At the historical places of Amritsar

                         After ending our first day at Amritsar, we began the second day with an early morning visit to the Golden Temple. I was a bit reluctant to get up from bed, partly due to the mild head ache I felt but the major reason being the laziness to getup early at 5 in the morning. But, thanks to Sreerag, because of whose compulsion I joined them to visit this spectacular temple constructed in the 16th century. This is a place where one can closely observe the Sikh traditions, beliefs and manners. Everyone irrespective of their faith and religion can enter the place. The first sight of this temple silhouetted against the morning sky itself was a sight to behold.


                         The heart of this temple is the two-storeyed sanctum surrounded by a man-made pool called ‘Amritsarovar’, hence the place name Amritsar. This temple also known as ‘Darbar Sahib’, is a collection of buildings that includes but not limited to a clock tower, a museum, Ath-sath Tirath and the Akal Takht. It also houses a big kitchen that serves simple meals round the clock to the visitors. This holiest and most important Gurudwara of Sikhism has witnessed many historical events, some even leading to its partial destruction. It was once destructed by the Mughals in the 17th century, and damages were caused later in 1984 during Operation Blue Star. However, overcoming all these detriment and turbulences this marvelous edifice continues to attract and amaze the visitors.
Akal Takht
                         After spending more than a couple of hours we went to yet another historically important place nearby, the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial. This garden close to the Golden Temple was established to commemorate the massacre of peaceful celebrators in 1919 by the British. The walls with the bullet marks are still preserved in this garden which also has an eternal flame that flickers round the clock. This flower-filled garden also has a gallery that has innumerable painting and pictures portraying the infamous Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. We spent almost an hour at this historic place.

                         After having a very delicious Punjabi breakfast, we took a short stroll through the heritage streets of this historic city, especially visiting shops that sold antiques and such items that are not available elsewhere. By around 11 AM we started off from Amritsar, and the ride through the scenic highways surrounded by green blankets of paddy fields was quite exciting. Our target for the day was to reach Patnitop, but we couldn’t manage till there and called it a day at Udhampur...

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