The Punjab
The land of five rivers and golden harvests.
Punjab is said to be the granary of India. Being the border
state it has been hearing the brunt of the foreign invasions
from times immemorial. It is also believed that the Arya came
first to this region from the Mid-Asian region. The Partition
of this vast chunk of land into India and Pakistan made this
region suffer most. But then it rose like a phoenix from its
ashes to the height of prosperity and progress hitherto unknown.
Its capital is Chandigarh which it shares with Haryana; area
about 50,362 sq. miles; population around 2,42,89,296 language
spoken is predominantly Punjabi and climate is extreme cold
in winters and hot in summers, like Haryana. Its people are
very hardworking, robust and exuberance and they know how to
enjoy life. Punjab, the home of some of India’s finest
fighting forces, is rich in culture, folk arts and history.
Hut from visitor’s point of view, not much to offer. The
capital city Chandigarh, and Amritsar, the great centre of Sikh
pilgrimage, are the two main tourists, attractions.
Chandigarh
With the partition of india in 1947, the
Punjabh’s capital city Lahore went to Pakistan, and then
a new capital was built at Chandigarh. This city was christened
after Chandi or Durga Devi, is a prosperous and a modern, well
planned city. It is actually a Union Territory housing the capitals
of both Haryana and the Punjab. When Haryana is able to build
its own capital, this city shall he transferred to Punjab.
This city, about 260 km. from Delhi was planted and designed
by a famous French architect Le Corbousier. It is believed to
be a model city and visited by architect and discerning people
from all over the world. From architectural excellence the High
Court and State Legislative buildings, in Sector one, are superb.
Closely is the Rock Garden, a fantasy in rocks and concrete.
Nearby is the artificial lake Sukhana Sarover, which attracts
the visitors for boating, angling and strolling around it. In
Sector 10, there are the Art Gallery and the Museum. The museum
contains fossils of pie-historic times which have been excavated
in India. The Gallery of Portraits is famous for its collection
of Rajasthani, Mughal and Kangra miniature paintings and also
for some beautiful sc lptures ofGandhara period.
The Zakir Hussain Rose Garden in Sector I 6, is another place
of tourists interest. It is believed to be the biggest of its
kind in Asia and contains more than a thousand varieties of’
the Roses.
Chandigarh is well-connected with Delhi by air, road and rail.
There is a regular air-conditioned bus-service between the two
cities. Chandigarh has a variety of’ accommodation suiting
to all budgets.
Amritsar
This great centre of Sikkhism literally
means “The Pool of Nectar”. Guru Ram Das had received
a piece of land from Emperor Akbar as a gift. Within the limits
of this land, the Guru, the fourth in the lineage, dug a reservoir
in 1557, since well-known as Amritsar. But the temple and the
small village was then known as Ramdaspur, after its founder.
Ram Das was succeeded by his son Guru Arjun Dev; during the
latter’s time this sleepy and obscure hamlet with its
“Pool of Nectar” became a populous city and a great
place of pilgrimage of the Sikh faith.
The city also takes its name after the sacred tank inside wherein
lies the Golden Temple or Har Mandir Sahib. The shrine can be
reached by a 65 metre long marble causeway. The gold plated
canopy of the temple, shining brightly in the sun, can be seen
from afar. It was in 1802 that Maharaja Ranjit Singh had this
canopy covered by gold-plated copper plates. Since then it has
been known as the Golden Temple or “Swam Mandir”.
The original shrine was destroyed and the city ransacked in
1764, by Ahmad Shah. The temple was reconstructed the same year.
The original copy of the Guru Granth Sahib is kept in the Golden
Temple from which high priests keep on reading and reciting
to the accompaniment of devotional music.
A visitor must always remove his shoes and covet’ his
head before entering the temple. English speaking guides are
available at the Clock Tower, nearby the entrance. Here in the
Clock Tower is also the Sikh Museum.
Not far from the Golden Temple is a Hindu shrine. Durgiana Temple,
dedicated to Goddess Durga. Some of its features resemble to
that of Golden Temple. The temple dates hack to the 16th century
and also has other deities
Jalianwala Bagh
Nearby the Golden Temple is the historic
Jalianwala Bagh, a memorial garden. It was here that in 1919
General Dyer massacred more than 2,000 unarmed and defenseless
Indians who had collected there in a meeting. The event proved
a turning point in the Indian National Movement for Independence.
A flame like memorial has recently been erected here in the
garden in memory of the martyrs. The well into which people
jumped to escape the bullets is still there. One can also see
the bullet marks in the walls around, After the tragic incident
the things were never the same for British and ultimately they
had to grant Independence to India in 1947.
Rain Bagh Garden
Ram Bagh is a beautiful garden outside
the old walled city. It contains a place built by Maharaja Ranjit
Singh (1799-1839). The palace is now turned into a small museum
which houses some fine portraits of the rulers of the Punjab
and also weapons dating back to medieval period of history.
Reaching Amritsar is easy as it is well connected by air and
surface routes. It is about 440 km. away from Delhi by road.
Besides the air-service from Delhi regular bus service is also
available from many other cities of the country. Amri tsar is
also a take-off point to other places like Pathankot, Jammu,
Dharmshala or even Lahore (Pakistan) which is hardly 40 km.
away.
