Amritsar: India’s most sacred Sikh pilgrimage destination , Jallianwala Bagh: Place with the ‘unerasable dark past’ of the 1919 massacre of hundreds of Indians by the British,The Wagah Border Beating Retreat:An amazing display of national pride & patriotism by Indian B.S.F. & Pak Rangers.

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The Golden Temple, Jallianwalla Bagh and Wagha Border tour :

In the last week of Dec.2017,We a family of five persons went on a 3-day Pilgrimage to the most sacred Harmandir sahib Gurudwara ,Jalliawalla bagh(the place of barbaric 1919 messacre of hundreds of Indians by the British) and Wagah Border to witness the Beating Retreat (display of pride & enthusiasm of Indian BSF personnels) which was an utterly gripping event.The atmosphere all around was full of nationalist feelings & pride for the nation which was everywhere to be seen when our national anthem was being sung. Jai Hind!

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30/12/2017:

We started from Delhi in the morning for Amritsar and reached at 5pm in the evening. We checked in our hotel(which was adjacent to Golden Temple), got ourselves refreshed and proceeded to the Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara popularly called the Golden temple(swarn mandir). After having a holi dip in the Amrit sarovar we calmly listened to the ardas/keertans/Shabad Gurubani and experienced a deep sense of peace and tranquillity deep within us.Then we had parsadi(having a unique taste with a fulfilling feeling) in Guru-ka-langar(believed to be the largest free kitchen of the world) before proceeding to our hotel for a good nights sleep.

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AMRITSAR:

Its the holliest city for Sikh pilgrims situated in Northern Punjab 25 km from Pakistan border .Its the main centre for commerce, culture & transportation .Although its principal place of worship for Sikhs, travellers from all over the world and of all faiths and interests visit this beautiful place.Its an attractive destination for tourists especially the part of Golden Triangle .As per 2011 Censes :Population:11,32,761.Religious following: Hinduism :49.36%, Sikhism :48%, Christianity: 1.23%,Islam:0.51%.Others :0.74%

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GOLDEN TEMPLE: The Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara(meaning the God’s abode) or the Golden temple(Swarn mandir)

Its is a two-storeyed construction, built on 67 ft square marble located in the Amritsar city .The temple is built around a man made pool that was completed by Guru Ram Das in 1577. Guru Anjan, the fifth Guru of Sikhs requested Sai Mir Mohd.,a muslim pir of Lahore to lay the foundation stone in 1589.It was established in Nov.1581.The interior of Darbar is with gold-encrushed walls featuring a Golden chandelier and is famous for its full golden dome. Guru Arjan placed a copy of the Adi Granth in the Harmandar sahib calling the site Sath Teerath (Shrine of 68 pilgrimages).Everyday more than 20 thousand people and 1 lakh people during special occasions come to take a dip in the holi Amrit sarovar and have free parsadi in the langar irrespective of caste, creed ,colour or gender.it is an exquisite attraction of the world and people come here to seek spiritual solace and religious fulfilment.Its the holiest shrine of Sikhism with religious fervour, sacredness and a symbol of brotherhood & equality.Its divinity is a thing that can only be felt and cant be described in words.

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31/12/2017:

In the morning after breakfast we again went to the Golden temple to offer our prayers to the Darbar Sahib with holi chanting-Wahe Guru da khalsa,wahe guruji di fateh and’Bole so nihal sat siri akal’.It had a magical effect:we could feel the calm & tranquil feeling engulfing us with His Omnipresence.Guru Granth sahib contains hymns which direct one to lead a truthful&spiritual life.Gurbani are written in a poetic form ‘for calming & soothing the mind’. We felt like remaining there only and it was with quite an effort we got out of the temple premises for our next destination: the Jallianwalla bagh.

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JALLIANWALA BAGH :

Its a public garden & memorial in Amritsar that honours the 2000 Indians who were massacred indiscriminately( while participating in a peaceful public meeting) under the command of British General Michael O’ Dyre on 13/04/1919.There is a Martyrs well or the Memorial well alongwith the section wall (where bullet marks are still visible) are still preserved. Its one of the most tragic yet landmark event in the history of dependent India.Some historians claim it to be a significant landmark in Indias independence struggle. Afterwards we proceeded for the Wagah border :

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At 4 pm we reached Wagah assembly area for obtaining our Entry passes to be displayed on our vehicles which are permitted till a particular allotted parking zone from where we have to move on foot under security cover. We were really impressed with the systematic security arrangements for making possible smooth visit to the grand event-Beating retreat. We finally reached our seats to witness the event with souring nationalist sentiments arising out of national pride and patriotism. The display was utterly gripping. We started back for Amritsar& reached at 7:30pm,had local Amritsari cuisine(Naan/Chole bhature/rajma/rice,etc)with great taste and enjoyed it to our fill. Reached our hotel & had deep nights sleep being quite tired.

