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Punjab is so much more than just the staging post of
two of the India’s most popular destinations, Kashmir and
Himachal. This rich, abundant region with its fun loving people
offers so many visual, spiritual and culinary delights even to those
without Punjabi roots.
The landscape pulsates
with prosperity. And the best way to witness this is by driving
through on the Grand Trunk Road, created variously to imperialists
like Ashoka, Kanishka, Chandra Gupta, Allauddin Khilji, Sher Shah
Suri, Akbar and Dalhousie. But as this historic highway connecting
Calcutta to the Khyber Pass is dominated between Delhi and Pathankot
by turbaned daredevils in heavy trucks and buses, less macho drivers,
in danger of being pushed off the tarmac, have an excellent, tension
free alternative. A series of super fast trains with air-conditioned
chair cars, and comfortable berths for overnight journeys.
The park-like atmosphere
created by dense eucalyptus, acacia, and bougainvillea along the
road, the superiority of fresh dhaba (roadside stall) food
over defrosted restaurant meals, the bright green and yellow mustard
and wheat fields. Sugarcane rippling for miles under winter’s
clear sunlit skies. All those power lines and canals spreading
prosperity from Punjab to Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan. Fruit juice
vendors vying with milk bars. Neat homesteads and villages full of
healthy cattle, tractors and TV antennas. Groups of girls cycling to
school. Upright old men peddling along cheerfully, with shining brass
milk pots slung on their handlebars. Diesel spewing home made
marutas doubling as farm trolleys and country cabs. Duppatta
(long scarf) draped women knitting and gossiping in gardens, or
haggling t market stalls. Great walled compounds and steep roofed
buildings housing woolen mills or breweries. Modern processing
plants for soft drinks and popular snacks. Orchards in the
foothills, and estates devoted to floriculture. Crumbling brick
havelis (mansions) and splendid domed Gurudwaras. Landscaped
tourist lodges beside rivers and lakes. And ever so often, fantastic
modern mansions flaunting the owner’s status and wealth.
Restoration of normalcy
in Punjab after a decade of strife has revive the ritual of trips to
their ancestral pinds or homes by the countless NRIs of
Punjabi origin settled round the world. Plus a great influx of
business people seeking tie-ups with its innovative entrepreneurs,
manufacturers, and agriculturists. But for most people on vacation
or short getaway trips, the most rewarding destinations are
Chandigarh, Patiala, Sirhind, the Ropar – Bhakra – Anandpur
circuit, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, and undoubtedly Amritsar.
Soon after independence,
the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru decreed that Punjab be
compensated for Partition and the loss of Lahore, by being given
something unique. And Corbusier created Chandigarh. They couldn’t
have found a better location than the ancient Chandimandir settlement
beneath the beautiful Shivalik Range, with the Himalayan snow peaks
visible on clear days. The inter play of great open spaces, good
landscaping, and innovative agriculture makes India’s only
‘designer city’ fascinating. Bold geometric forms in
concrete. Colourful ceramic and metal murals on public and private
buildings. Carefully tended gardens and traffic roundabouts in every
sector. Trendy co-ends zooming by on motorcycles and mopeds.
Yuppies, Puppies and prominent politicians showing off expensive
cars. Conspicuously jeweled women from the chattering classes
enjoying card sessions and Kitty parties. Boisterous children
overrunning play fields, toy shops, and video parlours. Genuine
warmth, memorable hospitality, and stimulating discussions whenever
one visits local friends.
The shared capital of two
adjoining states, Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh also has a unique
Rock Garden created by a retired PWD road inspector, Nek Chand, out
of recycled porcelain, glass, metal and rubber waste. There are
lifesize statues of nursery rhyme character, entire chess sets, folk
heroes and village belles popping out of hedges and shrubberies.
Sukhna Lake near the golf
course is the popular recreation spot for locals and visitors, who
come here for early morning evening out. The lake-side café
and ice-cream parlour are usually crowded on holidays, but since the
lake is really huge, those seeking solitude can always find it. The
Central Plaza in Sector 17 has all the fashionable shops and eating
places.
