:: Amritsar City Guide ::

:: City Guide

:: Amritsar Punjab Village   Tour

The city of Amritsar a dazzling showcase of composite culture and secular heritage .It has a proud past .a glorious present and a promising future. A rich repository of spiritual and national heritage, It has been hailed as the home of all virtues’(sifti da ghar) .while praying, every devout Sikh longs to be blessed with a pilgrimage to Amritsar and a holy bath at the Golden Temple. A visit to Amritsar is believed to wash off all the sins.

A focal point of Sikh faith, , a nursery of defence pool, an alert sentinel at the Indo-Pak border, Amritsar is the place where the first Sikh Army was raised by the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind. The city saw the fierce onslaughts of the invading armies of Ahmad Shah Abdali and a reckless carnage at the Jallianwala Bagh. An epicenter of Kooka and Akali movements and a symbol of resistance against the British tyranny, Amritsar had been a favourite place of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It was in Amritsar that the clarion-call for the liberation of India sounded louder and clearer. In the recent times, the has at regular intervals borne the brunt of Indo-Pak conflicts.

The most dominating asset, however, is its people who are friendly, God-fearing, hospitable, hard working informal, robust and with a tremendous zest for living. They are fond of good food, good dress and all the external symbols of life.

Amritsar is the heart-beat of the Majha region which has provided Punjabi literature with its standard language. A launching pad of several renowned artists, authors and poets, the city has been a home of handloom and carpet industry for more than a century. The city is proud to have the second largest Milk plant in the country.

The Cultural . Amritsar has immensely contributed to the Punjabi literature and folk culture. It has standardized the Punjabi language. The early journey towards formal education has given it many writers and poets of repute.
People of different languages, cultures, customs and races came to Punjab for good life and it was the strength and superiority of Punjabi culture and language that these all immigrants forgot their native culture and became Punjabi.

The Hardworking Punjabi. The region of Amritsar and Gurdaspur is called Majha or the heartland. Amritsar has always occupied the center stage in the Majha region and been aptly named as the Mukut Mani, the Jewel in the Crown. The region is not as fertile as the Doaba region of Jalandhar and Kapurthala. Punjabis, the name for people of Punjab, are the most successful community in India. The people of the Amritsar region are hardworking farmers, traders and weavers. The tough and unforgiving terrain has taught them to garner the best from available resources.

The Martial Race. Amritsar has been the pivot point of the Sikh religion and Punjab politics. The first Sikh army was raised here and even today this region contributes the maximum volunteers to the Indian Army. The people have been quick to form resistance movements; the Akali, Kooka movements in the Indian freedom struggle against the British and the call for Khalistan by Bhinderanwale originated in this city.

The brave and carefree culture of soldiering is the second nature for the people of Amritsar. The most essential quality of the people apart from soldiering is their hospitable and friendly nature. A visit to the rustic villages and you will promptly get scores of invitation to savor the famous Tandoori Chicken, fried fish and home made sugarcane wine or the Makki Ki Roti and Sarson Ka Saag, a meal of corn flour pancakes and a dish prepared with mustard leaves and stems, kulche chole, and aloo wala kulcha.

Festivals in Amritsar. The major festivals are Lohri, Holi (Hola Mahalla), Vaisakhi and Guru Nanak Birthday, Guru Gobind Singh Birthday and Diwali. Lohri is celebrated on the 13th of January as the end of winter and the harvesting season. The next day is the first day of the Sikh month and is celebrated with offerings to Gurudwaras and the needy. Baisakhi is the end of year for the Sikhs and is celebrated on the 13th of July. It is the festival of celebrations, of dance and signifies wealth and prosperity. It is believed that the dance form Bhangra, now popularized by the Punjabi singers all over the world, originated as an expression of gratitude to the mother earth during Vaisakhi. Guru Nanak Birthday , the Birthday of Guru Dev Nanak dev ji the founder of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh Birthday the 10th Guru the founder of Khalsa.

Punjabi Music
Bhangra is one of the many Punjabi musical art forms that is increasingly being listened to in the west and is becoming a mainstream favourite. Punjabi music is being used by western musicians, in many ways, such as mixing it with other compositions to produce award-winning music. In addition, Punjabi Classical music is increasingly becoming popular in the west due to the beauty of sounds of the Punjabi language and its composition.

Punjabi Poetry
Punjabi Poetry is renowned for its extremely deep meaning, beautiful, exciting and hopeful use of words. The poetry is one of the deepest insights into the Punjabi mindset. The large number of Punjabi poetry masterpieces are being translated throughout the world into many languages. Famous Punjabi poets.

Punjabi Dances
Punjabi folk dance and music represent the true colour and ardor of the common Punjabi people. As people clad with colorful silk lungi, turban and handkerchief turn around with their special folk dance, bhangra to celebrate the success of harvest, you can't control yourself from joining them. This lively dance form has crossed its regional barrier and has been touching the heart of people around the whole world. If Bhangra is the ultimate enjoyment of men then Giddha is the most popular folk dance among the women in Punjab. Jhumar, Dankara, Dhamal and Gatka are some other folk dances that are equally vibrant and lively in exciting people.

Punjabi Cuisine
Tandoori chicken is a popular dish in Punjabi cuisine.
Punjabi Cuisine has an immense range of dishes and has become world-leader in the field so much so that many entrepreneurs that have invested in the sector have built large personal fortunes due to popularity of Punjabi Cuisine throughout the world.
Punjabi people are robust people with robust appetites and their food is like the Punjabis themselves, simple, sizeable and hearty with no unnecessary frills or exotic accompaniments. The Punjabi tandoori cooking is celebrated as one of the most popular cuisines throughout the world. Huge earthen ovens are half buried in the ground and heated with a coal fire lit below it. Marinated meat, chicken, fish, paneer, rotis and naans of many types are cooked in this novel oven and the results are absolutely scrumptious!
Punjab has imbibed some aspects of its cuisine from external influences. Connoisseurs of the cuisine say that the gravy component of Punjabi cuisine came from the Mughals. The most popular example is the murg makhani. It served the state well to combine this influence in its cooking since it had a lot of pure ghee and butter. Murg makhani also provided a balance to tandoori chicken, which was dry because it was charcoal cooked. Nans and parathas, rotis made of maize flour are typical Punjabi breads.
Winter, in Punjab, brings in the season of the famous makki ki roti(maize flour bread) and sarson ka saag(mustard leaf gravy). No meal is complete without a serving of lassi( sweet or salted drink made with curd) or fresh curd and white butter which is consumed in large quantities. The other popular dishes, which belong exclusively to Punjab, are ma ki dal, rajma (kidney beans) and stuffed parathas.
A predominantly wheat eating people, the Punjabis cook rice only on special occasions. It’s never eaten plain or steamed, for steamed rice implies that somebody is sick. Rice is eaten always with a Bagar (flavoring) of cumin or fried onions with Rajma or Kadhi, Rajma with rice or rice with Kadhi is eaten or holidays or on festive days. In winter rice is cooked with Gur or with peas called matarwale chawal or as a delicacy called Rao Ki Kheer which is rice cooked on very slow fire for hours together with sugar cane juice.
The celebrated papad and vadian from Amritsar have become the subject of many a rhymes and jingles, Amritsaris have a sweet tooth for pinnis, balushahis and gur ka halwa.The city has many places for traditional cuisines and modern foods.Most of the eating joints of the traditional cuisines and modern foods.Most of the eating joints of the traditional cuisine are within the walled city.