AMRITSAR 1Golden domes and spicy papadBy Devangshu DattaModern India's best highway is a section of the venerable Grand Trunk Road. In the 16th century, when it was built, the GT Road was lined with villages, countless sarais and golden fields stretching far into the horizon. The 21st-century avatar is a well-manicured blacktop snaking through dusty towns, lined with innumerable dhabas and tall eucalyptuses that block your view of the fields. Yet the odd Mughal kos minar and the aroma of bread baking in the simplest of ovens, the tandoor, still greet travellers to the Punjab plains nearly 500 years later. The last major stop this side of the Wagah border is Amritsar , the most sacred city in the Punjab.
Those who love Amritsar , and they are many, for the Golden Temple has overtaken the Taj Mahal to become India's most-visited monument , may shudder at the invasion of this holiest of holy Sikh cities by Indipop and cafe culture. But, just like the sarak that gets you there, Though Amritsar has changed, much remains the same. At heart it's still the dera of Guru Ram Dass. It's soul, the incomparable Golden Temple, has been desecrated and damaged countless times over centuries. Afghans and Moghuls sacked the holy city several times; the Sikhs squabbled over it amongst themselves; it bears the scars of the fratricidal violence of Partition, the atrocities of Jallianwala Bagh and Operation Bluestar bears the scars. Yet, each time, the city has rebuilt its shrine and itself with unshakeable determination.
So bring on the Café Coffee Days, the Baristas and the Qwikys. All are welcome in the land where the langar is still the place to find all the rich and all the infamous. Amarsar can never be erased.
Perhaps that has something to do with the essence of Guru Nanak's message. No one, be he rich or poor, believer or cynic, is unwelcome in the heart of the Sikh faith. So step on the gas. As the GT Road eases into the urban sprawl of Amritsar, the first tell-tale sign is a rapid build-up of traffic. Then the green fields are replaced by concrete boxes.
Hidden behind the sprawl is the golden city. Make your parikrama of the Harmandir Sahib, partake of the langar and move on reassured of the brotherhood of humanity that is this temple's greatest gift to all comers.