Okay! This may sound off the beaten track but it’s an experience I wanted to share with my readers. So here goes!
For most people, Kartarpur has a religiopolitical meaning because of the Indo-Pak corridor that rode the media wave a few years ago. Envisioned by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpai and Shri Nawaz Sharif and executed by Shri Narendra Modi and Imran Khan as a part of the bus diplomacy initiative between India and Pakistan, the corridor is essentially a national border that connects the city of Amritsar in India to Kartarpur in Pakistan.
For me, it is a pilgrimage. Let me take you through my recent visit.
The Golden Temple and the Dera Sahib Kartarpur were two primary pilgrim spots we visited. The Golden Temple as we all know is the Vatican of Sikhism in India. But, that’s not the only reason it’s well-known. Originally plated with engraved gold, the temple has had its share of adversities but gives off holy vibes even today 5 centuries after its construction.
I must tell you that the Sewadharis of both temples are extremely courteous and helpful. We got wheelchairs for senior citizens to help them traverse the vast grounds and visit the temple. There are Piayus or water stalls at every corner as well as stalls for Kandha Parsad the prasad distributed at the Gurudwaras.
You can see it all in my reel on Instagram.
I found the whole of Amritsar giving off holy vibes. Did you know that it is a practice of the locals to play the preaching of Shri Guru Nanak every morning? That’s kind of quaint, isn’t it? Hotel, cab, shop, or bus stand, you’ll hear the strains of Ik Omkar, Satnam … if you’re there any time before 10 am or it happens to be the first ride or activity of whomever you are dealing with. And then there’s this munificent practice of offering free meals. The underlying belief is that if you offer Langar your own coffers and granaries will be bountiful. The hotel we stayed in on our return journey was hosting a Langar stall right outside their gate because the day happened to be the birthday of Guru Har Rai Sahib, the 7th Sikh Guru! Our cabbie could not go in and the porters lugged our luggage all the way from the cab outside the gate to our rooms.
There are quite a few Gurudwaras in the city and it was impossible to visit them all. But we did Tarn Taran Sahib and the Golden Temple along with a couple of smaller Deras. During our tour around the city, we noticed that our cabbie would always stop for a moment whenever we crossed a particular point in the city. Curious, we asked him about it.
This is what he told us:
There’s a Gurudwara Baba Deep Singh established by a martyr who fought the Afghans and lost his life. There are two popular legends about Baba Deep Sing. One in which he continued fighting after he was decapitated. He held his head in his left palm while wielding a sword with his right. In the other version, he fought even after being mortally wounded with his neck all but severed from his body. In both versions, he fought until he reached Amritsar and died. His courage and faith are revered by the locals.
The local cabbies and other people, particularly those who drive believe that whenever you pass this Gurudwara you should stop for a moment and offer homage to the great man. It wards off evil and prevents accidents. And if you do not stop, you are more than likely to meet with an accident.
On our second day out, we headed to Kartarpur. We had pre-booked our passage and we crossed the border on foot! I can’t tell you how exciting that was! Here’s a pic, see for yourself.
Kartapur is the place where Guru Nanak gave up his human body and passed to his heavenly abode. The legend goes that his remains were claimed by both Hindus and Muslims and a religious rivalry ensued. Fully aware of the possibility of this occurrence, on the day before his death, the Guru had asked the Muslims to place flowers on his left side and the Hindus to do so on his right side. He then told his disciples that the flowers that remained fresh the next day would determine who would perform his last rites.
When the devotees returned the next day, the flowers on both sides were still fresh but there was no body to be found. So both the Hindus and the Muslims buried the flowers as a mark of respect. The shrines have been maintained intact through the centuries.
There are umpteen such short stories about the Sikh Gurus that I can tell you, but that will take forever, so let me close here.