Amritsar
August 4 & 5, 2008
AWESOME AMRITSAR!
Photos
This
past weekend another Olmsted Scholar, Matt Meyers, came through town on a
brief tour-de-India. After seeing some of the sights around Delhi, we
decided to take a short trip to a location neither of us had been to
before. Ange and the kids were busy with getting their school year started,
so it was a scholar-only trip this time. This time the destination was
Amritsar, the spiritual hub of India's Punjab Province, and holiest city in
the Sikh religion.
It was one of the best cultural experiences of my Olmsted experience, and a
superb and intimate view into the like of India's Sikhs. We decided to take
the day train (Shatabdi Express), and the Punjab was in full bloom. The
monsoon rains made the countryside lush and productive, and the train is one
of the best ways to see these great pastoral scenes. As we made our way (a
7 hour ride), I inevitably got wrapped up in Hindi discussions with fellow
travelers. During a lull in one of these conversations, a big Sikh fellow
leaned over and asked me if I, indeed spoke Hindi. He had overheard some of
our chatter, and he introduced himself: Bhai Gurdev Singh. We hit it off
well and spent most of the remaining hours talking and learning about their
life, our studies, and the Punjabis in general. Little did I know (I found
out later that day) that Gurdev Ji and his brothers are famous Sikh
musicians!
Gurdev
Ji and his brothers, Satnam Ji and Sahib Ji, are "Ragis" - traditional
performers employed by the
Shromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to perform kirtan (musical
chanting of scriptures or hymns) in relays at the famous Golden Temple in
Amritsar and at other historic Gurdwaras around the globe (see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikh_music ). Gurdev Ji is the leader of
his brotherly trio, with Satnam Ji on the harmonium (like an accordian) and
Sahib Ji on the tablas (drums). They have performed outside India in places
like Thailand and Australia, and may perform in the US in the future (as
assigned by the committee, presumably). We found out later they are widely
known and have CDs and DVDs that are popular among Sikhs worldwide! (See the
screen shots below from one of their videos and follow the you-tube link to
watch them perform - they are excellent!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHaBX2DSTLw&feature=related
Well,
true to Indian standards of hospitality, they invited Matt and I to go to
their home to meet their family and have lunch together. This was a
tremendous experience! Gurdev Ji, his wife, and two children live in an
extended-family home (kept spotless) with his elderly mother and father and
his younger brother Sahib Ji. The older brother Satnam Ji had a separate
home for his family nearby. We all sat in their family room and learned
about Sikh Ragis and the singing of kirtan. They really "dug" that I could
speak Hindi and they wanted to take pictures as a group.
Then they
showed us their performance turbans (dastars -
दस्तारे)
and had us try them on. It was a hoot, and Matt
really fit the bill. Sahib Ji demonstrated to us how Sikh men wrap their
dastars, and Gurdev Ji sang a verse of one of his kirtans acapella. Gurdev
Ji's mother made us a great lunch and we talked about family, some current
events, and what it is like to sing at the holiest shrine of the Sikhs.
They also set us up with one of their friends, Sukh Jeet Singh, to drive us
around that day. Jeet Ji is an electronics technician and a great guy who
drove us around in his personal car for the rest of the day! (At the end
of the day we gave him what we would have given taxis - and then some. He
only reluctantly accepted, but we were insistent as he gave his entire day
just to take good care of us as guests.)
Before
heading out to the border, Jeet stopped at a nearby restaurant to introduce
us to one of his friends. The fellow we met, Sukh Preet Singh (or “Kittu”
to his best friends) was the owner of the shop. But he was also a lawyer,
and astrologer, and a politician (Press Secretary of the Punjabi Akali Dal –
one of the national political parties in India affiliated with the Sikhs)!
He served us some sodas (that he would not let us pay for) and we chatted
about his various careers, as well as our studies and travels in India. It
was a brief stop, but another example of the general hospitality of Indians
toward guests.
The late afternoon was spent going out to the Pakistani border and
witnessing the Wagah Border Crossing show. This is a spectacle and ritual
of patriotism and (presumably) good-natured competition that happens every
night (weather allowing) on the Indo-Pak border between Indian and Pakistani
soldiers, cheered on by hundreds of 
pumped-up
civilians on each side. The heat was oppressive, but it did not dampen the
street dancing (to patriotic Bollywood hits, of course), chanting
("IN-DEE-YA, ZIN-DA-BAD!!!" - "Long Live India!"), and flag waving mania.
