I've been in Amritsar this week, and I've been weeping a great deal. The Amritsar Shatabdi arrives at 10.30 pm. But my host, Jasmina Sachdeva, suggested we visit the Harmandir Saheb, the Golden Temple, at night, as it would be very crowded during the day. It was a deeply moving experience, visiting this holy shrine of the Sikhs. As I prayed by the water tank, the golden domes of the temple shimmering in the surrounding water, I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere of faith and sewa (service); the constantly flowing water seemed to bring home to me the transience of life.

I found my cheeks wet with tears. The temple is so visionary, it gives away free tree saplings as prasad. I visited the Partition Museum in the city, and was so moved I broke down quite a few times, including while listening to a video of Gulzar saab reciting his poem Dastak, relating to his experience of Partition. Between one and two million died during Partition, and over 15 million were uprooted. Actually, I could not "finish" the entire museum, as the experiences are valuable, but hard to bear. It displays many facts and photographs, and audio and visual material. For instance, they have recreated a refugee camp tent, with a steel thali and glass inside, with audio announcements being made in the camp at the time. Set up by The Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust chaired by Kishwar Desai, the museum is still a work in progress. No brochures, catalogues, or guide was available, and sadly, they would not allow photography.