The Yadavendra Gardens 24
kilometres on the Shimla road at Pinjore has charming Mughal style
terraced lawns, flower beds, fountains, water channels and airy
pavilions enclosed by high walls swathed in the prettiest mauve and
magenta bougainvillea I’ve even seen. Here Haryana Tourism has
created a motel, restaurant, bar, conference hall, and open air
theater without spoiling its old world charm. At dusk, one gets
marvelous views of the brightly lit city from the Timber Trail
complex further up in the hills where the pine forest begins.
The Chatbir Zoo and lion
safari park near Zirakpur has an interesting collection of animals
and birds from all over the world, mainly kept in large, natural
enclosures. And people devoted to art and architecture can see the
11th century Bhima Devi and Mansa Devi temples near the
cantonment. The Punjab State museum and art gallery in Sector 10 has
a good collection of sculptures and paintings. Quite often one can
enjoy folk dances, plays ghazal and classical music sessions in the
evenings, because the performing arts are very popular in Chandigarh.
Patiala, a Sikh
principality founded by Baba Ala Singh in 1764, became famous under
its eighth maharajah, Bhupender Singh, who was renowned for his
enormous height, numerous wives and concubines and children,
exuberant lifestyle, splendid jewellery collection, lavish
hospitality, philanthropy, polo and cricket teams, and knack annoying
the British.
Quila Mubarak was the
home of his ancestors, who claimed descent from Jaisalmer’s
Bhaati kings. The impressive main gate and courtyard, pavilions,
domes and kiosks recall Rajput forts. But the wonderful wooden doors
and windows have typical Punjabi floral carvings. The warren of old
apartments oozing atmosphere now house the Punjab State Archives.
And the richly carved and painted Durbar Hall full of massive Belgian
crystal pedestal lamps and chandeliers has been turned into a-museum,
where historic weapons belonging to Shah Abbas of Persia, Nadir Shah
and Guru Gobind Singh are displayed along with some remarkable
engraved or painted shields, battle axes, and firearms collected by
various Patiala princess.
The sprawling Moti Bagh
Palace is now the National Sports Institute. The smaller Sheesh
Mahal built in 1847 by Maharajah Narender Shah, patron of music and
fine arts, has wall murals depicting scenes from Indian mythology and
love legends. The octagonal Seesh Mahal chamber itself has lovely
light reflecting mirror work on walls and ceiling. The art gallery
here houses a remarkable collection of Indian, Tibetan, Far Eastern,
and European treasures, including Chinese jade, amethyst and amber
scent bnottles, jeweled caskets, preclain vases, vases, ivory
carvings, ormolu clocks, silver figurines; medieval Dhol Baha
Sculptures, Kangra and Rajput miniatures; illustrated Hindu, Jain and
Sikh manuscripts; and walls hung with oil portraits of former Patiala
rulers. The richly carved Dutch colonial ebony and rosewood
furniture seems ready and waiting for ranis enjoying a stroll
in the garden below, or boating in the artificial lake with its
suspension bridge and quaint leaning towers a la Pisa.
The cannons lines up
round this park include some of the artillery captured by the British
during the Sikh wars and presented to the Patiala prince who helped
them in the 1857 first struggle for independence. Two smaller
galleries in the Moti Bagh gardens house Bhupender Singh’s
superb collection of over 3000 international Orders and decorations
and splendidly stuffed animals and birds against realistic natural
backgrounds.
Sirhind although a short
distance from Patiala, Chandigarh and Delhi is one of those rare
retreats only the lucky few discover. Or fortunate pilgrims visit.
The impressive Fateygarh Saheb Gurudwara commemorates the martyrdom
of Guru Gobind Singh’s two young sons, Zorawar and Fatey, who
wer eentombed alive by one of Aurangzeb’s generals.
Within walking distance
of this complex stands the shrine of Hazrat Mujadid Sirhindi or Alaf
Saani, a contemporary of the Mughal Emperors Akbar and Jahangir.
Venerated the world over by orthodox Muslims, his magnificent marble
Rauza Sharif is crowded with Murids during his Urs, which
usually falls in August. For some odd reason, Shah Zaman and several
other members of the Afghan ruling family were buried here among the
saint dervishes of the Naqshbandhiya order.
