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Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
What struck me most about Buzz in Punjabi Bagh is that there is no other lounge/club in the vicinity. No wonder Buzz is always buzzing with people.
When we reached Punjabi Bagh, we were to go to the third floor and a family, which included an elderly lady and a toddler, were in the lift with us. We thought they might be going to another restaurant but we were rather surprised to see that Buzz is the kind of place where one section is completely enjoyed by the whole family.
I learnt from the owners that the place also had a special “Navratra Menu” to cater to the needs of the religious neighbourhood. It has a lovely terrace where people are seen relaxing with friends and hosting events like baby showers, anniversary parties, etc.
I went with a friend and we danced on the ground floor for a while after which we decided to move upstairs where things were quieter and there was no music. We ordered two mojitos. I ordered a virgin mojito. The mélange of fresh mint and lemons was what I really needed to relax after all that dancing. Our starters arrived really quickly.
The food has been customized to suit the palate of the “West Delhi Crowd” and the Chef has done a really good job with the fusion. The “Spicy Chilly Chicken” for instance is a hot seller and was recommended to us by the Chef. I loved every last bite of it. Buzz doesn’t claim to be something it isn’t - it is a fusion restaurant and they claim to be nothing else! They have been through several trial runs, tasting sessions, etc. and have created several hundred dishes to ensure they suit the taste of the crowd they are meant to be catering to.
Take the dim sum for instance, it did not have a very thin translucent covering, it was a wholesome, chunky, filling and fresh “Chicken and Chive Dim Sum” served in a typical bamboo container.
The “Semolina Prawns with Ginger Pickle” were a very unusual taste. They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside the ginger pickle (shredded pickled pieces of ginger) was a great accompaniment, as was the mustard mayonnaise dip.
The menu was quite elaborate and we looked over the menu sipping our drinks as we discussed what we could possibly order for the main course. The staff was very attentive and supportive to our needs.
The owners of the restaurant also came to discuss the food and the idea of this interesting franchise of Buzz with us. We were quite impressed to see how both owners (one of whom is a professional model) were so hands on. They knew exactly what was going on in the kitchen, they worked on making the menu as authentic to West Delhi as possible and they stayed at the restaurant until very late at night (despite having families) to ensure everything worked smoothly at their new venture.
Our main course was “Peri Peri Chicken” and “Penne Genovese Pesto”. I asked for my French fries to be replaced with more greens, which they happily did. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the sauce had a kick to it. I would have liked my vegetables to be seasoned properly but overall it was a decent main course. The pasta came with a delicious slice of garlic bread and tasted quite good. Pasta doesn’t have a strong flavor on its own so when a good tasting pesto sauce is added to it its taste enhances two fold. This pasta had green pesto, which is based on basil, with some garlic and cheese, usually Parmesan (at least I think it was Parmesan and some pine nuts. The portions were quite large and we had to order more drinks and spend more time at the restaurant to ensure we had finished it all.
The restaurant owners recommended us some butter chicken with naan, which I missed. I would probably go back to Buzz again to try some of the typical West Delhi favourites.
XOXO
Shivangi
ShivangiReviews.com
What struck me most about Buzz in Punjabi Bagh is that there is no other lounge/club in the vicinity. No wonder Buzz is always buzzing with people.
When we reached Punjabi Bagh, we were to go to the third floor and a family, which included an elderly lady and a toddler, were in the lift with us. We thought they might be going to another restaurant but we were rather surprised to see that Buzz is the kind of place where one section is completely enjoyed by the whole family.
I learnt from the owners that the place also had a special “Navratra Menu” to cater to the needs of the religious neighbourhood. It has a lovely terrace where people are seen relaxing with friends and hosting events like baby showers, anniversary parties, etc.
I went with a friend and we danced on the ground floor for a while after which we decided to move upstairs where things were quieter and there was no music. We ordered two mojitos. I ordered a virgin mojito. The mélange of fresh mint and lemons was what I really needed to relax after all that dancing. Our starters arrived really quickly.
The food has been customized to suit the palate of the “West Delhi Crowd” and the Chef has done a really good job with the fusion. The “Spicy Chilly Chicken” for instance is a hot seller and was recommended to us by the Chef. I loved every last bite of it. Buzz doesn’t claim to be something it isn’t - it is a fusion restaurant and they claim to be nothing else! They have been through several trial runs, tasting sessions, etc. and have created several hundred dishes to ensure they suit the taste of the crowd they are meant to be catering to.
Take the dim sum for instance, it did not have a very thin translucent covering, it was a wholesome, chunky, filling and fresh “Chicken and Chive Dim Sum” served in a typical bamboo container.
The “Semolina Prawns with Ginger Pickle” were a very unusual taste. They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside the ginger pickle (shredded pickled pieces of ginger) was a great accompaniment, as was the mustard mayonnaise dip.
The menu was quite elaborate and we looked over the menu sipping our drinks as we discussed what we could possibly order for the main course. The staff was very attentive and supportive to our needs.
The owners of the restaurant also came to discuss the food and the idea of this interesting franchise of Buzz with us. We were quite impressed to see how both owners (one of whom is a professional model) were so hands on. They knew exactly what was going on in the kitchen, they worked on making the menu as authentic to West Delhi as possible and they stayed at the restaurant until very late at night (despite having families) to ensure everything worked smoothly at their new venture.
Our main course was “Peri Peri Chicken” and “Penne Genovese Pesto”. I asked for my French fries to be replaced with more greens, which they happily did. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the sauce had a kick to it. I would have liked my vegetables to be seasoned properly but overall it was a decent main course. The pasta came with a delicious slice of garlic bread and tasted quite good. Pasta doesn’t have a strong flavor on its own so when a good tasting pesto sauce is added to it its taste enhances two fold. This pasta had green pesto, which is based on basil, with some garlic and cheese, usually Parmesan (at least I think it was Parmesan and some pine nuts. The portions were quite large and we had to order more drinks and spend more time at the restaurant to ensure we had finished it all.
The restaurant owners recommended us some butter chicken with naan, which I missed. I would probably go back to Buzz again to try some of the typical West Delhi favourites.
XOXO
Shivangi
ShivangiReviews.com
I start a new series I shot this morning at 6am, at Banganga Walkeshwar, Pitru Visarjan 2009 .
I shot this a few years back and it was because of Ranjit Shashank of PSI Mumbai who won accolades and awards for one of his pictures shot at this event at a photography competition.
So this is my tribute to him.
The migrants from Uttar Pradesh collect at this place , have their heads tonsured , and than appease the Almighty to bless the souls of their ancestors , who come down to earth on this day a day before Navratra begins..
I give you a link of a person who has described it beautifully in his blogs..
soullens.blogspot.com/2008/09/shradhs-or-pitru-paksha.html
"To ensure that the soul does not remain in a subtle body hovering on this earth planet, but will attain a comfortable body for enjoyment on pitr loka, offerings are made to the departed person and the pitrs. During the asauca period daily offerings of sesame and water, and pinda (rice mixed with sesame, ghee and honey) are given to the departed person. On the eleventh day (for a close relative of a brahmana) the house is purified, eleven brahmanas are fed and offerings are made to the deceased. Beginning on that day, for the first year, monthly sraddha ceremonies should be held. As well, in the sixth and twelfth month additional sraddhas should be conducted. Then every year, on the tithi of the decease, annual sraddhas should be conducted."
THE RITUAL OF SHRAADDH
From the Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva,
Section LXXXIV + Sec.XCII
I shot this for about 3 hours than returned home tired and totally dehydrated I was bare feet and on my 27 th fast of Ramzan.
Pitru Visarjan I did not want to miss this year so I came here after partaking my fast.. to share the quintessential nature of my ongoing series on Hope and Hindutva a message of Peace.
There is an incident I must mention here , I saw a Muslim man with beard and a skull cap in this totally Hindu surroundings I am an exception I dont look what I am because of my attire and my outlook.
I shot the Muslim man from far , later I approached him, I asked him politely what had bought him here , he pointed down below his Hindu friend who bald was undergoing prayers for the soul of his ancestors.
For me this is the nature of Indianess that I like, it touches us all despite our religiosity the sense of sharing our cultures, mutual coexistence and peace and amity..
95,452 items / 583,777 views
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
Ramlila is a dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Lord Ram, ending up in ten-day battle between Lord Ram and Ravan, as described in the Hindu religious epic, the Ramayana.
A tradition that originates from the Indian subcontinent, the play is staged annually often over ten or more successive nights, during the auspicious period of 'Sharad Navratras', which marks the commencement of the Autumn festive period, starting with the Dussehra festival.
