Amritsar in August: On the trail of Duleep Singh

I wanted to find out more about Duleep Singh and the Koh-i-noor diamond while I was in the Punjab (this fascination comes from the fact he used to live at Elveden, close to my mother). To do this, I needed to know more about his father, Ranjit Singh, and how he came to possess the Koh-i-noor diamond. Where better to start than the Ranjit Singh Panorama in Ram Bagh, which was full of dioramas about the life of "The Lion of the Punjab".  First, however, I spent some time walking around the Ram Bagh gardens looking out for Ranjit Singh's summer palace.

Ranjit Singh, father of Duleep, was the founder of the Sikh Empire in the 19th century. As a teenager he fought several wars to expel the Afghans, and was proclaimed as the "Maharaja of Punjab" at age 21. He rebuilt the Golden Temple and gilded it with gold.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh's palace is now in a state of disrepair. The inscription above the door says Summer Residence of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Ranjit Singh was given the Koh-I-Noor diamond by Shah Shuja after he provided asylum to his wife and freed him from capture in Kashmir. The diorama below shows Shah Shuja giving the uncut diamond to Ranjit Singh in a velvet casket.

Ranjit Singh was popularly known as Sher-i-Punjab, meaning "Lion of Punjab". His son, Duleep Singh, was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which he inherited from his father when he was only 5 years old. A few years later, the British declared war on the Sikhs, and he was deposed and was exiled to England - along with the Koh-i-noor diamond.  This was then "gifted" to Queen Victoria, as one of the spoils of war.

The Koh-i-noor diamond really is "the jewel in the crown". After Queen Victoria died it was set into several other crowns, most recently the crown of the Queen Mother. There is a replica of this crown in the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum. Since Independence in 1947, the Indian government has several times asked for the diamond to be returned to India. In 2013, on a visit to India, David Cameron was heard to remark "They're not having that back".

Amritsar in August: The Golden Temple

The following day we got up really early and left the hotel at around 5am to go to the Golden Temple.  We'd been told that mornings were best and that it got pretty crowded after that.  Consequently we arrived at the temple when it was still pitch black!

Sri Harmandir Sahib (the abode of God) is the holiest gurdwara of Sikhism. It was founded in 1577 by the fourth Sikh guru, Guru Ram Das. The Harmandir Sahib was intended as a place of worship for men and women from all religions. As a gesture of this non-sectarian universalness of Sikhism, the Sufi saint, Sai Mian Mir was invited to lay the foundation stone of the Harmandir Sahib.

In the early nineteenth century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh secured the Punjab from outside attack and covered the upper floors of the gurdwara with gold, after which it became referred to by the British as the Golden Temple.

Ranjit SIngh's son, Duleep Singh, was of course the young boy who "gave" the Koh-i-noor diamond to Queen Victoria.

Over 100,000 people visit the shrine daily for worship, and are able to get a free meal from the community kitchen.

The storming of the Golden Temple in 1984 by Indira Gandhi's troops, and desicration of the holy shrine, led to her assassination 6 months later by her Sikh bodyguards.

This is a really beautiful place, and somewhere I've wanted to visit for a long time.  I'm happy I finally got there.

Amritsar in August: The Wagah Border Ceremony

On Independence weekend I went to Amritsar.  On the first afternoon there I went to Wagah - about midway between Amritsar and Lahore. This used to be the only road crossing between India and Pakistan until recently.  The Wagah border ceremony happens at the gate, two hours before sunset each day. The flag ceremony (Beating the Retreat) is conducted by the Indian Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers.

So here is the Wagah border between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani gates are bigger and more dominating, but there are fewer people on the other side.  Here you can see the gates are open.

The Indian Border Security Force getting ready for the closing ceremony and on the Pakistani side of the border the Pakistan Rangers are also getting ready.

Lowering the flags simultaneously. Really quite touching.

Clubbing it

One of the benefits of my job is the "Softening Mumbai" package which has allowed me to buy club vouchers.  Here is the pool at my "club", the Taj Lands End.  It's a 10 minute rickshaw ride away from home and is mostly deserted at the weekends.  It's a lovely place to relax and unwind from the week, and to plan for the following week.  

Staying local - a long weekend at the Taj Palace

We had a long weekend and nothing planned.  It was Jenni's last long weekend before she departs Mumbai to South Africa, and something we had both wanted to do was to do a staycation at the Taj Palace in downtown Mumbai.  She booked it, and I went along.

 

From the start we were lucky as we got upgraded from the Tower Wing (the modern bit) into the Palace Wing (the heritage bit).  As well as that we got the upgraded service which included butler service, food and drinks throughout the day including high tea, cocktails, cognac and chocolates.  The palace has the feel of a colonial building, but in fact it was built by Indians for Indians (because the British refused to let them use their hotels).  It contains many different styles of architecture and it really is a beautiful building.

The Taj Mahal Palace opened in Mumbai, then Bombay, in 1903, and now overlooks the Gateway of India (though of course that wasn't built until later). This hotel has been visited by dignitaries from across the globe, including most recently Wills and Kate.

  

We spent the first day checking out the amenities of the hotel, including tapas in the evening on the top floor of the Tower Wing, overlooking the harbour.  We went on the Heritage Tour around the palace as well.  On the Sunday I spent a lot of the day by the pool.  We checked out very late, and then went for afternoon tea and cocktails in the Sea Lounge where we watched the sunset reflected on the Gateway of India.  It was a really great couple of days - well worth the money as it was a once in a lifetime experience.

Goa with my Girlie

Rachel came over for a couple of weeks at Easter.  We spent time hanging out in Mumbai and then went to Goa for a 3 day weekend.

It was really hot in Goa - we basically managed to walk up the beach, walk down the beach and walk round the town.  We did a bit of shopping, sat in some cafes, drank some happy hour cocktails and sat on the beach and watched the stars.  Oh, and we also launched a fire lantern and made a wish.

Rishikesh - White Water Rafting

Rishikesh is famous for its white water rafting down the Ganges.  We decided we'd give it a go! Although I was very nervous and for several rapids I stowed my paddle in the middle of the raft and simply clung onto the ropes along the side, after a while (when I realised that people were not falling out and the boats were not capsizing) I did manage to paddle through the final few.  It was good fun, and the scenery was lovely.  I didn't go into the water - and I heard it was freezing.  In total I think we paddled around 20 km.