Golden Temple. Amristar, India. 30.07.13

The view of the Golden Temple as you enter

I have to say, the Golden Temple was my number 2 on my bucket list, and I am so glad I was able to experience this magnificent and holy place. This Sikh Gurdwara is the resting place for the Adi Granth, the holy scriptures for the Sikhs.

This temple, in keeping with the Sikh faith, is open to people of all religions, race, creed or financial status. You must remove your shoes and men must wear trousers, and women must not be scantily clad. There is a shoe drop off a few hundred yards away from the East entrance and you walk along woven mats to stave off the heat of the pavement. I'm sure each entrance has a place to leave your shoes. Everyone must cover their head. We were sold some basic orange head wear as we parked our car in the nice parking deck a few blocks away. We took a ricksha to the shoe drop off and walked from there.

You are surrounded by whitewashed buildings and marble under your feet, which thankfully stays cooler than you would think even when it was 105 degrees! You must walk clockwise to get to the queue that will allow you to see everything. The queue is long, but moves well and there are fans and a canopy to protect you from the sun.

in the queue

another view of the Harmandir Sahib as you walk around

large carp welcome you to the Sarovar, or Holy Tank

One of the Holy Trees, or bers, signifying a historical event or Sikh saint

As we were able to pay our respects at the Harmandir Sahib, the music coming from inside was inspiring. It never ceases to amaze me that these truly Holy sites are a place where every man, woman or child, no matter what you believe in, should visit to contemplate life and a to be better human being. You don't have to give up your faith, you don't have to start believing if you now don't, you just have to share and respect others. An I thank my Sikh friends for allowing me to share in their lives.

The top of the Akal Takht, which means "The throne of the timeless one"

wonderful architecture all around you

Amritsar, India. Site of Jallianwala Bagh massacre. 30.07.2013

The gardens at Jallianwala Bagh

On Sunday, April 13, 1919 in Amritsar, India, the British opened fire on unarmed, innocent men, women and children. In their wake they left over 1,000 dead and over 1,100 injured. It is known as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. There was only one way out and the soldiers had it blocked.

This narrow ally is all that stood between the British guns and freedom

The site is preserved and very sacred. The grounds are extremely well kept and there is a palpable sense of sadness as you walk around. There is a monument near the center, and the well, known as The Martyrs' Well, where so many jumped in to flee the soldiers bullets, is preserved. Over 120 bodies were later pulled out of the well. It is hard to take in. It is hard to believe that fellow humans can take life like that and sleep at night.

Around the grounds, there are walls where some of the thousands of rounds fired upon the people, have left an indelible mark. This is but one, of the many instances that the British "Raj", I really don't like that term for them, used unabashed brutal lethal force on unarmed innocent people. The raping and pillaging of the entire region was carried out for an astonishing amount of time unabated, from around 1600 to 1947. It does boggle the mind.

The sandstone monument to those who died

Actual bullet holes in the surrounding walls.

Bullet holes are marked

Jallianwala Bagh Memorial

Surrounding architecture

A view inside the Martyrs' Well. It is very deep.

What gives the right for some humans to think they are better than others?