I have been to Delhi plenty a times and enroute our office exists Bangla Saahib. You don't really get any glimpse of the structure inside while passing by but somehow I always wanted to visit this Gurudwara. Today morning when we landed in Delhi, the first SMS upon switching the mobile phone on was about the postponed meeting. Great!
So we had atleast a couple of hours to kill before the next meeting. And Delhi can't be any better than it is in winter. I mean travelling from Mumbai when you reach a place where 15 degrees celsius is the during the day temperature, the fun sure has begun. Even before exploring the several choices on how to kill the time, I was very sure of visiting the Bangla Ssahib to start my day in the capital city. So we reached the place on this chilly morning and first handed over our shoes to team of people who sure hailed from very decent families. Faith puts you in a position where you are neither ashamed nor trying to show off while respecting your belief.
Walking on the cold marble floor to the shrine, listening to the chants in Punjabi gave a touch of divinity to the whole ambiance. We passed the water channel and again noticed the not the cleaner type but some middle aged gentleman wiping the floor off the water that people cause, without realising the trouble they cause walking religiously to their faith. Off a few steps and we picked up the colourful pieces of cloth to cover heads. And trust me, in that whole ambiance, covering your with that colourful cloth does not give you the cool feeling of sporting a bandana! Head covered in a red I crossed the final steps of the cold marble and entered Gurudwara with floors covered in thick carpets. The warm feeling sure suggests the presence of the divine.
The decor of the shrine is not overdone, fancy neither. But it sure has a commanding personality. The attending priest was waving the breeze with the traditional fan. The other three priests who sat across the shrine sang heartfully. I could not understand the Punjabi diction but their words and the symphony it created filled the whole area with undescribable tranquility. Being a first timer in Gurudwara, I was not very sure of the Sikh ways of paying homage to Babaji. Following crowd could sure be one easy way out but the faithful air in there made me bow down in front shrine. It felt so calm and complete, like I had been recharged. I asked one of the priests if I could take pictures. He smiled and said, you sure can. More than this picture, I will have this episode printed on my mind for long, I am sure.
We got the glimpse of the sarovar next to the Gurudwara but time did not permit us the round around it. We accepted the palmful of prasad outside and started back towards the routine.
Where the faith rules the belief, my friend, you feel just the joy!
