Flavours of Amritsar & Wagah

Established in 1916, the dhaba lived up to it's reputation serving rich vegetarian food. I was welcome to capture the kitchen within the premises.

Dinner scene:

Having my stomach full I took an E-Rickshaw to GobindGarh fort. To my disappointed, the Gidda performance was over already. I think the ticket for that costed Rs 160.

The next package was Laser Lighting Show + 7D movie. To be honest I didn't have much interest in that, but since I had arrived here, I thought I might as well check this out. The ticket for both the lighting show and 7D movie costed a combined Rs 290/-.

But the disappointment didn't end there. The weather Gods were not in my favour and it started to pour heavily by 8:20 PM. The lighting show at 8:30 PM was canceled. So now I was drenched completely (being in open theater) & had a 7D movie to attend :D

The mood was obviously killed but what the heck. I entered the premises and met other tourists who were also soaked from head to toe. Two short movies were showcased. One on the struggles of Punjab in the time of Mughals and another, an animated movie for kids (no mythological significance).

With this, I concluded the first half day.

It's one thing to study about our history in books and another, to witness it first hand where it all unfolded 99 years ago.

The well in which the protesters jumped to save themselves from the open firing.

Marking have been made on walls where the bullets made impact. Spine chilling experience.

I made my way back to Townhall and had lassi and walked towards the Partition Museum.

Here's a little piece of advise for you. If you want to buy famous spices, papads of Amritsar, I'd recommend you to find the actual hidden lanes. In Town hall everything is a little over priced. Even if you exit town hall and take a few lanes drifting away from it, you'll find similar products at a much cheaper rate. Hence, I'd advise you to make your purchase from there. It'd benefit local shopkeepers who are away from the chaos.

In townhall (specially near to J.Bagh's entrance) you'll find many people (tour operators) who'd pester you to book a ride with them till Wagah. They might throw in a few other viewpoints as well to grab a deal (Ram Tirth - birth place of Luv-Kush from Mahabharata and etc)

Cost to Wagah (and return) via a hatchback taxi/cab - Rs 1250-1300/-

Cost to Wagah (and return) via an auto - Rs 850/-

They will pick and drop you at a location of your choosing for convenience. To be honest, it's a pretty small city.

Wagah Attari Border Ceremony

I'd planned to reach Wagah by 3 PM to occupy better seats but being a Saturday and reaching there by 4:15 PM I didn't get the seats I preferred. I had 300 mm lens to my advantage to capture the distant shots though

The BSF personnel below stole the show for me! His antics of wooing the crowd and intimidating our not so friendly neighbors across the borders were nothing short of theatrical. A true master of ceremonies he kept the energy flowing in the stands! At about 5 PM, he invited women and kids to dance and parade flags! Patriotic songs were blared in full noise and the ladies danced.

Displaying a few shots of the event below.

Show of dominance!

I headed back from Wagah and asked the driver to drop me at Majitha road as I wished to have a quick bite at Beera and Makhan. While Beera has a more raw feel of a common restaurant, Makhan has turned into a fine dining experience. Both outlets, at a walking distance from each other.

Recommended at Beera: Roasted Chicken. (Rs 220/plate. Sufficient start for two)

All the time I was present here, I couldn't stop looking at the shrine. It was a mesmerizing and divine experience.

The crowd is gathered outside the gate and slowly and steadily they let a section of the crowd to proceed further in phases. This is done to regulate the crowd in the premises. I saw a foreigner who was part of this crowd and his face had turned pale! :D His Indian friends boosted his morale as he was jostled all ways in the build up to the entrance.

If any one from outside of India is reading this blog, here are a few dont(s) for you to follow when you're in the premises:

1) Enter the premises with your head covered. Applies to both men/women alike. Do not remove the cloth/handkerchief at any point you're present there. Karsevaks will poke you and tell you to correct it if they find a head hair visible.

2) Do not sit with your legs down hanging towards the holy tank. Karsevaks are always on the round and will poke you as soon as they see this. It's again a sign of disrespect, even if you didn't mean it. Yes, you may lower yourself partially into the tank and sprinkle water on yourself or wash your feet with it. But to casually sit on the banks with legs hanging is prohibited.

3) Although photography isn't restricted yet they might find it offensive if you are doing to much of it. DSLR is not viewed the same way a phone camera. And while you're at it, do not do flash photography.

4) Do not sit with your legs spread towards the direction of the shrine. Even casually if you want to stretch your legs, do so in any other direction preferably.

The next day I strolled the Town hall again for a short while & shopped for "phulkari dupatta" for my mother. I caught the same train back to Delhi at 4:50 PM and reached Delhi exactly on time @ 11:15 PM.

This was an amazing experience for me. Visiting a heritage city after so many mountain based explorations I did of late. I intend to cover a few more heritage cities soon. Stay tuned for more.