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Temple or Darbar Sahib is the most sacred temple
for Sikhs - one which every Sikh longs to make a pilgrimage
to, and thousands visit daily. Guru Ram Das, the fourth Guru
of the Sikhs, who came to live near this peaceful place, started
building the pilgrimage centre around the small pool (later
to become the Sarowar).
The Harmandir Sahib, as
the main temple is known, was envisioned by Guru Arjan Dev.
It was conceived by him to reflect the resoluteness, clarity
and simplicity of the Sikh religion. The four doors, one on
each side of the Temple, are symbolically open to all four
castes - Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.
The beautiful gilding,
artistic marble inlays and the elaborate mirror-work on the
Harmandir Sahib came much later. It was only in the nineteenth
century during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, that the
people of Punjab lavished their wealth on their revered shrine.
The Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, was installed
in the Harmandir Sahib in 1604, three years after its completion.
Jallianwala Bagh - The historic
site where hundreds of innocent Indian men, women and children
were massacred by British General Michael Dyer on April 13,
1919. A memoral and Garden have been created here as a national
monument.
Wagha Border - An afternoon
visit to the Indo-Pak Border at Wagha, to watch retreat ceremony-35
KM on the road to Lahore is India-Pakistan Border. A visit
to the border is an interesting experience especially at Sunset,
when the retreat ceremony takes place with the Border Security
Force on the Indian Side and the Sutlej Rangers on the Pakistan
side putting up a well coordinated and spectacular display.
The sound from the Bugles
blown together from both sides paints past on the canvas when
India and Pakistan were one, simultaneously Flags of the two
nations are ceremoniously retrieved and lights are switched
on marking the end of the day amidst thunderous applause.
Today, this point is the only land route open to approach
Pakistan and Central Asia.
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