What struck me most about Buzz in Punjabi Bagh is that there is no other lounge/club in the vicinity. No wonder Buzz is always buzzing with people.
When we reached Punjabi Bagh, we were to go to the third floor and a family, which included an elderly lady and a toddler, were in the lift with us. We thought they might be going to another restaurant but we were rather surprised to see that Buzz is the kind of place where one section is completely enjoyed by the whole family.
I learnt from the owners that the place also had a special “Navratra Menu” to cater to the needs of the religious neighbourhood. It has a lovely terrace where people are seen relaxing with friends and hosting events like baby showers, anniversary parties, etc.
I went with a friend and we danced on the ground floor for a while after which we decided to move upstairs where things were quieter and there was no music. We ordered two mojitos. I ordered a virgin mojito. The mélange of fresh mint and lemons was what I really needed to relax after all that dancing. Our starters arrived really quickly.
The food has been customized to suit the palate of the “West Delhi Crowd” and the Chef has done a really good job with the fusion. The “Spicy Chilly Chicken” for instance is a hot seller and was recommended to us by the Chef. I loved every last bite of it. Buzz doesn’t claim to be something it isn’t - it is a fusion restaurant and they claim to be nothing else! They have been through several trial runs, tasting sessions, etc. and have created several hundred dishes to ensure they suit the taste of the crowd they are meant to be catering to.
Take the dim sum for instance, it did not have a very thin translucent covering, it was a wholesome, chunky, filling and fresh “Chicken and Chive Dim Sum” served in a typical bamboo container.
The “Semolina Prawns with Ginger Pickle” were a very unusual taste. They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside the ginger pickle (shredded pickled pieces of ginger) was a great accompaniment, as was the mustard mayonnaise dip.
The menu was quite elaborate and we looked over the menu sipping our drinks as we discussed what we could possibly order for the main course. The staff was very attentive and supportive to our needs.
The owners of the restaurant also came to discuss the food and the idea of this interesting franchise of Buzz with us. We were quite impressed to see how both owners (one of whom is a professional model) were so hands on. They knew exactly what was going on in the kitchen, they worked on making the menu as authentic to West Delhi as possible and they stayed at the restaurant until very late at night (despite having families) to ensure everything worked smoothly at their new venture.
Our main course was “Peri Peri Chicken” and “Penne Genovese Pesto”. I asked for my French fries to be replaced with more greens, which they happily did. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the sauce had a kick to it. I would have liked my vegetables to be seasoned properly but overall it was a decent main course. The pasta came with a delicious slice of garlic bread and tasted quite good. Pasta doesn’t have a strong flavor on its own so when a good tasting pesto sauce is added to it its taste enhances two fold. This pasta had green pesto, which is based on basil, with some garlic and cheese, usually Parmesan (at least I think it was Parmesan and some pine nuts. The portions were quite large and we had to order more drinks and spend more time at the restaurant to ensure we had finished it all.
The restaurant owners recommended us some butter chicken with naan, which I missed. I would probably go back to Buzz again to try some of the typical West Delhi favourites.
XOXO
Shivangi
ShivangiReviews.com
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
Karni Mata Temple (Hindi: करणी माता मंदिर) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Karni Mata at Deshnoke, 30 km from Bikaner, in Rajasthan, India. It is also known as the Temple of Rats.
The temple is famous for the approximately 25,000 black rats that live, and are revered, in the temple. These holy rats are called kabbas, and many people travel great distances to pay their respects. The temple draws visitors from across the country for blessings, as well as curious tourists from around the world.
THE LEGEND
Legend has it that Laxman, son of Karni mata, drowned in a pond in Kapil Sarovar in Kolayat Tehsil while he was attempting to drink from it. Karni Mata implored Yama, the god of death, to revive him. First refusing, Yama eventually relented, permitting Laxman and all of Karni Mata's male children to be reincarnated as rats.
Eating food that has been nibbled on by the rats is considered to be a "high honour". If one of them is killed, it must be replaced with another one made of solid silver.
ARCHITECTURE
The building was completed in its current form in the early 20th century in the late Mughal style by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner.
In front of the temple is a beautiful marble facade, which has solid silver doors built by Maharaja Ganga Singh. Across the doorway are more silver doors with panels depicting the various legends of the Goddess. The image of the Goddess is enshrined in the inner sanctum.
WHITE RATS
Out of all of the thousands of rats in the temple, there are a few white rats, which are considered to be especially holy. They are believed to be the manifestations of Karni Mata herself and her four sons. Sighting them is a special blessing and visitors put in extensive efforts to bring them forth, offering prasad, a sweet holy food. There is not any case of any disease being spread by the rats to date.
WORSHIP AND FAIR
WORSHIP
The temple is opened to the public early in the morning at 04:00. Charan priests perform Mangla-Ki-Aarti and offer bhog (special food) in worship. Devotees make offerings to the rats, which roam about the temple in large numbers and are considered auspicious. There are two kinds of offerings made: the 'dwar-bhent' is attributed to the priests and the workers, while the 'kalash-bhent' is utilised for the temple maintenance and development.
KARNI MATA FAIR
Karni Mata Fair is held twice a year at Deshnok:
The first and larger fair is held in March–April during the Navratras from Chaitra Shukla Ekam to Chaitra Shukla Dashmi.
The second fair is held in September–October, also during the Navratras, from Ashvin Shukla to Ashwin Shukla Dashmi.
During Navratri thousands of people travel to the temple by foot.
APPEARANCES IN MEDIA
The temple appeared on the first season of the American reality television series The Amazing Race.
Because of its revered rat population, the temple was featured in the 2016 documentary film Rats, directed by Morgan Spurlock.
The Temple was also featured in Season 2, Episode 3 of "Mighty Trains," The Maharaja's Express as a stop on the week-long train route.
WIKIPEDIA
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
What struck me most about Buzz in Punjabi Bagh is that there is no other lounge/club in the vicinity. No wonder Buzz is always buzzing with people.
When we reached Punjabi Bagh, we were to go to the third floor and a family, which included an elderly lady and a toddler, were in the lift with us. We thought they might be going to another restaurant but we were rather surprised to see that Buzz is the kind of place where one section is completely enjoyed by the whole family.
I learnt from the owners that the place also had a special “Navratra Menu” to cater to the needs of the religious neighbourhood. It has a lovely terrace where people are seen relaxing with friends and hosting events like baby showers, anniversary parties, etc.
I went with a friend and we danced on the ground floor for a while after which we decided to move upstairs where things were quieter and there was no music. We ordered two mojitos. I ordered a virgin mojito. The mélange of fresh mint and lemons was what I really needed to relax after all that dancing. Our starters arrived really quickly.
The food has been customized to suit the palate of the “West Delhi Crowd” and the Chef has done a really good job with the fusion. The “Spicy Chilly Chicken” for instance is a hot seller and was recommended to us by the Chef. I loved every last bite of it. Buzz doesn’t claim to be something it isn’t - it is a fusion restaurant and they claim to be nothing else! They have been through several trial runs, tasting sessions, etc. and have created several hundred dishes to ensure they suit the taste of the crowd they are meant to be catering to.
Take the dim sum for instance, it did not have a very thin translucent covering, it was a wholesome, chunky, filling and fresh “Chicken and Chive Dim Sum” served in a typical bamboo container.
The “Semolina Prawns with Ginger Pickle” were a very unusual taste. They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside the ginger pickle (shredded pickled pieces of ginger) was a great accompaniment, as was the mustard mayonnaise dip.
The menu was quite elaborate and we looked over the menu sipping our drinks as we discussed what we could possibly order for the main course. The staff was very attentive and supportive to our needs.
The owners of the restaurant also came to discuss the food and the idea of this interesting franchise of Buzz with us. We were quite impressed to see how both owners (one of whom is a professional model) were so hands on. They knew exactly what was going on in the kitchen, they worked on making the menu as authentic to West Delhi as possible and they stayed at the restaurant until very late at night (despite having families) to ensure everything worked smoothly at their new venture.
Our main course was “Peri Peri Chicken” and “Penne Genovese Pesto”. I asked for my French fries to be replaced with more greens, which they happily did. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the sauce had a kick to it. I would have liked my vegetables to be seasoned properly but overall it was a decent main course. The pasta came with a delicious slice of garlic bread and tasted quite good. Pasta doesn’t have a strong flavor on its own so when a good tasting pesto sauce is added to it its taste enhances two fold. This pasta had green pesto, which is based on basil, with some garlic and cheese, usually Parmesan (at least I think it was Parmesan and some pine nuts. The portions were quite large and we had to order more drinks and spend more time at the restaurant to ensure we had finished it all.
