Wagah border

Wagah border

A trip to Amritsar is incomplete if you fail to witness the daily “Beating the Retreat Ceremony”  at the  Attari – Wagah border. The touts in Amritsar made this as a tourist destination by attracting the crowds in front of the Jallianwala Bagh junction.

One needs to rush at the earliest to the border to get a comfortable place to sit and watch the ceremony. I too finished my lunch in a hurry and rushed to the border. There is a toll gate that charges Rs.35 both ways.

IMG_5980

Managed to reach the border. A massive crowd in the parking-lot.

IMG_5810

After parking the car one’s intention will be to rush to reach inside at the earliest. But here comes the security warning that ‘No bags or pouches were allowed inside’.

There will be Sardars on the way setting up tables to keep watching your valuables. Here going back and keeping the bag in the car is time consuming and the same risk there too that if some can break
the windshield and take the valuables. So leaving the bags at the security desk was the best option.

I took my lens out of the camera bag and left the bag to the sardar and proceeded further. Here Men and Women have to follow separate lanes for the security check and then proceed further.

IMG_5809

The first view of the Pakistan border after the security check before entering the gallery.

IMG_5812

There are separate galleries for men and women. Finally I found a place and sat comfortably.

IMG_5824

The women from the crowd were gathered to the center of the parade ground and started the cultural activities with patriotic songs and dance such as ‘Jai Hind’, ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai‘ on Indian side and ‘Pakistan Zindabad‘ on the Pakistani side, the environment is worth witnessing.

IMG_5819

Here goes the Delhi – Lahore Bus officially known as officially known as Sada-e-Sarhad jointly operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation and the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation

IMG_5822

The Cheer leading BSF officer comes out with the Flags

IMG_5826

The Pakistani stands..

IMG_5837

Women were dancing

IMG_5849

The ceremony starts with the lady jawans marching towards the border gates

IMG_5894

The lady jawans at their places infront of the closed gates.

IMG_5896

Now is the turn of the men – jawans in full glory!

IMG_5901

The gates are about to open

IMG_5908

Yes, the gates are open now!

IMG_5917

The flags are in full regal display – there is a moment of immense pride!

IMG_5925

The flag is brought down slowly!

IMG_5948

IMG_5960

The lady jawans return back

IMG_5964

The flag is folded and brought back by the jawans with full respect.

IMG_5965

IMG_5966

IMG_5967

IMG_5968

IMG_5971

The gates were closed

IMG_5973

Both the flags are down

IMG_5969

IMG_5978

The crowd disperses with a patriotic feel which marks the end of the whole ceremony. As as I returned, my heart was full of praise for the jawans who battle for the nation; protecting our borders. For many of us the only bit of patriotism is when a cricket or hockey match plays. These are the soldiers – men and women who fight for our safety! Jai Hind!!!!

With this my My travel to Punjab ends and I returned to chennai.

Loading

Facebook Comments
Share

2 thoughts on “Wagah border

  1. well ! I recall my day of 26th January this year . It was a huge crowd there on this special day of Indian Republic day , but any how we manage to have a seat very near to gate with the pass of BSF . nice pictures .

Leave a Reply to yogi saraswat Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: