Ram Bagh Garden

Amritsar is a different animal as far as Indian cities are concerned. I hadn't realized how different until today. I decided to visit the Ram Bagh Garden. It was one of the spots listed as a point of interest by the guest house on their card. It seemed like it might be a good place to just relax for a while as the day passed and it got to be time to go and catch my bus to Delhi.

I set out and crossed the tracks in search of the park. I first thought I had found the park when I reached a gate with an enclosed area inside. But there was no grass. There were no people. There was a building and a tree. I went in and it seemed to be a special Sikh place actually. I was trespassing a bit, I think, but they were welcoming anyway. It turned out that the spot was a martyring place. At some point, and I'm not sure when and I don't know who was martyred or how many there were. The man in the area didn't speak any English, but he showed me the place.

But the sign attached to the tree made clear that Sikhs were hung there and it seemed that the British were the ones doing the hangings. I think it might have been in 1817, which seemed to be the year that was on the sign, but I'm not sure.

Then I headed out again to find the park. I was fooled at first by the state of the building in the garden. It was in the process of being renovated and brought up to a level where people could go in and look around. It may, at some point, be a tourist attraction in its own right, possibly with an entrance fee attached. But for now it's a somewhat decrepit, crumbling old building. I was somewhat disappointed that this was the spot that was considered of interest.

I found a bench nearby and sat down to just enjoy the day. After a while I got up and followed another path around the old house and found... a park.

A real park. With people doing things I have seen in parks the world over. There were kids in a roller-blading area.

There were people doing an exercise class.

There were others who were just sitting and chatting.

There was even what looked like a taekwondo class in progress. People of all ages were using the park. And I realized that this was the first time in nearly three months in India that I have seen a park actually being used. It was a surprise to realize it. And it was refreshing. Amritsar is truly a different kind of city in this country.