Sorry it has been a while. We all came back from Rishikesh with a virus that was most likely swine flu. We have been recuperating at Kuldip’s family’s house in Jandiala Guru, outside Amritsar.
It has been quite an experience in itself. The small town outside Amritsar is bustling to say the least. It occasionally makes me long for the quiet of San Francisco. Needless to say, Joyce is off her rocker with the noise. She is trying to be polite about it, but I can tell the noise is getting to her. And there is a lot. Everybody honks for everything here. All the time. All day and all night. Then there are the celebrations. Bollywood movies where everybody breaks out into song make a lot more sense now. They actually do that here. Someone down he street had a baby? Bring on the band! Everybody sing! Somebody passed his exam? Bring on the band! I am not exaggerating. Yesterday alone we heard three separate parades (with bands) going down the little street the family lives on. And then there are the loudspeakers from the temples. Each temple broadcasts prayers starting at 4am, sometimes earlier, and they seem to compete a bit. So, add all the layers of noise on top of each other and it can be noisy. Joyce is missing the vineyards, I can tell.
That said, we were able to get a visit to the Golden Temple. Based in Amritsar, the Golden Temple is the headquarters of the Sikh religion. The whole complex is a peaceful respite deep in the middle of the old city, and in the middle of the complex sits the temple, which has been gilded with real gold that has been contributed by Sikh pilgrims from all around.
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- Pilgrims waiting in line to pray inside the Golden Temple
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- Kuldip and his cousin Gogi in front of the Golden Temple
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- Joyce and I in the Golden Temple complex
I feel for Joyce I can’t stand alot of noise either. Hope you don’t get sick anymore better luck on the next leg of you trip. Love you all,