Amritsar is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab (after the capital Chandigarh). It is a pleasant town on it's own, out of the way enough to be far less overrun by tourists than other areas we've been to, but still relatively easy to get to (6 hour train from Delhi), great food (even in India, Punjab is famous for its food), and easy to get around on foot. It borders Pakistan (Amritsar is only 50 km to Lahore, even closer to the border), and is the spiritual home to the Sikh people. The two attractions most people come to see, the flag ceremony at the India / Pakistan border, and the Sikh's holiest shrine, the Golden Temple, reflect this. My brother visited India last year and told me that Amritsar had been a highlight for him. His descriptions intrigued me, so when we were making our India plan, Amritsar figured prominently. I have to say that my brother was right, and I was not disappointed. Amritsar has to be my favourite spot in India so far.
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| Security checkpoint |
The flag ceremony is ostensibly just a bunch of army guys lowering flags at sunset at the border with the sort of pomp and circumstance that the military does so well. However, as we were to find out, it is really a bit more than that. For those of you who don't already know, India and Pakistan do not have the friendliest relationship. Under the British Raj, Pakistan was a part of India. When independence came in 1947 however, the majority Muslim northwest of the country chose to go its own way, and India was partitioned to form the new Muslim state of Pakistan and the (mostly) Hindu state of India. This did not happen peacefully. There were ethnically motivated massacres on both sides as Hindus and Muslims caught on the wrong side of Britain's arbitrary line tried to get to the other side. The conflict continues to this day. India and Pakistan have fought three full out wars, there are constant skirmishes in Indian controlled Kashmir, and more recently, the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008 that killed 175 people were carried out by attackers from Pakistan. This is obviously a pretty basic and incomplete history, and I'm sure any Indian or Pakistani reading it would wince at the generalizations and omissions, but i felt it necessary to mention something about the history of the area in order to give some context to what has to be one of the strangest events I have ever seen, the flag ceremony at the Wagah border crossing between India and Pakistan.
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| The Indian crowd |
The drive to the Wagah border post took about 25 minutes in a hired taxi. The first sign that something was up was the traffic. The road was full of cars and auto-rickshaws headed towards Wagah. I could not imagine that many people were on there way to Pakistan, I wasn't even sure if the border was open (it usually closes when there is a flare up between India and Pakistan, which is not that infrequent). I asked our driver, and he told me everyone was off to see the ceremony. Arriving at Wagah was the next clue. There was a real carnival atmosphere there. Cars and people jostling for space on a dusty road, loudspeakers blaring music, and vendors selling snacks. We got out of the car and sort of followed the crowd. Things took a more serious turn at an army checkpoint where we were lined up (girls in one line and boys in another as is usual in India) to pass through a metal detector and be searched by soldiers. After that it was on the the grandstand. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I certainly wasn't expecting stadium seating. There must have been between 5 and 10 thousand people, with an equal number on the Pakistan side, who we could just about see through a fence and a fancy gate separating the two countries. The crowd was energized. There was an MC on each side whipping the respective crowds into frenzies with chants and loud rhythmic music, sort of like the pregame at a sporting event
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| The Pakistani crowd (over the fence) |
Then came the main event. 8 soldiers appeared out of their barracks, dressed in full formal gear. Shiny black shoes, spats, perfectly pleated sashes and some kind of peacock berets with a shiny embroidered fan on top. They all stood at attention and the leader started what must have been a muster call to the uproarious cheers of the crowd. Through the fence, we could see and hear the same thing going on on the Pakistan side. I'm not sure what the point was, but there was lots of long drawn out yells, some synchronized head snapping and foot stomping. Then one of the soldiers did the most incredible thing. He broke rank and set off quick time towards the border gate, in a half skip, half goose step / high kick. The ladies at the Moulin Rouge couldn't have kicked higher. The crowd went ballistic. He went right up to the gate, stomped a bit, saluted his flag and glowered through the gate at his Pakistani counterpart, who was pretty much mirroring him. This was repeated several times by other soldiers in a surreal bit of military / cabaret choreography. For those of you familiar with it, it was the Ministry of Funny Walks from Monty Python. Then the leader from each countries group of soldiers (you could tell the leaders by their more extravagant headgear) started lowering their respective countries flags. This was done incredibly slowly. I was told later that this was to ensure that at no time would one flag be lower than the other. When finally down, the flags were ceremoniously but quickly folded, and trotted double time by the soldiers back to the barracks, to more wild cheering from the ecstatic crowds.
