The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Eating out 24X7
Vibhor Mohan
Tribune News Service

Amritsar city never goes to sleep. The evening delights that begin at the dusk extend late into the night .Soon after one set of residents retires for the night, the other is out on the roads.

This variety ranges from visiting the Golden Temple or the Durgiana temple to hitting the late night eating joints. Whatever the reason, it appears that the day never ends here.

Eating out (only desi ghee, please!!!) is the idea of a perfect outing for Amritsaris. A lot of families set out to grab a bite at their favourite hangouts, which keep open till late in the night.

Even though the famous Lawrence Road is always bustling during the day-thanks to the shoppers- it comes alive as the dusk sets in. Putting aside the day’s worries residents dressed in their colourful best stroll the road.

Around 8 pm and one can catch families enjoying yet another memorable evening. Though youngsters prefer to hang around at Coffee Café Day or Pizza Hut, just married can be spotted at the Milkfood ice-cream parlour or near half a dozen ice-cream vendors, who line up the roadside every evening. However,for those who have a liking for the chatpata and masaledar stuff, there are shops selling allu tikki, gol gappas and chaat right in front of major restaurants.

Not too far away on Madan Mohan Malviya Road, makeshift stalls sell pav bhaaji, bhelpuri, pizza, burger and chowmein .They have their own clientèle .Over two dozen cars can be seen lined up around them . The drivers place their orders without stepping down from their vehicles.

While some come here to stimulate their taste buds after having dinner at home, for others, there is nothing better than having mouth-watering snacks for dinner at these stalls.

Says Rajinder of Bombay Pav Bhaaji stall; “The actual rush starts around 9 pm, even though we are here from 5 pm to 11 pm. But if we were to keep open till 1 am, there would be no dearth of customers as the rush doesn’t die down even up to the closing time. Some customers even have roadside birthday parties with their friends here. We also get large number of tourists, who want to try out the bhelpuri of Amritsar”.

Meanwhile, in the walled city area, traffic moves all the more slowly .Families set out in cars and young on their bikes to grab a bite at their favourite dhaba or ice-cream corner. Juice bars are also popular in the area and customers like to enjoy every sip.

Vivek Vij of Bharawan da Dhaba says, “even though the market starts closing down at 8:30 pm, the eating joints keep buzzing till 11:30 pm. While the locals are addicted to the Amritsari kulcha and sarson da saag, tourists also try out these specialities. It is said that one’s visit to Amritsar is not complete till one has the multi-layered parantha, followed by a plate of phirni or kheer”.

Ishita, a tourist from Chandigarh, says even though Amritsar does not have a single discotheques, clubs or even hotels having late-night ice-cream joints like Aroma in Chandigarh, which keep open till 1 am, the liking of people of Amritsar for snacks, sweets and other foodstuff cooked in desi ghee is the main reason why whole families go out to savour these delicacies every evening.

“Diet rich in fats and carbohydrates has always been considered a sign of prosperity. Besides, since pre-Independence days, Amritsar, has been a major centre for preparation of warian papad, made of mah-di-daal and indigenously made masalas,” she says.

People of Amritsar are also fond of gold jewellery, including bridal sets, polished pearls, precious metals and silver jewellery. The jewellery showrooms in Guru Bazaar, are visited by most tourists.

The clock may have struck 11 pm but the narrow lanes of the walled city continue to be alive. While the other shopkeepers have downed their shutters, ice-cream parlours and tikki and chaat stalls on the road leading to the Golden Temple can be seen doing brisk business. Most people living close by prefer taking an evening walk to these stalls. Outside the Hall Gate, well-lit fruit shops keep attracting tourists alighting from the late-night buses.

Like any other big city, the activity outside the railway station does not stop till late hours. With autos buzzing all over the area, passengers and even locals can be seen lining up at the dhabas or chicken and fish shops at a little distance.

Tandoori chicken and fried fish displayed at these shops can be seen from a distance. They also offer mutton tikka, kebabs, mutton champs, keema nans, kharore soup.

Tea stalls and small-time dhabas near the medical college, sell desi ghee paranthas stuffed with potatoes, cheese and even omelets .They keep drawing customers, including hostelers, till late night. Hostelers from Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) and Khalsa College can also be spotted late in the night at Gagan Dhaba on Khalsa College Road.

