Devotees listening to religious songs in front of Akal Takht, sitting on the carpet and listening to a musical group
When we were in the Golden Temple, in addition to a large queue of people standing in queue, there were a number of people sitting and listening to the religious songs by a group in front of the Akal Takht who were also using a variety of musical instruments. The Golden Temple is one of the most famous monuments in Amritsar, in the state of Punjab in North India. It is the spiritual headquarters of the Sikh religion, and is a very well visited place. Besides Sikhs, people from other religions visit the temple, it being an open place. The temple is also referred to as the Harmandir Sahib or the Darbar Sahib, and was built during the 16th century by the fifth Sikh Guru (completed in the year 1604), Guru Arjan Dev around a holy tank. Earlier to this, in 1577, the fourth Guru, Guru Ram Das ji excavated a tank which came to be known as Amritsar. The Harmandir Sahib symbolizes openness, and has four doors to depict the same. Over a period of time, modifications were done, such as the layering of gold over the dome by the ruler of the time, Maharajah Ranjit Singh. The holy nature of the Golden Temple is also symbolized by the presence of the Holy Book of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib. The central structure of the Gurudwara is surrounded by a holy tank of water, with a causeway over this body of water. There are some restrictions for entering the site, such as the removal of shoes before entering (and washing ones feet in a small pool of water as well), covering the hair through a scarf or some other cloth, and ensuring that they show proper respect towards the central shrine.
Size: 5184px × 3456px
Location: Amritsar, Punjab, India
Photo credit: © Ashish Agarwal / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: akal, amritsar, asia, building, crowd, devotee, devotees, golden, india, instruments, listening, musical, people, performance, religion, religious, sikh, sikhism, sitting, songs, staircase, symbol, takht, temple, troupe, turbans, wearing
