Continuing from Part 1 where we left of last time, we go on with the tour of the Golden Temple.
Akal Takht
Guru Arjan Dev died a martyr on orders of Jehangir, the Mughal Emporor, in Lahore. This undoubtadly would have affected his son and successor, Guru Har Gobind, who changed the character of Sikhism by introducing martial arts and weapons for their defence. In fact he told devotees to give offerings of weapons, rather than flowers, food or money. He carried two swords (miri and piri), one signifying temporal/ material power and the other, spiritual power. The two flagpoles in front of the Akal Takht signify these powers.
Guru Hargobind built the Akal Takht (Timeless Throne) as a place of justice and consideration of wordly issues and as the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa (the collective body of the Sikhs). All commandments affecting the community as a whole were and are still issued from here. This act of the Guru made Amritsar the most important city for the Sikhs.
The Akal Takht was severely damaged during Op Bluestar. Rajiv Gandhu rebuilt it, but it was not accepted by the sikh community and was derisively called the Sarkari Takht. This building was brought down in 1986 and a new building, made by Kar Sewa or community service, was completed in 1995.
The Ber Trees
There are three Ber (Indian Jujube) trees with religious significance within the premises of the Golden Temple. They are called The Lachi Ber, The Ber Baba Buddha Ji and The Dukh-Bhanjani Ber. When I read the story of these trees on the plaques next to them, I found it difficult to believe. All the stories refer to events occurring during or before the construction of the temple began. That makes them over 400 years old. Later I found out that the normal lifespan of a Ber tree is around 100 years. But even then, these trees have lived 4 times as long. In fact the oldest, Dukh Bhanjani Ber, is over 440 years old. These trees are a silent witness to the growth of Amritsar.
It seems that in the 1990s, the trees started showing signs of wilting and large parts of them died due to insect infestation. The thousands of devotees touching its bark everyday and offering sweets near its roots also started taking it's toll. Measures were taken to rejuvenate and support the trees and they seem to be improving now. In fact, all the three trees have an elaborate support structure to hold the main branches and protect them.
Other Places of Interest
Apart from these, the Gurudwara complex also has many shrines to past Sikh Gurus, saints and martyrs. Each of them has a Guru Granth Sahib and a Granthi reciting it. There are over 30 of them in the premises.
The rest of the buildings surrounding the tank are living quarters and bathing areas for pilgrims.
Guru ka Langar
And then there is the Guru ka Langar. A free community kitchen and dining hall run by volunteers and donations for everyone, irrespective of caste, creed, nationality, religion, anything. The one here runs 24 hrs round and serves dal, rice, chapati and kheer. Reportedly, on average 75,000 devotees or tourists take langar daily (3000 in one sitting); but the number becomes almost double on special occasions. On average 100 Quintal Wheat Flour, 25 Quintal Cereals, 50 Quintal Rice, 5000 Ltr Milk, 10 Quintal Sugar and 5 Quintal Pure Ghee is used a day. Nearly 100 LPG Gas Cylinders are used to prepare the meals. All meals are based on donations by devotees, either in the form of raw produce or as money. The food is also served by volunteers.
The description above is a combined view of my solo visit in the morning and the family visit later in the night. So though I will now continue chronologically, please remember we have had a flash forward and have covered the activities of the night too.
My visit to Sri Harmandir Sahib brought out to me that the sikh community is still feel greivously hurt over Op Bluestar. They have not forgotten it, and are unlikely to ever forget or forgive the action. All the information plaques clearly bring out the 'desecration' caused to the structure by the Army and the 'atrocity' of the Government. In fact, there is a structure which has been built behind the Akal Takht in honour of the martyrs of Op Bluestar. It has a Granthi reciting the Guru Granth Sahib, like in all other shrines. I am not sure whether this shrine is only for the innocent killed, or is it also for those whom many would consider militants. But then, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.
Of course, the irony is that the entire Golden Temple premises is now covered with marble plaques acknowledging the donations by various army units. In any case, whatever may have been the reasons or compulsions which led to the operation, the hurt and angst among the community is very real. We just don't realise it.
Enough serious talk....Let us end our visit to the Golden Temple with a beautiful night panoramic view of the lovely and peaceful place of worship......
I got back to our room by 0830. We all got ready and thereafter got around to organising our stuff and cleaning the car properly. It was almost lunch time by the time we finished and were ready to move.
For lunch, we went to a place called Kulcha Land. It is a small joint which seems to have a big clientele. They serve only Kulchas and that too of only three types, Amritsari, Paneer and Masala. And they have Lassi to go with it. No complicated menu card, choices, etc. It was great. Anybody going to Amritsar, this is a must visit joint for the kulchas. I got a recommendation to eat here on the net. Probablt because they seem to have understood the importance of 'word of mouth' through social media and blogs. They encouraged me to take photographs, invited me into the kitchen, posed for it and generally made it easy for me to get their photos on the net and give them free publicity.
They also have draught lassi, or lassi on tap. :-)
I will wind up Day 2 here and continue with Day 3 in the next part. We then visit Jallianwala Bagh and eat at Makhan fish. Ciao.
Continue reading in Part 3..........
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