India Travel

Trains

Amritsar to: Agra (2 daily; 13-16hr); Calcutta (2 daily; 37-45hr); Chandigarh (1 daily; 6hr); Delhi (11 daily; 5hr 30min-12hr); Gwalior (1 daily; 18hr); Jhansi (1 daily; 20hr 35min); Mumbai (3 daily; 31 hr 25min-44hr); Pathankot (3 daily; 2hr 30min-3hr); Varanasi (2 daily. 22-26br). Chandigarh to: Amritsar (1 daily; 6 hr); Delhi (4 daily: 3hr 30min-6hr); Jodhpur (1 daily; 21 hr); Kalka (3 daily; 45min-1hr 10min). Pathankot to: Amritsar (3 daily; 2hr 30min-3hr); Calcutta (Sealdah - 1 daily; 42hr); Delhi (4 daily; 10hr30min-13hr); Jodhpur (1 daily; 20hr) Jogindernagar (2 daily; 7hr 30mm-9hr); Varanasi (1 daily; 27hr).

Buses

Amritsar to: Chandigarh (30min; 5-6hr); Delhi (12 daily; 8-1 Ohr); Dharamsala (1 daily; 7hr); Kullu (1daily; 16hr); Pathankot (hourly; 3hr); Wagha/Attari (hourly; 45min).

Left luggage can be left for short periods at the Golden Temple’s gurudwaras, or at the railway station cloakroom.

Police 100 or 0183/228185. Shopping Tablas (hand-drums), harmonia and other musical instruments are available at the shops outside the Golden Temple, where you can also buy cheap cassettes of the beautiful kirtan played in the shrine itself. Other possible souvenirs include a pair of traditional Arabian Mgflts-style Punjabi leather slippers - sold at stalls east of the temple’s main entrance.

Swimming pools Both the Mohan Internationa! and Ritz hotels allow discretionary use of their outdoor pools (nonresidents Rs150, towels not included).

Travel agents Narang Travels, 2 Amritsar International Hotel (0183/554902) are good for most air ticketing,

Chandigarh to: Agra (1 daily; 10hr); Amritsar (every 30min; 5-6hr); Anandpur Sahib (8 daily: 3-4hr): Chamba (6 daily; 12hr); Dehra Dun (7 daily; 4hr); Delhi (every 20min; 6hr); Dharamsala (hourly; 7-8hr); Haridwar (7 daily; 6hr); Jaipur (7 daily; 11 hr); Kalka (every 20min; 40min); Kasauli (5 daily; 2hr 30mln); Kullu (12 daily; 6hr 30min); Manali (12 daily; Shr); Rishikesh (2 daily; 6hr); Shimla (every 30min; 4hr-4hr 30min); Sirhind (hourly; 1hr30min).

Pathankot to: Ambala (every 20min; 7hr); Amritsar (every 15min; 3hr); Chamba (hourly; 5hr); Dalhousie (hourly; 3hr 30min); Delhi (every 20min: 11hr); Dharamsala (12 daily; 3hr30mm); Jammu | (every 1Qmin; 3hr); Jullundhar (hourly; 3hr); ! Kangra (10 daily; 3-4hr); Manali (5 daily; 12hr); Mandi (5 daily; Bhr); Shimla (5 daily; 12hr).

Flights

Amritsar to: Delhi (5 weekly; 55mm).1 Chandigarh to: Amritsar (2 weekly; 30min); Delhi| (2 weekly; 2hr]; Leh (1 weekly; 1hr).

Airlines the main Indian Airlines office is on Court Road 0183/213392; Air India (j 0183/546122) js located at the Amritsar International Hotel complex near the bus stand. Ambulance 0183/220900 or 501702. Banks and exchange Several banks offer foreign exchange facilities including the State Bank of India, halfway between the bus stand and the Golden Temple, the Bank of Punjab, near the temple, and the Chartered Bank and ANZ Grindlays, both at Hall Bazaar. Authorized agencies such as Narang Travels at the Amritsar International Hotel arcade, near the bus stand, also change money. Hospitals Kakkar Hospital Green Avenue (0183/506015); Sri Guru Nanak Dev, Majhita Road (0183/212837); and Munilal Chopra Hospital, Mall Road (0183/223046) are the best in the city.

