Let Us Visit “The Golden Temple”

My friends and I made a plan to visit a historic holy place which is called “The Golden Temple”. I visited the holy place long ago and revisiting the place was a different experience altogether. We had a fun and meaningful day. Before sharing my experience, I would like to tell you the basic history of “The Golden Temple.”

The temple, which is also known as Darbar Sahib, is in the city of Amritsar which was founded in 1577 by the fourth Sikh guru, Guru Ram Das. The fifth guru, Guru Arjan designed the temple. The construction of the temple began in 1581 and the first version of the temple took eight years to be completed. The Golden Temple is a Sikh Gurdwara in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. It was built as a place of worship for all religions and is considered the holiest Gurdwara of Sikhism. Golden Temple, one of the most sacred holy sites for Sikhs around the world, is being renovated with 160 kg gold worth INR 50 crore. The gold plating is being done on the four domes at the entrance of the temple.

So, we started our journey from Ludhiana Punjab, at 8:00 am. We were a group of five people – my younger sister Liza, Varan Ma’am, Himanshu, Kirti, Prerna (who are my office friends) and I. The weather was so beautiful. The serene rain filled the place with quietude, but we were enjoying loud Punjabi music in the car. When we started our journey, we were listening to bhajans. So, our driver thought that we are very spiritual people and when we were reaching close to the temple, the music in the car (Punjabi music), told a different story to him. 

We visited the famous temple of Devi Maa, which is known as “Devi Talab Mandir” in Jalandhar city (Punjab). Then we stopped at a restaurant nearby to eat yummy paranthas. When we reached Amritsar, we saw a market which is near to Gurudwara sahib Ji. The view was spectacular. When we entered the Golden Temple, we felt the real bliss. We clicked so many pictures. 

When my friend Kirti was clicking a picture, a devotee came towards us and asked us not to laugh. We were confused a bit about what was going on. He said, “You are at The Guru’s home, so why are you laughing?” We didn’t know what he wanted to say but we laughed a lot at his words. Probably, he wanted us to be serious. But, in my viewpoint, we ought to laugh because we are happy and we are at The Guru’s home. 

The Golden Temple is surrounded by holy water where devotees bathe. The devotees believe that if they take a dip/bath in the holy water, their illnesses get washed away. Next, we stood in the long queue for darshan of Akal Takht Sahib Ji. As we waited in the queue, we thought it would take nearly 1-2 hours for the darshan, but surprisingly, we made it to the place within 50 minutes. As I waited for my turn in the queue, I saw that two people were cleaning the pool in extreme cold. I was surprised to see their devotion in the harsh cold weather. Honestly speaking, I have to admit that Sikh people have a lot of devotion for their Guru and their culture. Their nature of ‘giving’ makes this world more beautiful. I was observing everything. 

Then we visited the beautiful market. We had Amritsari Naan Kulcha which is my favourite food. After spending quality time with each other, we went back home and I had the best sleep. 

Small trips with good friends make beautiful memories. I hope you enjoyed the tour of the Golden temple. I think everyone should visit that holy place at least once in a lifetime. 

Thank You,

Keep Smiling,

Riya Om