The restaurant owners recommended us some butter chicken with naan, which I missed. I would probably go back to Buzz again to try some of the typical West Delhi favourites.
XOXO
Shivangi
ShivangiReviews.com
What struck me most about Buzz in Punjabi Bagh is that there is no other lounge/club in the vicinity. No wonder Buzz is always buzzing with people.
When we reached Punjabi Bagh, we were to go to the third floor and a family, which included an elderly lady and a toddler, were in the lift with us. We thought they might be going to another restaurant but we were rather surprised to see that Buzz is the kind of place where one section is completely enjoyed by the whole family.
I learnt from the owners that the place also had a special “Navratra Menu” to cater to the needs of the religious neighbourhood. It has a lovely terrace where people are seen relaxing with friends and hosting events like baby showers, anniversary parties, etc.
I went with a friend and we danced on the ground floor for a while after which we decided to move upstairs where things were quieter and there was no music. We ordered two mojitos. I ordered a virgin mojito. The mélange of fresh mint and lemons was what I really needed to relax after all that dancing. Our starters arrived really quickly.
The food has been customized to suit the palate of the “West Delhi Crowd” and the Chef has done a really good job with the fusion. The “Spicy Chilly Chicken” for instance is a hot seller and was recommended to us by the Chef. I loved every last bite of it. Buzz doesn’t claim to be something it isn’t - it is a fusion restaurant and they claim to be nothing else! They have been through several trial runs, tasting sessions, etc. and have created several hundred dishes to ensure they suit the taste of the crowd they are meant to be catering to.
Take the dim sum for instance, it did not have a very thin translucent covering, it was a wholesome, chunky, filling and fresh “Chicken and Chive Dim Sum” served in a typical bamboo container.
The “Semolina Prawns with Ginger Pickle” were a very unusual taste. They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside the ginger pickle (shredded pickled pieces of ginger) was a great accompaniment, as was the mustard mayonnaise dip.
The menu was quite elaborate and we looked over the menu sipping our drinks as we discussed what we could possibly order for the main course. The staff was very attentive and supportive to our needs.
The owners of the restaurant also came to discuss the food and the idea of this interesting franchise of Buzz with us. We were quite impressed to see how both owners (one of whom is a professional model) were so hands on. They knew exactly what was going on in the kitchen, they worked on making the menu as authentic to West Delhi as possible and they stayed at the restaurant until very late at night (despite having families) to ensure everything worked smoothly at their new venture.
Our main course was “Peri Peri Chicken” and “Penne Genovese Pesto”. I asked for my French fries to be replaced with more greens, which they happily did. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the sauce had a kick to it. I would have liked my vegetables to be seasoned properly but overall it was a decent main course. The pasta came with a delicious slice of garlic bread and tasted quite good. Pasta doesn’t have a strong flavor on its own so when a good tasting pesto sauce is added to it its taste enhances two fold. This pasta had green pesto, which is based on basil, with some garlic and cheese, usually Parmesan (at least I think it was Parmesan and some pine nuts. The portions were quite large and we had to order more drinks and spend more time at the restaurant to ensure we had finished it all.
The restaurant owners recommended us some butter chicken with naan, which I missed. I would probably go back to Buzz again to try some of the typical West Delhi favourites.
XOXO
Shivangi
ShivangiReviews.com
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
The spiritual headquarters of Sanyas Ashram was first established 375 years ago at Suratgiri Bangla, Kankhal, Haridwar, Uttrakhand, India along the Vedic lines of the holy Dashnami Tradition as propagated by Jagadguru Shri Adi Shankaracharya. The ninth Pontiff (Peethadhishwar) of the holy lineage of this tradition His Holines Brahmleen Shri 1008 Mahamandleshwar Swami Maheshwaranand Giri Ji Maharaj first came to Mumbai in mid-1940s and laid the foundation of Sanyas Ashram on 20th January 1945 in the suburb of Vile Parle (West) for propagation of Sanatan Dharma or universal virtues amongst mankind. The fledging Ashram became a full-fledged temple complex in 1952 when the Prana Pratistha of various life-like and life-size deities was performed. Shri Swami Ji Maharaj left for eternal journey on 01st May 1970 at the holy banks of Ganga, Haridwar and His Holiness Brahmleen Shri 1008 Mahamandleshwar Swami Brahmanand Giri Ji Maharaj was crowned as tenth Pontiff (Peethadhishwar) of the lineage. Two decades of 1970s and 1980s oversaw the temple complex prosper and grow into a mammoth centre of spiritual, cultural, religious, and educational activity and development. In mid 1990s, Shri Swami Ji Maharaj retired at Suratgiri Bangla, Haridwar and handed over the charge of Sanyas Ashram to Mahamandleshwar Shri Swami Vishveshwaranand Giri Ji Maharaj, who became the eleventh Pontiff (Peethadhishwar) in the holy lineage of Gurus and also the current President. Sanyas Ashram continues to grow into nationwide institution, now under the competent vision of His Holiness Shri 1008 Mahamandleshwar Swami Vishveshwaranand Giri Ji Maharaj and has established many branches under his administration. Sanyas Ashram is very close to Vile-Parle Railway Station. It’s just 10 minutes’ walk. Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Domestic Airport and Sahar International Airport are also close whereas person can reach in just 15- 20 minutes. One can reach Ashram from any directions of the city through S.V.Road or eastern express highway very easily.
Spreaded in 5acre land with numerous deities for worship every year approximately there are 2 lacs visitors and average 200 regular devotees come here for Discourses and to worship. Ashram runs a wide Gaushala where presently 30 cows are maintained with religious tradition. Always there’s a heavy crowd during big festivals like Shravan Somwar, Khodiyar Utsav, Janmashtmi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratra. Being surrounded by many societies, colleges and residential area, there is a crowd through-out the day but people feel peaceful coming here. Having 20-30 regular saints and inmates’ ashram is running Sanskrit Vidyalaya with regular 40-50 students providing lodging-boarding and with learned Acharyas (Teachers) giving vedic knowledge. Green trees in the surrounding of the Ashram add beauty to the entrance.
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
What struck me most about Buzz in Punjabi Bagh is that there is no other lounge/club in the vicinity. No wonder Buzz is always buzzing with people.
When we reached Punjabi Bagh, we were to go to the third floor and a family, which included an elderly lady and a toddler, were in the lift with us. We thought they might be going to another restaurant but we were rather surprised to see that Buzz is the kind of place where one section is completely enjoyed by the whole family.
I learnt from the owners that the place also had a special “Navratra Menu” to cater to the needs of the religious neighbourhood. It has a lovely terrace where people are seen relaxing with friends and hosting events like baby showers, anniversary parties, etc.
I went with a friend and we danced on the ground floor for a while after which we decided to move upstairs where things were quieter and there was no music. We ordered two mojitos. I ordered a virgin mojito. The mélange of fresh mint and lemons was what I really needed to relax after all that dancing. Our starters arrived really quickly.
The food has been customized to suit the palate of the “West Delhi Crowd” and the Chef has done a really good job with the fusion. The “Spicy Chilly Chicken” for instance is a hot seller and was recommended to us by the Chef. I loved every last bite of it. Buzz doesn’t claim to be something it isn’t - it is a fusion restaurant and they claim to be nothing else! They have been through several trial runs, tasting sessions, etc. and have created several hundred dishes to ensure they suit the taste of the crowd they are meant to be catering to.
Take the dim sum for instance, it did not have a very thin translucent covering, it was a wholesome, chunky, filling and fresh “Chicken and Chive Dim Sum” served in a typical bamboo container.
The “Semolina Prawns with Ginger Pickle” were a very unusual taste. They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside the ginger pickle (shredded pickled pieces of ginger) was a great accompaniment, as was the mustard mayonnaise dip.
The menu was quite elaborate and we looked over the menu sipping our drinks as we discussed what we could possibly order for the main course. The staff was very attentive and supportive to our needs.
The owners of the restaurant also came to discuss the food and the idea of this interesting franchise of Buzz with us. We were quite impressed to see how both owners (one of whom is a professional model) were so hands on. They knew exactly what was going on in the kitchen, they worked on making the menu as authentic to West Delhi as possible and they stayed at the restaurant until very late at night (despite having families) to ensure everything worked smoothly at their new venture.
Our main course was “Peri Peri Chicken” and “Penne Genovese Pesto”. I asked for my French fries to be replaced with more greens, which they happily did. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the sauce had a kick to it. I would have liked my vegetables to be seasoned properly but overall it was a decent main course. The pasta came with a delicious slice of garlic bread and tasted quite good. Pasta doesn’t have a strong flavor on its own so when a good tasting pesto sauce is added to it its taste enhances two fold. This pasta had green pesto, which is based on basil, with some garlic and cheese, usually Parmesan (at least I think it was Parmesan and some pine nuts. The portions were quite large and we had to order more drinks and spend more time at the restaurant to ensure we had finished it all.
