Sacred Route

Built By A Guru, Anandpur Sahib Is Where The Khalsa Was Born And Where Tales Of Faith Live On, Finds Ambica Gulati. 

- Ambica Gulati

Gold swayed in the fields. The wheat was ready for the sickle. Well, machines now. Gone are the days of the sickle for most farmers. This was my fourth visit to the sleepy town of Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, but it was the first time I was seeing golden wheat. Far beyond the trees, the sun seemed happier. Everything seemed familiar, even the way the car went over the rocky bed of the little stream, an offshoot of the Satluj river, to reach our resort, Anand@The Satluj. We arrived late in the afternoon, a day before the harvest festival of Baisakhi.

Suraj, who drove us there from Delhi in a Renault Duster, remembered me, while my memory failed me. It had been two years since my last trip here. Pressing Suraj for some good music, we decided on making just one stop on the way—breakfast at Zhilmil Dhaba near Murthal for its butter-laden stuffed parathas, and lassi. Between chats and naps, we were there soon enough and back on the road in about 45 minutes.

The plan was no stops from there on, but that isn’t the way drives work, of course. You want to watch the roads, the fields, the outskirts of towns; press the driver to drive carefully; watch out for trucks and other large vehicles; bang your head on the ceiling of the car when you hit rough patches; yell at cows for straying on to the highway; find a place to wash your hands after continuous snacking and listen to all kinds of music. We did all this and more.

The road to Punjab is lush in all ways and the lure of fresh oranges too strong. Every few metres, we would see some piled high in baskets. And, of course, we stopped for that big glass of fresh juice. Right behind the juice-seller was a shack where villagers were making gur. They stirred the sugarcane molasses in a large iron vessel and put the thick syrup in a flat one to dry. Once dried, fresh jaggery would be up for sale. Note to self: buy some on the way home.