India: Amritsar's Golden Temple

Golden Temple

Before we even got out of our cycle rickshaw near Amritsar's Golden Temple, Sikhism's holiest shrine, men were throwing bandanas at us. They wanted us to buy one, since all people have to cover their heads to enter the temple. However, we came prepared. All the girls had headscarves and Adam had a cloth as well. So Greg was the only taker.

A crowd gathers to laugh at Adam's pagri.

Next, Adam hopped in an ally to tie up his pagri. He did it quickly so it wasn't the most perfect. So, as we headed down the street, an old man stopped him and insisted that Adam let him tie his pagri. Adam finally gave in. As the man began wrapping it, a crowd of Indians formed to see what was going on with the white guy. They were actually laughing (as were we at this point). When the man finished, the crowd applauded, and when Adam offered him money (assuming that was why the man did it), he was told "no charge for pagri."

Before we reached the temple, we stopped at Jallianwala Bagh. This is a park near the temple. In 1919, thousands of Indians were holding a peaceful protest in this open space surrounded by high walls. A British general arrived with 150 troops through the only entrance/exit, blocking it. He then ordered them to open fire, including instructing them to fire toward the crowd of people jumping into a well in an attempt to escape. More than 400 people died and 1500 were wounded. The site still includes the well as well as bullet holes in some of the surrounding walls.

Pilgrims entering the Golden Temple complex pause to pray.

When we reached the Golden Temple, we had to store our shoes in the shoe room. Then we walked through a small pool of water on the way into the temple. We were surrounded by pilgrims wearing saris in a rainbow of colors. The numbers of devout people at the temple were amazing. The line to bring offerings into the main temple, where the original copy of the Sikh holy book is kept, was huge and the sun was hot. Plus, we were walking barefoot on marble (yet again). Hot! We walked around the entire walkway, watching pilgrims bathe in the water and pray.

The first girls who asked for a photo with Reagan and me.

A couple of teenage girls stopped the girls in our group and asked to have a photo taken with us. We obliged and stopped for a photo. As we finished that one, their friend who took the first picture wanted on of her own. By the time that ended, a woman had come over for a photo with the white girls. And then, a mother and child wanted a photo. Whoa! We cut it off there. It's amazing how my pale skin suddenly made me a celebrity.

Lost in prayer. You can also see the long line to enter the holiest portion of the Golden Temple.