Amritsar: the Sikh golden temple

The holiest city for the Sikh religion, Amritsar is home in its Golden Temple to one of the world's largest free kitchens, capable of feeding one hundred thousand people daily.

The centre is easily explored on foot, barefoot in the temple area.

The Golden Temple, or Harmandir Sahib, covered with real gold foil and surrounded by a sacred lake, remains the most venerated place of the entire Sikh religion.

Within the complex, the Guru Ka Langar, a free community kitchen run by volunteers, serves meals to anyone, without distinction of religion or caste, day and night.

Just a few kilometers away, the Wagah Border with Pakistan hosts an evening border-closing ceremony with theatrical military parades that attract thousands of spectators.

Toward evening, the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial commemorates the massacre committed by British troops in 1919 against a crowd of unarmed civilians.

The Langar of the Golden Temple serves up to one hundred thousand meals per day free of charge, prepared and distributed entirely by volunteers according to the Sikh principle of absolute equality among all human beings.

The Wagah border ceremony, with its exaggerated marches and high kicks almost choreographed, remains one of the rare moments when India and Pakistan share the same public space, even if in symbolic competition.