Amristar to Dharamshala

Yesterday was not your normal lie in bed on a Sunday morning with cup of tea and the papers to put it mildly.
First we drove to the Jallainwala Bagh where in 1916 hundreds were massacred by the British for not obeying to the rule of not gathering in groups of more than 2 people. It was a dreadful day of senseless slaughter and now there is a beautiful garden and museum describing the atrocities. After that sobering start we then walked on to the beautiful Golden Temple. It was totally beautiful but so did 200 thousand think so yesterday and the place was packed. It was just a stream of people there and the Sikh men in their turbans and beautiful woman in their saris. On we walked in the stifling heat with just so much going on including swimming in the big pool in front of the temple. People come from near and far to worship in the Sikh temple and the people double on a Sunday! We had to don head scarves and wear pants or long skirts to cover our legs.
We were then shown the community kitchen which was one of those " you had to be there" moments. It was absolutely packed with people going in to eat as a community and on a Sunday they feed 200 thousand people. Everyone gets a tin plate and sits cross-legged on long mats and the volunteers come around with plates of ? looked like lentils rice and naan bread. Even people who are not poor eat there as it's just about taking part in a community event. I was just so happy our men were not subjugated to sitting on the floor. You can imagine the noise of a thousand tin plates being loaded onto trolleys. There was so much order to it all that was so admirable. The Sikh religion are very much about not having a caste society and they have no figures in their temple to worship to.
The Punjab people are much taller and bigger than where we have come from and seem more out going but that is only my observation.
As we left the kitchen in total awe we saw the que to get into the temple and it was packed but luckily we were not going in!! They were waiting in 30 degree plus for 3 hours just to get in and so patient.
The heat was getting pretty intense by then but we were taken to an air-conditioned museum documenting the Partition in 1948/49. It was again a very tough time for India and a big part of Punjab was turned into Pakistan and people turfed out of their homes depending on their religion.
A lot of lives lost and hardship to so many.
So after that also sobering account our morning ended!
Will post the next account in morning as gins are being poured down the way and we are staying in a beautiful peaceful place in Dharamshala but more tomorrow.
Great to see the pole vaulting girls got through!Leggi altro