February 25, 2012
Visiting Patna Sahib Gurudwara was an amazing adventure. I know that technically going to Gurudwara and especially one of the 5 Thakts should be something calming and spiritual, but for us it was a whirlwind! The streets near the Gurudwara were congested and tiny with every vehicle (that means ox driven carts too) that you can think of trying to squeeze its way on to the road. We rode up into the Gurudwara where we were immediately surrounded by all the visiting Sikhs. One older man that reminded me of my Nanaji stood guard next to me and helped to control the crowd while Nick talked to the Gurudwara management about arranging a room. Soon enough a couple of newspaper reporters showed up and demanded an interview! I told them to hold their horses until Nick came back. Truth be told, everyone was very respectful though. I felt at home amongst the Punjabi-speaking. We got a room in the Gurudwara and they gave us the general secretary’s garage to lock the bike. After the standard taking pictures etc we locked the bike in the garage, they handed us the key. We felt absolutely, 100% secure. The next few days we enjoyed langar with the sangat and also went on the bus tour of the other Gurudwaras. The main Gurudwara is especially beautiful at night when it’s highlighted with blue lights. Another Uncle took us under his wing and showed us around outside. Everyone now and then a reporter would pop up around a corner or a room door. It was an amazing few days, the people we met, hearing prayers at 4am, taking langar with the other visitors, it felt like a college campus and we were all living in the dorms! People were so excited to meet us and see the bike, they felt proud that their fellow Sikhs were embarking on a world tour…which in turn made us proud of ourselves and proud to belong to the community where anyone and everyone can eat and take shelter for free. When we left people crowded around and wanted to take pictures not only with the bike but with us! Even the old bibis from the pind were goin crazy! We felt that we had left Patna with hundreds of blessings and lots of love pushing us on.