The Aam Khaas Bagh and
Sarai on the old Delhi-Sirhind highway was originally laid out by
Babur and extended by Shah Jahan. Its Mughal garden pavilion has
beautiful wall murals, latticework windows, deep colonnaded corridors
overlooking cool fountains, canals and lawns edged with fruit trees,
cypresses, roses and flowering jasmine. The Maulsari tourist lodge
here is more peaceful than the equally comfortable Bougainvilla
complex, which has the novel attraction of a floating restaurant on
the lake.
Sanghol, which is in the
same district, has proved a real archaeological treasure. A large
number of relics dating from the 2300 B.C. Harappan era, the epic
Aryan age, and the Buddhist heyday include red and grey pottery,
terra cotta and metal Indus Valley seals, precious jewellery, gold
coins, ivory combs, metal vessels and toys. The excavations include
sandstone pillars and bas-relief friezes depicting male and female
dancers, maidens playing musical instruments, perfectly carved
animals and trees, an impressive head of Vishnu, and seated Buddhas
in the Mathura style. In fact, this place was called Sanghalaya in
the 1st and 2nd century Kushan period because a
Buddhist stupa and monastery stood here. Their remains can still be
seen. But most of the statues, artifacts, coins, and seals,
including many form Central Asian and Middle Eastern countries have
been removed for display at the Sanghol museum.
Another ancient Indus
Valley settlement was found near Ropar, which was also the meeting
place of Punjab’s legendary Maharajah Ranjit Singh and Lord
William Bentinck on 31st October, 1831.
Within easy reach of
Chandigarh and Shimla, Ropar and the famous Bhakra-Nangal Dam area
around the Sultej river, Sirhind Canal, and huge lake provide quiet
retreats and excellent water sports facilities. Anandpur is 39
kilometres from Ropar in the Naina Devi hills. Reputedly the spot
where Lord Rama’s family Guru, Vashistha, had his hermitage in
the second millennium before Christ, this is actually the place where
Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa. Every year on Baisakhi, which
always falls on the 13th of April, a great celebration takes place at
the Anandpur, Keshganj, and Chamkaur shrines. The annual Hollah
Mohalla festival on the day after Holi brings colourful crowds in
festive clothes and ornaments. The Sikh Nihang warriors can easily
be distinguished by their high peak turbans, dark blue jhubas,
steel quoits, tall spears, swords and daggers. Historic battles are
commemorated with exciting martial arts displays, and superb feats of
horsemanship.
“You could go all
the way through this rich, lively, but repetitive landscape until you
reach Kashmir or Pakistan,” as Fateysingh Rao Gaekwar of Baroda
says in his insider’s book on Indian palaces. “But if you
take a detour through Kapurthala, you suddenlyrun into Royalist
France.” The classic Mansard roofed chateau built by Maharajah
Jagjit Singh in the 19the century resembles Louis XIV’s
Fontainebleau. Its glided Rococo ceilings, Lapis lazuli pillars,
Gobelin tapestries, mosaic topped tables, Sevres vases, Aubusson
carpets, and chandeliers impressed everyone invited here for winter
duck shoots. This lovely little palace is now a Sainik School, and
one sees boys running around the gardens full of marble statues,
balustrades and fountains.
Two generations of highly
Europeanized Sikh rulers also created a house full of French villas,
a Spanish Moorish mosque straight out of El Cid, and an Italianate
shooting lodge called Buona Vista on a tributary of the Beas river.
Here their hospitable descendant, Brigadier Sukhjeet Singh, a
decorated paratrooper, lives surrounded by mementos and trophies.
In and around Jallandhar,
one should make time for seeing the 15the century Lodhi era Shiva
temple inside the Imam Nasar mosque compound, the reputedly
miraculous shrine of this Sufi saint; the beautifully tiled 17th
century tombs of two musicians employed by the famous Mughal mystic
poet, general and statesman, Rahim; and the Serai Nurmahal built by
Jahangir’s renowned empress. The old Pillur fort which once
guarded Maharajah Ranjit Singh’s boundary, now houses the
state’s police training institute.
