[SS-Traveller]

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness"; what do I mean?
Inside the Golden Temple, everything's so clean.
Step outside onto the roads
And filth greets you by the loads.


Down that road a few hundred paces we walk,
And come to the Jallianwala Bagh, that historical park
Where 2000 Indian were killed by the gun,
The Brits then thought it was fun.
90 white men was all it took
To get into the history book.
Why, oh why, didn't those 2000 turn around
and bury those 90 soldiers into the ground?
Emotional moments, even when you reflect today,
Made Mr. Tagore chuck his knighthood away.
Yet, today, despite this,
We celebrate the CWG in utter bliss.










































Visitors today couldn't care less about those dead men
And write odes to love on the walls, defacing them.


One old man sits pensive on the lawns, deep in reflection
On the worthiness of Jallianwala Bagh in our history and education.

[SS-Traveller]

Wagah Border was next on the list,
The seats we got were among the best.
Before I sort out and find the best pics for you,
Here are some videos from YouTube to view.
Enjoy them, folks, that's all for tonight.
Tomorrow's busy, but post some pics I might.

YouTube - Wagah Border 1

YouTube - Wagah Border 2

YouTube - Wagah Border 3 - The India-Pakistan bus goes through

YouTube - Wagah Border 4

YouTube - Wagah Border 5

YouTube - Wagah Border 6

YouTube - Wagah Border 7 - the flags are lowered

YouTube - Wagah Border 8 - and the gates close for the night

[hvkumar]

Bathing in the Amrit Sarovar,
Watching the preening guards at the border,
Mourning at the Bagh
And at the Crystal, tasting the Saag


The good Doc did not savour the Cock
Brothers rolled him their best Kulchas and Chanas, was that the stumbling block?
Greens, black dals and Muli at the Guru's Langar,
Melody of the Gurban, Not for him the Qawali singer

Amritsar or Pathankot,
Punjabi Lassis are to be sought,
Who cares for the chicken,
.....let the machhis retain their golden sheen,

After the paranthas and the sumptuous thalis,
Who cares for the highway McDees,
NH1, NH15 or NH1A, whichever be the bad road,
Goad the m-Hawk, Doc was sure he could bear the load

[breezydrive]

BTW, why you took a detour via PTK, there isn't any thing for tourist sort of visits here unless you come to a village or want to venture into neighborhood hills!

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Amritsar or Pathankot,
Punjabi Lassis are to be sought...

Ha-ha, Kumar-sahab, lassi exposed your latent talent too!
And we look forward to more poetry for you to spew.

Now this deserves one more post,
To Wagah Border we raise a toast.




The pictures before the show begins, shall I share,
The crowds, the rush, the people running here and there.


Stories of how the tollgate wanted to know
Whether I wanted a one-way ticket, or two.


Tales of being frisked after standing in queue,
Of men separated from women; why, only the BSF knew.






Of the officers and families that came strutting in for the game,




Of how the sentry said, "This list doesn't have your name."




Of people flying the tricolour in patriotic pride
While people selling those flags made money on the side.


Looking at the Indian spirit, one would have thought
There's an Indo-Pak cricket match being fought.

Stories of how we saw half-empty Pakistani benches,






While on the Indian side, there's no space even in inches.








Flags waving, arms flailing, the crowd, as one, roared,
"Bharat Mata ki jai", "Vande mataram" and "Jai ho".


From across the border came feeble response,
"Pakistan zindabad", "Allahu Akbar" chants.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by breezydrive

BTW, why you took a detour via PTK

The problem with reading poetry lies
In your ability to read between the lines.
I've said it earlier, and I'll say it again,
Friends are to travel for to the world's other end.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Pathankot is also a place quite near,
Where lives an old friend we hold so dear.
A BHPian at that, Jerry68,
Let's go, I really can't wait.

[arindamray]

first time in tbhp read a t'log so different
kept me hooked from beginning to end

poetic doc is good at story telling
add to that, masala of High Vay King

we all are in treat for sure
come on, doc, yeh dil mange more

[sudev]

Your travel yarn
from your (home) barn
to pakistan border
is all in order

remembering trips of yesteryears
even though far, it all seems so near
through your picture canvas
and poetic compass

veggies like me
eat food with lots of ghee
but spare the cock
et tu doc?

[hvkumar]

Vande Mataram, we chanted,
Pakistan Zindabad, they ranted,
Wagah or Kibithu, India is best,
At the border, the pride and the honour of the guest.

At Atari, the train choos choos to its destination,
Across the border, to another nation,
Families disunited once upon a time,
Alas, just memories now encrusted with grime.

Our jawans march Goose stepping,
And their pathans come jumping,
The flags are lowered,
On the horizon, as the sun stands hovered.

The Shouting matches remind you of a cricket test,
Where the cricketers of India and Pak try out their best
Chill descends on the air,
And the gulls return to their lair.

[SS-Traveller]

Thanks, folks, the poetry bug has bitten not just me,
It's also infected arindamray, sudev and hvkumar-ji.
Writing a travelogue in poetry is so much fun,
It shoots down prose with a Bofors gun!
But hold on there, we're not done yet,
I'll soon put up more pics, you can bet.
Wagah Border is but just one part,
I also drove a go-kart!

[genesis]

He returns from the land of plenty
A beatific smile on his face
Tandoori rotis and malai lassi were pure and cheap
So was the diesel for his trusty mate

A thrill goes through the wanderers
The hawk returns to familiar lands
Many stories to share and tell
Of Man and his machine working as one

Tales from the land of turbans and kirpans
And glimpses of warriors who stand tall and proud
SS-Traveller, our heart felt thanks to thee
For bringing us these and that too for free!

[SS-Traveller]

The Haiku specialist
Is next on the list
To be hit by the poetry contagion.

What can I do?
It's addictive too,
This eulogy to the Punjab region.

[genesis]

@SS: Haiku is technically 3 lines.

Julia spent a lifetime searching
In Amritsar, SS-Traveller found it
Eat Pray Love

[MudMover]

Wow! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing pics of the Golden Temple, Jalianwala Bagh and the Wagah border after such a long time. I had last visited these places in '84 travelling in a ricketty old one-ton from a place called Gurdaspur where my father was posted in those days. I faintly remember shaking the hand of another small boy like me on the other side at Wagah (do they still do that? the shaking hand thing?) ... wonder how his life turned out. Seeing these pics, for a moment I felt as if I was back there in those times. Thanks SS for sharing these pics! Man, you guys in the North have so many places to go!

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by MudMover

Thanks SS for sharing these pics!

You are welcome MM,
I'm glad you loved 'em.

The initial revelry at the Wagah Border
Ended, and the programme went further.
BSF men (and women too) are no strangers
At eyeballing the Pakistan Rangers.
Marching, strutting, stomping, high kick,
We got to see every little trick.
The parade was dramatic, could watch it for ever, but
The flags were finally lowered, and the gates clanged shut.
It was an experience that was even more spectacular,
Watching from VIP seats, not fighting for seats regular.
Time to return, Delhi's far away
But we're only going back to Amritsar anyway.

Enjoy the pictures, the glory and pomp,
Patriotic fervour that makes one's heart thump.