The restaurant owners recommended us some butter chicken with naan, which I missed. I would probably go back to Buzz again to try some of the typical West Delhi favourites.
XOXO
Shivangi
ShivangiReviews.com
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
Dissehra is a festival of nine days with the celebrations happening on the 10th day. The nine days before Dussehra are called Navratri and Dussehra is also called Vijay Dashmi. On the first navratra, barley in planted. In our house we plant it in 5 different pots and till the seeds sprout, they are covered with large leaves.
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
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What struck me most about Buzz in Punjabi Bagh is that there is no other lounge/club in the vicinity. No wonder Buzz is always buzzing with people.
When we reached Punjabi Bagh, we were to go to the third floor and a family, which included an elderly lady and a toddler, were in the lift with us. We thought they might be going to another restaurant but we were rather surprised to see that Buzz is the kind of place where one section is completely enjoyed by the whole family.
I learnt from the owners that the place also had a special “Navratra Menu” to cater to the needs of the religious neighbourhood. It has a lovely terrace where people are seen relaxing with friends and hosting events like baby showers, anniversary parties, etc.
I went with a friend and we danced on the ground floor for a while after which we decided to move upstairs where things were quieter and there was no music. We ordered two mojitos. I ordered a virgin mojito. The mélange of fresh mint and lemons was what I really needed to relax after all that dancing. Our starters arrived really quickly.
The food has been customized to suit the palate of the “West Delhi Crowd” and the Chef has done a really good job with the fusion. The “Spicy Chilly Chicken” for instance is a hot seller and was recommended to us by the Chef. I loved every last bite of it. Buzz doesn’t claim to be something it isn’t - it is a fusion restaurant and they claim to be nothing else! They have been through several trial runs, tasting sessions, etc. and have created several hundred dishes to ensure they suit the taste of the crowd they are meant to be catering to.
Take the dim sum for instance, it did not have a very thin translucent covering, it was a wholesome, chunky, filling and fresh “Chicken and Chive Dim Sum” served in a typical bamboo container.
The “Semolina Prawns with Ginger Pickle” were a very unusual taste. They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside the ginger pickle (shredded pickled pieces of ginger) was a great accompaniment, as was the mustard mayonnaise dip.
The menu was quite elaborate and we looked over the menu sipping our drinks as we discussed what we could possibly order for the main course. The staff was very attentive and supportive to our needs.
The owners of the restaurant also came to discuss the food and the idea of this interesting franchise of Buzz with us. We were quite impressed to see how both owners (one of whom is a professional model) were so hands on. They knew exactly what was going on in the kitchen, they worked on making the menu as authentic to West Delhi as possible and they stayed at the restaurant until very late at night (despite having families) to ensure everything worked smoothly at their new venture.
Our main course was “Peri Peri Chicken” and “Penne Genovese Pesto”. I asked for my French fries to be replaced with more greens, which they happily did. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the sauce had a kick to it. I would have liked my vegetables to be seasoned properly but overall it was a decent main course. The pasta came with a delicious slice of garlic bread and tasted quite good. Pasta doesn’t have a strong flavor on its own so when a good tasting pesto sauce is added to it its taste enhances two fold. This pasta had green pesto, which is based on basil, with some garlic and cheese, usually Parmesan (at least I think it was Parmesan and some pine nuts. The portions were quite large and we had to order more drinks and spend more time at the restaurant to ensure we had finished it all.
The restaurant owners recommended us some butter chicken with naan, which I missed. I would probably go back to Buzz again to try some of the typical West Delhi favourites.
XOXO
Shivangi
ShivangiReviews.com
Navaratri is a festival dedicated to the worship of the Hindu deity Durga. The word Navaratri means 'nine nights' in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights.[2] During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Devi are worshipped. The tenth day is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami or "Dussehra" (also spelled Dasara). Navaratri is an important major festival and is celebrated all over India and Nepal. Diwali the festival of lights is celebrated twenty days after Dasara. Though there are total five types of Navaratri that come in a year, but Sharad Navaratri is the most popular one. Hence, the term Navaratri is being used for Sharada Navaratri here.[3]
The beginning of spring and the beginning of autumn are considered to be important junctions of climatic and solar influences. These two periods are taken as sacred opportunities for the worship of the Divine Mother Durga. The dates of the festival are determined according to the lunar calendar. on which each women follow tradition to wear nine colours of dress on Navaratri.
Navaratri represents a celebration of the Goddess Amba, (the Power).
Navaratri or Navadurga Parva happens to be the most auspicious and unique period of devotional sadhanas and worship of Shakti (the sublime, ultimate, absolute creative energy) of the Divine conceptualized as the Mother Goddess-Durga, whose worship dates back to prehistoric times before the dawn of the Vedic age.
A whole chapter in the tenth mandal of the Rigveda addresses the devotional sadhanas of Shakti. The "Devi Sukta" and "Isha Sukta" of the Rigveda and "Ratri Sukta" of the Samveda similarly sing paeans of praise of sadhanas of Shakti. In fact, before the beginning of the legendary war between the Pandavas and Kauravas in the Mahabharata – a foundational Sanskrit epic in the Hindu tradition – Lord Krishna worshipped Durga, the Goddess of Shakti, for the victory of the Pandvas.
Lord Brahma is cited in the Markandey Purana as mentioning to Rishi Markandey that the first incarnation of Shakti was as Shailputri. Further incarnations of the Divine Mother are: Brahmcharñi, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri in that order. These nine manifestations of Shakti, are worshipped as "Nava-Durga". The fifth chapter of the Rudra Sanhita of Shiva Purana also vividly describes the various Divine Emanations of Durga.
Since the Vedic Age of the Rishies, the devotional practices recommended during Navaratri are primarily those of Gayatri Anushthana.
In the Vedic Age of the Indian Culture, the religious philosophy and devotional practices were focused towards true knowledge and ultimate realization of the supreme power of Gayatri (Bram Shakti). The Vedas were the basis of all streams of spirituality and science those days. Gayatri has been the source of the divine powers of the gods and goddesses in the heavens and their angelic manifestations and incarnations. Gayatri sadhana was also paramount in the higher level spiritual endeavors of the yogis and tapaswis. Gayatri Mantra was the core-focus of daily practice of sandhya-vandan (meditation and devotional worship) for everyone. As guided by the rishis, specific sadhanas and upasanas of the Gayatri Mantra were sincerely practiced during the festival period of Navaratri by every aspirant of spiritual enlightenment.
Celebrations[edit]
The Navaratri commences on the first day (pratipada) of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Ashwin. The festival is celebrated for nine nights once every year during the beginning of October, although as the dates of the festival are determined according to the lunar calendar, the festival may be held for a day more or a day less.
Navaratri Day 1 Pratipada : Ghatasthapana Shailputri Pujan
Navaratri Day 2 Dwitiya : Chandra Darshan Brahmacharini Pujan
Navaratri Day 3 Tritiya : Sindoor Tritiya Chandraghanta Pujan
Navaratri Day 4 chaturthi : Varad Vinayaka Chauth
Navaratri Day 5 Panchami : Upang Lalita Vrat Skandamata Pujan
Navaratri Day 6 Shashthi : Saraswati Awahan Katyayani Pujan
Navaratri Day 7 Saptami : Saraswati Puja Kalaratri Pujan
Navaratri Day 8 Ashtami : Durga Ashtami Mahagauri Pujan Sandhi Puja, Maha Ashtami
Navaratri Day 9 Navami : Ayudha Puja Durga Visarjan, Maha Navami
On Sunday goddess wears red/maroon. On Monday goddess wears white or cream. On Tuesday goddess wears orange. On Wednesday goddess wears green. On Thursday goddess wears yellow. On Friday goddess wears silver. On Saturday goddess wears blue or peacock.
Navaratri is celebrated Four times a year. They are Vasanta Navaratri, Ashadha Navaratri, the Sharad Navaratri, and the Paush/Magha Navaratri. Of these, the Sharad Navaratri of the month of Puratashi and the Vasanta Navaratri of the Vasanta kala are the most important.Other two are observed only by shaktas only
Vasanta Navaratri: Vasanta Navaratri, it's nine days are dedicated to the nine forms of Shakti (Mother Goddess) in the month of Chaitra (March–April) and is observed during the Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of moon) of Chaitra. The beginning of this Navaratri also marks the start of the new year as per the Hindu mythological lunar calendar (Vikrami Samvat).
