Golden Triangle Intrepid tour
Trip Start
Feb 22, 2008
1
2
42
Trip End
Feb 21, 2009
Delhi,
India
Monday, February 25, 2008
We have to meet at 1pm at a hotel just around the corner from mine. When i get to the hotel i am shown to my room and imediately meet Louise and lady from London who i will be sharing a room with throughout the tour. Luckly we seem to get along and after freshening up we head downstairs to meet the rest of the group.
The group consists of:
Nathan and Lauren, 27 & 24 Living in Melbourne, away for a holiday
Andrew and Angelica, 27 & 25 Living in Tazmania, in India for a wedding.
Beat and Kathryn, 50's Living in Cains, Travelling around the world for 8 months. Beat is Swiss, but has been living in Auz so long his acent is a very funny mix!
Paul and Faranz, 65 & 42, Living in California, Travelling around the world for 6 months.
And Louise and Myself, 45ish and 25! Louise is just here on a weeks holiday.
Our Tour Guide is Chandra who is Indian, Warrior cast and very friendly.
Chandra welcomes us all with a traditional welcome of red paint on our foreheads and a string of orange flowers around our necks.
After the orientation we take the metro to old Delhi and go to a Sikh temple. We hav to take our shoes off and walk through a foot wash before being allowed into the temple. We also have to cover our heads with an orange bandana. Inside the temple we sit for a minute and listen to the 3 preachers chanting from the holy book.
Next we walk through to the comunity kitchen. Chandra explains that the Sikh believe in looking after each other and must spend a certain amount of time each month working for the comunity. They can do this in the comunity kitchen. Then any Sikh can come a have breakfast, lunch and dinner here, but they must all sit together on the floor to eat it. Therefore no-one is higher or more important than anyone else. It is great to see everyone at work in the kitchen and we get a chance to roll out some chapati's. I get it round on my 3rd attempt!
Chandra also shows us their wishing pole. It is a symbol of their conection with god as it reaches towards the heavens. They believe that if you go to the bottom of the pole and look up, then rest your head on the base while asking for a wish (good husband, lots of money etc), then walk a full circle around the pole still think of your wish, and then touch the pole again while looking up and rest your head on the base a last time you will be granted your wish!!
We all did this and next year i will be able to tell you if it came true.
We leave the temple and walk through Old Delhi to the Friday Mosque where we have to wait for the Muslims to finish their prays before we are alowed in.
The mosque is huge and i wonder around with Louise for a short while, before sitting in the shade admiring the architecture.
We walk back to the hotel via the spice markets, through i couldn't get any saffon for Dad as it is just too expensive to stock these days!
Just time for a meal out before heading off to bed as we have an early start tomorrow..
The traditional Indian Welcome
Comments
History of Sis Ganj Gurudwara in Old Delhi
Loved reading your post Pashbee.. wish I was there with you and doing obeisance to Guru Tegh Bahadur, the Ninth Guru of the Sikhs. The Gurdwara you went to in Old Delhi is Gurdwara Sis Ganj, the very place where Guru Tegh Bahadur gave up His life to save the Kashmiri Pandits and the entire Hindu population from being converted forcibly to Islam. Please read this travel post: http://www.delhi-india.net/travel/sisganjgurudwara.html
Also wanted to let you know that Chandra gave you some incorrect information. There is no such thing as a wishing pole in any Gurudwara! Sikhs do not believe in superstitions of any kind. Their belief only lies in the One God, Wahe Guru, as taught by Guru Nanak. It is also against Sikh beliefs to pray or make a wish for lots of money etc. We pray for wisdom to live according to the Teachings set forth in our Holy Scripture Sri Guru Granth Sahib, and in our daily prayers, we pray for the well being of all humanity and all creatures in the Universe. Everyone is heartily welcomed inside any Gurudwara, at any time because Sikhism teaches us that we are all equal regardless of race, gender or social and economic status wich is all man-made and not sanctioned by the One God.
If your travel plans permit some free time, do visit Gurudwara Bangla Sahib near Cannaught Place in New Delhi. And the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Looking forward to reading your blog about all your travels in India.
Enjoy :-)