the light baggage

  …Continued from North Indian Sojourn - 1 Day 5: We reached Amritsar at 7:00am in the morning. Got fresh and headed straight to Durgiana temple which resembles the Golden temple. Built in the 20th century, it is a serene place having repository of Hindu scriptures.    Then after this we left for the Golden temple. The temple looked stunning from a distance with the Amrit Sarovar which surrounds the Golden temple. The upper part was built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh with 400kg of gold leaf. The temple of Harmandir Sahib is bustling with tourists almost throughout the day. The temple was initially built in 1574, and when the Mughal emperor Akbar visited the site, he was impressed that he gave all the villages in the vicinity to the Sikh Guru and the temple was started being constructed in the 16th century by Guru Arjun Dev. We were approached by people selling Bandanas to cover our heads for Rs 10. We bought it and went inside. The winter morning in Amritsar was very soot...

Overview: Bylukuppe has one of the largest Tibetan settlements in South India. This place is known for the Golden temple or Namrodoling monastery. Being easily accessible by road, this place is visited by many people who visit Coorg. We got a chance to visit Bylakuppe when we were on a trip to Periyapatna to visit my wife’s grandmother’s house. The approach road is lined with Buddhist prayer flags tied to the wires and one can see people of Tibetian origin walking along the roads in their traditional dress. The inside hall is dedicated to the Lord Padmasambhava. The temple is gold plated and is built in a typical Buddhist style. Outside the monastery there is a Buddhist University which has been established for higher studies and there are shops where many memoirs and Buddhist handicrafts could be purchased. Being near to the Kodagu district, this place enjoys cool and pleasant climate throughout the year. Inside the temple we have a series of prayer wheels which are to be turned ...