Many locals get up as early as 2 am to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple and offer ‘seva’ there. Most of them, have tea at the roadside tea stalls.

Children park sans swings
Tribune News Service

A community park, which was once a favourite evening hang-out for children in the area, has been turned into an eyesore. Located on Azad Road in Chheharta, Nehru Park has become a pond of mud and slush ever since the Municipal Corporation uprooted the swings and installed a tubewell.

During Satyapal Dang’s tenure as municipal Corporation president over half a dozen parks were set up in the Chheharta area .Nehru Park was the first to come up.

“The residents of the area did not object to the proposal because they thought this would end the shortage of drinking water. But now the tubewell itself does not function. The residents have lost the park and haven’t even got the water supply promised to them,” says Dang.

“The tubewell could have been located along the boundary of the park and the swings would have been spared. But the MC seems to have gone about the project in an unplanned manner. Maintenance and upkeep of the park has also been stopped,” he added.

The second park in the locality at Hukum Chand Colony also seems to have fallen on bad days. Popular as Bagriawala Park, it too houses a tubewell and there are traces of flower beds.

Prem Singh, president of the Mohalla Sudhar Committee, said water pools in the park .A walk after a brief shower can’t be thought about.

“We have urged the MC authorities for repair benches and plant flowers and plants in the park but to no avail”.

Grewal for deep study of Guru Nanak’s life
Sanjay Bumbroo
Tribune News Service

Though it was now impossible to remove distortions and bring uniformity in the history of India and Pakistan but the historians should take care while reproducing the facts in their researches in future, said Dr J.S. Grewal, an eminent historian and former vice-chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University.

Many debates have taken place during the past 15 to 20 years in this regard and various important issues have been raised at various forums but the historians have failed to remove the discrepancies in the ancient history by citing their own reasons and evidences.

The former vice-chancellor who had worked as national fellow on “Contesting Interpretations of Sikh Traditions”, said that same was the case with the Sikh history.

He said there was need to deeply study Guru Nanak’s biography, development of Sikh ideology and environment, social order and the Sikh identity in order to remove distortions which have crept in the 400-year-old history of the community.

“Historical thinking should be correct besides following the laid in procedure while reproducing the books on history to avoid distortions,” said the eminent historian.

Earlier, inaugurating a four-week general orientation course-69 organised under the aegis of Academic Staff College of the Guru Nanak Dev University, Dr Grewal said that teachers should realise their social and moral responsibilities while accepting the global challenges in the modern world.

He said they should upgrade knowledge in their respective disciplines to impart quality education to their students and should be cautious about their role towards society.

Talking about the qualities of an ideal teacher, he said that education was a noble profession and the teachers in addition to the basic education should inculcate moral values among their students.

He said it was the need of the hour that teachers should continue to create new knowledge in their respective subjects. More than 50 teachers from various universities and colleges were taking part in this course.

Vikas Manch asks Badal to develop Amritsar
P. K. Jaiswar

The Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to develop Amritsar as world-class city. In a communiqué to Badal, Harbhajan Singh Gill, president and Amritlal Manan, general secretary of AVM, said that the Congress was defeated as the party ignored the development of the state.

They urged him to set up knowledge city in Amritsar instead of Mohali, consisting of National Institute of Biotechnology, Nanotechnology Biotechnology Park and Indian Institute of Management etc. He is urged to set up a world class Medical City at Amritsar besides setting up Greater Amritsar Area Development Authority.

They demanded the setting up of Amritsar Tourism and Industrial Development Authority to improve the tourism potential of the city and to create international level facilities for the tourists who arrive here from all over the world. They said that previous regime failed to set up the SEZ in Amritsar despite being announced by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

He said previous government took all the five central government institutions to Mohali and Patiala. Three institutes namely The National Institute of Biotechnology, Nanotechnology and Indian Institute of Science were selected for Mohali and National Institute of Law and Defense for Patiala.

Even the National Institute of Biotechnology, which was announced for Amritsar by the Prime Minister at the time of 400th year celebrations of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, was deliberately shifted to Mohali.