Chandigarh and Amritsar (Golden Temple)
Trip Start
Sep 24, 2007
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Trip End
Jan 2008
Chandigarh and Amritsar (Golden Temple), India
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Chandigarh
We have now been staying in Chandigarh for just over one week, yet it already feels like home. Chandigarh has been an easy transition as it is probably the most similar to a Canadian city in that it is planned, clean and quiet. In India this is quite unique but it certainly has provided us with a soft landing. Our home-stay families have been hospitable and welcomed us as part of their families. They have toured us around the city showing us all Chandigarh has to offer with great pride including the Rock Garden, the beautiful local man-made lake, the new Cricket field (where India slaughtered Australia last night) and of course all of the colourful markets with both fixed and unfixed prices which we have taken full advantage of.
We have been spoiled with the abundance and variety of delicious food available in this city including Chinese, Western, Vegetarian, Greek (sort of), Northern and Southern Indian.
Like the rest of India, Chandigarh has a juxtaposition of economic affluence living along side the impoverished slums. Yesterday we walked through one of the slum areas on our way to Pustak School, giving us an inside look at levels of poverty most of us have not been exposed to in our lifetimes. We are looking forward to the time we will spend with the children of this community.
All in all we are feeling very privileged living here in Chandigarh, but are enjoying it immensely!
Amritsar City (weekend excursion)
The drive up to Amritsar was a risky rollercoaster adventure. We made it safely after spending a lot of time in crazy traffic. Some of us really enjoyed exploring the city while we were there, while others used the time to catch up on some much needed sleep.
Those of us that decided to explore spent some time in the busy markets of Amritsar. The streets are small and narrow but can fit a herd of cows, numerous rickshaws, cars, bikes, scooters, and people. Some of the group members found great deals and had fun bargaining. Ashok bought some styling new clothes that make him fit right in with the locals. Sometimes we lose him because we get so confused.
A few of us were lucky enough to visit a Hindu temple: Mata Temple. This was an unusual cave temple that involved crawling through small tunnels and walking through ankle-deep water. It was a wonderful experience.
Those of us that decided to relax enjoyed a refreshing beer by the poolside at our quaint guest house, Mrs. Bandari's Guest House.
Our weekend in Amritsar was eventful and enjoyable and one that we will never forget.
The Golden Temple - Amritsar
We started our evening at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial which is set up to honor people who were massacred by the British at this site in 1919. At the memorial we were crowded by local people, both men and women, who were interested in the foreigners. We attracted a lot of attention and a few of our group members were feeling uncomfortable. Some of these people followed us to the temple.
When we walked into the Golden Temple we had our breath taken away. When we arrived at the temple it was the evening. The temple is situated in the middle of a pond filled with various fish. The idea was to skirt the pond's exterior. Along the way, three boys in our group took a dip in the water which is a common practice among Sikh people. Soon after this, the sun began to set and the reflection of the setting sun off of the Golden Temple was spectacular.
The next morning we woke up at 3am and headed to the temple to watch the sun rise. It was a different crowd in the morning and people seemed to be there to pray and we didn't find that we were followed. To the contrary, many of the worshipers kept a watchful eye on us and offered help when they thought we needed it. The sunrise itself was almost indescribable. The darkness turning to light, the beauty and peace and the tranquility left us in awe. Some people stayed on after the sunrise for breakfast. It was surprising how many people the temple feeds a day. It was a simple meal: roti and a bowl of daal. Overall, the experience at the temple was wonderful and really memorable.
Pustak and Sikhya Schools - Chandigarh
Two drastically different schools and an example of how it's possible to share the same goal while opting to reach it in different ways. Both schools are within the city of Chandigarh but when you go to visit each, you feel like you are leaving Chandigarh for the outskirts of town. One can easily draw a parallel between this and the existence of Vancouver's downtown East Side which seems to be completely segregated from the idealistic example of Vancouver that we prefer knowing. A distinct difference between the slums of Pustak and the downtown East Side however is that the slums of Pustak are inhabited by entire nuclear families whereas the social safety net that exists in Canada allows this reality to exist as a rarity. On the other hand, a distinct similarity between the slums of Pustak and the downtown East Side is illustrated by the power of addiction. The effects of substance abuse and alcoholism quite obviously transcend nationality and race. However it is becoming clearer that socio-economic destitution is fully responsible for feeding the problem.
The students who attend Sikhya share the same background as the students who attend Pustak however, Sikhiya School is in immaculate condition and even fully equipped with a swimming pool (though the pool currently closed for the "winter" season - apparently 30 degrees Celsius mid-day is "cool"). Sikhya is staffed by university educated teachers and the students have facilities, equipment and technology akin to - if not better than - what is found in Vancouver. Being that the school is fully funded by a trust fund set up by its creator, the students who attend the school don't have to pay any fees for attending classes.
If any of this has sounded more like a thesis paper rather than a fun e-mail update, we apologize : ( On a lighter note, the kids at both schools are beautiful : ) They're all full of smiles and giggle and excitement at the thought of 14 "big brothers and sisters" coming to play with them once a week. Needless to say, we're certainly looking forward to spending time with them and learning everything that they have in store for us J
Best wishes to you all - stay tuned for the next up-date next week!
Comments
Thanks for your comments on Golden Temple..!
Best regards,
Jaswinder
Canada