Blogs from Punjab, India, Asia - page 4

On the toy train from Kalka to Simla November 25, 2014 ...or if I was being very unkind, Basildon! It is the capital of Hayana and the Punjab and has the highest per capita income in India. It really is unlike any other part of India we have been to. The traffic is orderly, the centre is one long park and on the whole people mostly adopt western dress. Many people speak English. Chandigarh like Milton Keynes is a new town. In 1947 partition of India and Pakistan split the Punjab in two. The original capital Lahore ended up in Pakistan so Indian Punjab needed a new capital. Their solution was to hire Le Corbusier to design one for them. This was the 50's and the age of concrete. As new towns in England have found ... read more

Today I just wanted to visit some kind of holy place which will bring a kind of peace to my mind. So I was traveling in search of such a place (as I was sure about finding one!) and suddenly a place just grabbed my attention, the golden temple of India. As its name is golden temple it was no surprise to know that they used 10 kg gold to build their lotus shaped tomb. But the fact that really touched my heart is that the stair to enter this temple goes downward rather than going upward (like all other temples) to eradicate arrogance from human mind. And they also have four gates to enter into the temple to symbolize that people from every walk of life are welcome here. Whenever we think about a holy ... read more

Ο δρομος μας εβγαλε κοντα στα συνορα Ινδιας Πακισταν, αλλα αυτη τη φορα αρκετα ανατολικοτερα του Rajastan. Βρεθηκαμε στην πολη Amritsar, οπου βρισκεται ο Χρυσος Ναος των Sikh. Ειναι αυτοι με τα τουρμπανια στο κεφαλι που ακομη και οταν ο δρομος τους βγαλει στα Λονδινα και το dress code τους γινει κουστουμι το αξεσουαρ σαρικι δεν λειπει. Ευκολο να κρινεις απο αυτα που φορανε η απο αυτα που πιστευουν, αυτοι ομως δεν κανανε το ιδιο. Ειδαν και αποειδαν με τις καστες των Ινδων, με την υπεροψια των Βραχμανων και πιστεψαν σε ενα Θεο που δεν αναγνωριζει καστες, εθνικοτητες, φυλλο, ηλικια, θρησκεια. Και ημασταν ολοι εκει. Οι πυλες του Ναου τεσσερεις, οσα και τα σημεια του οριζοντα, συμβολικο της μεγαλης αγκαλιας προς ολους. Ο χρυσος περισσευει, 750 κιλα για να γινει η αναλογη Μεκκα τους. Αλλου όμως ... read more

Weds 2nd April it’s 5:30am and we’re camping at Mrs Bhandari’s Guest house in Amritsar. It’s an old colonial house built in 1930 by Mrs B’s mother and uncles, with a walled large vegetable garden, camping area and flower beds just outside the bustle of the city centre. During the night, there’s been a chorus of dogs barking over the wall, a puppy yelping over and over, a wind storm then faint rain. I thought of my friend Tom in England who loves to listen to the rain and in a tent in India – it’s very calming. Now, I’m sitting under a lit canopy by the shower area. There is someone chanting prayers over the wall. Already tuktuks are whirring by and the birds are squawking. The sky is a mid grey of early dawn. ... read more

16th December Early departure and goodbye to Mr Harinder as we were catching the Shabati Express train to Amritsar. Mr Harinder had lots of our stuff as we were fedexing all our wedding gear plus a bit of shopping back to Uk and he was taking care of it. This was a 6 hour train journey but due to really bad fog, turned into 7 hours. The train had seen better days but was comfortable and as we were in 1st class we had great service though Sal in particular was not keen on drinking anything as the horrors of what the loo might be like weren't even up for consideration. We were given litre bottles of water, then we each got a flask of boiling water and cups to make our own tea and coffee. ... read more