The Heart of Punjab
2am ....after deboarding at Amritsar station from Jammu Tawi....as we head towards Raja Sansi Kothi, hardly I had an inkling of Amritsar, where we had embarked upon the task of visiting Golden Temple and the Indo Pak border at Wagah.
Wagah border visit charged up the imagination of my expat children who witnessed the beating retreat of lowering at dusk, both the countries flag after a spirited display of parade from both side check post.
But the trip to the Golden Temple and a 5 hr endurance in a Q to reach The sanctum Sanctorum ,with a direct connect with our Punjabi brethren, rubbing shoulder to shoulder....how ignorant one can be even if you have lived half of your life in India.....an Indian by birth ....an Indian by education ....the son of the soil....heard so much , seen so much ,exposed so much , yet ignorant of a province so near to hometown Gurgaon , Haryana ...... such is our Nation ....a wide variety of region , language and culture an entire lifetime won’t suffice.....as I am spell bound in the heart of Punjab : Amritsar , I am delighted , as I discover very very Large hearted people , their religion imprinted on their conduct ....there were boys , girls , adults , elderly , infirm inching their way to the Temple soothened by Bhajans ,the Day being Prakash Parv of GuruRamdasji, to which we were a witness....every person were kind to us, every person in piety......I am so proud of my Country and my footsteps in Punjab with family , I feel blessed , as we inch forward , with water being served by the sevadars....as to what Faith and Faithfulness is all about ....this we experienced in our Yatra , trekking on the cold Himalayas to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine with family, climbing up the gradient and hurtling down past mid nite after the Darshan......as I question myself again , inching towards the Sanctom sanctorum of the Golden Temple ...what Faith and Faithfulness is .....as our lives are fragile , and all of us in Transit for emancipation, Faith and obeisance are quintessential for our goal.....a medium of a peaceful meaningful transit ......or else why people in hordes would subjugate and eventually capitulate at the High Alter....?
The Mata Rani in all her splendor and grandeur , it being a Kojagari Laxmi Purnima day , bedecked with flowers , jewelry, as we mortals step in with our last drop of energy , tired and fatigued to have a glimpse and inhale the pure & holy air .....to purify ourselves from all our sins , to redeem ourselves from near total oblivion of a Life for a quest of a success of self esteem,bereft of our consciousness of an environment, far far away from reality .......after all what we need .....we all escape to our comfort zones , our own bubble , which is prone to a burst at the drop of a hat and slightest provocation......are we truly meant for this bubble or in quest for the search of tru calm , in service of our people around us , rubbing shoulders , partaking a meal of a communal kitchen , trudging along the path over the cold Himalayas .....as was squatting over the floors near the Akal Takth in line with fellow countryman irrespective of any thing.....10 pm ,now the 12 hr trek up the cold Himalayas consummates, a huge sense of well being and relief engulfs us as we complete our Yatra , Arnav , Doel , Archana , Mummy in tow ....the same relief generated as we bow and touch our forehead on the Swarn Mandir Sanctum, the ice cold Floor embalming our spirits .....an important milestone achieved and a path discovered for higher goals....of extricating ourselves from a bubble of a mirage of self comfort of no avail..... as I feel blessed ,having proven myself to the task of bringing my Family , flying out of the balmy climes of Maldives, to the true Spiritual land of an ancient country India , my Motherland.....Long Live
