Amritsar Local Customs

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One custom is eating the sweet past inside the Golden Temple Complex. I was offered it several times and finally tried it at the Golden Temple in the center of the pond.

An additional custom was to drink some of the water from the pond. I know people swim it in and it may not be the most sanitary thing, but again I did it after several people was telling me about the custom. I did it incorrectly. I put some in my palm and leaned over the pond as I drank it. They told me I would not lean over the pond as I drank, Again this was at the Golden Temple in the center of the pond.

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You are under no obligation to help with the Langar (Free Lunch) but if you want, you can help with the washing or preparation of food. It is a good way to have some fun and meet the people.

I also walked through the food preparation area and all the people were smiling very friendly to me. I took some photos and few give me there their address. They indicated I could send all the photos of their group because they knew each other.

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The border ceremony, on the border between India and Pakistan at Atari, is a surreal show of content. You can take a shared jeep to the border from outside the accomodation blocks within the Golden Temple (see my transport tips). You enter into a complex with concrete grandstands overlooking the border gates. The ceremony starts in the evening at about 5pm with a flurry of extra quick marching done by extremely tall beanpole like border guards with fans sprouting out of their caps towards the border gates from both sides. The entire ceremony is carefully choreographed by both sides so that it runs smoothly so it's all staged and for show but there is a great deal of campness and content towards each other. Bugals are played and the flags are lowered and then the border gates are shut and that's it - show's over! More photo's and info can be found on my Atari page.

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According to Lonely Planet, the Sikh's holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, to which they recite from during the day, is carried from the Golden Temple and put to bed overnight so I hung around to see what happened. At 10pm things started to happen so I quickly got up and rushed over and took a couple of pictures of it being put away in a room in the main causeway gatehouse (Darshani Deorhi). The book is encased in a type of canopy which has a golden roof.

Whilst I was standing on the causeway in order to enter inside the Golden Temple, people were holding these communial bowls made out of plant leafs and containing so kind of food that I couldn't fathom. I'd seen these in Hindu temples all over the country and they are used to carry offerings into the temple.

You have to cover your head before you enter into the complex and there are normally plenty of guys selling bandanna's for Rs10 outside. They also make good souvenirs. As is the custom in Hindu temples throughout India, you have to take off your shoes before entering into the Golden Temple complex. There is a very large underground deposit area right by the main entrance.

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Lohri marks the end of winter and for Punjabis, this is more than just a festival, as it is an example of a way of life. Lohri celebrates fertility and the spark of life. People gather round the bonfires, throw sweets, puffed rice and popcorn into the flames, sing popular songs and exchange greetings. An extremely auspicious day, Lohri marks the sun's entry in to the 'Makar Rashi' (northern hemisphere). There is puja that symbolises a prayer to Agni, the spark of life, for abundant crops and prosperity.

Baisakhi is the first day of the New Year in the traditional Vikrami calendar and it is one of the high points of the year for Sikhs as it is anniversary of the founding of Khalsa. Baisakhi is a North Indian harvest festival, for it is the day when the reaping of the rabi (winter crop) begins. The jubilation at a bountiful harvest becomes the reason for celebration. It is one of the most popular and colourful festivals of Punjab, with fairs held at various places. Dancing men and women, on the day of Baisakhi, emerge singing and dancing from the surrounding villages carrying a portion of the first harvest of wheat proceeding to the gurudwara to make an offering.