MY WIFE AND I, along with my daughter and granddaughter, boarded the train on the morning of October 2, 2008, to reach Delhi the next day. From the railway station, we went straight to ‘Swagatam’, a guest house in the Green Park area of the city, where we stayed for two nights. On October 5, as planned earlier, we were taken to Dwarka, by my elder daughter, who is a gynaecologist in a Delhi hospital. On our way to Dwarka, we visited the famous Lodhi Garden, which had old monuments of the Lodhi dynasty, surrounded by big trees and flower gardens in a sprawling complex with scenic beauty.

As was arranged earlier, we all, including my brother-in-law and his family, boarded the ‘Shatabdi Express’ to Amritsar on the morning of October 8, and reached our destination at 1 pm. It takes around six hours to cover the distance of 468 km by train from Delhi to Amritsar. The journey through the fields and towns like Ambala, Ludhiana was very pleasant. From the railway station, we were picked up by a taxi sent to us by the manager of a hotel at Queen’s Road, Amritsar, where rooms were booked in advance by my brother-in-law. After taking lunch and resting for some time, we booked a taxi and moved out to Attari and the Wagah Border, a distance of only 30 kms from Amritsar.

It is really very enchanting and pleasing to witness what is called the ‘Beating Retreat’, an exercise by the Indian border men in uniform, as well as by the Pakistani men. There are big galleries on both sides of the border, where visitors are allowed to enter to enjoy the parade. We enjoyed the performances by our men, attired in special uniform, along with their chanting of the slogans Hindustan Zindabad, Vande Mataram.

We also had the chance to get a glimpse of the ‘Delhi-Lahore’ bus, passing through the gate at that time. By evening, the national flags of both the countries were lowered, as is done there every day, only to be hoisted again the next morning. After the function was over, we returned to the hotel.

The next day, we visited the famous Golden Temple situated in the midst of a big tank, where devotees bathe themselves before entering the temple to seek the blessings of the Guru. The main entrance to the temple is the Clock Tower, which one has to pass through after removing his/her shoes outside. It is also mandatory to cover one’s head with a piece of cloth or handerchief before entering the campus. The original name of the temple was Harimandir, meaning the mansion of God. It is said that 100 kilogrammes of gold were used in the temple, with incomparable filigree work that catches the eye of the visitors. Most of the filigree workers were Muslims sent by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who, at that time, had his capital at Lahore. The Golden Temple was completed in 1601 and in 1604, the Guru Granth Sahib was brought in a procession, and was installed inside the temple with the chanting of the hymns.

The visitors to the temple can enjoy the unique experience of having free meals in the community kitchen or Guru-ka-Langar and obviously, we were not an exception. Anybody can enter the hall where free and delicious meals are served. It is amazing to see thousands of visitors taking meals in the big hall, batch by batch. Hundreds of people engage themselves in preparing the food for the Langar, as a service to the pilgrims. The surroundings of the temple are beautifully illuminated at night, and the temple is worth visiting.

The next day, on October 10, we went to Jallianwala Bagh, the sacred place where thousands of Sikhs who had gathered there to protest against the Rowlatt Act on the fateful day of April 13, 1919, were shot at, at the orders of General Dyer.

Altogether, 1650 rounds of bullets were fired into the crowd who ran helplessly. Some of the protesters jumped into the well to escape the bullets from the marauding forces under the command of General Dyer. The well has 28 bullet marks, which were fired into the crowd without any prior warnings to disperse. Later, 120 bodies were recovered from the well and more than two thousand people were reported be killed mercilessly.

The entire area is now well preserved as a park, and the well has been named as the ‘Martyr’s Well’.

Later, in the evening, we went to Company Bagh, situated just in the heart of the city. It is a big park, with a museum inside it, which is a must see. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who was born on November 13, 1780, was a ruler in Lahore. He fought many battles at different times. The details are available in the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama in the museum. He, too, used to regularly visit the Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple), to pay obeisance on every important occasion, besides the Amavaishya Sankranti, Diwali, Baishakhi, with offerings. The most important offering was the gold plating of the temple in 1830. In the museum, the wall paintings depicting war scenes, with full size statues of soldiers, horses and elephants, with corpses and carcasses in the battlefields, look natural and marvellous, with light and sound rendering the air.

The Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama was built under the National Council of Science Museums. The construction started in the year 2000 and was completed only in the year 2005. It was inaugurated on July 20, 2006 and was opened for the public on September 12, 2006.

On the day of our return journey to Delhi, on October 11, we took a taxi to Beas, a place some 50 km away from Amritsar, where there is a big ashram named Radha Swami Satsang Beas. The area of the ashram is very large, with roads and houses, guest houses and hospitals, in a serene atmosphere, making it a clean township away from the din and hustle of city life. The visitors are thoroughly checked before being allowed access into the ashram, where free food is served in the community hall. The entire area is very well maintained, with wide roads and footpaths on either side. Silence prevails everywhere in the big ashram, which gives solace to the visitors. After the morning hours in the ashram, we returned to Amritsar in the afternoon, and boarded the train back to Delhi in the evening.

Finally, on the afternoon of October 13, we bade farewell to our near and dear ones in Delhi, and proceeded on our return journey to Guwahati with cherished memories of the trip.

Jitendra Prasad Baruah