Travel

Darbar Sahib: My Favourite Place in the World

by PAVNEET KAUR

 

 

Ditthey sabbey thaanv naheen tud jekaa - "I have seen everything in this world, but there is nothing like you."

 

 

Darbar Sahib is my FAVOURITE place in the world.

It is very, very close to my heart. Even right now, I feel as I am here in Delhi ... my heart, my soul is there, out there, in Amritsar!

I am just pining to visit Amritsar.

Today, on the eve of the birthday of Guru Ramdas, I thought I could write something here, an ode if you will, to this place. I am not sure if I'd be able to put all my thoughts into words, because I am not sure if I'd be able to express really how I feel when I am there, in Amritsar.

But I am going to try for sure.

Well, we have made several trips to Amritsar. We really don't have family there and we usually go to visit Darbar Sahib only.

I clearly remember my first trip. It was during the school vacations on a hot June day that I found myself standing in the long queue at the threshold, waiting to go inside.

For those who have never been there: the Gurdwara itself is housed in a very large complex. So, you walk inside and then you have to wait in a long line to go inside, inside where Babaji is present.

Again, I'd like to specify here that (for those of you who don't know) the "Guru Granth Sahib" is a living breathing Guru for us and not merely a scripture.

So, I was talking about my first trip and there I was standing in a long line, with people jostling for space under a hot sun. You can only imagine how I felt. I just wanted to get out of there. But, then I was a kid then and was bound to get a little irritated. We have made many wonderful, beautiful trips after this first one, and my love has only grown with each and every new visit.

Every time, as the train pulls up in the station, we hire an auto to the Gurdwara Sahib and make our way through the serpentine bylanes of Amritsar to reach the complex. I wait impatiently to reach the gurdwara. Trust me, the bylanes are vey tricky and kudos to the auto and rickshaw-wallahs who cleanly drive through the narrow roads dotted with old-style houses.

You always know when you're about to reach the complex. One hears the mellifluous renditions of shabads along with a few glimpses of the beautiful golden domes of the complex ... and then, there you are, standing at the entrance of this massive, beautiful complex.

Whenever I reach the portal and bow my head with love and respect, I cannot even describe the feeling. It is palpable. I feel as if I am HOME and happy, content and at peace. I feel as if nothing can touch me now and I can do anything, as I have reached the place I wanted to, the place where I was meant to be.

Thanks to my mom, who always makes sure that each and every time we go to Amritsar, we spend the maximum amount of time in the Darbar Sahib and not outside. So the moment we get there, we dunk our bags in our room and our first plan of action is to reach the sanctuary as soon as possible and spend the time inside. We always have a plan to go around the large crowds, which you would invariably find here, anytime you visit. We walk fast and when we reach the queue at the gate, we jostle through small spaces to get as far ahead as we can and then we try and find a place inside to sit.

Its always like this. My mom and I, we sit inside and my Dad and my brother, they either sit upstairs or on the parikarma. I absolutely love this place and the energy there is absolutely palpable, and this, combined with the soul-stirring shabads, you just cannot let your mind wander off.

Heck! It does not wander off.

This remarkable, unmistakable feeling that you have when you are there, you won't find that anywhere else. Even during the gurpurabs, when you have large crowds gathered there and people come in throngs from the towns and villages, then the place becomes like a fair. I have been there during a gurpurab and the crowds are just unbelievable.

But then there is nothing else that's amiss. Everything is managed so well that you cannot be anything but thankful for being there.

Oh! How I wish I could be there, right now! I am planning to go there soon and I aim to spend a considerable time there. Let me just sign off with these lines here:

"Mera mann lochai Gur darshan taayin/ bilap kare chatrak ki niyaain/ trikha na uttre shaant na aave/ bin darshan sant pyaare jeeyo!"

 

[Paveneet Kaur is an engineer based in New Delhi, India.]

pavsvenus.blogspot.com 

October 9, 2010

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