Our Spice Jet plane landed unceremoniously on the tarmac at Amritsar International Airport after a turbulent journey over Jammu and Kashmir.

We were hit immediately by a gust of dusty hot air the minute we stepped foot into the city.

Taxis streamed into the arrival pick-up zone while travellers poured out of the gates with trolleys of canvas bags.

For two weeks, we were holed up in the desert; and the blaring honks of impatient drivers, shanty buildings and expressways, were a jarring reminder that our trip was about to end.

But for now, we were here in Amritsar, the cultural centre of Sikhism, and land of mouth-watering kulchas.

The Golden Temple

Also known as Harminder Sahib, the temple is a revered pilgrimage site for Sikhs.

First built in 1589, the temple endured several rounds of destruction during the Mughal Invasion. The surrounding moat was desecrated with garbage by invading soldiers.

In 1809, Sikh leader Maharaja Ranjit Singh had the temple rebuilt with marble and copper after he founded the Sikh Empire. It was later overlaid with gold foil.

But following the partition of India, Sikh nationalists proposed the creation of Khalistan, a new country.

At the height of the unrest, Khalistan proponents headed by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale moved into the Golden Temple and deployed machine guns around the moat.

As protests escalated to riots, the government at that time, led by Indira Gandhi, launched Operation Blue Star. The reported carnage stood at over 1,000. But it was the destruction of the sanctimonious Golden Temple that aggravated the wider community.

Four months after the operation, Gandhi was gunned down by two of her Sikh bodyguards.

Her body was riddled with 33 bullets.

Today, the temple has the highest volume of tourists in India, and volunteers dole out vegetarian food to worshippers from all walks of life.

As we walk around the complex, families lay sprawled on thin mats under the surrounding columns and worshippers washed up at the bathing points.

It was hard to believe that we were treading on the very same ground which had borne witness to centuries of violence.

The air was sticky with humidity. But the only thing that mattered that night was the peace of the present.

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