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| The glowering stare |
When it was all over, I didn't know quite what had hit me. The crowd surrounding me seemed satisfied, everyone was smiling and seemed to have that "we really showed them" kind of look. Had we won? Had our guys kicked higher than the theirs, were our guys dressed snazzier? I can honestly say that was one of the strangest things I have ever seen. If it weren't for the fact that people have died and continue to die in the conflict between these two countries, this kind of hyper nationalism and glorification of military culture would be hilarious to me. However, the reality is that the people in attendance did not find it in any way funny. Their chants and flag waving were not the stuff of conciliation, or fraternity, and I couldn't help feeling a little sad when it was all over. The sturdy barbed wire fencing and military barracks we passed on the
way back to the taxi belied the smiles on the faces of spectators.
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| The Golden Temple at Amritsar |
If the flag ceremony represented the negative end of the spectrum of nationalism, I would have to say that the Golden Temple represents, in my opinion, an example of the beautiful potential of religion. I won't go into the details of the Sikh religion, I'm certainly no expert, and it's not really germane to the point. Just to give you an idea though, the Golden Temple in Amritsar is to the Sikhs what the Vatican is to Catholics, the wailing wall is to Jews, and Mecca is to Muslims, the holiest of holies. The Temple is located in the centre of a man made lake which in turn is surrounded an all four sides by other religious buildings, beautiful in their own right. The Temple itself is stunning. It is "Golden" because 100 kg of actual gold was used to coat its exterior, and this beautiful golden facade brilliantly reflects the sunlight and is mirrored in the lake, really quite beautiful. The Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, is sung (the Sikh book is made up of hymns that are sung rather than read) in the Temple from early in the morning to late at night, and pilgrims form in lines for a chance to cross the narrow bridge to the Temple for a few minutes inside. Pilgrims will also bathe in the lake as its waters are considered holy and imbued with special powers.
It is not the acts of the pilgrims, nor the buildings themselves that define this place, beautiful though they are. Rather it is the sense of spirituality and brotherhood that permeate the site and are almost palpable. It is difficult to describe, but in a country full of noise and exuberance, here was peace, in a country full of people pushing you out of the way, here was quiet consideration. You could see it on people's faces, everyone was there to experience something beautiful, and you could almost feel their happiness.
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| Dinner at the Golden Temple |
As it specifically concerned us, I have to say that I always find it difficult to visit a place that is holy to a religion that is not my own. I feel like an interloper, and am never sure if my presence is an insult.This was most definitely not the case at the Golden Temple. On several occasions, people stopped to ask us if we needed anything or if we had any questions. Of course we had questions, and they were always patiently answered. People would just stop to say hello, and try to make us feel more welcome. As a matter of fact, one of the tenets of the Sikh religion is langar, or communal eating after worship. This is practised at the Golden Temple where a communal kitchen feeds the pilgrims, thousands daily, simple meals of rice, curry and bread. We were intrigued, but did not want to impose ourselves. This turned out not to be an issue as several people invited us / shepherded us into the cafeteria. At langar, everyone sits and eats from the floor (the Sikhs believe all are equal, and sitting together on the floor ensures that no one is above another). So we sat on the floor, more awkwardly that everyone else of course, and had our meal. It was really great. The food was great, and we were made to feel totally welcome, even though we were the only non-Sikhs in a hall of at least 700 people. Everyone, from the people serving the food to the people sitting around us would say hello, try to make small talk or smile at us. Regardless of how you fell about religion in general, there are times when it can achieve something truly beautiful, and In Amritsar, it has.
We are in Varanasi now, and leave tomorrow for Kathmandu. It seems like we arrived in India only yesterday....
Michael
Divya Hotel, Assi Ghat,
Varanasi, India
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