I have always felt that being in Delhi is akin to being perched up on a vantage point – most tourist spots are at close proximity from the capital city. So now that I am finally here in Delhi, I ought to make the most of it by travelling to as many places in and around the state.
With this in mind, I’d plan weekend trips. But the weather and busy schedules make it impossible for us to stick to a plan and make it work… until.., until this beautiful Friday evening, when everything just happened!
That’s right – everything that went wrong until then just fell in place at around 5p.m. on Friday evening. Five of us wanted to go on “a one-day trip to Amritsar, and come back as soon as possible so that we get the whole of Sunday to relax at home.” [Before I go further, let me introduce my companions – You have already read about Ms. V and Mr. Int here. The two new characters are – Mr. Snow, the tall man who’s the fairest of us all, and Ms. Kiddo, with whom we often kid around. 
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Since we are still in Delhi at 5pm on Friday and want to be back in Delhi on Sunday, the only day we can be in Amritsar is Saturday. [For the benefit of the readers who are unaware of the distance between Delhi and Amritsar – it is a 12-hour-bus-ride from Delhi to Amritsar.]
So then we ought to leave Delhi as soon as possible, and reach Amritsar on Saturday morning; spend Saturday in Amritsar and leave the holy city on the same night so that we can reach Delhi on Sunday morning. So, we did some quick-thinking and Google-searching and stumbled on this site - they had buses to Amritsar which had seats available! We booked our tickets (one-way) online, immediately and decided to board the 10.30-bus to Amritsar on Friday (Yes.., five hours after we began planning!).
Each of us had just enough time to get back from office, freshen up, pack and have dinner. We rushed to the boarding point (Lal Qila) and saw our bus waiting for us – a rickety old bus, which did not look like it could make it till the destination without falling apart, and with interiors that would make one think of a cycle rickshaw as opulence. So much for booking the tickets online!
So after taking deep breaths and bracing ourselves, we boarded the bus with a prayer on our lips and hope in our hearts. And thus began the most spontaneous and memorable trip that I have ever been on!
Saturday morning: We woke up to see the sun shining down on us. It was around 9a.m. We were in Amritsar.
After freshening up, we went to a restaurant that was close by for breakfast. And in true Punjabi style, we had a delicious breakfast, complete with wholesome paranthas, dollops of butter and a tall glass of rich, creamy lassi! Talk about having breakfast like the king.
The first stop we made was Jallianwala Bagh – the infamous park which bore witness to the bloody massacre of over 400 innocent Indians by the ruthless General Dyer. The incident that occurred in 13th April 1919 was much-discussed not only in India, but also in Britain. The mutiny unified freedom fighters from all over the country and played an important role in India’s fight for independence.
I remembered reading about the historic significance of the park in my history textbook (we had several pages dedicated to this incident) more than 10 years ago. I remembered all the black and white photographs that I had seen in my book. I entered the park with reverence for the martyrs. But when I saw the park, they way it looks today, I must say – I was disappointed.
The park is a glorified modern-day picnic spot with huge concrete structures erected in memory of the lost lives, surrounded by brick walls with occasional white square marks drawn to show indentations left by gun shots. I did not appreciate it much because the park lacked the patriotic edge – the feeling that I had when I looked at the fading black and white pictures in my history text was absent when I was at the Jallianwala Bagh. I cannot quite put my finger on what the reason might be. But then again, this is my opinion. I’m sure not everyone would feel the way I did.
From here, we headed to the Golden Temple. It was close to the park, so we went to the temple on foot. The visitors have to deposit their bags and footwear, cover their hair and wash their feet before entering the gurudwara.
More on this trip in my next post!
Amritsar - Jallianwala Bagh, Golden Temple
