The Sikh Times - About India

THE SIKH TIMES
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Noteworthy News and Analysis from Around the World

In-Depth Coverage of Issues Concerning the Global Sikh Community Including Self-Determination, Democracy, Human Rights, Civil Liberties, Antiracism, Religion, and South Asian Geopolitics

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India Travel Forum

Barista (cafe chain; several have wi-fi or wireless Internet service)

Cafe Coffee Day (cafe chain; several have wi-fi or wireless Internet service)

jiwire wi-fi or wireless Internet locations

List of Bookstores

Y.M.C.A. Toursit Hotels

Delhi Hotels

Punjab Hotels

Indian Holiday

Cities

Amritsar, Punjab, India
- Accomodation
  - Golden Temple Sarais
- Bookstores
  - Chattar Singh Jiwan Singh, legendary book store
  - Singh Brothers, legendary book store
- Internet Cafes
  - CyberSurf, Nidhi Building, 2 Lawrence Road, 9 A.M. to 11 P.M., open Sundays, Rs55/hour
  - Cafe Coffee Day, 8-24/25 Lawrence Road
  - Crux, Nidhi Building, 2 Lawrence Road, 7 A.M. to 12 A.M., seven days a week, Rs55/hour
- Places
  - Damdami Taksal, one of the five Sikh takhts (seats of religious authority), located at Mehta Chowk, near Amritsar city; also known as Damdama Sahib or Talvandi Sabo
  - Darbar Sahib Complex, also known as the Golden Temple or Hari Mandir, is the religio-political apex of the Sikhs
  - Durgiana Mandir, Hindu imitation of Darbar Sahib
  - Goindwal, a few kilometers from Tarn Taran, 30 kilometers southeast of Amritsar, this is the site of a baoli (well) with eighty-four steps established by Guru Amar Das; the devout believe that reciting Japji on each of the eighty-four steps provides freedom from the cycle of eighty-four lakh (8,400,000) rebirths
  - Guru Ka Bagh, site of the famous Akali agitation in 1920s; 25 kilometers from the city
  - Jallianwala Bagh, the site of the most infamous massacre of natives by the ruling British
  - Khalsa College, founded in 1892, is the oldest part of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
  - Miri Piri Academy, boarding school (grades 3 to 12), operated by the Sikh Dharma/3HO, located at village Chhertha Sahib, outside Amritsar city
  - Pingalwara, the legendary charitable institution founded by Puran Singh, located in Mannawala, on the Grand Trunk Road, near Amritsar
  - Radha Soami Satsang Beas, located at Beas, in Amritsar district
  - Ram Bagh, also known as Company Bagh
  - Sri Guru Granth Sahib Bhavan, Gurdwara Baoli Sahib, Goindwal; regarded as the first great center of Sikh pilgrimage
- Restaurants
  - All India Fames, a six-decade-old dhaba (roadside restaurant) on Maqbool Road, currently owned by Dalbir Singh, known for its crispy stuffed kulche (bread baked in a tandoor or clay oven) and chole (spicy chickpeas), priced at Rupees 30 per plate
  - Makhan Dhaba or Makhan Fish Corner, owned by Makhan Singh, located on Lawrence Road, a decades old source for the famous Amritsari machchi (Amritsar fried fish)
  - Bharavan Da Dhaba, near the Golden Temple
  - Kanhaiya Sweets, located at Phullonwala Chowk, famous for its multi-layered prathas, bhatura chana, andoori kulchas, puris, puri-aloo, kachaloo, and longi, a sweet sauce made of potato, onion and tamarind

Anandpur, Punjab, India
- Places
  - Keshgarh Sahib, one of the five Sikh takhts (seats of Sikh religious authority)

Bangalore, Karnataka, India
- Places
  - Brindavan, the secondary Sathya Sai Baba ashram (commune), located in a Bangalore suburb called Whitefield
  - Prasanthi Nilayam, the primary Sathya Sai Baba ashram, located in Puttaparthi, Sai Baba's birthplace, 125 kilometers northeast of Bangalore

Chandigarh, Punjab, India
- Accomodation
  - Chandigarh Tourism's List of Budget Accomodation Options
  - Y.M.C.A., Sector 11C; Phone: 011-91-172-546-732
- Internet Cafes
  - The Piccadily, wi-fi, Sector 22-B
  - Cafe Coffee Day, 349 Sector 9, Panchkula
- Places
  - Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Kanthala Sahib, Near Tribune Chowk, Industrial Phase II, Chandigarh, a popular venue for I.O.S.S. conventions
  - Institute of Sikh Studies (I.O.S.S.), founded in 1989 by Daljeet Singh, Inderjit Singh Jaijee, and others, currently headed by Gurdev Singh, Kharak Singh, and others.
  - Sanghol Archeology Museum, 40 kilometres from Chandigarh on the Chandigarh-Ludhiana road
  - The Spokesman, edited by Joginder Singh Sawhney
  - Pinjore, 20 kilometers from Chandigarh, home of the first pothi (first edition of the Guru Granth), viewable on the morning of the full moon day of every month
  - Punjab University

Dehradun, Uttaranchal, India
- Internet Cafes
  - Cafe Coffee Day, Rajpur Road
- Places
  - Poanta Sahib, believed to have been Guru Gobind Singh's abode for over four years, where he penned the Dasam Granth [book of the tenth master]

