< Read previous chapter of the trip – Rajasthan Chapter II
Punjab Chapter – Summary:
Destinations: Ganganagar > Fazilka > Firozpur > Harike Barrage > Harmandir Sahib – The Golden Temple – Amritsar > Batala > Gurdaspur > Pathankot
Day 5: 6th March 2014 continued..
Pune to Punjab on motorbike.. isn’t it a crazy thought! After saying goodbye to our new friends at Ganganagar, we marched towards the new state, the joyful Punjab! Though it was started getting dark, greenery of the grand state and cold breeze was unforgettable. After passing through tough road till Ganganagar, roads of Punjab were came in like a treat.
As advised by friends, we took Fazilka highway. We had tummy full dinner of hot aloo parathas and chole bhaturas at Fazilka square. As they say, cold gets colder after you eat. We were shivering like hell. Temperature was almost dropped to 3 – 4 degrees. It was becoming impossible for me to drive in the foggy night.. foggy like dark clouds! A Chaiwala near a Gurdwara on the highway came like the god himself. We stopped in a hurry. Trust me.. our conversation with Chaiwala was unforgettable…
Santosh – “भाई..मस्त गरमा गरम चाय पिलाओगे?”
Chaiwala – ” तो क्या चाय ठंडी पिलाते है क्या? चाय तो गरम ही बनती है!!”
Santosh – ” अच्छा भाई.. सिर्फ चाय तो पिलाओगे?”
Chaiwala – “दुकान पे आये हो तो चाय पिलायेंगे ही ना? अब क्या चूल्हे पे बैठ जाऊ?”
Oh My God! Why was he arguing?? Well.. soon we realized that it was a normal way of answering here.. just don’t ask rubbish questions 🙂 While enjoying that hot amrit in the deadly cold, he started sharing his experience of his Bajaj Scooter ride from Punjab to Nanded in Maharashtra..! After getting enough warmed with his hot tea and hot conversation, we moved on. Somehow..literally somehow, we reached Ferozepur. An angle called Babloo directed us to a lodge. We just dropped our bags and entered into the warm world of bed 🙂
Day 6: 7th March 2014
Best morning of the trip! Hotel ensured tea at our room. Pune to Punjab on motorbike.. the journey had been amazing till now. The hotel was placed exact opposite of Ferozepur Cantt Railway station. We saw a group of beautiful college girls doing Bhangra outside the station carrying a trophy. It was amazing scene to start the day with :-). Seemed like they had won some sports competition and just reached home town.
Chilled winter increases your appetite! Aloo and Mixed Veg Parathas with Dal makhani accompanied with full bowl of Curd.. wah re Punjab 🙂 We had more than a lunch for our breakfast. The roadside dhaba and it’s people were not only colorful but original !!
Soon we crossed a legendary Harike Barrage on the grand Satluj river. 1.4 kms long barrage is the start point of the great Indira Gandhi Canal which came as a blessing of water for Punjab and Northern Rajasthan. This is holy point of confluence of Beas river with Satluj river as well.
Read more about Harike Barrage
Fun was full on with “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” songs. We were singing loud. It wasn’t only about the speed now! Either sides of the road were painted in green and yellow colors with Sarson ki kheti (Mustard Farms).
Amazing Golden Temple:
We reached Amritsar, our destination of the day, via Tarn Taran. Modern city of Amritsar is amazing town to explore. We headed right to the world famous Golden Temple. Khalsa Panth is unique with it’s self binding rules and it’s devotion towards the Five Gurus. We wore saffron cloth with Khalsa sign before entering in the holy place. Per the tradition, no one allowed to enter without covering his head. I found that the outside campus was getting commercialized with many shops and advertisement banners which were disturbing the atmosphere. But such things are bound to happen!
First sight, rather darshan, of the Golden Temple was satisfying and thrilling. Though it was my second visit, it felt like the first one!
It was a cloudy winter day. Atmosphere was filled with soft bhajans among the spiritual silence. Well managed, well disciplined, cleans and neat.. Golden temple campus is one the best. Surrounded by white structures, blue sky above and blue water around.. golden colored temple just creates it’s onus among everything. We sprinkled holy water of the tank on our head..it was damn cold!
The gurudwara is true example of equality and brotherhood. No VIP darshan, no special treatment.. everyone is treated equally. Rich or poor..everyone offers their service to the abode of the God.
Best part of the darshan was the live music.. we just couldn’t believe that the bhajan which was continuously filling the air was a live bhajan inside the main sanctum. Darshan of Harmandir Sahib makes you feel complete and calm. Post darshan, we enjoyed prasad of sweet halwa. We literally had it twice.
Read more about the Golden Temple
I must admit that it was an amazing experience. We were feeling happy and refreshed. Kind of F5 button had been pressed!
We started our onward journey towards Jammu. Road wasn’t so good now. Repair and renovation work was adding trouble along with rain drizzling. I was driving but rush knowing the mood of the weather. Rain compelled us to stop for couple of times but we enjoyed it too with cup of tea 🙂 Via Batala, Gurdaspur..we reached our destination of the day..Pathankot. Thank god, we got a Khalsa Dhaba with lodging facility on the Pathankot byepass itself. As soon as we entered inside, thunderstorm started like hell..perfect timing. It was a nice warm sleep after such a fantastic day in a fantastic state of Punjab.
Pune to punjab on motorbike.. the journey turned out to be full of variety so far. Appa was happier every day and was happier about his decision to come along.
Read next chapter of the trip – Jammu Chapter I >
Keep Reading Pune to Vaishno Devi on motorbike trip story:
- The Beginning
- Gujarat Chapter – Swaminarayan Temple Bharuch, Gandhinagar, Shamlaji Temple
- Rajasthan Chapter I – Shrinathji Temple Nathdwara, Charbhuja Temple Garbhor, Kumbhalgarh
- Rajasthan Chapter II – Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Pushkar, Merta City,Karni Mata temple Deshnok, Bikaner
- Punjab Chapter (You are here) – Firozpur, Harike Barrage, Golden Temple of Amritsar
- Vaishno Devi (Jammu) Chapter I – Baba Dhansar, Vaishno Devi, Amar Palace Jammu
- Himachal Chapter I – Pathankot War Memorials, McLeod Ganj, St John in Wilderness, Dharamsala,
- Himachal Chapter II – Dharamsala, Chamundi Temple, Baijnath, Kangra, Jwalaji, Chintpurni Mata
- Haryana Chapter – Kurukshetra, Panipat
- Uttar Pradesh Chapter – Vrindavan, Mathura, Agra
- Madhya Pradesh Chapter – Gwalior Fort, Indore