Ashad Navaratri : Gupta Navaratri, also referred as Ashadha or Gayatri or Shakambhari Navaratri, is nine days dedicated to the nine forms of Shakti (Mother Goddess) in the month of Ashadha (June–July). Gupta Navaratri is observed during the Ashadha Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of moon). This is mostly observed by shaktas only
Sharad Navaratri: This is the most important of the Navaratris. It is simply called Maha Navaratri (the Great Navaratri) and is celebrated in the 'pratipada' (first day) of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Ashvin. Also known as Sharad Navaratri, as it is celebrated during Sharad (beginning of winter, September–October).
Pausha/Magha Navaratri: Pausha Navaratri, also referred as Shakambari Navaratri, is eight days dedicated to the nine forms of Shakti (Mother Goddess) in the month of (December–January). Paush Navaratri is observed during the Pausha Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of moon). Shakambhari Purnima is the last day in the 8-day long holiday of Shakambari Navaratri. Most Navaratri begins on Shukla Pratipada except for Shakambari Navaratri, which begins on Ashtami and ends on Purnima in Paush month.[4]
The Story of Vasanta Navaratri[edit]
In days long gone by, King Dooshibago was killed by a lion when he went out hunting. Preparations were made to crown the prince Sudarsana. But, King Yudhajit of Ujjain, the father of Queen Lilavati, and King Virasena of Kalinga, the father of Queen Manorama, were each desirous of securing the Kosala throne for their respective grandsons. They fought with each other. King Virasena was killed in the battle. Manorama fled to the forest with Prince Sudarsana and a eunuch. They took refuge in the hermitage of Rishi Bharadwaja.
The victor, King Yudhajit, thereupon crowned his grandson, Satrujit, at Ayodhya, the capital of Kosala. He then went out in search of Manorama and her son. The Rishi said that he would not give up those who had sought protection under him. Yudhajit became furious. He wanted to attack the Rishi. But, his minister told him about the truth of the Rishi's statement. Yudhajit returned to his capital.
Fortune smiled on Prince Sudarsana. A hermit's son came one day and called the eunuch by his Sanskrit name Kleeba. The prince caught the first syllable Kli and began to pronounce it as Kleem. This syllable happened to be a powerful, sacred Mantra. It is the Bija Akshara (root syllable) of the Divine Mother. The Prince obtained peace of mind and the Grace of the Divine Mother by the repeated utterance of this syllable. Devi appeared to him, blessed him and granted him divine weapons and an inexhaustible quiver.
The emissaries of the king of Benares passed through the Ashram of the Rishi and, when they saw the noble prince Sudarsana, they recommended him to Princess Sashikala, the daughter of the king of Benares.
The ceremony at which the princess was to choose her spouse was arranged. Sashikala at once chose Sudarsana. They were duly wedded. King Yudhajit, who had been present at the function, began to fight with the king of Benares. Devis helped Sudarsana and his father-in-law. Yudhajit mocked Her, upon which Devi promptly reduced Yudhajit and his army to ashes.
Thus Sudarsana, with his wife and his father-in-law, praised Devi. She was highly pleased and ordered them to worship her with havan and other means during the Vasanta Navarathri. Then she disappeared.
Prince Sudarsana and Sashikala returned to the Ashram of Rishi Bharadwaja. The great Rishi blessed them and crowned Sudarsana as the king of Kosala. Sudarsana and Sashikala and the king of Benares implicitly carried out the commands of the Divine Mother and performed worship in a splendid manner during the Vasanta Navarathri.
Sudarsana's descendants Sri Rama and Lakshmana also performed worship of Devi during the Sharad Navarathri and were blessed with Her assistance in the recovery of Sita.
According to the Krittibas Ramayana, Rama invoked the goddess Durga in his epic battle against Ravana. Although Goddess Durga was traditionally worshipped in the late spring, due to contingencies of battle, Lord Rama had to invoke her in the form of astam (eighth) Mahavidya (Maa Bagla) in the autumn and thus is known as akaal bodhan (invoking out of scheduled time). This autumnal ritual was different from the conventional Durga Puja, which is usually celebrated in the springtime. So, this Puja is also known as 'akal-bodhan' or out-of-season ('akal') worship ('bodhan'). This Rama's date for the Navaratri puja has now gained ascendancy and culminates with Dusherra in North India on the following day.
Shardiya Navaratri[edit]
Shardiya Navaratri is the most popular and significant Navaratri of all Navaratris. That's why Shardiya Navaratri is also known as Maha Navaratri.
It falls in lunar month Ashwin during Sharad Ritu. The name Shardiya Navaratri has been taken from Sharad Ritu. All nine days during Navaratri are dedicated to nine forms of Goddess Shakti. Shardiya Navaratri falls in the month of September or October. The nine days festivity culminates on tenth day with Dussehra or Vijayadashami.
Forms of Shakti[edit]
Main article: Navadurga
Nine forms of Shakti are worshipped during the Navaratris. The Devis worshipped depend on the tradition of the region.
Durga
Bhadrakali
Amba or Jagadamba, Mother of the universe
Annapoorna devi, The one who bestows grains (anna) in plenty (purna: used as subjective)
Sarvamangala, The one who gives happiness (mangal) to all (sarva)
Bhairavi
Chandika or Chandi
Lalita
Bhavani
Mookambika
Rituals[edit]
A photo of the Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, scion of the Wodeyar dynasty
Late Srikanta Datta Wadiyar, Former Maharaja of Mysore inaugurating first day of Mysore Dasara
The Sharad Navratri commences on the first day (pratipada) of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Ashvin. The festival is celebrated for nine nights once every year during the beginning of October, although as the dates of the festival are determined according to the lunar calendar, the festival may be held for a day more or a day less.
Navaratri is celebrated in different ways throughout India. In North India, all three Navaratris are celebrated with much fervor by fasting on all nine days and worshiping the Mother Goddess in her different forms. The Chaitra Navaratri culminates in Ram Navami and the Sharad Navaratri culminates in Durga Puja and Dussehra. The Dussehra of Kullu in Himachal Pradesh is particularly famous in the North. Navaratri festival in Gujarat is one of the main festivals. Garba is a dance which people perform on all nine nights, after the Durga Pooja, in groups accompanied by live orchestra or devotional songs.
The last four days of Sharad Navaratri take on a particularly dramatic form in the state of West Bengal in eastern India where they are celebrated as Durga Puja.[5] This is the biggest festival of the year in this state. Exquisitely crafted and decorated life-size clay idols of the Goddess Durga depicting her slaying the demon Mahishasura are set up in temples and other places. These idols are then worshiped for five days and immersed in the river on the fifth day.
In the Punjab, Navaratri is known as Navratras or Naratey where the first seven days are for fasting. On the eighth day or Ashtami, devotees break their fasts by calling young girls home and these girls are treated as the goddess herself. They are called "Kanjak Devis". People ceremonially wash their feet, worship them and then offer food to the "girl-goddesses" giving them the traditional puri, halwa and chana to eat along with bangles and the red chunnis (scarves) to wear with a token amount of money as "shagun". The ninth day is then called Navami which means literally the ninth day of this holy and pious period.[6]
Another prevalent practice is of sowing pulses, cereals and other seeds on the first day of this festival in a pot which is watered for nine days at the end of which the seeds sprout. This pot is worshipped throughout the nine days. This custom is also indicative of fertility worship and is known as "Khetri". The barley grains planted on the first day of Navaratras, in the puja room of the house, are submerged in water after saying prayers on Dussehra. The sowing and reaping of barley is symbolic of the "first fruit".[6]
In Western India, particularly in the state of Gujarat and Mumbai, Navaratri is celebrated with the famous Garba and Dandiya-Raas dance. Since the past few years, the Government of Gujarat has been organising the "Navaratri Festival Celebrations" on a regular basis for the nine days of Navaratri Festival in Gujarat. People from all over Gujarat and even abroad come to participate in the nine-day celebration. It is also popular throughout India and among Indian communities around the world including the UK, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and USA.
In the temples of Goa,on the first day of the seventh month of the Hindu calendar Ashwin, in some temples, a copper pitcher is installed surrounded by clay in which nine varieties of food grains are sown inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. All the nine nights are celebrated by presenting devotional songs, and through religious discourses. Later in the night the idol of the goddess is put in a specially-decorated colourful swing and for nine nights, this swing is being swung to the tune of temple music (called as ranavadya) by devotees who throng in large numbers to participate in the festival.[7]
In Maharashtra, on the first day of month of Ashwin, Ghatasthapana is celebrated. An earthen pot is filled with water surrounded by clay in which foodgrains are sown and are allowed to sprout for nine days. Five stems of jowar are also placed over the pot. This arrangement is called the "Ghat". The ladies worship the pot for nine days by offering rituals and a garland of flowers, leaves, fruits, dry-fruits, etc. with a naivedya, and water is offered in order to get the seeds sprouted. Some families also celebrate Kaali pujan on days 1 and 2, Laxmi pujan on days 3, 4, 5 and Saraswati pujan on days 6, 7, 8, 9 along with Ghatasthapana. On the eighth day, a "Yajna" or "Hom" is performed in the name of Goddess Durga. On ninth day, the Ghat pujan is done and the Ghat is dissolved after taking off the sprouted leaves of the grains. In many families, a woman from Matang community is called and offered food and blessings are sought from her. She is considered as a form of the Goddess "Matangi". This process is called "पात्रं भरणे" in Marathi. On the occasion of Dasara or Vijayadashmi, the men go to the forest or farm and bring the leaves of the tree Apta. They worship iron in the form of utensils, weapons, etc. The iron equipments are washed and offered leaves of Apta called gold or "sona" and also leaves of the grains which were sprouted. On this day, a process called Vidyarambhan meaning beginning of learning takes place when small children are to write first alphabet.
In Tamil Nadu, people set up steps and place idols on them. This is known as golu. Photos of typical golu displayed in Tamil Nadu style can be found here.In the evening women in neighborhood invite each other to visit their homes to view Kolu displays, they exchange gifts and sweets. Kuthuvilakku lamp is lit, in the middle of a decorated Rangoli, devotional hymns and shlokas are chanted. After performing the puja, the food items that have been prepared are offered to the Goddess and then to the guests.On the 9th day Saraswati Puja, special pujas are offered to Goddess Saraswati, the divine source of wisdom and enlightenment. Books and musical instruments are placed in the puja and worshipped as a source of knowledge Ayudha Pooja , the worship of vehicles and instruments is the most important festival celebrated in tamilnadu on Navami day .Almost all mechanic shops , heavy industries celebrate ayudha Pooja to thank their instruments On this day one can see autos decorated with banana leaves and pumpkins broken.The 10th day, Vijayadasami – is the most auspicious day of all. It was the day on which evil was finally destroyed by good. It marks a new and prosperous beginning. New ventures started on this day are believed to flourish and bring prosperity. Kids often start tutoring on this day to have a head start in their education.
In the evening of "Vijayadasami", any one doll from the "Kolu" is symbolically put to sleep and the Kalasa is moved a bit towards North to mark the end of that year's Navaratri Kolu. Prayers are offered to thank God for the successful completion of that year's Kolu and with a hope of a successful one the next year. Then the Kolu is dismantled and packed up for the next year.
In temples of Tamil Nadu, navaratri is celebrated for the Devi's dwelling in each temples, The utsava murthy is decorated and vedic offerings are performed, Following by Chandi homa. Popular Tamil Nadu temples celebrating navaratri are Madurai madurai meenakshi temple, Chennai kapaleeswarar temple, Kulasekarapattinam devi temple, Perambur Ellaiamman temple, Srirangam Ranganathan temple.
In Karnataka, Ayudha Puja, the ninth day of Mysore Dasara, is celebrated with the worship of implements used in daily life such as computers, books, vehicles, or kitchen tools. The effort to see the divine in the tools and objects one uses in daily life is central to this celebration, so it includes all tools that help one earn one's livelihood. Knowledge workers go for books, pen or computers, farmers go for the plough and other agricultural tools, machinery for industrialists and cars/buses/trucks for the transportation workers—all are decorated with flowers and worshiped on this day invoking God's blessing for success in coming years. It is believed that any new venture such as starting of business or purchasing of new household items on this day is bound to bring success and prosperity.
Mysore is well known for the festivities that take place during the period of Dasara, the state festival of Karnataka. The Dasara festivities, which are celebrated over a ten-day period, it made official festival of the state by King Raja Wodeyar I in 1610.[8] On the ninth day of Dasara, called Mahanavami,[9] the royal sword is worshipped and is taken on a procession of decorated elephants, camels and horses.[8] On the tenth day, called Vijayadashami, the traditional Dasara procession (locally known as Jumboo Savari) is held on the streets of Mysore. An image of the Goddess Chamundeshwari is placed on a golden howdah on the back of a decorated elephant and taken on a procession, accompanied by tableaux, dance groups, music bands, decorated elephants, horses and camels.[8] The procession starts from the Mysore Palace and culminates at a place called Bannimantapa, where the banni tree (Prosopis spicigera) is worshipped.[8] The Dasara festivities culminate on the night of Vijayadashami with a torchlight parade, known locally as Panjina Kavayatthu.[8]
In Kerala and in some parts of Karnataka three days: Ashtami, Navami, and Vijaya Dashami of Sharad Navarathri are celebrated as Sarasvati Puja in which books are worshiped. The books are placed for Puja on the Ashtami day in own houses, traditional nursery schools, or in temples. On Vijaya Dashami day, the books are ceremoniously taken out for reading and writing after worshiping Sarasvati. Vijaya Dashami day is considered auspicious for initiating the children into writing and reading, which is called Vidyarambham. Tens of thousands of children are initiated into the world of letters on this day in Kerala.
In Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, people celebrate Bathukamma festival over a period of nine days. It is a kind of navaratri celebration.
Here Navaratri is divided into sets of three days to adore three different aspects of the supreme goddess or goddesses.
Effigy of Ravana being burnt
First three days: The goddess is separated a spiritual force called Durga also known as Kali in order to destroy all our evil and grant boons.
Second three days: The Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, Lakshmi, who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees inexhaustible wealth, as she is the goddess of wealth.
Last three days:
Effigy of Ravana being burnt
See also: Kanya Puja
The final set of three days is spent in worshiping the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati. In order to have all-round success in life, believers seek the blessings of all three aspects of the divine femininity, hence the nine nights of worship.
Eighth day is traditionally Durgashtami which is big in Bengal and Bihar.
In some parts of South India, Saraswati puja is performed on the 9th day. Ayudha Puja is conducted in many parts of South India on the Mahanavami (Ninth) day with much fanfare. Weapons, agricultural implements, all kinds of tools, equipments, machinery and automobiles are decorated and worshipped on this day along with the worship of Goddess. The work starts afresh from the next day, i.e. the 10th day which is celebrated as 'Vijaya Dashami'. Many teachers/Schools in south India start teaching Kindergarten children from that day onwards.
In North India, as the culmination of the Ramlila which is enacted ceremoniously during Dussehra, the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna, and Meghanada are burnt to celebrate the victory of good (Rama) over evil forces on the 'Vijaya Dashami' day.
During Navaratri, some devotees of Durga observe a fast and prayers are offered for the protection of health and prosperity. Devotees avoid meat, alcoholic drinks, grains, wheat and onion during this fast. Grains are usually avoided since it is believed that during the period of Navaratri and seasonal change, grains attract and absorb lots of negative energies[10] from the surrounding and therefore there is a need to avoid eating anything which are produced from grains for the purification of Navaratri to be successful. Navaratri is also a period of introspection and purification, and is traditionally an auspicious and religious time for starting new ventures.
During this vowed religious observance, a pot is installed (ghatasthapana) at a sanctified place at home. A lamp is kept lit in the pot for nine days. The pot symbolises the universe. The uninterrupted lit lamp is the medium through which we worship the effulgent Adishakti, i.e. Sree Durgadevi. During Navaratri, the principle of Sree Durgadevi is more active in the atmosphere.
Navaratri is celebrated in a large number of Indian communities. The mother goddess is said to appear in 9 forms, and each one is worshiped for a day. These nine forms signify various traits that the goddess influences us with. The Devi Mahatmya and other texts invoking the Goddess who vanquished demons are cited.
During the eight or ninth day, Kanya Puja, pre-pubescent girls are ceremonially worshipped.
Animal Sacrifice[edit]
Animals are sacrificed during Sharad Navratri in many parts of India , mainly at temples of Goddesses such as Bhavani or Kali.
A book published 1871 by Pratápachandra Ghosha gives full description of the rituals involved in animal sacrifice during Durga Puja [11]
A male buffalo calf about to be sacrificed by a priest in the Durga Puja festival.
The Rajput of Rajasthan offer a sacrifice of buffalo or goat to the their family Goddess ( Kuldevta) during the festival of Navaratri.[12] The ritual requires slaying of the animal with a single stroke. In the past this ritual was considered a rite of passage for young men. The ritual is directed by a Brahmin priest.[13] Many erstwhile Royal families from different parts India also offer animal sacrifice to the Goddess during Sharad Navratri.
