Hello India! Part 4- Delhi, Delhi and the Amritsar Express

The Raj Ghat where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated and a permanent memorial to  him

A scene from a rooftop cafe in Paharganj, Delhi

I felt like stealing this man"s block of ice in the steaming Delhi temperatures!

The Lotus Temple in Delhi

A view of the Jama Masjid taken from my cycle rickshaw

I arrived in the capital of India (and its third largest city) after an overnight train from Mumbai. It was my first time on an AC train ( having previously been slumming it in sleeper) and I couldn't believe that meals were included along with white sheets and blankets! Such luxury. 

Delhi has been the capital since 1931 and is a huge city of jam packed streets, temples, forts and mosques.

Arrival at any station is a challenge and Delhi proved no exception. I managed to sort out the bus I needed to take me close to my destination of Paharganj, without succumbing  to the persistent demands of the rickshaw, autos or taxi drivers who always tell you there is 'no bus' to your destination. I always ignore them. 

Paharganj is a well known budget and backpacker area. It was hot and steamy and the walk through the Main Bazaar, packed with cheap hotels and guesthouses, restaurants , cafes and stalls selling all manner  of cheap traveller fare, was not pleasant in the stifling Delhi heat. Even by Delhi standards it is hot - 45 degrees and above. Once I had found my guesthouse up one of the many narrow alleyways off the main drag, I decided to try and do something (although I had  been to Delhi before) so got an auto rickshaw to Raj Ghat, a memorial to three Gandhis and the site of their cremations- Mahatma (1948), Indira (1984) and Rajiv (1991). Ghats are steps along a riverbank allowing people to wash, bathe and for purposes of worship. This is more of a park than a ghat as it lies well away from the riverbank. 

During my brief stay in Delhi I also managed to visit the Lotus Temple, built in 1985 and seen as an architectural gem of India. Nearby was the Iskcon Temple. In the blistering heat I met a group of Hindu worshippers who saw me wilting and offered me food and drink. I declined the good but did accept a lassi. I later spotted a McDonalds in the distance and whilst it is not somewhere i normally go, I couldn't resist the chance to escape the heat to an air conditioned restaurant. I ordered a coke and fries! 

Later I discovered the Delhi metro and made my way to the Chawri Bazaar  stop, near to the Jama Masjid, India's biggest mosque. I was offered a cycle rickshaw for 20 rupees ( although he tried to charge me 40 when we got to out destination) so i decided  to enjoy a ride through the crowded bazaar that surrounds the mosque.

 The Mosque soars above the narrow streets of the old city and was built to accommodate 25000 worshippers. It was designed by the Shah Jahan ( architect of the Taj Mahal) and built by over 5000 workers between 1644 and 1656. 

My time in Delhi was almost up as I had booked the Golden Temple Express for my next destination, Amritsar.   

Food at the Golden Temple

It takes a lot of onions to make enough dahl to feed people for 24 hours a day. Over 10,000 chapattis are also baked.

In front of the Harinder of the Golden Temple

Another beautiful sari

The Temple by night

Early morning worshippers

The temple complex in all its glory

The overnight train to Amritsar was a comfortable one in 2AC class and I only awoke as we reached our destination. The heat was stifling even at 6.30 in the morning and after depositing my main luggage ( not without a drama as I was asked to provide my train ticket which Id left on the train) I took a cycle rickshaw into the city through dusty streets just coming to life and my ultimate destination, the Golden Temple. 

Amritsar is the largest city in the Punjab and an important staging post for those crossing the Indo-Pakistan border. This is the 'Vatican' of Sikhism, the most famous gurdwara in the world, and I was pretty excited about seeing it. 

The town itself was founded in 1577 by Ram Das but sacked by the Afghans in 1761 after which the main shrine was rebuilt by the Sikhs' greatest secular leader, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who donated the gold used in its construction. The son of Ram Das, Argan Dev, was the architect of the temple itself in the mate 16th century.

In the 20th century it's history has been blighted by massacres. In 1919 thousands of civilian demonstrators were gunned down without warning by British troops- an atrocity that inspired Mahatma Gandhi's Non Co-operation Movement. Much violence also played put in the region following Independence and the creation of Pakistan. The worst massacre was one I can actually remember when followers of the Sikh fundamentalist Saint Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale occupied a building in the Golden Temple complex. His aim was a separate state for Sikhs. This led the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to order a parliamentary attack on the temple. Following this, Bhindranwale, 200 soldiers and between 2-3000 pilgrims died when they became trapped inside. And this in turn led to the assassination of Gandhi herself by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984. 

The Golden Temple is the spiritual  centre  of the Sikh faith and every Sikh tries at least once in their lifetime to visit.  

I was able to wander around the temple three times and part of the enjoyment, aside from the stunning setting and architecture all around you, is seeing huge numbers of ordinary Sikhs coming to pay their respects. Even when I got up for the sunrise the next morning, the place was packed out as devotees are encouraged bathe and pray at dawn.

The cross-section of Sikh society are represented- from all over India, non resident Sikhs returning from the UK or US and fierce looking warriors carrying lances and sabres, the unorthodox Nihangs who are devotees of military Sikhism. 

As you enter the temple complex ( leaving your shoes), you walk along a white marble walkway through a water trough to wash your feet towards the archway which reveals the Golden Temple within, sitting in the middle of the sacred pool. I stayed at the complex for the night too and was able to experience the scene by darkness-  the lit up temple looked magnificent ( see picture) by night.

You cross a narrow bridge to see the famous Sikh book- the Guru Granth Sahib -more than one thousand pages of poetic  meditations on God. The music coming from within ( kirtan or communal singing) is , quite literally, divine. 

I also ate at the temple's communal kitchen. You are given an aluminium tray and bowl as you stand in line and sit in rows for each sitting ( the kitchen provides free food around the clock). Everyone is an equal here ( no caste system in the Sikh faith) so beggars, Hindu Sandhus, pilgrims and Western tourists, eat side by side. I was 'adopted' by a family - keen and proud to have the token Westerner  sitting with them! And the food itself was basic but sound fare, a dollop of black bean dahl, chapattis and a coconut semolina type dessert - all served by attendants with big buckets and ladles coming down the line. Before we tucked in, a few words and prayers were uttered by a couple of Holy men. 

One of the other things that most travellers to this part of India experience is a trip to the Indo- Pakistan border for the changing of the guard ceremony that happens each day at dusk. The town where this happens is called Wagha, about 30km from Amritsar. It was an interesting experience and the Indian side of the border had an atmosphere of the carnival compared to the Pakistan side which was much quieter. I have heard the ceremony described as Phythonesque and would agree with that - the soldiers pacing with an odd marching style and trying to outdo each other with the cries and shouts. The heat for me was intense too which detracted away from the enjoyment of the occasion although the locals loved it.

I had to leave Amritsar the next day for the next stage of my journey. 

Next stop: Dharamsala

Celebrations on the Indian side of the border

The crowds enjoying the ceremony