Prabhat ground floor. Hotel Pegasus Palace, opposite the railway station. Dhaba style restaurant serving generous portions. Cheap, but low on atmosphere.

Satsangian da Dhaba, 126 City Centre, right opposite bus station. Excellent cheap parathas and veg food and efficient service. Sindhi Coffee House, opposite Ram Bagh Tinted windows and tablecloths, and an exhaustive mixed-cuisine menu that includes several Sindhi specialities. Moderate to expensive.

Amritsar is a major hub for traffic heading northeast to Jammu & Kashmir, southeast towards Delhi via Chandigarh (the main jumping-off place for Shimla and central HP), and west to India’s only land-border crossing point with Pakistan at Wag ha.

All state buses depart from the massive bus station located off the Delhi Road (NH-1), while private buses including a/c services leave from around Pink Plaza or Gandhi Gate. Agencies such as Sanan Travels (0183/223522) and Maharajah Travels (0183/500768), operate deluxe and a/c buses to Delhi (8hr) and Chandigarh (225km; 4-5hr). For Pathankot (101km) and other connections to Himachal Pradesh, you are restricted to state transport buses, but the journey is relatively painless. Delhi, 475km away, is a long tiring road journey and most travellers prefer to go by train.

The best trains for Delhi are the daily superfast afl a/c chaircar Amritsar-New Delhi Shatabdis - the #2014 {dep 5.15am arr 10.50am) and the #2030 (dep 17.05, arr 22.50). Other trains include the Amritsar-New Delhi Express #4660 (dep 6.15am; 8hr) and the #4648 Flying Mail to Old Delhi (11.30am; 9hr), as well as the daily #3050 Amritsar-Howrah Express via Varanasi; the daily #1058 Amritsar-Dadar Express to Mumbai; and the twice-weekly (Wed & Sun) #9772 Amritsar-Jaipur Express. Flights to Delhi are run by Indian Airlines (Tues, Wed & Sat; 55min) and Air India (Wed, Sun).

For Pakistan, take one of the frequent buses to Attari* from where it’s just 2km to the border at Wagha, or hire a taxi from Amritsar the whole way. Rickshaws are available between Attari and Wagha. You’ll have to cross into Pakistan by foot - it can take up to two hours to complete formalities.

Tourists just wishing to watch the bizarre border spectacle can rent taxis or auto-rickshaws for the round trip but if you need to stay the night near the border, accommodation is available at the Neem Chameli Tourist Complex, which has air-cooled rooms, restaurant and bar, or the Niagara Falls Hotel (0183/382646; 0). Onward connections to Lahore from the Pakistani side of the frontier are generally good. Twice a week (on Mon & Thurs) the #4607 Amritsar-Lahore Samjhauta Express train leaves Amritsar for Lahore at 7am, reaching Wagha at 7.40am. It is then scheduled to leave Wagha at 11.30am, to reach Lahore at 4.15pm but is invariably delayed. In the other direction, the #4608 Lahore-Amritsar Express (Tues & Fri) departs at Bam, reaching Wagha at 12.30pm and is scheduled to depart from Wagha at 2.20pm, arriving in Amritsar at 3pm.

A full rundown of destinations reachable by train and bus from Amritsar is given opposite.

Amritsar boasts a clutch of swish a/c restaurants, mostly located in the modern end of town north of the railway. For cheaper food, try the simple vegetarian dhabas around the Golden Temple and bus stand serving cheap and tasty puris and chana dhal. Some local specialities are Amritsari Gsh and pinnies and matthies, sweets made from lentils available at Durga% on Lawrence Road.

Bharawan da Dhaba. near the Town Hall. One of the best dhabas in Amritsar, not far from the Golden Temple. Cheap, wholesome and recommended.

