Rab dikhta hai-Amritsar- Wagah trip

“Okay, so its rather strange that 2.5 yrs in Chandigarh, and you haven’t been to Amritsar”, my heart asked me. “But then there were reasons”, my mind answered. So when Prashant, and Vishal made this plan for amritsar trip, I had to agree. Early Saturday morning, five of us- me, Vishal, Prashant, Nishpaksh, and Anubhav started the journey-sleepy, dreamy eyed. Makke di roti and sarson de khet beckoned us. Anubhav kept us in splits throughout. Man, he is a firecracker. He comes up with these gem lines, that we were actually ROTFLOLing in the car:). We reached Amritsar, guided by an immaculate map made by our friend Gurbax.(Now this guys knows every single damn village on the way, he even knows the location of speed-breakers. Hats off gurbax!).

All hungry, all waken and shaken. We headed straight to Pravaa da dhaba, (literal meaning bro’s Dhaba).”Paranthe khaao, mast ho jao” was the motto. J

Next stop was Golden temple. We reached there after criss-crossing crowded lanes that are synonymous with small towns in India. Amritsar is no exception. But there is a nice buzz kinda feel about it. Punjabiyat is in the air; also it didn’t give the usual suffocating vibes that some religious places have. Once we entered the premises, the shrine was visible in full glory. No, nothing filmy, nothing yashraj, very simple, calm, religious and crowded. Bina line main lagey, rab toh dikhta nahi. He he. J. But this was very systematic, very well managed. Golden temple is indeed very beautiful.

Once inside, you feel a sense of calm, It’s kind of hard to believe that despite living in chandigarh for more than 2 yrs now, this was my 2^nd or third gurudwara trip.(last one was at Anandpur sahib). Now I don’t have much knowledge about gurudwara structure, but GT is a multi storied building, where each level has some place to pay homage. The nakkaashi on the walls is super intricate. The architecture is rather unique. The ambience is cool and quiet. The only thing that surprised me (in an uneasy kind of way) was the absence of any security check. I mean the machines and stuff were there, but there was absolutely no manual check, and we were not frisked even once. Quite strange for a place which is revered by millions of people from all over the world. Me and Nishpaksh sat on first floor for few minutes and soaked in the positive vibes of the kirtans.Bliss!!

Next stop was Jalianwala Bagh, which is like “Golden temple ke pados main”. This was rather disappointing. For years we were taught about how General Dyer killed hundreds of people, so some feelings were expected, but we didn’t get any nationalistic feeling, though people were clearly impressed by the bullet marks that exist even today and that anti-British feeling was there among some.

But it seems times have changed, love birds flock the garden, just like any other garden these days. We encountered the decent ones, but I suspect there could be more than it meets the eyes. We clicked a few pics here and there. till hunger called.

Next was food, because we were hungry as hell. But if you think makke ki roti and sarson da saag greeted us with open arms, then the answer is NO. To avoid more hustle we decided to play safe and raided Dominos. YUMMM… Extra cheese, bring it on guys!!..after adding a few more pounds, we headed straight to wagah border.

W(ag)ah!!

If anyone wants to see real patriotism, he should pay a visit to Wagah. Thousands flock here daily (mainly for emotional reasons). From nearby villages, villagers come in huge numbers. I don’t think there is a better example of “patriotism tourism” anywhere else in the world. The crowd started settling in. And it was a HUGE turn out. ”Jahan daal daal pe sone ki chidiya karti hai basera, who bharat desh hai mera” a cover version blasted from the speakers in sonu nigam’s soulful voice and it led to surge in emotions. This was followed by chants of vande matram, Bharat mata ki jai. The people were requested not to shout any other slogans other than these, but when blood boils with patriotism, no body cares. ;). But a few anti-pakistani slogans apart, it was more of pro-Indian sentiment. If Indian side was over crowded, the near empty stands on the Pakistani side made me wonder. Also, if I noticed correctly, then there were separate seating arrangements for men and women on Pakistani’s side.

While the chants of “mera-bharat-mahan” were in full blow, a few people decided to show their mahaanta by jumping queues and creating nuisance. Lots of heated argument later, nothing happened, and ultimately we had to adjust.:(. (Talk about mera bharat mahan in the songs and breaking rules in reality, ironical). Anyway, the deshbhakti geets were good, until a shocker came our way. They played- “Koi kahe kehta rahe kitna bhi humko dewwana”…really man... since when did this uber-cool DCH number became synonymous with deshbhakti. Neo patriotism I tell you!. I was still in shock due to what I just heard, when the next song cleared my doubts, “It happens only in India” (remember the govinda song?). Really, how apt- It can happen only in India. I mean we have supremely good patriotic songs, which could have been played. Who decides the playlist there? lol. And the final gem, slumdog fever hit it hard on wagah and the final ode was “Jai ho”(thank god they didn’t play the pussycat version)he he. We could not listen to what was being played on the other side of border, I wanted to know what kinda songs they play. Khair...the best one was perahps “hai preet jahan ki reet sada”..the manoj kumar number that starts with beautiful words- “jab zero diya mere bharat ne, duniya ko tab ginti aayi”!! gem!

After the ceremony at wagah was over, we decided to halt at Jalandher, because Vishal was so very tired of driving some 500 kms throughout the day.(Btw I am yet to see a more adept “delhi” guy while driving, no over speeding, nothing!!). After fixing a place to stay, we headed to The Haveli. Now this place impressed me a LOT. I had read about Haveli in the India today travel edition some years ago in an article titled “No Fly Zone”. The place has the concept of traditional Punjabi dhaba but takes it to a new level. The cleanliness and ambience struck me the most. There were mannequin versions of village munim ji, village belles cooking tandoori roti and even a dummy truck, half cut from the middle. All looked so real. The food is okay, nothing exceptional. But the ambience is very cozy. It’s like a traditional food in swanky clean and slightly rustic-royal environs. After sleeping for next 6- 7 hrs, we returned the next morning to Haveli, for breakfast. Paranthas, lassi, and yes..loads of butter….yummyliciousJ

Overall, a very nice time spent. What I liked the most was the fact that it is ideal for a short trip, and one can even go with the family too. Short, sweet and very enjoyable tripJ.

PS: I know this blog is delayed by at least 10 days…blame it on work load…L..and yes, I tried to be short and simple just like the trip.but…;)