Having seen the magnificent Golden Temple by night when it was all lit up today we visited by day. As it was a Saturday there was no way we would have been able to see the holy book due to the crowds so we were so pleased our guide suggested for us to go at night and we got to see it being put to bed. Sounds daft but to see the reverence on the faithful it all makes sense.Kate was visibly moved. We were shown round the kitchens where food is prepared 24/7 by volunteers to feed up to 50000 people per day so no one in Amritsar ever goes hungry.
On the way we went into jalianwala bagh .scene of the Amritsar massacre in 1919 where general Dyer ordered troops to open fire on unarmed civilians who had gathered to protest at the imposition of a curfew law.The same fate befell him as mrs Gandhi as he was murdered 20 years later by an Indian.moral of the story,don't order a massacre in Amritsar,it's bad for your health.
Late afternoon we set off for the border with Pakistan to witness the flag lowering and beating the retreat. It's a mere 30 km away and along what was the Grand Trunk road in the days of the Raj but now we pass numerous army barracks and wedding palaces,where up to 5000 guests can be accommodated..There were half a dozen taking place as we passed giving a lovely dash of colour. As we slowed down to pay a toll on the dual carriage way,the road went down to one carriage as all the lorries transporting goods from Pakistan to India were parked up,just like border towns everywhere except this isn't a border town just a mid point between Lahore and Amritsar. Soon we were stopped by a SWAT team and then when we got out of our car we
passed through 3 further body searches until we found the grandstand space reserved for foreigners .As the clock moved inexorably towards 4.30 the PA system was blaring out Bollywood hits and all the Indian girls,all gaily dressed in their best traditional Indian clothes,were dancing in the middle of the road inside a vast grandstand that straddles the road. The crowd were going ballistic. Visible to our left over the border was a similar grandstand but largely empty and very subdued.The women and children on one side and the men on the other.When the Indian music stopped it was the turn of the Pakistanis to make a noise and wave their flags.Bang on 4.30 the ceremonial posturing between the guards on both sides started up and the crowd on our side cheered and roared as their male and female guards marched up goose stepping as they went to confront their "enemy". It really did feel like a football match between,say,Celtic and Rangers. The ceremonial gates,each painted in their countries colours are closed,the flags lowered until tomorrow morning and everyone goes home both sets of "fans" convinced their side won. An extraordinary display and no doubt we'll have something similar just north of Berwick if Milliband has to beg the SNP to join him in government in May.