Day 156, Amritsar, Golden Temple [Tuesday 6th May 2008]
Previous day: Day 155, Amritsar [Monday 5th May 2008]
Next day: Day 157, Haridwar [Wednesday 7th May 2009]
We got to the Golden Temple, the most important site in the Sikh religion. Taking off our shoes, Kate wraps her dupatta around her head and I wear a strip of material as a bandana. Down some steps and through a footbath we emerge next to a large tank of water, at least 70 metres across. In the middle of the water sits the Golden Temple, as if floating.
The paths and walls surrounding the tank are of patterned white marble tiles, and are searingly hot and blindingly bright. Some men are bathing in the water, others sit at the edge or circumnavigate it. There are numerous shrines set into the walls, each with a priest inside reading from the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. The music being played inside the Temple is broadcast over loudspeakers around the tank.
We sit under an awning and listen to some musicians for a while, then walk down the covered walkway, which is lined with electric fans, to the Temple itself.
The upper storeys are clad in gold. Up close it is duller than you might expect, but still very impressive, especially when the sun catches it. There is a large queue, manned at the front by two Sikh guards who raise and lower a stick to allow a limited number of people into the building. to the left stands a prasad stall, but when the stick is raised we go straight inside.
It feels very small in here, maybe 5 metres square. The musicians are seated to the left, just as we've seen on TV, and a crowd of women are seated on the floor to the right. A man in the centre, behind a rope, collects donations from visitors. It is very crowded. I offer some rupees, then we are moved quickly along, past the musicians and out a side door. From there we go upstairs to a gallery overlooking the ground floor. The white marble walls are covered in fine paintings of vines and flowers, and there is beautiful pietra dura work similar to that seen at the Taj Mahal. The ceiling is painted in rich reds and blues, the the whole room is overlaid with delicate gold curlicues. It is the most beautiful interior I have ever seen, in India or anywhere else.
All around us men and women are standing or sitting, looking down to the holy book on the floor below, or following the prayers in books of their own. The atmosphere is sanctimonious, and sweet.
Another storey up and we are on the roof. We admire the golden dome up close, the sun bouncing off it, making it yellow. We watch huge fish circle the Temple in the tank.
In the afternoon we visit the Joleander Bagh, scene of an infamous massacre of hundreds of Indians at the hands of the brutish British officer General Dyer. The well where dozens of people leapt to their death is still here, as are some of the bullet-riddled buildings. Standing here amongst Indian tourists and thinking of Dyer's disgusting bigotry, racism and violence makes me ashamed to be British.
Later still we visit a museum celebrating the life of the local maharaja. It includes a huge panorama of the various battles he fought.
We go bac kto the Golden Temple again at sunset. We spend a long time savouring the atmosphere of this quiet, calm yet constantly busy place.
Back at the hotel the TV channel NDTV is showing the smug faces of the Opposition party in the Lok Sabha, their fingers pressed to their lips in an apparent silent protest at the decision to refer some of them to the Privileges Committee for unruly behaviour in the House. Any punishment that might eventually be given to them is entirely deserved. I've never witnessed a more spoilt, childish, pathetic crowd of elected representatives than them. As an example: when a Congress Minister was attempting to read out a Bill which would reserve 33% of Lok Sabha seats for women, a dozen or so male members of the Opposition crossed the floor and attempted to snatch the document out of his hands, to prevent it from being read. They ripped up paper and through it in the air, and stood in front of the Speaker waving their hands like so many desperately inarticulate children. And this behaviour is taking place in the much-vaunted 'world's largest democracy', where politicians are well able to air their views through normal channels. The Prime Minister himself, Manmohan Singh, sat in the front row looking ashamed of his parliamentary colleagues.
In the following days, inevitably, it will turn out that the Speaker will withdraw his threat, after having apparently been leaned on by all sides.
Next day: Day 157, Haridwar [Wednesday 7th May 2009]
Previous day: Day 155, Amritsar [Monday 5th May 2008]