Crystal, Crystal Chowk. Ore of the city’s most popular restaurants, with mid-priced Indian, Chinese and Continental dishes served in comfortable surroundings, or from “fast-food” outlets on the street.

Kasar da Dhaba, near Ourgiana Temple. Another great dhaba which through its success has developed several branches throughout the city.

Likened by one guru to “a ship crossing the ocean of ignorance", the triple-storey Harmandir, or “Golden Temple of God” was built by Arjan Dev to house the Adi Granth, (Original Book), which he compiled from teachings of all the Sikh gurus; it is the focus of the Sikh faith. The temple has four doors indicating it is open to people of all faiths and all four caste divisions of Hindu society. The large dome and roof, covered with 100kg of gold leaf, is shaped like an inverted lotus, symbolizing the Sikhs’ concern for temporal as well as spiritual matters.

The long causeway, or “Guru’s Bridge", which joins the mandir to the west side of the Amrit Sarovar, is approached via an ornate archway, the Darshani Deorh. As you approach the sanctum check out the amazing Moghul-style marble inlay work and beautitul floral gilt above the doors and windows.

The interior of the temple - decorated with yet more gold and silver, adorned with ivory mosaics and intricately carved wood panels - is dominated by the enormous Adi Granth, which rests on a sumptuous throne beneath a jewel-encrusted silk canopy. Before his death in 1708, Guru Gobind Singh, who revised the Adi Granth, declared that he was to be the last living guru, and that the tome would take over after him - hence its full title, the Guru Granth Sahib. Granthis intone continuous readings from the text as the worshippers file past, accompanied by singers and musicians, whose ethereal performance is relayed by loudspeakers around the complex. Known as Shri Akhand Path, a single continuous reading of the Gum Granth Sahib is carried out in three-hour shifts and takes around 48 hours to complete.

The gnarled old Jubi Tree in the northwest corner of the compound was planted 450 years ago by the Golden Temple’s first high priest, or Babba Buddhaya, and is believed to have special powers. Barren women wanting a son hang strips of cloth from its branches, while marriage deals are traditionally struck in its shade for good luck - a practice frowned upon by the modern temple administration.

Only 100m northeast of the Golden Temple, a narrow lane leads between two tall buildings to jallianwalla Bagh memorial park (April-Sept 9am-5pm, Oct—March 10am-4pm), site of one of the bloodiest atrocities committed in the history of the British Raj.

In 1919, a series of one-day strikes, or hartals, was staged in Amritsar in protest against the recent Rowlatt Act, which enabled the British to imprison without trial any Indian suspected of sedition. When the peaceful demonstrations escalated into sporadic looting, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab declared martial law and called for reinforcements from jalandhar. A platoon of infantry arrived soon after, led by General R.E.H. Dyer.

Despite a ban on public meetings, a mass demonstration was called by Mahatma Gandhi for April 13, the Sikh holiday of Bhaisakhi. The venue was a stretch of waste ground in the heart of the city, hemmed in by high brick walls and with only a couple of alleys for access. An estimated 20,000 people gathered in jallianwalla Bagh for the meeting. However, before any speakers could address the crowd, Dyer and his 150 troops, stationed on a patch of high ground in front of the main exit, opened fire without warning. By the time they had finished firing, ten to fifteen minutes later, the unarmed demonstrators lay dead and dying, many of them shot in the back while clambering over the walls. Others perished after diving for cover into the well that still stands in the middle of the bagh.

No one knows exactly how many people were killed. Official estimates put the death toll at 379, with 1200 injured, although the final figure may well have been three to four times higher. Hushed up for over six months in Britain, the jallianwalla Bagh massacre caused an international outcry when the story finally broke. It also proved seminal in the Independence struggle, prompting Gandhi to initiate the widespread civil disobedience campaign that played such a significant part in ridding India of its colonial overlords.
Moving first-hand accounts of the horrific events of April 13, 1919, and contemporary pictures and newspaper reports, are displayed in jallianwalla Bagh’s small martyrs gallery. The well, complete with chilling bullet holes, has been turned into a memorial to the victims.