Undoubtedly the
spiritual, strategic and commercial hub of Punjab, Amritsar has seen
many kings and captains come and go. The Mughal and British empires
have vanished, but the small roadside retreat gifted by Akbar to the
fourth Sikh Guru, Ram Das, has grown into a world famous shrine.
Ranjit Singh turned the martyred Arjun Dev’s modest Harmandir
into the Golden Temple by adding marble pietra dura walls, and
covering the entire upper half with gold plated copper sheets.
The perfectly restored
main shrine, called Durbar Saheb, stands in the center of a
rectangular poll. A broad marble walkway called the Parikrama
provides ample space for soaking in the beauty of this shrine
reflected in the water kept crystal clean by pious people performing
sewa. A narrow lamp lined marble causeway leads to the inner
sanctum, where scholarly Granthis read the Guru Granth Saheb aloud.
Sewadars whisk silver handled yak tails, distribute kara prashad
to all comers to all comers, and siropavs to the lucky few.
Ragis sing hymns, and a constant stream of brightly turbaned men,
women and children with covered heads, humbly bow before this holy
book.
The Akal Takht or
immortal throne sanctified by the sixth Guru, Har Gobind, is within
the Golden Temple complex. A museum here houses some personal
effects and weapons used buy various Sikh Gurus, and some valuable
jewellery donated by Punjab’s ruling chiefs. The nine storey
octagonal Baba Atal Tower close by commemorates the self-immolation
of young Atal Rai when his father Har Gobind reprimanded him for
performing miracles to impress young people. Superb rooftop views of
the city, and some good wall frescoes depicting Guru Nanak’s
life, make this airy marble confection worth seeing.
Some of Maharajah Ranjit
Singh’s arms, armour, furniture, paintings, and coins are
preserved in the walled Rambagh Garden’s small haveli where he
liked camping on visits to Amritsar. The collection of ivory
miniatures depicting Sikh noblemen, the Kangra style paintings of
court and camp life, and the European oils and lithographs here give
visitors a glimpse of that bygone era between 1798 and 1839, which
was the high point of Sikh history.
Scholars often come here
to consult the Khalsa Durbar records and other historical
manuscripts.
Jalinwala Bagh’s
spacious park and memorial, honours all those peacefully picnicking
natives massacred by General Dyer on Baisakhi day nearly a century
ago.
A busy, crowded city,
Amritsar always has so much going on. The narrow twisting lanes of
the old city are lined with speciality shops dealing in anything from
dry fruits to carpets, woolen shawls, silks, silver and gold
jewellery, fine hand embroidered phulkaris, zari work salwar suits,
brocades to adorn brides, and a variety of desi jootis (slippers) in
every size. Cotton, woolen and silk mills; electronic goods, sewing
machines and auto part factories, a flourishing tea trading center,
the Verka dairy plant, plus the transport business make Amritsar
wealthy.
It is possible to make
short excursions from this city to famous Gurudwaras like Taran Taran
and Baba Bakala. Harike pattan is a good picnic spot 38 kilometres
away, where the Beas and Sultej rivers meet. Dera Baba Jaimal Singh
on the Beas is the impressive Radha Swami cult center, to which lakhs
of followers seeking personal blessings from their spiritual head,
called Maharaja Ji, come from far and near. Ram Tirath is said to be
the hallowed spot where Ram’s exiled wife Sita gave birth to
their twins, Luv and Kush, in sage Valmiki’s asharam.
Sita’s sons gave Ram’s mighty Ayodhya rimy a thrashing
right here after capturing the Ashwamegha Yagyna horse, symbol of
imperialism in epic Aryan times. A great fair has been held here
since then on Kartik Purnima or the November full moon. Pilgrims
come to bathe in Sita’s sacred pool just ten kilometres from
Amritsar. A Muslim emperor, Jahangir, constructed the main temples
and ghats here after witnessing the miraculous cure of one of his
leprosy-afflicted ministers.
Punjab seems small on
maps, but the distances re vast. And people here are so
enterprising, that one can see why they’ve succeeded in all
undertakings just about everywhere in their own country, and all over
the world.
