INDIA

17th January - 27th February 2004

Jamesy, Andrew and I spent six weeks travelling around the subcontinent, speeding around in rickshaws, lounging on beaches and eating more curry than you'd care to imagine.

 

And so to Amritsar, the final destination. Not a bad way to finish: the Golden Temple is one of the most uplifting, atmospheric places I have ever been to. Hundreds of Sikh pilgrims mill around reverentially, with the reverential tones of the Adi Granth reverberating all around. Just down the road is Jallianwala Bagh, where British soldiers, under the command of General Dyer, were good enough to fire on a peaceful gathering of protesters, in an atrocity that arguably kick-started the road to Indian independence. All that remained was to return to Delhi - for a magnificent slap-up meal and a scoot round Nehru's old mansion - before flying back to good old, ice-cold Britain!

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Amritsar: Sikh pilgrims come from all over the world to visit the magical Golden Temple

James takes the opportunity of a power cut in Hotel Airlines to showcase his new pink shirt. Outside the Golden Temple, working out the etiquette. Those Pirates of the Caribbean rejects are actually Andrew and James. The entrance. The guy in orange stands in front of the footbaths to keep an eye on things, help people out and make sure the rules (bare, washed feet, and covered head) are followed. The Harmandir is the most famous, and most golden, part of the temple, and it floats in the middle of the sacred tank.
The setting and the atmosphere only adds to the splendour of the building itself. Yep, just to prove it, we were actually there, looking like shifty pirates. The causeway across the Harmandir, the culmination of a pilgrim's visit, after having wandered clockwise around the tank. Behind the Causeway is the Akal Takht, the building that Indira Gandhi's troops stormed in the 1984 violence. Another view of the Harmandir.
Poised to enter the causeway that leads to the centre, where photography was not permitted. We found the musicians there whose harmonies were relayed around the entire complex, accompanied by an unbroken recitation of the Adi Granth. More musicians, outside the Akal Takht. Bathing in the tank's sacred waters is the object of many pilgrims' visits. Jallianwala Bagh, and the memorial there to those who perished.
This couple were on pilgrimage to Amritsar - from Smethwick. On the right of the picture is the Martyr's Well. Many people jumped down it to their death, rather than be minced by British bullets. Had a good chat to these lads while we were strolling around the landscaped memorial gardens and exhibition.

Hit me Delhi one more time

Nehru's impressive old house. The Last Supper in India. Sitting at the front with us is Gabriella, the Croatian yogi. Silly hats. A fitting end: it was probably about time we flew back to our homes and our sanity.
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© Ben James 2004