Trip to Devi Talab Temple and Rangla Punjab - Jalandhar (6-8 April 07)

Meaning no offense, I dont think Jalandhar would lie on India's tourism map, or atleast not at a very high rank. So then, why and how did I decide to venture out in this small, clean, calm Punjab city, when I could have gone to nearby Amritsar which boasts of Golden Temple(yes its covered with pure gold), Jallianwalah Bagh(just a mention of this place sends me into shivers.. How can humans be so inhuman at times..) and Wagah Border(territorial border with our "worthy" neighbours).
But then the truth is, in the coming years of my life, I would be visiting this city every now and then. Yes ofcourse, its my Inlaws' city.. :)

The Journey
I took a bus from Delhi-Lal Quila on 6th night(friday). It was a video coach and the movie "Guru" was running inside. I don't normally realize that at 5'10'', I am above average Indian male height, unless I am sitting inside one of these buses which cramp me for leg room. So the journey wasnt very enjoyable, but it wasn't my first in such a bus either. So the night went through and I reached Jallandhar at around 7 in the morning. My wife, who had reached a day earlier, had come to pick me up.

After spending whole of day at the house, we went to one of our relative's place. The lady of the house was an excellent excellent cook. With a full three course meal, we had eaten way beyond what our stomach woud permit.

Devi Talab Mandir (Godess Pond Temple)

Next morning(Sunday, 7th), we decided to go to the nearby Devi Talab temple. It was a 20-25 min drive and we reached there at around 12 noon. The temple was spread over a vast area. The first glance and I realized there was one main temple at the centre surrounded by a pond, and few others scattered around. After removing our shoes, we headed towards the main temple first. It was sunny and white marble floor was steaming hot. We were literally hopping over it rather than walking. The main temple was just like any Indian temple with Idols of Deities, and a small hall to sit and recite prayers. It also had a ever running small flame, a symbol of divinity in Indian Mythology (what we call as "jyot"). The surrounding pond also had big Deity Idols, half submerged, in it. The place had a nice aura about it.

The rest of structures in the campus were miniature models of other famous temples of India. First one was a lookalike of the famous "Vaishno Devi" shrine in J&k. It was built as a small cave with an even smaller entrance filled with water, with Vaishno Godess' idol inside. I wonder how my mom in law managed to cross the cave.. :).


Next was the miniature version of the Amarnath temple. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. According to Hindu mythology, this is the cave where Lord Shiva told about the secret of life and eternity to His divine consort Parvati,and hence this shrine holds a very special value to the Hindus. It has a natural "Shiva Lingam", a cylindrical structure with a hemispherical top, formed by ice. This structure is a symbol of lord Shiva. I haven't been to the original one, but this miniature was beautiful.

Last one was another temple (dont know if it was also a look alike of some place) which had the God "Baba Balak Nath's" idol inside. The disgusting "Women are not allowed" mention there forbids me to write anything about that place.

Despite having a huge tourism potential, the place was not very well kept. It was not as neat clean and well managed as I have seen some other temples in India. But then there was ongoing construction work inside.

Rangla Punjab - The Heritage Village

In the evening another of our relatives invited us to a dinner at nearby Rangla Punjab resort. Its a privately owned theme park cum restaurant at the outskirts of Jallandhar on the GT road. A typical Punjab village backdrop compliments the setting for any ethnic style get-together. Rangla Punjab shows the unique heritage of Punjab and Punjabi culture.

The place has dozens of mannequins wearing different punjabi attires, depicting various different cultures, occupations, stratas of Punjab. There were ladies milking cows, kids with handmade toys, village huts with their interiors, farmers, potters and what not. There was even a real potter there, and wife tried her hand at pottery. After a few attempts, she did manage to pull one out.. :). Other attractions included horse/camel rides, Kanche (a game with very small marble balls),shopping, basketry and a Bhangra/Giddha(native Punjabi dance form) dance group performance which was awesome.

The dinner hall had ethnic punjabi decor with utensils complementing. Food was delicious (not for calorie watchers though).

Had to catch a train later that evening, else we could have easily spent a few more hours there. Punjab undoubtedly is the most vibrant of Indian states, and all its colors were on display there. An evening to remember...:)