Posts When Indian paratroopers tried to storm the shrine, they were mown down in their hundreds while crossing the courtyard in front of it: the reason why the army ultimately resorted to much heavier-handed tactics to end the siege. Positioned at the opposite end of the Amrit Sarovar, tanks pumped a salvo ot” high-explosive squash-head shells into the delicate facade, reducing it to rubble within seconds. The destruction of the Akal Takht offended Sikh sensibilities more than any other aspect of the operation.
The shrine has been largely rebuilt and now looks almost the same as it did before June 6, 1984. Decorated with elaborate inlay, its ground floor is where the Adi Granth is brought each evening from the Harmandir, borne in a gold and silver paladin.

Directly opposite the ceremonial entrance to the Harmandir. The Akal Takht is the second most sacred shrine in the Golden Temple complex. A symbol of God’s authority on earth, it was built by Guru Hargobind in the seventeenth century and came to house the Shiroman Gurudwara Parbandhak committee, the religious and political governing body of the Sikh faith founded in 1925. During the 1984 siege, Bhindranwale and his army used this golden-domed building as their headquarters, fortifying it with sandbags and machine-gun

For Sikhs, no pilgrimage to the Golden Temple is considered complete without a visit to the Guru-ka-Langar. The giant communal canteen, which overlooks the eastern entrance- to the temple complex, provides free food to allcomers, regardless of creed, colour, caste or gender. Sharing meals with strangers in this way is intended to reinforce one of the central tenets of the Sikh faith, the principle of equality, instigated by the third guru. Amar Das. in the sixteenth century to break down caste barriers.

The tradition of commensality is still practised in gurudwaras all over India, but nowhere more forcefully reaffirmed than here at the Langar. Some 10,000 chapati and black dhal dinners are dished up each day in an operation of typical Sikh efficiency, which you can witness for yourself by joining the queues that form outside the hall at meal times (daily 11am—3pm & 7-9pm). When the doors open, up to 3000 pilgrims at a time pile in to take their places on the long coir floor mats. The meal begins only after grace has been sung with great solemnity by a volunteer, or sevak, and continues until everyone has eaten their fill. By the time the tin trays have been collected up and the floors swept for the next sitting, another crowd of hungry pilgrims has gathered at the gates, and the cycle starts again. Although the meals are paid for out of the temple’s coffers, most visitors leave a small donation in the boxes in the yard outside.

The principal north entrance to the temple, the Darshini Deori, leads under a Victorian clocktower to a flight of steps, from where you catch your first glimpse of the Harmandir, floating serenely above the glassy surface of the Amrit Sarovar. Dropping down as a reminder of the humility necessary to approach God, the steps end at the polished marble Parikrama that surrounds the tank, its smooth white stones set with the names of those who contributed to the temple’s construction.

The shrines on the north edge of the enclosure are known as the 68 Holy Places. Arjan Dev, the fifth guru, told his followers that a visit to these was equivalent to a pilgrimage around all 68 of India’s most sacred Hindu sites. Several have been converted into a Gallery of Martyrs, in which paintings of glorious but gory episodes from Sikh history are displayed.

Four glass-fronted booths punctuate the Parikrama. Seated in each is a priest, or granthi, intoning verses from the Adi Gmnth.The continuous readings are performed in shifts; passing pilgrims touch the steps in front of the booths with their heads and leave offerings of money.

At the east end of the Parikrama, the two truncated Ramgarhia Minars -brick watch towers whose tops were blasted off during Operation Blue Star -overlook the Guru-ka-Langar and the main bathing ghats. Hang around here long enough, and you’ll see a fair cross-section of modern Sikh society parade past: families of Jat farmers, NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) on holiday from Britain and North America flaunting flash video cameras, and the odd group of fierce-looking warriors carrying lances, sabres and long curved daggers. Distinguished by their deep-blue knee-length robes and saffron turbans, the ultra-orthodox nihangs (literally “crocodiles") are devotees of the militaristic tenth guru, Gobind Singh,