12/31/2024 Happy New Year’s from Amritsar, India
After a relatively short flight, we arrived at the smallish airport in Amritsar (small in comparison to Delhi) and made our way to find the luggage. Interestingly enough, we had the option of deplaning out through the rear of the plane. Since we were in our usual “back of the bus”, budget-friendly seats toward the aft end, we decided to try that. This exit lead us to a set of stairs and down to the tarmac. The passengers who exited the plane to the front got to use the standard jet way to the terminal. We had to catch a bus and then be deposited at the terminal. How quickly the glowing feeling of being pampered and privileged was replaced with just being us, normal every day Buffalo Bills fans. The chaos of our general impression of India was still ever present as people bumped and clashed their luggage carts together jostling for a premium spot to get their luggage. There was no sense of space as people muscled their way in and were wedged into every available spot. Thankfully we had no cart and picked an out-of-the-way spot to wait for our bags. Hefting our bags up, we made our way out of the terminal to find out guide. A gentleman, we would tell you his name, but neither of us over the course of the day managed to get his name. (PS. Dave got his name – Harjinder) The driver, a master of conquering the ever present chaos of the roads in our name, will forever be known to us as the Frogger Champion of the World! Navigating the streets of Amritsar is like a mad 4D video game where no one could possibly win, but our champion of a driver managed to be a winner. Cars, people, cows, dogs, bikes, tuk-tuks, scooters, and buses all competed for space on the road. Traffic lights – yes there were some – were optional for him as he muscled his way into spaces that barely a human would fit into. Honking your horn while driving through a red light isn’t for safety, it’s to let the other drivers know that you will not be intimidated by their self-righteous green light right-of-way! The ever-present honking created a cacophony of noises that competed with the sights and smells of the city. (Dave is pretty sure there is a traffic code in India requiring the use of your horn every 38 seconds, kind of like a homing beacon on an airplane. Pretty ingenious, these Indians. And that is probably the only traffic law that is devoutly adhered to.) The visual, auditory, and olfactory senses each driver used to muscle their way into being the current winner was impressive. At the end of the trip it was hard to know who the winner would be! We wondered a few things: 1) How would Dave do traffic enforcement in India? 2) Does car insurance exist in this country? 3) How old do you have to be to learn to drive in India and does Driver’s Ed exist here? 4) How good are the hospitals in India? 5) How on Earth would an ambulance get to a victim? and 6) When is the last time Dave practiced with his tourniquet?
Finally at the hotel at the early morning hour of 08:00, – yes that explains why we left the hotel in Delhi so early – we settled in for a couple of hours. Next on the agenda was to have a real breakfast before the real fun began. First full day in India! Ten in the morning seemed late after being up at 03:00, yet it was early and we made the most of the day. Meeting our guide, also named Harjinder, we set out to see the city of Amritsar and to go see the Golden Temple. The Golden Temple – Amritsar’s Sacred Heart | Incredible India. We first walked through Jallianwala Bagh, which is an historic garden and memorial near the Golden Temple. It is infamous for a tragic event that occurred there on April 13, 1919 when the colonial British soldiers gunned down thousands of Indians who were trapped in the garden while celebrating Baisakhi, which is the Sikh New Year. Unbeknownst to the revelers, the British had passed a law banning group gatherings because of the growing anti-British sentiment. British General Dyer brought his troops in and gave the order to fire without any warning or instructions. Three thousand Indians were killed and many more were wounded. The memorial still has walls with bullet holes and they have a sculpture to resemble an eternal flame. There is still a huge old well where many died after throwing their babies in it and jumping in to avoid the gunfire. While in the garden, Kathy and Dave were approached a few times and were asked by people if they could take a photo with us. Our guide said they wanted a picture of themselves with “white people.” We were happy to pose with them, with arms around them, and then shaking their hands. We wondered how many countries it has now been that strangers have asked us to pose with them. We really enjoy interacting with “local Joe’s”, even if it makes us feel a bit like celebrities.
Soon we actually were at the Golden Temple complex where we worked at complying with the guidelines for entering. First we had to wash our hands, next to take off our socks and shoes, then to cover our head with a scarf (both males and females), then we had to walk through a man-made “stream” to wash our feet. Finally, we could enter the temple grounds. The grounds are very large with 4 entrances (one for each caste to emphasize that no caste is better than another) and the Temple, which was built in the year 1577 by the Fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das. The original temple was destroyed many times by the invading Moghuls and Afhans. Its current building was built in 1809 and laid with gold-leaf in 1830. It is the pre-eminent spiritual site of Sikhism. The Temple is beautiful and we enjoyed walking around the man-made lake in the middle of the temple square. (It was, though, the longest we have ever walked barefoot outside and the hard plastic runners they used to avoid slipping were felt on our wussy American feet.) The temple grounds have a museum, two sites where the Sikh Holy Book is read, and a huge kitchen operation where they feed thousands of people every day. We saw an amazing operation where tons of food was made on a daily basis to feed for free anyone who needed a meal. The meal consisting of bread and some kind of vegetarian stew was enjoyed by the masses of people who were visiting the holy site. We were awed to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the kitchen and watch how they prepared the tea, stew, and bread to feed the people who visited the site daily. The majority of food was prepared by volunteers and is part of the Sikh religion of helping others.
Finally leaving, we decided, after watching the food get prepared, that maybe we should find some place to eat, after all it was 2pm…way past Dave’s lunch time. Heading to a restaurant called Yellow Chili we ordered food. Our guide, Harjinder ordered some appetizers and we had a bread that was made of corn meal (similar to a tortilla chip) except it was flavored with pepper and cumin. On the large over-grown chip was a smattering of tomatoes, onions, and some other veggies. He insisted we put on some flavoring which consisted of mint with yogurt. It was an explosion of taste and very much like the city itself; the flavors competed with each other, each one trying to find their place within your palate.
Next stop was the Wagah Border where a ceremony is held called the Beating Retreat Ceremony. We highly recommend you watch the videos on YouTube to get the full experience. Luckily, being out of towners, we got to be VIP’s – no back of the bus today! We skipped ahead of the lines and were soon in the stadium where the crowds were enthralled and thoroughly entertained by a guard who amped up the crowd with shouts of patriotic slogans. The crowd also danced to patriotic songs and the Indian National Anthem is played at the end. When you watch the video on Youtube, maybe you could let us know. The ceremony closes the only land border between India and Pakistan for the night. The two countries, which were one country before the British left in 1947 and then split into 2 (and now 3) countries, have had a tense relationship ever since “Partition”. The separation was violent and controversial, pitting the mostly Hindus and Sikhs of India against the Muslims of Pakistan. It lead to the greatest mass migration of humans in history, as well as hundreds of thousands of killings. The Beating Retreat Ceremony was begun in the 1950’s and serves as a symbol of the continuing rivalry and the desire for peaceful coexistence between the two neighboring nations.
Last stop was a shop where, despite Kathy’s better judgement about buying something on the first day of a trip, she bought two things, almost identical, one just smaller than the other. One is for Kathy and one is for our sister-in-law Judy. Kathy got two hand-carved elephants that have another “baby” hand carved elephant inside the “belly” of the elephant. All one piece of rock! We were totally impressed with the skill and craftsmanship. Kathy is hoping that the smaller one will make an excellent Christmas ornament.
Finally back to the hotel at the early hour of 7 pm, we hunted for something to eat. Instead, we opted for room service and an early night to bed. All in all, it was an excellent day despite all the chaos.
