Destination Punjab

Amritsar, Patiala, Ropar and Kapurthala on showcase and an all-new Palace on Wheels

There is something so captivating about the Gobindgarh Fort near Amritsar that you return to it again and again. Long ago, it was home to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, not so long ago it housed the camp office of Gen Dyer and a phansi ghar just outside his bedroom. Drive on and you will come to the Serai Amanat Khan built by the great Sher Shah Suri and a stretch of the original Grand Trunk Road with gorgeous Turkish gates. Take a detour and you8217;ll land at Ram Tirath where the Ramayana was written, not far from the Golden Temple. Further on, just a couple of miles away from Pakistan, is Rajasansi, a village of craftsmen weaving durries. Hungry kya? Simply gorge on the newly-patented Amritsari kulchas and gur-ka-halwa near a swank mall.

Next time, you plan a vacation, think Punjab. After good-naturedly suffering endless jibes about Punjab having no culture except 8220;agriculture8221;, the state is set to hit back with a blitz of culture and heritage guaranteed to leave you bedazzled. Armed with the Centre8217;s blessings and several crores, Punjab is dolling up to put its most fetching face forward with four destinations on its tourism map 8212; Amritsar, Patiala, Ropar, and Kapurthala 8212; and two circuits, one exploring pilgrim spots and the other tracing the freedom movement.

8220;Right now, we are in a dressing up stage, but come to us in a year or two and you will never want to return,8221; says Geetika Kalha, Principal Secretary, Tourism, who is implementing the initiative.

Gurmeet Rai, the noted conservation architect and founder of CCRI ,who conceptualised both circuits, and has bagged the Destination Amritsar project, rubs off some of her enthusiasm on you as she takes you on a whirlwind tour on a map.

The freedom trail takes you from the princely kingdom of Nabha, ruled by Maharaja Ripudaman Singh, who was exiled by the British for supporting the independence movement, to the Sunam house of Shahid Udham Singh who shot dead Gen Michael O Dwyer in London. 8220;You also get to visit the house of his nephew at Khatkar Kalan, but not before you8217;ve bowed your head at the grave of Nawab Sher Mohammed Khan of Malerkotla, the only town in Punjab that remained untouched by the Partition madness, explored the house of Lala Lajpat Rai at Jagraon and seen the obelisks the British built in memory of their soldiers who died in the Anglo-Sikh wars,8221; says Rai.

The tourism department has already begun work on restoring the monuments after inviting bids for private partnership.

To spice up the hospitality quotient, the tourism department has signed an MoU with the Neemrana group of hotels for the Rajindra Kothi in Patiala, once home to the royal family of Patiala. It8217;s also set its sights on converting at least four palaces as heritage resorts, a la Rajasthan. The restoration work on six forts 8212; the Army agreed to return the Bahadurgarh fort to the state in October on the PM8217;s intervention 8212; will complete the royal picture.

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The pilgrim trail is pleasantly secular with Roza Sharif at Fatehgarh Sahib and an ancient Buddhist stupa at Sanghol besides a host of temples and gurdwaras. The state is also developing Ropar as a nature lover8217;s destination with riverfront development and a museum of, guess what, irrigation.

For the return journey, get ready to board an all-new Palace on Wheels. 8220;It will take you to Barog in Himachal Pradesh; Patiala, Anandpur Sahib, and Amritsar in Punjab; Agra in UP and Jaipur in Rajasthan,8221; offers Kalha. The move is awaiting the final nod from Union Minister Lalu Yadav.