Animal sacrifice is practiced in some Eastern states of India and Nepal during Navratri.,[14][15] The Hindu temples in Assam and West Bengal in India and Nepal where this takes place involves slaying of goats, chickens and sometimes male Water buffalos .,.[14][16] A number Tantric Puranas specify the ritual for how the animal should be slayed. In Bengal, a priest recites the Gayatri Mantra in the ear of animal to be sacrificed, in order to free the animal from the cycle of life and death.[17] In Orissa, animal sacrifice is offered to Durga in the form of Chandi during Durga Puja ,.[14][18]
At the Jagannath temple in Puri, Orissa, Rams are sacrificed to the Goddess Bimla during the eighth and ninth day of the autumn festival.[19][20]
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
The spiritual headquarters of Sanyas Ashram was first established 375 years ago at Suratgiri Bangla, Kankhal, Haridwar, Uttrakhand, India along the Vedic lines of the holy Dashnami Tradition as propagated by Jagadguru Shri Adi Shankaracharya. The ninth Pontiff (Peethadhishwar) of the holy lineage of this tradition His Holines Brahmleen Shri 1008 Mahamandleshwar Swami Maheshwaranand Giri Ji Maharaj first came to Mumbai in mid-1940s and laid the foundation of Sanyas Ashram on 20th January 1945 in the suburb of Vile Parle (West) for propagation of Sanatan Dharma or universal virtues amongst mankind. The fledging Ashram became a full-fledged temple complex in 1952 when the Prana Pratistha of various life-like and life-size deities was performed. Shri Swami Ji Maharaj left for eternal journey on 01st May 1970 at the holy banks of Ganga, Haridwar and His Holiness Brahmleen Shri 1008 Mahamandleshwar Swami Brahmanand Giri Ji Maharaj was crowned as tenth Pontiff (Peethadhishwar) of the lineage. Two decades of 1970s and 1980s oversaw the temple complex prosper and grow into a mammoth centre of spiritual, cultural, religious, and educational activity and development. In mid 1990s, Shri Swami Ji Maharaj retired at Suratgiri Bangla, Haridwar and handed over the charge of Sanyas Ashram to Mahamandleshwar Shri Swami Vishveshwaranand Giri Ji Maharaj, who became the eleventh Pontiff (Peethadhishwar) in the holy lineage of Gurus and also the current President. Sanyas Ashram continues to grow into nationwide institution, now under the competent vision of His Holiness Shri 1008 Mahamandleshwar Swami Vishveshwaranand Giri Ji Maharaj and has established many branches under his administration. Sanyas Ashram is very close to Vile-Parle Railway Station. It’s just 10 minutes’ walk. Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Domestic Airport and Sahar International Airport are also close whereas person can reach in just 15- 20 minutes. One can reach Ashram from any directions of the city through S.V.Road or eastern express highway very easily.
Spreaded in 5acre land with numerous deities for worship every year approximately there are 2 lacs visitors and average 200 regular devotees come here for Discourses and to worship. Ashram runs a wide Gaushala where presently 30 cows are maintained with religious tradition. Always there’s a heavy crowd during big festivals like Shravan Somwar, Khodiyar Utsav, Janmashtmi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratra. Being surrounded by many societies, colleges and residential area, there is a crowd through-out the day but people feel peaceful coming here. Having 20-30 regular saints and inmates’ ashram is running Sanskrit Vidyalaya with regular 40-50 students providing lodging-boarding and with learned Acharyas (Teachers) giving vedic knowledge. Green trees in the surrounding of the Ashram add beauty to the entrance.
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
Krishna Apartment, main Boring Road
It takes about one month and 15 artisans to finish one set of idols as seen here.It depicts the killing of the demon by Ma( Godess) Durga. These are clay idols, painstakingly painted and decorated.The main idol is about 7 feet tall.
Karni Mata Temple (Hindi: करणी माता मंदिर) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Karni Mata at Deshnoke, 30 km from Bikaner, in Rajasthan, India. It is also known as the Temple of Rats.
The temple is famous for the approximately 25,000 black rats that live, and are revered, in the temple. These holy rats are called kabbas, and many people travel great distances to pay their respects. The temple draws visitors from across the country for blessings, as well as curious tourists from around the world.
THE LEGEND
Legend has it that Laxman, son of Karni mata, drowned in a pond in Kapil Sarovar in Kolayat Tehsil while he was attempting to drink from it. Karni Mata implored Yama, the god of death, to revive him. First refusing, Yama eventually relented, permitting Laxman and all of Karni Mata's male children to be reincarnated as rats.
Eating food that has been nibbled on by the rats is considered to be a "high honour". If one of them is killed, it must be replaced with another one made of solid silver.
ARCHITECTURE
The building was completed in its current form in the early 20th century in the late Mughal style by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner.
In front of the temple is a beautiful marble facade, which has solid silver doors built by Maharaja Ganga Singh. Across the doorway are more silver doors with panels depicting the various legends of the Goddess. The image of the Goddess is enshrined in the inner sanctum.
WHITE RATS
Out of all of the thousands of rats in the temple, there are a few white rats, which are considered to be especially holy. They are believed to be the manifestations of Karni Mata herself and her four sons. Sighting them is a special blessing and visitors put in extensive efforts to bring them forth, offering prasad, a sweet holy food. There is not any case of any disease being spread by the rats to date.
WORSHIP AND FAIR
WORSHIP
The temple is opened to the public early in the morning at 04:00. Charan priests perform Mangla-Ki-Aarti and offer bhog (special food) in worship. Devotees make offerings to the rats, which roam about the temple in large numbers and are considered auspicious. There are two kinds of offerings made: the 'dwar-bhent' is attributed to the priests and the workers, while the 'kalash-bhent' is utilised for the temple maintenance and development.
KARNI MATA FAIR
Karni Mata Fair is held twice a year at Deshnok:
The first and larger fair is held in March–April during the Navratras from Chaitra Shukla Ekam to Chaitra Shukla Dashmi.
The second fair is held in September–October, also during the Navratras, from Ashvin Shukla to Ashwin Shukla Dashmi.
During Navratri thousands of people travel to the temple by foot.
APPEARANCES IN MEDIA
The temple appeared on the first season of the American reality television series The Amazing Race.
Because of its revered rat population, the temple was featured in the 2016 documentary film Rats, directed by Morgan Spurlock.
The Temple was also featured in Season 2, Episode 3 of "Mighty Trains," The Maharaja's Express as a stop on the week-long train route.
WIKIPEDIA
Seventh night of the ten days festivities of Dusshera festival. On the seventh night, the veil covering Devi Durgaa is uncovered and the idols are open to public.The next three days these ornate idols will be displayed for the public, then, on the tenth day, after the symbolic 'Ravana Vadh'( Killing of the demon), the idols will be immersed in the Ganges, ending one of the most celebrated religious festival in eastern India.
Navratra Night
Taken from 7th Floor of my building... peeping out from the caged window
:)
Notice the people around sitting and chanting Kali Maa Ka Mantras
This was late in the night after the dandiya was over, a few ladies sat down and offered their prayers. The Bright Umbrella is the Mini Temple where the Kali Maa sat for 9days.
See Full SIze photo for clear view
Navratri festival sacred to the Mother Goddess are celebrated in the month of October / November. It is a festival of worship,dance and music celebrated over a period of nine nights.It is celebrated from the first to the ninth date of Ashwin Shukla Paksha of the Hindu Calendar for the worship of the Goddess Durga. This festival commemorates the victory of Goddess Durga over a demon, Mahishasur. During Navratri, devotees of Durga fast and pray for health and prosperity. They also perform the 'devi-sthaapna' in their homes wherein they invite the Goddess and perform 'pooja-path' for nine days without consuming any food. It is an occasion for vibrant festivities throughout the country.
Nine different manifestations of Durga are worshipped over the nine days ; Durga :goddess beyond reach; Bhadrakali the auspicious power of time; Amba or Jagdamba: mother of the world; Annapurna: giver of food and plenty; Sarvamangala: auspicious goddess;
Bhairavi: terrible, fearful, power of death; Chandika or handi: violent, wrathful, furious; Lalita: playful; and Bhavani: giver of existence.Idols of the Goddess Durga are elaborately decorated and worshipped in elaborate pandals for nine days, and on the tenth day immersed in a river or pond. Each day during this festival has religious significance for the devotees.
In West Bengal,Navratri is celebrated as 'Durga-pooja'which is the most important festival in that part of India. Celebrations of Durga-pooja in Bengal are similar to celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi in Maharashtra. Idols of Goddess Durga are worshipped for nine days in beautifully decorated 'pandaals'.It is a public festival. On the tenth day,the 'Visarjan' or immersion of idols in sea waters is performed. In Punjab, Navratri is a period of fasting for seven days, and the people are said to keep their "Navratras" or fasts.
