INDIA

The Magic Of A Diverse Country

text: kathleen van bremdt - photos: sven hoyaux

India is an intriguing country. The largest democracy in the world has a long history and a unique cultural identity. It is impossible to discover the whole country in one trip. We make a well-considered choice from the rich offering. We head to the sacred centre of the Sikh believers in Amritsar, immerse ourselves in the tranquillity of the Amanbagh Resort in Rajasthan, hunt for the Bengal tiger in Ranthambore and end up in the buzzing megacity of Mumbai on the Arabian Sea. An arc from the north to the west of India. Both at the beginning and at the end of our journey, we meet fervent Porsche enthusiasts.

AMRITSAR: THE HOLY CITY

Our journey starts in the northwest of India in the state of Punjab, one of the most prosperous parts of the country. We turn our attention to Amritsar , the holy city of the Sikhs. We reserve three days to discover this mythical city and stay at the Taj Swarna , a fantastic five-star hotel that combines traditional elegance with contemporary flair. In our room we find a bowl full of local sweets, next to which is a frame with four images of the most recent Porschist covers. We really appreciate that someone has made the effort to do this. To top it all off, there are two clocks: one shows the local time and the other the Stuttgart time. Now that's what you call hospitality!

SIKHISM: THE TEACHINGS OF TEN GURUS

In the lobby, Jagroop Singh is waiting for us. He will guide us around the city in the coming days. With his dark green turban, long beard and tall figure, he presents a striking appearance. He makes a small bow and looks at us in a friendly way. We immediately feel that we will be able to get on with this man. The Punjab region is the home of the Sikhs. With 26 million adherents, Sikhism is the eigth largest religion in the world. The majority of the Sikhs - about twenty million - live in India, mainly in the state of Punjab, where they make up 60% of the population. Sikhism is a religion that we don't know much about, so we have a lot of questions. With Jagroop on our side, we're sure we’ll get the answers we're looking for. We learn right away that Sikhism was formed by a dynasty of ten gurus, religious teachers and preachers. Guru Nanak (1469 - 1539) was the founder. He believed that God is one and the same in all religions and founded a new, progressive religion based on one God, equality, justice and freedom for all. His followers were called sikh , which means pupil or disciple. “Sikhism is an attitude to life,” explains Jagroop. “We are expected to work hard, be humble and treat everyone equally and with respect – regardless of creed, race, age, gender or social status. We don’t have priests, do not practice empty rituals such as worshiping saints or making sacrifices, and reject the caste system. We also do not have a holy day like Sunday for the Christians or the Sabbath for the Jewish people. We do go to one of our gurdwaras , our places of worship, as often as possible. Community is central to our faith. God reveals himself among people. So that's where you should be.”

The Magic Of The Golden Temple

The sanctuary of sanctuaries for the Sikhs is the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Millions of visitors flock to the temple every year. The serenity that reigns in the temple complex is in stark contrast to the rest of the city, which is loud and hectic. The construction of the temple was started in 1604 under the guidance of the fifth guru Arjan Sahib. It is situated in the middle of Lake Sarova and is connected to the shore by a white bridge. On that bridge, hundreds of worshipers patiently line up to take a look at the Granth Sahib – the Sikh scripture that contains a compilation of all the writings of all the gurus. Barefoot and with our hair covered - the only conditions for entry - we walk through the beautiful marble corridors and buildings of the temple. The round dome is covered with no less than 100 kilos of gold leaf and sparkles in the sunlight. We are impressed by the grandeur and dignity of the complex. When we first saw the Taj Mahal in Agra, we were very impressed. Here, we feel the same profound awe. There is something comforting and sacred about this place. The water of the lake is said to have special powers and we see many pilgrims immerse themselves in the holy water.

Sikh immerses himself in sacred water.

There Is Sufficient For Everyone

One of side wings of the temple complex contains one of the largest dining halls in the world. Communal kitchens or langars have held a key significance in religion since the emergence of the Sikh faith, because according to the credo of the first guru, everyone – regardless of origin or religion – should have access to a full free meal. Here in the Golden Temple, this altruistic thinking takes on outsize proportions. As many as 100,000 meals are served here every day. The visitors sit next to each other on the floor in endless rows. Young and old, white and coloured, tourist and pilgrim… everyone waits for their plate to be filled with roti, lentil curry, vegetables and rice pudding. Meals are prepared on site with ingredients that have been donated or purchased with money from donations. We are amazed how quiet it is in the hall despite the large number of people present.

In the kitchens, things are very different. There it is very busy. Everywhere, people work, toil and sweat. Cooking fumes rise to meet us and the floor is slippery because of the amount of oil that is being used. Cooks are stirring oversized pots in which 250 kilograms of lentils are simmering, women are rapidly oiling chapatis that roll freshly out of the flattening machine at a rate of 7,000 pieces per hour, and porters tirelessly scoop litres of rice pudding from cast-iron basins. Despite the fact that all the workers here are volunteers who often don’t know each other very well, everything runs wonderfully smoothly. You can't help but be impressed by what is happening here. The beautiful Golden Temple is clearly not only a spiritual place, but also a symbol of brotherhood and equality, of unity and hospitality. Jagroop puts it even better: “The Golden Temple is not a house of God, but a house of humanity.”

A Porsche In A Mystical Glow

Even before we left for India, we had one particular image in mind: a Porsche with the Golden Temple of Amritsar in the background, following the example of the photos we took on the Red Square in Moscow, in front of the Potala Palace in Tibet, in front of the Freedom Monument in Tehran and at the Opera House in Sydney. “You will never be allowed to do that,” the Porsche owner had told us, but asking doesn’t hurt, and after some chat back and forth with security, we are allowed to park the black Macan in front of the main entrance of the temple. We accept that the weather is not great and there happens to be a dense fog, because we have the picture we wanted.

