My first mode of transport from the border, the old reliable rickshaw, and not of the motor variety. A skinny little guy struggled on the pedals the two mile journey to the nearest village, collecting his 25 cent fare, probably inflated for tourists. As Amritsar is quite a small place, the cycle rickshaw is the way to go. Coming into India, I was searching for one of the first identifiable signs that I was in the right place,and I wasn't disappointed. No more than a couple of minutes on bus towards Amritsar I spotted my first random stranger taking a crap in the shade of a bush. No problem in India!

The guy to psyche up the crowd at the border ceremeny
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The real joy of Amritsar though is the fabulous Golden Temple, the most holy place of the Sikh religion. It really is unlike most other places in India. The first striking thing is the lack of general hassle that is mandatory in India. Walking through the main entrance of the temple you are faced with the beautiful golden sanctuary perched in the middle of the holy lake. Locals and pilgrims circle the lake just taking the whole thing in. Others take a holy bath in the lake. Tradition means that one of the things that must accompany a Sikh man is a knife. When dipping in the lake, it's interesting to see them just with a pair of shorts and their turban, and the knife clipped onto the side of the turban.

The show is underway at the border
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A causeway leads to the sanctuary in the middle of the lake. A queue of people about 100m long line up in the baking temperatures to view their most holy book that is housed with. A priest continually chants from the book over the speakers of the complex.

Accommodation is provided free of charge to pilgrims within the temple complex. A donation is all that is expected. A special dorm is set aside for tourists, guarded by a giant Sikh guard with a big stick. The courtyard of the dorm was packed with people overflowing from the accommodation. There were people lying everywhere. A display opposite the door of the dorm housed mugshots of people that had been caught stealing in the past. That night as I was coming back from the toilet, one of the guests had gotten into a bit of bother with the guards. His deed was bad enough to be beaten out of the complex with a stick. Was his deed bad enough though to get him onto the wall of shame? I'm not sure!

Lowering the flag at the border
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Crossing back into Pakistan, I hung around to see the military show that is performed for the lowering of the Indian and Pakistani flags every evening. Grandstands have been built on both sides of the border to house the chanting locals. On the Pakistani side an old man runs up and down the road dressed in the Pakistani colours and waving a Pakistani flag to keep the crowd going. The soldiers march in their perfect uniforms, each in turn plotting their course towards the Indian soldiers on the other side of the border. Exaggerated kicks in the air, stamping on the ground and unimpressive glares at the opposition have made the 30 minute spectacle into a local theater every evening. It's all played out in good spirit now, but seemingly looked a little more serious in previous times of political tension.

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