Page 111 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

HAR Y ANA & PUNJAB  109

Golden Temple complex, with the central shrine and main entrance
Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib, is palanquin back to the Sri Akal on the orders of General
carried out of the Sri Akal Takhat Takhat Sahib. The floors of the Reginald Dyer, who arrived
Sahib to the Harmandir Sahib temple are then washed with heading a platoon of infantry
at daybreak. The head priest milk and water, before the doors from Jalandhar. It was an event
then opens it for the vaq, the of the Darshani Deorhi are closed. that helped to hasten the end
message for the day. From A few other shrines are found of British rule in India. A memorial
dawn till late at night the just outside the Temple complex. to those killed stands at the
temple echoes with These include a shrine eastern end.
the music of ragis, dedicated to Guru
musicians employed Hargobind Singh, Environs
by the temple trust to as well as the nine- The last checkpost on the
sing verses from the storeyed Baba Atal Indian border with Pakistan
Holy Book. Every Tower which marks is at Wagah, 29 km (18 miles)
visitor (including non- the spot where Atal Rai, from Amritsar. Each evening,
Sikhs) entering the son of Hargobind, as buglers sound the last post,
Harmandir Sahib is attained martyrdom. two splendidly uniformed
given a dollop of The 16th-century guards on either side of the
sweet prasad (holy Memorial, Durgiana Temple, border goose step across
offering), and no visit Jallianwala Bagh visited by Hindus, is to the flagpoles to lower their
is considered truly dedicated to Durga. respective national flags. Their
complete without a meal at the It lies 2 km (1 mile) northeast of steps are matched so perfectly
Guru ka Langar, a free kitchen the Golden Temple. that it is like watching a mirror
where all visitors are fed a Jallianwala Bagh, also a image of the same exercise.
simple meal of dal-roti (lentil short distance from the Golden The ceremony, which attracts
curry and bread). Run by Temple, is the site of an infamous crowds of spectators on both
volunteers, this kitchen can massacre that took place in sides, is a poignant reminder of
feed 10,000 people a day. 1919. Hundreds of unarmed the Partition of 1947 (see p60),
Its vast hall, which can seat demonstrators were gunned when Punjab was divided
3,000 people at a time, serves down in this enclosed garden between two nations.
as a symbol of the caste-free,
egalitarian society that the
Sikh gurus strove to create. The
notion of kar-seva (voluntary
manual labour for a cause) is
an important part of the Sikh
order. Tasks such as sweeping
the temple precincts, cooking
at the langar or looking after
the pilgrims’ shoes, are
enthusiastically performed by
volunteers. The final evening
prayers are over by 9:45pm,
when the Holy Book is reverently
closed and carried in a silver Ceremonial guards outside the Sri Akal Takhat Sahib

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