Travelog with pictures on-
https://kariyal.com/self/getthehellout/wagah.html
National pride swells at Wagah border- 490 kilometres from Delhi, in an electric ambience with a frenzied people cheering on their soldiers through their ritual giant-bug squashing parade.
Sameer and I left Delhi at 5 am on Saturday. After a hundred kilometres, we stopped for breakfast (3 aloo and paneer paranthas with dahi- Rs 45). We were on G.T. Karnal road throughout which has improved significantly with helpful signage and milestones; fluorescent boards actually, marking every little town or village in it’s vicinity. The roads are much better and I had to be constantly dissevered from my slumber by Sameer on the highway! We reached Amritsar at 2 pm and booked a room in Hotel Sonia, on Railway Link Road for Rs 250 (A/C rooms are available for Rs.400 - 500).
25 kilometres from there, we reached Wagah Border at 4pm. After taking a few pictures with BSF soldiers on their horses who were much accustomed to being clicked, we queued up to get inside. After taking our seats, in the wait for the parade to begin, one heavily mustached soldier called out those carrying the larger flags to come down and jog down the short strip from the entrance of the compound to the Indo-Pak gate. With a crowd of around 10, 000 cheering them and patriotic songs blaring out of Ahuja speakers, a middles aged lady, a rather large sardarji and a greying gentleman did so with ample pride. The soldiers had to constantly remind unsettling people to remain seated, an endless but heartening exercise!
The Pakistani crowd was visible in two halves, of men and women seated separately; the monotone pathanis versus a pallette of colorful salwars and black burkhas. The music seemed to be playing only from the Indian side. The parade started at 6:15 pm, patriotic chants from the crowd being the background score, trying to outdo the neighbours. The parade lasted for 30 minutes, ending with the flags of both countries pulled down at half mast, brought down and folded. Outside, of the ceremony, VCDs sell for Rs. 30 and photos for Rs. 20.
We saw quite a bit of Amritsar that night, involuntarily, looking for ATMs. We walked from Railway Link road, through Lawrence road and finally dined at MK hotel in Ranjit Avenue. The next day, we checked out at 9 am and headed for the Golden Temple, where we attended the langar. There’s a roti (Indian bread) making machine here. Later, we walked down to Jalianwala Bagh. The genocide seemed to come alive to me when I walked through the narrow entrance, with vivid images of soldiers marching down to gun down unarmed protesters. Looking down the well, bullet holes on the brick walls bracketed in wooden frames and Rabindranath Tagore’s letter to the British government appealing to be stripped of his knighthood in protest are the other elements of the memorial. We stopped at Durgiana temple before we took off. We headed back home at 12pm with Chameli songs belting away a record 7 times, The Beatles, Mark Knofler and Tom Petty. The Santro impresses relentlessly with the A/C on and a decent cruising speed of 120 kmph. The entire trip was done on 2 tankfuls of Rs. 1100 each.
Total expense incurred- Rs. 3300. Wagah experience- Priceless!