On the eighth day or Ashtami, devotees break their fasts by calling young girls home and these girls are treated as the goddess herself. People ceremonially wash their feet, worship them and then offer food to the "girl-goddesses" giving them the traditional 'puri', ' halwa' and chana' to eat along with bangles and the red 'chunnis' to wear. The ninth day is known as Ram Navami. In traditional North Indian households, a pot of wheat, known as 'khetri' is kept and home and worshipped during these eight days. It is significant of prosperity and abundance. On the first day of the Navaratras, grains of barley are planted in the puja room of the house.
Every day some water is sprinkled on it. On the tenth day, the shoots are about 3 - 5 inches in length. After the puja, these seedlings are pulled out and given to devotees as a blessing from god. The seedlings are placed on their caps, behind their ears, and inside books to bring good luck. This custom suggests a link to harvesting. The sowing and reaping of barley is symbolic of the "first fruit".In various parts of India,the 'Ram-Leela' is performed during Navratri. Ram-Leela is a stage enaction of Ramayana,the story of Lord Rama. The day after Navratri,i.e.,tenth day, is observed as 'Dassera' or 'Vijayadashmi'.It marks the victory of good over evil. It is believed that on this day, Lord Rama had killed the demon Ravana.So,on Vijayadashmi,effigies of Ravana are burnt all over India.
www.amritsarhelp.com/2007/12/03/durgiana-temple/
""""""""A famous Hindu Shrine - Durgiana Mandir also known as Sitla Mandir. It str ucture looks like as Golden Temple. It was founded by Lala Nathu Mal Rangwala and Guru Sahai Mal in 1921. It is being run by the Durgiana Mandir Management Committee comprising of leading citizens of the city.
Like the Golden Temple it is also situated in the middle of a pool of water, also connected to the dry land by a long causeway and it also has a golden dome. It looks like they are even in the process of gold plating larger parts of the temple, perhaps in an attempt to compete with the Golden Temple.
At the main Durgiana Temple a Sarovar was consrtucted by Shri Ram Nasen of Lahore in 1905. A bridge measuring 250 feet in lenth and 18 and half feet in width was constructednin 1921 to reach the major shrine adorning the idols of Shri Laxmi Narayan, Radha and Krishan, Sita and Ram.
At night the glittering Lights illuminate the dome of the mandir.
Durga Mata Mandir, Shivji Mandir, Bhairon Mandir and Hamnuman Mandir are also in the same complex.
There is a unique tradition associated with the mandir, here those parents whose desire for a son is fulfilled, dress their son as langoor during Navratras on the occasion of Dussehra festival.
Though there is no evidence when this tradition was started, but this Hindu tradidtion is limited to Amritsar only.
All Hindu fairs and festivals like Janamashtmi, Ram Naumi. Diwali are celebrated here with great pomp and slow,
mandir is illuminated with colourful lights. Dussehra is also celebrated in the ground adjacent to the Mandir complex.""""""""
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Amritsar; Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, is a city in north-western part in India and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Amritsar was 1,132,761. The city is situated 217 km northwest of state capital Chandigarh. It is near Pakistan, with the Wagah Border being only 28 km away. The nearest city is Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, located 50 km to the west.
The Akal Takht (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) meaning throne of the timeless one is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikh religion. It is located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. The city houses the Temporal seat of Sikhs.
Amritsar is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 visitors on weekdays alone and is the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in the whole of India. The city also houses the Akal Takht, the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa, and the committee responsible for the upkeep of Gurdwaras.
The Ramtirth temple situated at Amritsar is believed to be Ashram site of Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sita gave birth to Luv and Kush, sons of lord Rama at Ramtirth ashram. Large number of people visit Ramtirth temple at annual fair. Nearby cities to Amritsar, Lahore and Kasoor were said to be founded by Lava and Kush, respectively. During Ashvamedha Yagna by Lord Rama, Lava and Kush captured the ritual horse and tied lord Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple. During Navratra festivities it is considered to be auspicious by Hindu population of the city to visit that temple.
The main commercial activities of Amritsar include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine, and culture, and for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once home to Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi Ground is the main sports complex in the city which is home to the Amritsar Games Association, (AGA).
Amritsar has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India. The city origin lies in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier, Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow streets mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system with unique areas called Katras. The Katras are self-styled residential units that provided unique defence system during attacks on the city.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
In the Punjab, during World War I (1914–18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadarites, almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915, and Annie Besant (1847–1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who on 11 April 1916 established the Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".
On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the arrest of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge. According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. Evidence before an inquiry of the Indian National Congress put the number of the dead between 20 and 30.
Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of sixty-five Gurkha and twenty-five Baluchi soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the main exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress determined that approximately 1,000 people were killed.
PARTITION OF 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had a most profound effect on the demographics, economics, culture, political and social structures of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles) and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural, economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly 50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind because of violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul Kalan, Rasheed Bal, Lahorie, Shahpur, Shahkot, Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza Chak, Jattan, Cheema.
OPERATION BLUE STAR
Operation Blue Star (3– 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India to curb and remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are hotly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of the 2011 census, Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%.
Amritsar municipality had a population of 1,132,761 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,183,705. The municipality had a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males and 9.7% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 85.27%; male literacy was 88.09% and female literacy was 82.09%. The scheduled caste population is 28.8%
RELIGION
Sikhism is the most practised religion of Amritsar district with 71.91% of the total population being Sikh.The second largest religion is Hinduism with 26.03% of the citizens identifying themselves as Hindus. However, according to 2011 census, the city of Amritsar is Hindu majority with 49.4% of the city being Hindu and 48% being Sikhs. In Amritsar city, Islam is followed by 0.51% and Christianity by 1.23%. Around 0.20% of the population of the city stated 'No Particular Religion' or another religion.
WIKIPEDIA
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Mansa Devi Temple, Haridwar is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Mansa Devi in the holy city of Haridwar in the Uttarakhand state of India. The temple is located atop the Bilwa Parvat on the Sivalik Hills, the southernmost mountain chain of the Himalayas. The temple also known as Bilwa Tirth is one of the Panch Tirth (Five Pilgrimages) within Haridwar.
The temple is known for being the holy abode of Manasa, a form of Shakti and is said to have emerged from the mind of the lord Shiva. Mansa is regarded as the sister of the Nāga (serpent) Vasuki. The term Mansa means wish and it is believed that the goddess fulfils all the wishes of a sincere devotee. Devotees who want their wishes to be fulfilled by Mansa tie threads to the branches of a tree located in the temple. Once their wishes are fulfilled, people come back again to the temple to untie the thread from the tree. Mansa is also offered coconuts, fruits, garlands and incense sticks in order to appease her.
Mansa Devi Temple is a Siddh Peetha which are the places of worship where desires get fulfilled. It is one of three such Peethas located in Haridwar, the other two being Chandi Devi Temple and Maya Devi Temple. The inner shrine has two deities installed, one with eight arms and the other one three headed with five arms.
THE TEMPLE
Mansa Devi Temple is an ancient temple that attracts people from both far and near due to its significance. The temple is considered a must visit for the pilgrims going to Haridwar. It enhances the holy tradition of Haridwar which persists in the place from many past centuries. It offers views of the River Ganges and the plains of Haridwar. To reach the shrine one has to either follow the trekking route up to this holy shrine or ride on the recently introduced rope-way service. The rope-way service known as "Mansa Devi Udankhatola" was introduced for the benefit of the pilgrims and it caters to the pilgrims also to the nearby located Chandi Devi shrine. The rope-way carries the pilgrims from the lower station directly to the Mansa Devi Temple. The total length of the rope-way is 540 metres and the height it covers is 178 metres. On a normal day, the temple is open between 8 am and 5 pm, except for lunch closings of 12 pm to 2 pm.
This temple along with the nearby located Chandi Devi temple is visited by thousands of devotees from various parts of the country, and especially during the Navratra and the Kumbha Mela in Haridwar. It is said that goddesses Mansa and Chandi, the two forms of goddess Parvati always reside close to each other. This belief can also be found true in other case since near to the Mata Mansa Devi Mandir in Panchkula, Haryana, there is a Chandi Mandir located nearby in Chandigarh.
Boring Canal Road(West)
Another idol depicting a scene from Hindu scriptures.
In a radius of one KM from my house, there are 10 such idols, and more than 2000 in the entire city. The main crowd of women and children start coming after 11pm and throng the streets till early morning.Its almost like a carnival, albeit a religious one.