Diwali

I've been told that one never really experiences Diwali until one experiences Diwali in India....how true it is!

The day of Diwali was likely the most packed day I've had so far. We woke up really early in the morning (around 4:30 am) to catch a taxi to Mom's old village, Kahlu Waher. We drove across Punjab to reach the village, and so this was the first chance I had to see the country side. My initial impression was that the rural areas of Punjab were much nicer than the rural areas that we visited in other parts of India. The roads were lined with trees on both sides, buffering the traffic from the agricultural land. The roads themselves were excellent - apparently they have really improved in the past few years. Our drive took us through the cities of Jalandar and Phagwara, among other smaller towns.

We arrived in Kahlu Waher around 8am. My uncle there rented a Toyota Qualis and a driver for our trip to Amritsar. Around 9:30 am, 9 of us (uncle/aunt/cousins/cousins' friends) packed ourselves into the vehicle and we set off for our Diwali adventure!

When we arrived in Amritsar, it was already extremely bustling due to all the people arriving there from outside the city. We entered the Darbar Sahib (the greater temple complex), which was already beginning to get packed. Upon entering, the first thing to do was wash ourselves in the Sarovar (the lake inside the temple complex). Some people strip down to their underwear and take a full bath in it; I decided to just wash my feet and hands in it. The Parkarma (the walkway around the Sarovar) is made of marble, and so the area of the Parkarma near the Sarovar can get quite slippery because of the water on it. Of course, I didn't realize this, and I bailed HUGE while walking away from it. Luckily, I managed to break my fall with my hands and avoided cracking my head on the marble, thus preventing my appearance on that Darwin's Top Ten Acts of Stupidity e-mail chain letter that goes around every year or two.

The line to enter the actual Golden Temple was starting to get quite long, so we headed there next. I was told by multiple sources that the line into the Golden Temple is the site of the most lethal scams. Because everybody is packed together in the line, there is not much empty space between people. Pickpocketing is VERY frequent, so I made sure to put my money in the front pockets of my pants. It's a good that I did that, because I felt random hands feeling my butt to check for any wallet. Apparently, even once you get inside the Golden Temple, and you matha tek (bow down), scamsters will slip your wallet out of your back pocket. To think that people would do this in a temple!

The first part of the line is the worst, because it is wide at the mouth and then narrows considerably, thus acting as a human funnel. I call it the "Compressor", because people get jammed into you from either side. I really felt sorry for the adults that had little kids with them. The wait in line was about 50 minutes, which was much better that what we were expecting. Fans were installed all along the line to keep people cool. I was starting to get really hot and faint despite it being a comfortable temperature outside, so I can't even imagine how it would be waiting in line during the summer heat!

After the visit into the temple itself, we decided to eat langar (meal). Man, that's a crazzzyy operation they have going there. The hall was full when we went, so they made everybody wait outside the hall with the doors closed. Then, they waited until the hall was completely empty before opening the doors. When the doors were opened, it was a mad rush inside. There were volunteers inside running along with the people, telling them to run as fast they could to the other side so that they would not get trampled. Once inside, you need to quickly establish your sitting space so that you have enough room to sit on the ground. I did not do this, so the people beside me established my space for me, which was quite limited to say the least. I ended up sitting like a baboon and I'm still not quite sure how I managed to get the food from the plate to my mouth.

After eating, we left the temple complex and piled back into our vehicle to head to the India/Pakistan border at Wagah. The border closing occurs at 5pm each day, and there is a lot of festivities there as the Pakistani and Indian soldiers try to outdo each other with their "high-kick" routines. There were bleachers there for the audience; one set on the Indian side, and one set on the Pakistani side. The Indian and Pakistani crowds also tried to outdo each other with shouts of "Hindustan Zindabadh!" and "Pakistan Zindabadh!".

Then they launched nuclear-tipped missiles at each other.

We also saw the barbed-wire fence running along the border that divides India and Pakistan (which was under Musharraf-imposed emergency rule at the time, as you all probably know).

After the completion of the closing ceremonies, we returned back to Amritsar and the Golden Temple. We visited Jallalian Bagh, the site of General Dyer's massacre, and then entered the Temple for viewing of the fireworks. I expected the lighting of the temple complex to be modest, but it was VERY impressive...beyond what I could have imagined. The fireworks were also impressive, originating from each of the four corners of the complex. There were SOOO many people inside....numbering in the hundreds of thousands. It seemed like every marble tile that made up the Parkarma was occupied by someone. The only downside of the fireworks is that, since they are shot into the air inside the complex, the remnants fall on everybody, thus irritating the eyes.

After the completion of the fireworks, we headed outside and walked back to the vehicle. Here, the "unofficial" firecrackers and fireworks were set off by kids on the streets. Although fun, it can be quite dangerous; there was an article in the next day's newspaper describing how there were hundreds of injuries to children, some serious, due to firecrackers and fireworks.

The drive back to the village at night was quite interesting because we could see fireworks in the sky the whole way, as they were being launched from people in every village. The fireworks were especially brilliant because of the backdrop of starry, smog-free skies in the countryside.

Nobody had eaten dinner yet, and we were afraid we wouldn't find a place to eat, since it was the night of Diwali, and everybody takes Diwali as a day off. Fortunately, we found a dhaba (cheap food shack) in middle of absolute nowhere, with nothing around it. Although I was initially skeptical, the food was actually quite good!

We returned back to the village of Kahlu Waher, and got ready to sleep for the night. The bathroom sink is actually outside the house, so I had a moment of reflection as I was brushing my teeth outside in the crisp air and the starry skies. It was extremely peaceful outside...there was no noise whatsoever except the sound of a gentle breeze. In the far distance, I could see colourful fireworks exploding in the sky. What a great contrast with the congested cities that have marked our trip so far!