So the agenda in Amritsar was to see Jallianwallah Bagh, Golden temple and Wagah Border. As the retreat ceremony takes place at sunset, we had lots of time at jallianwallah bagh abd Golden temple. So we woke up late and were in not much hurry as other days. We had oily fried stuff for breakfast in a small eatery right next to the hotel. We had oily stuff not because we liked it but because we had no other options.
So we checked out of Hotel at around 9 and as both jallianwallah bagh and Golden temple are adjacent to each other. We parked our taxi and as our luggage was tied at the top, naeem said he will rest in the vehicle. Akash had to look for train tickets to his home that night, so Mayur and Akash went to Internet booth to book train tickets. While going to Jallianwallah Bagh we came across a lassi shop. All four of us drank Lassi which is very famous in Punjab. It was thick and delicious.
Then we went to Jallianwallah Bagh. This is the place where Britishers mercilessly killed scores of people in 1919. Thousands of people had gathered for a peaceful demonstration on April 10. But general dyer ordered his army men to fire at unarmed people. The army emptied there ammunition at the end of which 379 people were dead and more than 1100 people wounded.
The monument is well maintained to this day and has bullet marks on its walls . There is also the well in which, people trying to escape bullets tried to jump in. We saluted the scores of unheralded people who had to give their lives for the freedom for our country. Jallianwallah bagh can be truly considered the turning point from where nationalism among masses truly erupted.
Adjacent to this is the Golden Temple. When I had seen the images of Golden temple in the midst of lake in movies or the TV, i had always imagined it to be in the outskirts of the city with vast land adjacent to it. Little did I know that it is right in the middle of the crowded city. Again Golden temple unlike some of the temples that I have seen is clean and neat.
As soon as we entered we could see the gurdwara which is situated in the middle of lake. It is Magnificent, serene in spite of crowd and eye catching. We first went around the lake first. Inspite of the day being hot, the flooring was cool. And at corner of the lake we can get cold potable water served by sikh volunteers. We waited at the side for some time so that mayur and akash could join us. The queue to temple was quite long. So it would take some time for us here.
While we stood in the queue we could hear the soft music humming in the background.
Bose speakers were all around the temple! The music in spite of such a large place was clearly audible from everywhere. So we entered the temple and looked around it was quite beautiful and with sikh gurus reading Guru Granth Sahib.
We did not stay for long after this as we had to go to Wagah Border. So it was already 1:30 and all of us were hungry. Wagah Border is around 40 kms from Amritsar and the road leading to it is called Grand Trunk Road. Remarkably this road connects from Bangladesh to Pakistan running through almost the breadth of India. We stopped at a Dhaba and had lunch here. This was the best lunch since the first day. So then we went to Wagah border. The entry for the retreat ceremony had not started yet. So we watched a movie for a while sitting there. Then the gate opened. Not surprisingly the security was tight. They checked us thoroughly before letting us through. As we entered early we got decent seats. The atmosphere was electric. While the number of people on this side of border was in thousands, the number of people on the other side was not even one tenth of this side.
The convener from BSF was aggressive. He encouraged us to shout but he was in control of what we shouted nothing blasphemous but only patriotic. The kids in the front row were given flags to run near the gate and come back. The senior citizens were given the best seat right next to where parade takes place.
There was also a band to play the patriotic songs. The crowd cheered and sang together with them. And then the parade started. The actions from each of the BSF soldier was aggressive and exaggerated. I remember one soldier who could shout at one breath. I tried it once and I had to take breath 4 times to shout for that length of time.
The convener was also aggressive and used to incite us to shout and cheer so that the other sides music, sound could not be heard to themselves. The retreat ceremony ended with flags from both countries descending and the gate shutting down. It had aroused passion, patriotism in me. It is one place where even the meekest Indian would cheer at his topmost voice.
The plan was to leave Punjab this day and stay somewhere in Haryana. But by the time we left Wagah border it was seven in the evening. Even though the road was quite good, the chances of going out of punjab was slim. So we reached Ludhiana at around 10:30. We searched for a few places to stay but they were not at all worthy.
Also akash had not got ticket to go to his place. So We first bought a ticket for him from local Railway station. Then we went to a eatery to have food. Luckily the shop owner also had a hotel and it was quite good. By the time we finished our food it was 1130 in the night. Akash's train to his home was just after mid night. So two of us stayed there to drop him while others went ahead and checked into hotel. Also 29th was Akash's birthday and we wished him. We waited till he boarded the train and we came to the hotel. The hotel was surprisingly good. We had taken 2 rooms. Three of us stayed in one room.
Finally the trip had ended. Tomorrow we would be back in Bangalore.
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