The Golden Temple and the Pakistan Border

Hello everyone!
This past weekend we went to Amritsar which is the home of the Golden Temple, and a mere 30 kilometers from the Pakistan border. We went with 7 other people from the Hewitt group and had a great time. We traveled by train early Saturday morning, arrived in Amritsar and went out to lunch at a fabulous little restaurant that we ended up eating at on Sunday too. From there we ventured off to the Pakistan border to witness the border closing ceremony that is held daily. It was very interesting, but very hot and very crowded. We were dropped off just down the street from the site of the ceremony and from there we walked with thousands of others towards the grandstands built for the event. As we approached the border we filed down a pathway and I would have felt like I was waiting in line for a roller coaster at Cedar Point if it wasn't for the barbed wire fencing that separated us from Pakistan and the border guards dressed in their uniforms with their hats and their machine guns. We made it to the grandstands where we sat with probably close to 4,000 Indians, and had a view of the border that separated the countries. Right at the border, each country had a gate and flag. And on the Pakistan side there were grandstands, but on a much smaller scale than the Indian side. There were probably only about 500 people representing for Pakistan. We sat in the hot late afternoon sun for about an hour before the festivities began. The ceremony was the most elaborate display of nationalism that I have ever witnessed. There was a man with a microphone leading cheers on each side respective to their counties. India's translated to something along the lines of long live mother India. Then border guards on each side took turns yelling long drawn out orders and marching very dramatically down to the border and doing a series of high kicks, turns and stomps. The general feel was very India versus Pakistan pep rally. At one point before the ceremony began someone from the Pakistan side ran up and down his crowd with a Pakistan flag, much like you would see at a football game. This triggered someone sitting behind us with an Indian flag to follow suite and then run towards the border and wave the flag wildly. This triggered wild applause and cheering from the Indian side. The ceremony ended with the two gates being opened, the Pakistani guards and the Indian guards going through a kicking and stomping and shaking hands routine together at the border, lowering the two countries flags, folding them, slamming the gates and storming off. The whole thing was very dramatic and theatrical. Very interesting to watch and quite an amazing thing to experience. One Indian man, after the ceremony was talking to Dan. He asked where he was from and proceeded to ask if we do anything like that in America. Dan said no, nothing quite like this and the man asked, well how do you close the gates? Which we though was very funny and very cute. Dan's response was "Oh you know, we just keep em open."
It was very interesting to observe the Pakistan side of the border also. They had two large grandstands, one for men and one for women. About 40% of these women were wearing burkas, very foreign, very interesting. All in all it was a great experience, very cool to be at the border of two countries, especially when one of them is Pakistan!!
From there we traveled back to our hotel which had water buffalo, check out the pics, they are very cute. We ate dinner and then ventured off to witness the beauty of the Golden Temple at night. And it was majestic. The Golden Temple was built as a sort of headquarters for Sikhs. Many Sikhs make pilgrimages there and it is considered one of the holiest sites in India. Before entering the temple we all had to cover our heads and walk through water to cleanse our feet. All of the temples we have entered in India have required us to take off our shoes. During our night time visit we got to actually go inside. The temple was filled with a huge crowd of Sikhs who were singing and cleaning. Many people were sweeping the floors, some people were scrubbing the floors on hands and knees, some were wiping the golden walls with towels and some were cleaning the beautiful crystal chandeliers. It was a large, busy crowd doing simple tasks and singing holy songs. Despite the crowd we were immediately overcome with such a sense of peace and calm. It was beautiful. Upstairs in the temple there was a holy man sitting and reading the biggest book I have ever seen. I will have to do some research to find out exactly what the significance is, but it was very large and very old looking. Inside the temple we are not supposed to take pictures, and we are sorry about that because it was simply gorgeous. Really, really amazing. This was also the first place we have been to that people were just interested in talking to us. They wanted to ask us questions, not take our pictures which was really cool. Surrounding the temple is a huge pool or tank filled with water considered holy and there are constantly people bathing in it. There were also tons of people sleeping in on the ground around the complex. Many people travel from far away to witness this holy site.
There are also many other buildings surrounding the tank and one section of it is devoted to preparing food and serving it for free to anyone who needs it/wants it. Sikhism is a branch off of Hinudism and in Hinduism there are castes that divide the people. The lower castes are not allowed to eat with or even touch the food of the higher castes. So Sikhism eliminates this idea and welcomes anyone regardless of caste, sex, race, or religion. We witnessed this aspect of the temple on Sunday when we went back to see it in the day time. It was interesting to see preparations of mass amounts of food and what a great thing!
When we weren't seeing the Golden Temple or eating at Crystal Restaurant, we were enjoying the company of the other people we were with. We were up late on Saturday night playing cards and it was great. We are really having a great time with the people we are here with and it is so important because we are basically like family. This past weekend was another successful trip for us in India! And next weekend, GOA!!!! Keep in touch!
Love, Courtney