Enter the land of the Sikhs. Gurdwaras replace temples as the most popular places of worship, Blender’s Pride replaces Royal Stag as the choice whisky, and the personable, turban-clad population generally provide a break from the stresses found elsewhere in India. Punjab may share a (Sikh) prime minister with the rest of India, but feels distinct from the other states.
Category: Punjab And Haryana
The Punjab proper is a rump of its former self. The region used to stretch all the way into modern-day Pakistan and also included little Haryana. Now it’s strictly the Sikh-majority region of India. (There remains a corresponding ‘Punjab’ in Pakistan.)
In the same way as the modernist architect Le Corbusier’s radical design for Chandigarh polarises critics, this anomaly among Indian cities splits visitors. New hotels, department stores, cafés and other air-conditioned hang-outs line the boom town’s straight, clean roads, catering to the fast-living young Indians who emulate Westerners and embrace modernity while gleefully disposing their disposable incomes. While some visitors are unimpressed by Chandigarh’s nontraditionalism, others find the geometric, green city a welcome break from the chaos of other Indian cities, and plunge into the many sights and, of course, glitzy nightlife.
Founded in 1577 by the fourth guru Ram Das, Amritsar is home to Sikhism’s holiest shrine the Golden Temple. The gold-plated gurdwara glitters in the middle of its holy pool like a huge bullion bar, a sight that some visitors rate alongside the Taj Mahal – particularly after experiencing the surrounding old city’s frenetic lanes. In contrast to the old city, the internet cafés, hotels and eateries in Amritsar’s modern areas are as slick as the state capital.