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WAGAH BORDER :Its located at a distance of 28km from Amritsar &22km from Lahore and marks the boundaries between India and Pakistan borders.At Wagha ,the flag ceremony is conducted by IBSF and Pak Ranges since 1959.All the while people chant the National Anthem filled with pride and patriotic sentiments for their motherland.On both side of the border there is a massive gate-Swarn Jayanti Dwar.The beating retreat is held everyday before sunset .It includes the closing of main Gates and lowering of flags of both countries. The timing of reporting for witnessing the ceremony is 05:15pm in summers and 04:15 in winters.

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MAIN TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:

1)Golden Temple,2)Durgiana Temple: Its also known as the Laxmi narain, Durga teerth and Sthal mandir. Its a hindu temple with idols of Durga ,Laxmi and Vishnu deified& worshipped here,3)Bhagwan Valmiki Teerath Sthal is at 11km distance west of Amritsar and dates back to the Ramayana period to Rishi Valmiki heritage.There is a hut that marks the place where Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush. Every year in Nov. a four day fair is held here,4)Sadda Pind,5)Govindgarh Fort,6)Rambagh Palace,7) Maharaja Ranjit Singh museum & statue,8)Wagah border,9)Partition museum, townhall: Its a public museum which aims to become the central repository of stories, materials and documents related to the post-partition riots that followed the division of British India into India and Pakistan. The museum was inaugurated on 25/08/2017, 10)Jallianwala bagh,11)Jang-e-Azadi memorial (near Kartarpur) commemorates the unparalleled sacrifices of the heroes of the freedom struggle and disseminates knowledge about the rich cultural heritage in the minds of youngsters,12)Pul Kanjari: Its a historical village and a heritage site built by Mahraja Ranjit Singh(1780-1839).It was an important trading centre and has a monument built in memory of Jawans killed in 1971 Indo-Pak war. Its 35 km from Amritsar and 5kms from Wagha. Its located on Amritsar road after crossing Atari,13)Punjab state cultural heritage,14)Jama masjid or Khairuddin Masjid was built by Mohd.Khairuddin in 1876CE,15) Samadhi of Shravan, 16)Wildlife Sanctury: Harike bird sanctuary was created in 1953,55km south of Amritsar. Harike lake is the largest wetland in north India. It has a barraj constructed at the confluence of rivers Ravi and Beas.17)Kartarpur corridor :59 KMs from Amritsar, its a visa- free secure corridor connecting Gurudwara Dar sahib in Pakistan to the border with India. The crossing allows Indian devotees with Indian passports to visit Gurudwara and Dera Baba Nanak at the Indian side of the border !Its said to be founded by the first Guru of Sikhism Nanak Dev(1469-1539) where he established the first Sikh community. It was proposed in 1999,foundation stone laid-26/11/18(Indian side)/28/11/18(Pak side).Corridor was completed on 12/11/2019, the 550th birth Anniversary of Guru Nanakdevji .18)St. Pauls Church, 19)Khoo Kalianwala :In 1857 when Mangal Pandey rebelled against British ,the 400- soldiers platoon stationed at Lahore escaped from their barracks, swam the river Ravi and reached Ajnala.The Dypt. Comm. Mr. Cooper ordered to put them in coop like room where 200 soldiers died of asphyxia and next morning rest 200 soldiers were shot dead .The dead bodies were thrown in Kalianwala Khoo in Ajnala. ,20)Jandiawala Guru, Amritsar district is also home to India’s only handicraft on UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage.The deputy commisioner is taking up the job of reviving interest in this area through Project Virasat.21)Radhe Gokulanand Temple,22) Gurudwara Ramsar sahib,23)Dukh bhanjan Ber tree, 24)Akal Takht,25 )Gurudwara Pipli sahib, 26)Kaiserbagh park27)Man dir Mata Lal, 28) Chand Baori,29)Gurudwara Bibeksar sahib:The sacred Gurudwara marks the place where Guru Hargovind Singhji used to tie his horse to the kareer tree .Its situated on the banks of Bibeksar sarovar which was dug by Guru Govind singhji (1666-1708) himself .Gurudwara was constructed by Maharaja Ranjit Singhji, 30)ISCON Temple, Amritsar.31)Taran Taran sahib.32)Shopping: For purchase of textiles, clothing such as Patiyala salwars,jadau , jootis, sandalwood items, ivory, weaponary and daggers, Chess boards, handicrafts ,fulkaris, etc. a)Hall bazar, b)katra jaimal singh bazar, c)Guru bazar, d)Lohri gate, e)Shastri market

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01/01/2018:

In the morning after breakfast we started our return journey to Delhi with wonderful memories of the place offering such wonderful moments of Spirituality, calmness, sanctity and tranquility to be cherished lifelong. Couldnt think of a better way to bid goodbye to the bygone year and welcome to the new year.