Take a Walk in Amritsar: For History and Heritage

The Amritsar Heritage cum Food Walk makes for a good morning jaunt coupled with a bit of interesting history and heritage, visual architectural delights that have been sprinkled with foodie temptations and together served enthusiastically by a knowledgeable guide.

I like to explore a place beyond its obvious tourist attractions. For me the essence of the place lies in understanding its past and the way it has evolved into the present. So I opted for the heritage cum food walk of Amritsar which promised heritage, history, gastronomic exploration, spirituality and some ‘wow’ moments. Game for all of these, I found myself standing at Town Hall, the starting point of the walk. Davinder Singh, our guide welcomed us with a warm genuine smile.

GOLDEN TEMPLE

The heritage cum food walk ends near the Golden Temple or Harmandir Sahib, internationally well known especially among Sikhs. The Golden Temple is located within a sacred tank. The site was discovered by Guru Amardas while Guru Ramdas began the excavation of the tank in 1573. Guru Arjan Dev built the Harmandir Sahib to house the Sri Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs which he had compiled.

TOWN HALL

Town Hall formerly housed the office of the British secretary during the British Raj. The compound was used by British military officers where every evening a musical demonstration was conducted. Festivals like Diwali were also celebrated here. In those days the mode of communication was also very different. A bell under the cupola of the Town Hall was used to deliver special messages. When an announcement was needed to be done, the bell was rung. Its sound vibrated around a kilometer and everyone within that radius had to assemble in the Town Hall compound in half an hour. The officer read his message and voila the news was delivered. Presently the Town Hall is the office of the commissioner of the municipal corporation and used by the Amritsar fire brigade.

GURUDWARA SARAGARHI AND QILA AHLUWALIA

As we walk, we reach Gurudwara Saragarhi which is a brick memorial of the unflinching courage of the Sikhs in battle. Realizing the strength and dedication of the Sikhs, the British had started recruiting them in the army. The Gurudwara is a memory of the 21 non commissioned officers and men of 36th Sikhs for their heroism in defending the frontier fort of Sarachari on 12th September 1897. Feeling quite patriotic, we reach Qila Ahluwalia or fort Ahluwalia. In olden days, Amritsar had four major clans or Misl who were the Ahluwalia, Bhangi, Ramgarhia and Kanhaiya. Each of these clans had their individual forts from which they looked after the security of the city.

Ahluwalia was one of the strongest clans during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Papad making in Amristar Singh. The clan was headed by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia.

At one corner is a well which has been constructed using two types of bricks. While one type is known as Nanakshani since these bricks were made during the time of Guru Nanak, the other type is the British block bricks. The well has galleries around it on a higher level with steps. The steps were used by women to draw water by throwing buckets into it. The men would draw water from the ground level. The compound had stables including a big pool of water used for drinking and bathing horses as the Ahluwalia clan was known for their well bred horses. “Presently the compound is used for parking modern day horses. Well are not cars modern day horses? This is a car park today,” says our guide Davinder as we all nod in agreement.

A peculiar architectural feature is the occurrence of wooden hands pointing downwards on some of the multi storeyed homes. These hands symbolized humility in the face of prosperity and reminded the people to look down at the ground instead of letting success get to their head and walking arrogantly thinking no end of themselves. At Jalebiwala Chowk we get our first bite of delicious melt in the mouth jalebis which are freshly prepared in front of us. The chowk was formerly known as Katra Ahluwalia (Katra means business centre) and the main business done at this chowk was woollen textiles and tea. Guess the sweetness of jalebis won and the chowk was renamed Jalebiwala Chowk.

THE AKHARAS – UDASIN ASHRAM AKHARA, SANGALWALA AND CHITTA AKHARA

At our next stop which is Udasin Ashram Akhara Sangalwala, Davinder tells us that the word Akhara can be used in three contexts. When a music competition is held in the open it is known as Akhara, a wrestling competition is also called an Akhara and a place where yogis meditated individually are also known as Akhara. Belonging to the third category of Akhara, this one was started by Nirwan Pritam Das almost 240 years ago. It is called Sangalwala because Sangal is the Punjabi word for chain and the said chain was bought almost a century ago by one of the disciples of Nirwan Pritam Das and placed at the entrance steps.