It all starts with a shouting match (each side's soldiers taking turns
shouting into a microphone from formation), and then the high-step marching
begins. They go through a drawn-out ceremony that has waves of troops in
ceremonial uniforms marching to meet at the gates (opened during the show so
all can see), where they scowl and salute, flex and posture, and adjust
their elaborate uniforms while keeping a focused bearing. It all ends with
the flags of each nation being lowered in unison with criss-crossed ropes,
with the last gesture a brief handshake between the commanding officers - a
positive way to end. While replete with chest thumping patriotism, the show
did not feel genuinely antagonistic. It was more a tourist spectacle than
anything else. But India and Pakistan have had a recent resurgence of
shelling and casualties along the Line of Control (a few hundred miles to
the north of this show in Kashmir) - a sober reminder that these two states
are still far from achieving peaceful reconciliation.
After the show we came back to Amritsar and went to see the Holiest of all
sites for Sikhs - the Golden Temple. The evening is the best time to visit
this breathtaking site - a remarkably clean and welcoming place (as compared
to others we have seen in India). The singing of the Ragis is broadcast
over speakers in the complex, and the brightly lit temple glimmered over the
sacred lake called Amrit Sarovar, or "pool of nectar." The music does not
blare (very serene and calming, I thought), there are no beggars or trash,
and the water is relatively clean with coi fish swimming about.
We hoped to time our visit to see the nightly retrieval of the Guru Granth
Sahib - the original copy of the scriptures of the Sikhs. To our amazement,
just as Matt and I entered the temple, they began the ceremony to uncover
and transport the scriptures! They gestured for all to sit, and from only a
few feet away we watched the priests reverently uncover and then re-wrap the
ancient text in clean white sheets. This was done by three priests while
three ragis sang nearby. Another priest's sole duty was to wave a fan/whisk
over the scriptures (surely some symbolic meaning, but it kept the flies
away also!).
I was impressed by two things as we witnessed this event - one that takes
place every day (and every morning, when the scriptures are brought back to
the temple from their resting place nearby): These people have tremendous
reverence and gratitude for their temple, and equally tremendous respect for
their holy scriptures. These are lessons we can all learn from their
example. My experience on this trip, compounded with others I have had
since coming to India, has engendered within me a great deal of respect and
admiration for the Sikh people. As a rule they practice what they believe,
they are hard working people (I've not yet seen a Sikh beggar), they are
both strong (in body and mind) and kind, and the feeling at their holiest
shrine was peaceful and welcoming. They have had to deal with persecution
on many occasions, and they have hence developed a tradition of making
themselves strong and able to take care of themselves. But with their
strength they aren't aggressive or intimidating. They seem to be one of the
pillars of Indian society, and I just like these people.
The
next day we had to tolerate heavy rains, which flooded the streets
extensively. But we still managed to see some interesting sites. For me
the most meaningful was the Jallianwala Bagh - the plaza where a terrible
massacre of Indians was perpetrated by the British General Dyer in 1919.
This awful scene was portrayed in the famous film Gandhi starring Ben
Kingsley. It is a lush garden now with monuments, but in 1919 it was the
scene of a peaceful gathering of protest against British rule. General Dyer
said he was enforcing the law (The Rowlat Act, that prohibited any
gatherings) when he marched over a hundred troops into the plaza and opened
fire without warning. About 2000 people were shot in cold blood, and to
this day it is revered as a site of martyrdom for Indian independence. The
rain picked up heavily while we were there, and we took cover under the roof
built over the well where many had jumped to escape the hail of gunfire.
Despite time spent conversing with Indians there, I also had some moments to
just stand and think how horrible a day it must have been. It was entirely
appropriate that the heavens were opened and a heavy rain was falling.
The rest of our day was spent visiting a few other locations and temples,
the most notable being the Ram Bagh park north of the town center. The park
had great potential but was in terrible condition – a real disappointment.
We ate our lunch at the same location as dinner the night before - a great
dhaba called “The Brothers.” Dinner the night before was next door at
another good dhaba called “Bharawan Da Dhaba” (भारावं
दा ढाबा). It was all tasty – and
we took in the street-turned-river scene outside as we ate. Knowing how
much water is wasted, and how badly it is needed, it was just another India
moment to watch everyone struggle through 8 inches of standing
water…everywhere!
We had a
long trip home on the train, and the next day Matt left to head to Mumbai to
see Mike and Emily Wisecup. Then he would be on to Kolkata to see the
Wilkinsons. I think he got a great taste of Northern India – at least what
little parts we saw in the time he had. My lesson was that there are many
sites in India that rival the Taj Mahal for their beauty, history, and
cultural richness. In my mind Amritsar is one of them – one of my new
favorites in the land where there is always more to see and experience.
