Trudging places with the glistening attributes of changing cultural aspects and hospitality is what I experienced during my trip to the North India. “Sasriakal” followed with a warm hug and blessings from the elders of Punjabi households were a very patent way of greeting guests wherever I visited. The one common way of entertaining the guests in the north was to keep serving the guests with delicacies and mouth savouring paranthas with a huge tumbler of lassi. Even if one had their fill, the people of Punjab never stopped and instead went on with deserts and other dishes. Even though I was a stranger, I didn’t feel even a bit like one as I was being treated as one amongst them from the moment I was there.
Chandigarh is very aptly known for its well organised planning in terms of city sections. Though being a populous city, it never gave an impression that it was crowded or faced pollution as a problem. Every lane and road was so organised that it gave an ease to the traveller. Shopping areas, too, were segregated in sectors. The vast range of varieties gave me a reason to stay there for long and shop with keenness. People in the north believe in one notion which is, “Khao piyo aish karo”. The musical events and other ceremonies were so full of life and fun that I, too, felt like being a part of it. One gets no time to feel sad and think of life’s doldrums when such supplements add zest to life. One also gets the glimpses of the traditional cycle rickshaws being used by people for conveyance. It is nice to travel using those as we can see every bit of the surroundings around us.
The next day was again a journey of around four hours to reach Patiala where we were to attend a baby shower ceremony at army officer’s Haveli. The hospitality received there, too, was mind blowing. People mistook me as a Punjabi kudi. But as I knew the Punjabi language, I was comfortable conversing with them. The little sardar and sardarni kids were so active that they lost no time getting friendly with me and took me around their farm. The next day begun with the blessings in Gurudwara where I saw the Path and Ardas being performed. Following it was a heavy and filling Langar with the Khara Prasad. The Gurudwaras give a feeling of calmness and peace the moment one enters. After finishing the pompous function that we had come for, our journey for a typical Punjab da Pindh Batala began, where we were going to stay for the next two days. Not even for a second did I feel like closing my eyes and taking a nap while travelling as I got busy viewing the beauty of nature and green fields that occupied both the sides of roads we journeyed. Punjab is truly an agricultural state with sarson ke khet and many other crops cultivated everywhere. Instead of listening to Bollywood numbers in the car, I preferred listening to the local radio that was bustling with Bhangra and other lok geet! It is rightly said that in Punjab that dhabas and festive season ki toh kami hi nahi hai…because after every twenty to thirty minutes we could see so many dhabas with colourful archives and music in the air! On the shops which were known as hattis one could read Dhillon di hatti, Chatwal di gaddi and other attractive sign boards. The highways appeared to be merry making with all this.
Batala is a small Pindh but flaunts a huge market and iron industries. It has many milk product making factories which gave me another reason to gulp down fresh cream and other yummy items like paneer, sweets, etc. The place where I stayed was in the middle of a farm. Wow, what a beauty it was! I also got a chance to visit the famous “Baba Bakala” and “Achal Sahib” Gurudwaras with the flowing sarovar surrounding it. We generally see all these Pindh and other places in movies but when I got a chance to visit it in reality, my joy knew no bounds. The next day, our visit was to the very old and well known “Golden Temple” in Amritsar. Amritsar is a place gushing with markets and people from all around the world coming to visit the temple. The temple has no comparison; it has its own beauty and sense of tranquillity. One feels like spending hours there owing to its vastness and calmness. The golden shone brightly with the sun’s rays falling on it. The people who looked after the temple were really considerate and managed the huge crowd well. The best part about this temple was that people could fearlessly have a bath in the holy sarovar as purifiers were put to avoid any contamination. I felt blessed to be there and happily returned from the visit. I had gotten a chance to visit around six Gurudwaras in my visit to Punjab. Truly holy. Then was the time to taste the renowned kebabs and tikkas of Amritsar from Hotel Crystal. They were indeed delicious!
Lastly, I can say that “The confluence of traditions and people belonging to various communities incurs great learning and begets happiness”. I completely enjoyed Punjab and the enormity of it!
Hoping to visit a few other places in North India soon!
