Golden Temple

The Golden Temple is surrounded by a large man-made lake – a lake which is closely linked to the temple and the surrounding city. In 1573 the construction of the lake started under supervision of the fourth guru of Sikhism; Guru Ram Das Ji. The lake stood complete four years later, in 1577.During this time, a city began to grow around the lake. The name of the city was originally “Ramdaspur” - after the guru - but it was later changed. As the city became associated with the construction of the lake, the city simply took the same name as the lake itself. Therefore, both the city and the lake carry the name Amritsar.

The entrance to the Golden Temple complex is through an ornate archway with intricate inlay work. Verses from the Granth Sahib are inscribed on the doorway. The main north entrance is under a Victorian clock tower. Known as the Darshani Deori, the entrance is up a flight of steps and down again to the temple and holy tank. The temple is a two storey marble structure reached by a causeway known as Guru´s Bridge. The lower storey is in white marble with the walls decorated with inlaid flower and animal motifs in the pietradura style of the Taj Mahal. The architecture of the golden temple is a blend of the Hindu and Muslim styles.

The temple building has four entrances instead of the usual single entry. This is symbolic of the openness of Sikhism and indicates that followers of all faiths are allowed inside. The walls within are decorated with carved wooden panels and elaborate inlay work in silver and gold. The Adi Granth, compiled by Guru Arjan Dev, rests on a throne beneath a jewel-encrusted canopy. Priests conduct continuous recitation of verses from the holy book in 3-hour shifts. A complete reading of the text stakes 48 hours. The original copy of the Guru Granth Sahib is kept under pink shroud in the, Golden Temple during the day and at around 10 p.m. each day is ceremoniously returned to the Akal Takht (Sikh Parliament) building. The morning processional ceremony takes place at 4 a.m. in Summer and at 5 a.m. in Winter, when Sri Guru Granth Sahib is bought from Akal takhat Sahib in a procession to the Sanctum Sanctorum, which is washed with milk.

The majority of these attacks happened during mid 18th century. This was the period when the temple was attacked numerous times by Afgahn raiders. The raiders caused severe damage to the temple complex, which resulted in a restoration of the temple in 1764. Another major assault on the Golden Temple was in 1984 when the Indian army attacked during the so called “Operation Bluestar”. The Indian army had order to move in to the temple area and remove Sikh militants who was believe to amass weapons inside the area. The operation ended in bloody gunfights between the militants and the army, resulting in large casualties on both sides.

The old city, with the Golden Temple and surrounding bazaars along narrow alleys, is encircled by a ring road. Even today, the markets have an ambience of ancient times, when traders bought and sold goods right across from central Asia up to the farthest corners of India. Little light reaches down to the congested streets, which are best negotiated on foot. There are rows upon rows of shops on each street selling specifics goods. Guru Bazaar specialises in gold jewellery shops, while the Bazaar Kesarian is for steel and brass utensils. The smells of Katra Kathian announce its wares before you reach the shops selling papads, warian (crispies made from pulses) murabbas (Indian jams), pickles and ampapad (dried mango candies). The Mishri Bazaar is the place to buy dry fruits, while Katra Mohan Singh offers a colourful kaleidoscope of bridal glass bangles.