Amritsar again....Sadda Pind

I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said our visit to Amritsar panned out the way it did, from one totally chance (?) occurrence.

The chance occurrence came in the form of Savinder Singh, our cab driver who took us from the airport to our home stay. Starting from that one off space, he became an integral part of the entire visit, starting each morning with a sweet 'sääse kaal'

On the way from the airport, he said "take my number, just in case you'll need a cab". Guess I was too busy gazing at the sights of Amritsar, I smiled and ignored. After a while...  again and in a more insistent tone "number likhlijiye madam" (write it down madam)".  I did, just so he wouldn't interrupt again.

And that became our core connect.

The home stay we'd picked, while huge, and beautiful, and comfortable, was a good distance from the city. Evening when we decided we'd step out, we could get neither an Ola nor any other cab.

We called Savinder.

He not only took us around each day after that, but even became our source of information. It was he who told us about 'Sadda Pind' ( Our Village), a visit that gave us a lovely traditional and cultural Punjabi experience.

It's a place they've created for a true Punjabi experience, starting right from 'Makki di roti aur Sarson ka saag'

See it in pictures: The entrance

Pretty much the first thing you get is 'garma garam sarson di saag and makki di roti', simply yummmmm. It's made right there, and on firewood.

That's us enjoying the 'makki di roti and sarson da saag'. When we did our cross country drive and passed the 'sarson da keth' when mom asked Savinder how come there's so little leaves, is when he explained how the saag is made not from the leaves, but from the stalk. So interesting.

Balwinder Singh, he was so statuesque and dignified, for a moment we thought he was a statue. Mom had a nice chat with him. She has a soft corner for Punjabi's :)

There's lots of these real looking statues from rural life around

Mom so loves peacocks, so this one was for her.

I tried my hand at the chakkipees, only because mom said they would do it regularly during their childhood. Plus it also gave me a chance to have a chat with Honey

Just couldn't resist the picture. Took it at the cost of blatantly embarrassing them :)

He was explaining how this fan runs on kerosene oil. It's kind of all from the 1800's.

A statue that was so beautiful, that it had me transfixed for a bit there

Preeti, she was manning the music room which had several musical instruments I'd never seen before. 

When I pointed to one, she picked it up and played it, so rustic and lovely. When asked if she herself could play, she said she's a BA in music. And i was like "gaathe bhi ho?". And she's like "haan madam, sunoge?".

We were like "zaroor" (ofcourse). She said "hindi ya punjabi?". And then she sang, in this clear loud husky deep voice, that seemed to reverberate through the room and beyond. 

She even explained it, a song about a mother weaving a shawl for her daughter who is married and gone, and through each weave telling her how much she missed her. 

Was touching and beautiful.

He was doing a shawl on handloom, and insisted that mom model it for him

This was so quaint. Thukkudu billa we used to call it back in the day. I have played it for hours and hours during school days.

I was in a reckless enough mood to get my palm read :)

My lunch plate....an authentic punjabi meal, with dahi wada and kadi, and dal makhni, and moong da halwa. My mouths watering just thinking about it.

Mom enjoying the swing after lunch

That's how we saw most of Sadda Pind, else we couldn't have spent four hours there. So glad for their having a wheel chair, their hospitality and respect for elders is exemplary. Also equally glad for mom so sportingly and willingly doing the wheel chair. Proud of you ma.

Sadda Pind was a simply beautiful experience.