JALLIANWALA BAGH
The Jallianwala Bagh
massacre represents a major turning point in India’s struggle
for independence. In the early 1900s, nationalism was on the rise in
India and people realized that they could fight for independence
provided they were united and organized. The First World War,
infact, gave impetus to the nationalist movement all over Asia and
Africa as the colonizing nations, in a bid to win support for their
war efforts promised freedom and democracy to their people in the
colonies. World War also ended the natives’ awe for the White
man’s authority.
The British government in
India, aware of the rising tide of nationalist sentiments responded
with a policy of concessions and repressions. The much anticipated
political autonomy never materialized and instead of one man, one
vote, Indians got partial constitutional reforms and some extremely
repressive measures like the Rowlatt Act of 1919. The system of
Dyarchy was introduced – though this gave elected
representatives in the provinces more power, the Viceroy was still in
control and could completely overrule his ministers’ advice. To
further strengthen the British government, the Rowlatt Act which
authorized the government to imprison any person without trial or
conviction in a court of law, was passed despite opposition from
every Indian member of the Central Legislative Council. Three
members of the Council-Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malviya and
Mazhar-ul Haq – resigned in protest and the whole nation
demonstrated its anger against such a repression of civil liberties.
Gandhiji launched the Satyagraha Sabha to oppose the Rowlatt Act –
members vowed to court arrest and there were demonstrations, hartals
and stikes all over India.
The British Government
was determined to Crush the agitation. On 13 April, 1919 a large
unarmed crowd gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh inAmritsar to
peacefully protest against the arrest of their popular leaders, Dr.
Saifuddin Kitchlu and Dr. Satya Pal, both members of the Congress
party. Jallianwala Bagh was a large open space enclosed on three
sides by buildings with only one exit. General Dyer, the military
commander of Amritsar was determined to make an example of this
meeting and wanted to terrorize the people into submission. He
surrounded the Bagh with his troops, closed off the exit and then
ordered his soldiers to shoot into the crowd with their machine-guns
an rifles. The massacre was brutal and heartless – the trapped
crowd had nowhere to run or hide. Men, women and children ran
helter-skelter, some jumping into the well to escape the volley of
bullets. When their ammunition was exhausted, Dyer ordered his men
to leave the area, his ghastly deed done. Thousands died and many
more were injured. Martial law was imposed on Punjab and its people
were subjected to many humiliating atrocities.
The wholesale slaughter
at Jallianwala Bagh horrified the whole country. The brutality of
the so called civilized foreign rulers and the need to fight for
freedom were reiterated by this incident. Rabindranath Tagore
renounced his knighthood in protest, preferring to stand by the side
of his countrymen. Ironically, General Dyer was born in India and
though he was condemned by those in power in Britain, he was
supported by many Britons in India after his gruesome act. The
Jallianwala Bagh massacre also impacted on Jawaharlal Nehru’s
orientation – traveling down from Shimla after the incident,
Nehru overheard some British soldiers agreeing that the killings
would ‘teach the bloody browns a lesson’. Nehru became an
ardent nationalist and the killings came to be called ‘the
greatest recruiting poster for the Congress’.
Today, the bullet scarred
walls of Jallianwala Bagh enclose a memorial symbolizing the eternal
flame which is dedicated to those martyred here. Every year on April
13, Baisakhi day, homage is paid to those innocent patriots who died
here.
GETTING THERE
By Air
Indian Airlines, Archana
Airways and Jagson Airways have short 35 minute daily flights by
these airlines and Modi Luff go to Amritsar. Ariana Afghan Airlines
also land there from Kabul.
By Rail
Twice daily the
super-fast Shatabdi Express commutes between Delhi and Chandigarh,
with meals included in the ticket. The Kalka Mail goes to Calcutta,
and several other trains are also available.
Amritsar is well
connected by Shatabdi Express to Delhi, Utkal Express to Puri,
Frontier Mail to Bombay. There are twice weekly runs by Lahore Mail
from Pakistan. All trains to Pathankot, Jammu and Amritsar halt at
Jalandhar.
By Road
There is a regular hourly
deluxe and ordinary bus service to Chandigarh. Punjab and Harayana
Roadways connect all towns by bus. Tourist taxis and mini buses ply
between all routes. Rates are negotiable. There is an excellent
network of roads for owner-driven cars.
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