A couple of weeks ago, on Saturday, Feb. 25th, John and I planned a trip to Amritsar. Amritsar has been on my list as a "must go" for a while- a northern city in Punjab, near the Pakistan border, it was founded in 1577 and is home to Sikhism's holiest shrine, the Golden Temple. The spectacular temple sits in the middle of a sacred pool of placid water and draws million of pilgrims from all over the world. It's a stunning sight to behold and, honestly, perhaps the most spiritually powerful place I have ever visited.
In addition to visiting the Golden Temple, we also attended the India-Pakistan border-closing ceremony. Every late afternoon, just before sunset, members of the Indian and Pakistani military meet at the border to engage in the 30 minute display that is the flag-lowering, closing-of-the-border ceremony. Given the 2 countries rocky relationship (to speak mildly), it is a very interesting, and impressive, display of harmony and military theatrics. The mustachioed guards stomp about, twirl flags, and perform drills up and down with as much pomp and dramatic flair as possible until the gates between the countries are flung open and commanding officers of both countries shake hands a salute. Then, the flags of both countries are simultaneously lowered and folded and the gates shut for the night.
In other news, today the kiddos and I made play-dough! We used the handy ol' flour-salt recipe and got our hands dirty. I taught them about St. Patrick's Day, and we used our new green and yellow play-dough to make shamrock ornaments! I'm not entirely sure they grasped the meaning, but they sure did like the project, and there were some very interesting "modern" takes on the classic shamrock :)
In addition to visiting the Golden Temple, we also attended the India-Pakistan border-closing ceremony. Every late afternoon, just before sunset, members of the Indian and Pakistani military meet at the border to engage in the 30 minute display that is the flag-lowering, closing-of-the-border ceremony. Given the 2 countries rocky relationship (to speak mildly), it is a very interesting, and impressive, display of harmony and military theatrics. The mustachioed guards stomp about, twirl flags, and perform drills up and down with as much pomp and dramatic flair as possible until the gates between the countries are flung open and commanding officers of both countries shake hands a salute. Then, the flags of both countries are simultaneously lowered and folded and the gates shut for the night.
The India-Pakistan border
The Golden Temple at night
And again during the day (so special you have to go twice!)
In other news, today the kiddos and I made play-dough! We used the handy ol' flour-salt recipe and got our hands dirty. I taught them about St. Patrick's Day, and we used our new green and yellow play-dough to make shamrock ornaments! I'm not entirely sure they grasped the meaning, but they sure did like the project, and there were some very interesting "modern" takes on the classic shamrock :)
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