My favourite story

Since I love traveling all around the globe,I have tasted some of the best and most varied cuisines. But the food I had at the Golden Temple,Amritsar,known as langar by Sikhs,is unforgettable. The food is made at a common canteen in the gurudwara for all the visitors and is served by voluntary helpers called sewadars. The food was very simple,like something that must be the everyday menu in a Punjabi household,but the taste was just divine. I remember the time I had visited was around Diwali and special prasads had been prepared. One was karah prasad,which is halwa made of whole wheat flour,butter and sugar,commonly known as “sheera” in Maharashtra. The prasad is considered as food blessed by the Guru and should never be refused. We were also served Makki Ki Roti,a flat unleavened north Indian bread usually made of corn flour,along with dal,mixed vegetable curry and kheer. The kheer is the stuff of dreams. It is made of broken wheat with milk and sugar,flavoured with raisins,saffron,cashewnuts,pistachios and almonds. The taste took me to an altogether different level.

My mother cooks a lot of Punjabi delicacies and eating at the langar reminded me of her preparations. What astonished me the most was how nearly 1,00,000 people,including countless foreigners,come under one roof,sit cross-legged together and eat like one big family connected by a religious belief. There is no VIP area,everyone is treated and served as equal beings. I loved the fact that there is no discrimination at all. Although I am not a spiritual person,but at Amritsar,I actually felt connected to God. Another favourite thing about the food was that it’s free and unlimited. So one can just stuff oneself till their heart’s content,just the way I did.