Visiting Jagroop

On our last day in Amritsar, Jagroop invites us to his home. He lives in a simple but spacious house in the countryside. He proudly introduces his family: his wife and two children, his brother and sister-in-law, his nephew and his parents. They all live under the same roof. “We like it that way,” says Jagroop, “all of us together. If the family expands, we simply build an extra floor.' Cohousing the Indian way. The women have gone out of their way to put a lot of delicious treats to the table. We immediately get chai (the typical black tea with milk, sugar and spices) and pakora (fried snacks). Sikhs eat vegetarian food and do not drink alcohol. Jagroop's brother is just fitting his dastar , the turban by which one can recognise Sikhs all over the world. It doesn't look like an easy task. “Yes, It takes some practice,” Jagroop laughs. The scarf is about six metres long and one metre wide. The man carefully wraps the cloth around his head with circular movements. We ask how important the turban is. “I can't imagine ever leaving the house without the dastar . The dastar determines our identity. It stands for discipline, integrity, humility and spirituality. The dastar also holds our long hair together. We never cut our hair because hair is sacred. That is a tradition that goes back to the first gurus. Is the colour of the turban important? we want to know. “No,” Jagroop replies. Any colour is allowed. We just choose the colour we like.”

As well as the turban, Jagroop shows us the four other attributes that a male Sikh wears: a kangha (wooden comb), a kachhera (shorts), a kara (steel bracelet) and a kirpan (small dagger). “Boys only get those things from the time they are baptised, which is around the age of thirteen or fourteen. They must first understand what it means to be a Sikh.” We have noticed how much respect Sikhs have for their wives and women in general. “For us, a woman is the source of humanity's physical existence. The first guru stated that men and women have the same soul and are equal in all respects.” This was an insight that was very advanced five hundred years ago in a country where the birth of a daughter was considered a misfortune and it was common for a woman to be burned alive along with the cremation of her late husband. When we consider that this insight has existed in this culture for so long while there are still so many places in the world where women are still widely discriminated against, we gain still more respect for the wisdom of this religion.

The Bizarre Border Ceremony Between India And Pakistan

There is only one real border crossing between India and neighbouring Pakistan, and it is only 30 kilometres from Amritsar. For decades – since 1959 to be precise – the Wagah border post has seen an almost surreal spectacle every night. Just before sunset, the flags of both countries are ceremonially lowered here, and the border gates are closed. This is accompanied by a military parade of the Indian Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers. Thousands of elated spectators on both sides follow the performance. We have already seen the spectacle several years ago, but then from the other side, in Pakistan. Then we shouted “Pakistan, Zindabad!” (Victory to Pakistan!). Now we chant 'Hindustan, Jai Hindi!' (Victory to India). After all, it is impossible not to get carried away by the enthusiasm of the crowd. We find that nothing has changed. The stands are packed on both sides, the music is still deafening and the performance of the soldiers theatrical and semi-acrobatic. The members of the Indian Border Security Force look fantastic in their richly decorated khaki uniforms and with a goldred fan on their headdress. After half an hour of unadulterated macho behaviour, the border guards are facing each other with only a vacuum separating them. After a brusque handshake, the flags are lowered and meticulously folded, after which the metal gate squeaks shut for the night. India and Pakistan are neighbours, but not friends. The border ceremony is therefore a good representation of reality. It is a performance where hate and love, celebration and intimidation, rivalry and brotherhood are intertwined.

The border ceremony is a performance where hate and love, celebration and intimidation, rivalry and brotherhood are intertwined.

In Alwar we find one of the most beautiful resorts in the world: the Amanbagh, an Indian Elysium far away from it all.

AMANBAGH: A REAL PEACE GARDEN

We leave Amritsar and fly to Delhi to drive to our next destination. From India's capital we still have a long drive ahead of us. Fortunately, we do not have to drive ourselves and can count on the services of an experienced driver. The journey isn’t boring for a second because we soon come to the magical Rajasthanthe largest state of India - known for its fascinating culture and ancient history. Everywhere in India the street scene is colourful and bright, but here in Rajasthan people seem to go the extra mile. This is the land of the maharajas and rajputs with their beautiful historic cities, spectacular forts and fairy-tale palaces. Most people go to the major tourist attractions such as Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur, but we purposefully choose the countryside. There, in the village of Alwar, we find one of the most beautiful resorts in the world: the Amanbagh , an Indian Elysium far away from it all.

Amanbagh is one of thirty resorts in the acclaimed exclusive luxury Aman hotel group. The Aman group is known for its choice of exceptionally beautiful locations and architecture that is attuned to the local culture. Here it is no different. Amanbagh is set within a walled compound once used by the Maharaja of Alwar as an encampment for hunting parties looking for deer, leopards and tigers. We marvel at the splendour of the building complex, which is entirely built from pink-red sandstone and in authentic Mughal style. We see long corridors under portal arches, spherical domes on the roofs and hidden pavilions, all perfectly symmetrical, symbolic of divine order and harmony. The beautifully fretwork windows and shutters are delicate eyecatchers in an otherwise rather sober design. We experience a feeling of absolute tranquillity. The extensive gardens with their fruit trees and slender eucalyptus trees are a wonderful contrast to the arid beauty of the surrounding Aravali Mountains. The resort has only 24 suites – Aman always keeps things small – but those suites are the size of a house. We open the heavy wooden door of our Pool Pavilion and enter a sun-filled room with a king-size bed, sitting area and desk. The bathroom in deep green Udaipur marble is so big that we have to raise our voices to be able to hear each other. According to the piccolo, the water in the 'plunge pool' in our private garden has the perfect temperature all year round.