Sadda Ambarsar! Balle!! Balle!!

Laarenz Rode is the centre of the universe!!!!

At least that’s what we Amritsaris like to believe. Its another matter that Laarenz Rode is actually Lawrence Road.

Anyways, its kinda strange writing about your own home town in a travelogue. But I just visited Amritsar after a couple o’ years – so what if it was for half a day and realized how much this town has to offer –


Religion / Faith: Darbar Sahib (The Golden Temple) / Durgiana Mandir

History: The Jalianwala Bagh

Atmosphere: The Old Town

Cuisine: Fish Amritsari is a standard on the menus of Indian restaurants world wide

Fashion: Good ol’ Laarenz Road

But first off, it’s the hospitality. I happened to be there during the festivities of the 4th centenary celebrations of the Sikh Holy book – the Granth Sahib. The city was deluged by 2.5 million pilgrims during the 3 day celebrations. Imagine this in a city that does not have more than 100 odd hotel rooms to offer and you would imagine a total chaos. But no, the Amritsaris showed what true hospitality is all about. AT the Railway Station, the Bus Stand, the roads leading up to the city, the local Amritsaris were waiting for the visitors, inviting total and complete strangers to their homes and hearts. Those who were just day-tripping – like me – were even offered a bath and loo facilities. The Guru-ka-langar – the free meal served at the Golden Temple served over a million meals a day – all free. There was complete order. While the police and para-military forces were there, the whole show was managed by Kar sevaks – Punjabi volunteers – who had come from all over the world – including Pakistan to serve the pilgrims!!! I guess that’s what Punjabiyat is all about.

The Golden Temple or Darbar Sahib, is the most sacred temple for Sikhs. It is a symbol of the magnificence and strength of the Sikh people all over the world. In the evolution of the Darbar Sahib, is entwined the history and ideology of Sikhism. In its architecture are included, symbols associated with other places of worship. This is an example of the spirit of tolerance and acceptance that the Sikh philosophy propounds.

The history of the Darbar Sahib starts with Guru Amar Das, who took the first steps towards building a shrine. Around the Golden Temple, the holy city of Amritsar came into being. His successor, Guru Ram Das, came to live near this tranquil and peaceful site, and started building the pilgrimage centre around the small pool, (later to become the Sarowar) which had intially drawn Guru Amar Das.

The Harmandir Sahib, or the sanctum sanctorium, was envisioned by Guru Arjan Dev. This was conceived by him to reflect the resoluteness, clarity and simplicity of the Sikh religion. The Harmandir Sahib today stands as the hallowed symbol of the indestructability of the Sikh faith.

The gilding, marble, mirror and inlay work on the Harmandir Sahib came much later. It was the nineteenth century during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, that the proud people of Punjab lavished their wealth on their shrine in Amritsar.

The Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, was installed in the Harmandir Sahib in 1604, three years after its completion. The location of the Granth Sahib here, adds to the sanctity & reverence of the Harmandir Sahib. Here lies the heart of Sikhism. This symbol of abiding faith and tolerance is held in high esteem by every Sikh. And this is the place which every Sikh dreams, ever so often, of visiting.

Jalianwala Bagh, can single-handedly, take credit for awakening the collective conscience of a nation so used to being ruled by foreigners and ultimately leading to its independence. The Jalianwala Bagh Massacre, involved the killing of hundreds of unarmed, defenceless Indians by a senior British military officer – General Dyer, took place on Baisakhi - 13 April 1919 - a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa. Jallianwala Bagh,. a garden belonging to the Jalla, derives name from that of the owners of this piece of land in Sikh times.

But more than anything else, what endears Amritsar to visitors is the simplicity of its people – their joie-de-vivre, their large hearts and not to forget – the pretty women. The Novelty (pronounced Naavalti) chowk – the downtown part of modern (post 1960) Amritsar, is like an ongoing beauty pageant in the evenings. Famous for its chaat, its withstood the test of time – its been hip and happening since 1965 atleast!!!

And the fooooooood… you can’t go to Amritsar and not talk about it. You start eating soon as you get up and keep eating all day. In fact, Amritsaris seriously believe in showing their affection for you by feeding you and expect you to show the same for them by allowing them to feed you.

In the old town, there’s this dhaba (old Indian style restaurant with an open kitchen) called Kesar-da-dhaba which serves absolutely awesome vegetarian food. The trade mark of course is ‘Butter’. In fact take any dish from anywhere in the world and add butter to it and it can pass off as an Amritsari dish – there’s a restaurant which serves butter chow-mein as well!!!! Then there is the world famous Fish Amritsari. Incidentally, fish, by itself, is not a part of the Amritsari cuisine – it’s the masala (the spices) and the marinade that make it Amritsari. The Amritsari (actually, the Punjabi) staple meat is chikkan – Tandoori, Butter (told you about butter earlier) and even chilly(this being a great fusion of sino-punjabi cuisine)! And then all this topped by Barfi, Halwa or Gajrela (or all three) as dessert.

Yes Amritsar!!!! If you haven’t been to Amritsar, you haven’t been seen the world!!!