Nirwan Pritam Das was a follower of Baba Sri Chand, the elder son of Guru Nanak. Chitta Akhara is 230 years old and has an open air middle portion for light and ventilation while the adjoining rooms were used by the yogis. A recently renovated building, the paintings here are of the ten Sikh gurus as well as of Hindu Gods symbolizing equality and the message of humanity.

GURU BAZAAR

The street in front of Chitta Akhara is named as Mai Sewa after a devotee called Mai Sewa who came from Kabul to help in the construction of the Golden Temple. During the time of the Gurus there was no construction between the Golden Temple and this bazaar was known as Guru Bazaar since it was used by the Gurus. When the fourth, fifth and sixth Gurus would visit the Golden Temple, they would bow their head at Darshani Deori as they got the first glimpse of the Golden Temple. The area around Darshani Deori is famous for wedding shopping including jewellery like chuddas or moneyed garlands, clothes and vessels. In the lanes of Bartaan Market we stopped to see the big metal glasses that are sold here. A litre of Lassi can be drunk in them while the traditional copper vessels sold at this market are used to make slow fire simmered tasty black dal.

We stop to relish warm sweet milk that is known as ‘kadhai wala doodh’ as it is made in a Kadhai or big round iron deep bottomed pan. The milk slowly simmers and its water evaporates resulting in a thick pure condensed version of milk. The layer of cream which forms on top in the Kadhai is used to garnish the milk served.

THAKURDWARA DARIANA MAL

Charged after drinking the milk, we sprint to Thakurdwara Dariana Mal. A wealthy businessman, Dariana Mal was very religious. He had a Krishna temple in his home and was keen to make a Krishna temple for the locals as well. He donated a large part of his riches towards the construction of this temple which is 148 years old. Fresco paintings and art work are still preserved at Thakurdwara Dariana Mal which is built on the first floor.

Still at Guru Bazaar, Davinder tells us that it is the first bazaar of Amritsar where coins were made from copper, silver and lead. A Jamadar of Maharaja Ranjit Singh would supply these metals and the shops of this area would make the coins. A little further is Taksal Chowk where these coins were minted and stamped. In front of Taksal Chowk is a Krishna temple known as Thakurdwara Rai Kishan Chand Shahni Mandir. Rai Kishan Chand was a businessman who dealt in silks. He died at a very early age. Upon his death, his wife inherited his fortune and being a rich woman was termed Shahni. She looked after the construction of this first floor temple which is the last stop of the heritage walk.

KULCHAS

If you leave Amritsar without sampling its famous street food, then you have missed something. We happily seated ourselves to eat Nutri Kulcha at Santram Nutri Kulchawala. Santram himself has been making the dish since the last two decades. Nutri or soya chunks are spiced with masala and chopped coriander, onions, capsicum and carrots on a Tawa. The kulcha is crisped on the tawa. Alongwith the nutri it is served with chopped onions, mint and tamarind chutney. Just opposite Santram’s shop is one offering Stuffed Kulcha or Aloo Kulcha. Onions and potatoes are mixed with coriander and peas for the filling and the Kulcha is made in the Tandoor. Garnished with dried Methi and a cube of butter that melts on it, the kulcha is served with Chole and a Chutney made with tamarind, radish and garlic.

PAPAD MAKING

Papad is an essential item eaten by Punjabis and is supposed to help in digestion. Our next stop was to see how papads are made from urad dal, yeast, asafoetida, black pepper and cumin. Dried on wooden sticks in the summers, the papads dry within 10 minutes. Winters take about half an hour.

Khursheed Dinshaw is a freelance lifestyle writer based in India.