Trip to Amritsar ... Jo bole So Nihal - ਜੋ ਬੋਲੇ ਸੋ ਨਿਹਾਲ

If you are a software engineer, living in NCR and bored of doing same coding day by day then take a break on any weekend and visit Amritsar. You need only one night stay in Amritsar to visit four main attractions of Amritsar - Golden Temple, Wagah Border, Jalianwalah Bag and Great Food Junction- Bhrawan Da Dhaba!!!

One can take +SWARNA SHTBDI from NEW DELHI at 07:20 am and it reaches AMRITSAR JN at 13:25 hrs. Reaching Amritsar just book any hotel, average rate is INR 500 for family room that can accomodate 4 person. Now quickly freshen up yourself, take a lassi and then go out for Wagah Border.

Wagah (Hindi: वाघा, Urdu: واہگہ, Punjabi: ਵਾਘਾ) is the only road border crossing between India and Pakistan, and lies on the Grand Trunk Road between the cities of Amritsar, India and Lahore, Pakistan. Wagah itself is a village through which the controversial Radcliffe Line was drawn.

The Wagah border often called the 'Berlin wall of Asia', is a ceremonial border on India–Pakistan Border, where each evening, there is a retreat ceremony called 'lowering of the flags'. At that time there is very energetic and thrilling parade done by Border Security Force (B.S.F), India and Pakistan Rangers soldiers. It may seem slightly aggressive and even hostile to foreigners, but it really is just grand entertainment for the crowds with grand stands being built on both sides. Crack troops of each country put on quite an entertaining show in their uniforms.

(Me and Jana with one BSF Personal at Wagah Border)

After the end of the flag lowering ceremony, while returning to the main town, we stopped at Jalianwalah Bagh. Jallaianwala Bagh, situated 400 meters north of the Golden Temple, is where the most notorious massacre under the British rule took place. In the afternoon of 13 April, 1919, thousands of people gathered at Jallianwala Bagh for a peaceful demonstration on the Baisakhi day. The ground is surrounded by high walls on all sides and has only a narrow alley for access.
General Dyer personally led his troops to the site. Standing on the only access way, he ordered his men to open fire without any warning resulting in the death of 337men, 41 boys and one baby and injuring more than 1200. A section of the wall with visible bullet marks is preserved, as is the well that some people jumped into to escape the bullets. 120 bodies were recovered from the well. Today this ground has been changed to a memorial park. At the entrance there is a memorial plaque which recounts the history.

Afterwards you have ample time to spend either in Golden Temple or just walking through the roads of Amritsar. After Jalianwalah Bagh, we visited Harmandir Sahib, also know as the Golden Temple in Amritsar City is the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion. Also known as the Shri Darbar Shaib, it is in the center of the old part of Amritsar. The Golden Temple sits on a rectangular platform, surrounded by a pool of water called the Amrit Sarovar from which the City is named. The entrance to the Golden Temple complex is through an ornate archway with intricate inlay work. During Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s reign the lower half of the temple was decorated with marble while the entire upper half was inlaid with copper and gold plated. Its four gates symbolically invite everyone from all directions.

(From Left: Ayan(Malik), Abhijit(Jana), Me(Aka), Shuvo(Bihari), Bikash(Biku))

Built in a blend of Hindu and Muslim styles, the Golden Temple is a two story marble structure and the interior of the temple is decorated with semi precious stones, frescoes and glass work. Here, one can buy Halua made up of pure desi ghee to offer it to the shrine. I can bet in your entire life you will not be able to find such delicious Halua!!!

And the last thing, if you are hungry just go to Bhrawan Da Dhaba and make sure at the end you have taken a glass of Lassi.