Delhi, India
- Accomodation
  - Y.M.C.A., Jai Singh Road (near Bangla Sahib), Connaught Place; Phone: 011-91-11-311-915, 011-91-11-312-595; email: ymcand@del3.vsnl.net.in
  - Y.W.C.A. Blue Triangle Family Hostel, Ashoka Road, near Parliament Street (view of Bangla Sahib), Connaught Place; Phone: 011-91-11-336-0133, 011-91-11-336-1517, 011-91-11-373-5138; Internet cafe in basement; hot running water; Rs950 for single w/ a/c
- Bookstores
  - Connaught Place
    - Bookworm, B-29 (Owner: Anil Arora)
    - New Book Depot, B-18 (good Penguin collection)
    - Jain Book Agency, C-39
    - Anil Book Corner, H Block, next to Plaza cinema (stall, good used collection)
    - English Book Store, L-17
    - Oxford Book Store, Statesman House, 148 Barakhamba Road (modern layout, unrelated to O.U.P.)
    - E.D. Galgotia & Sons, B-17 (good technical collection)
  - Daryaganj
    - Metropolitan Book Company, 1 Netaji Subhash Marg
    - Prakash Books, 1 Ansari Road
    - Oxford University Press, 2/11 Ansari Road
    - Sunday Roadside Bazaar
    - Viva Books, 4262/3 Ansari Road
  - Khan Market
    - Book Shop
    - Faqir Chand, A-15, +91 11 2461 8810, haphazardly stacked gems for the general reader
  - South Extension
    - Om Book Shop, E-77, Part I
    - Timeless - The Art Book Studio, 46 Housing Society, Part I
    - Teksons Bookshop, G-4, First Floor
- Cinemas
  - Chanakya, Chanakyapuri
  - Priya, near Modern School, Vasant Vihar
  - Upahar, Hauz Khas
- Internet Cafes
  - Cafe Coffee Day
    - (wi-fi) 5-47/48, Sahara Mall, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Main Road
    - (wi-fi) B-66 Safdurjung Enclave
    - Indira Gandhi International Airport
    - (wi-fi) E-29 Main Market, Hauz Khas
    - (wi-fi) M-58 Main Market, Greater Kailash II
    - E-12 D.D.A. Market, Masjid Moth, Greater Kailash II
    - (wi-fi) N-11 Connaught Place
    - (wi-fi) 5-4 Main Market, Green Park
  - Barista
    - (wi-fi) N-16 Connaught Place
    - (wi-fi) M-43, M-Block Market, Greater Kailash I
- Music/Film Stores
  - Music Shop, Khan Market
  - Music World, Ansal Plaza, South Extension
  - Planet M, Ansal Plaza, South Extension
- Places
  - Baha'i Lotus Temple, an architectural marvel
  - Bangla Sahib, near Connaught Place, at the intersection of Ashok Road and Baba Kharak Singh Marg, adapted from Mirza Raja Jai Singh's Jaisinghpura Palace, marks the place where Guru Harkrishan stayed during a rare visit to Delhi; Home to the Bhatia Brothers book store
  - Satguru Darshan Dham, founded by Darshan Das, currently headed by Charwinda Das, located at Alipur Block, National Highway 1, G.T. Karnal Road, Alipur; the organisation claims the status of a distinct religion but deploys a non-standard, four-color nishan sahib (green, red, white, and saffron) and employs the slogan "Nanak naam chardi kala, tere bhaane sarbat da bhala," a line that ends the Sikh ardas (daily petition-prayer)
  - Gobind Sadan, founded by Virsa Singh, located at Gadaipur, Mehrauli
  - Indian Institute of Technology
  - OshoDham, Osho Rajyoga Meditation Centre, C-5/44 Safdarjung Development Area
  - National Philatelic Museum
  - Rakab Ganj, Pandit Pant Marg (renamed Rakab Ganj Road), near the parliament builing, marks the spot where Guru Teg Bahadur's headless body was cremated
  - Sis Ganj, marks the spot where Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded on November 11, 1675 by the Mughals under orders from Aurangzeb
  - Shree Khandelwal Digambar Jain Mandir, near Shivaji Stadium
  - Shree Khandelwal Digambar Jain Lal Mandir, opposite Red Fort, Chandni Chowk
- Restaurants
  - Evergreen, legendary sweet shop at Green Park, South Delhi
  - Dilli Haat, opposite I.N.A. market; stalls representing cuisines from various states of India
  - Haldiram, Chandni Chowk
  - Paranthe Wali Gali, Chandni Chowk
  - Wenger's, legendary pastry shop at Connaught Place

Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India
- Places
  - Darapur village, home of the second pothi (first edition of the Guru Granth), viewable on the morning of the full moon day of every month

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Bookstores
  - Bookpoint, 3-6-272 Himayatnagar
  - Crossword, Shoppers Stop, S.P. Road, Begumpet
  - Waldens, 6-3-871 Greenlands Road, Begumpet
- Internet Cafes
  - Barista, (wi-fi), Shoppers Stop, Begumpet
  - Cafe Coffee Day, G-1 Ashok Bhopal Chambers, S.P. Road, Begumpet
- Places
  - Osmania University
  - Tirupati, by far the richest Hindu temple in India
- Restaurants
  - Karachi Bakery
  - Paradise, Secunderabad (for biryani)

Jalandhar, Punjab, India
- Internet Cafes
  - Maya Hotel, wi-fi, EH-178 Civil Lines
  - Cafe Coffee Day, B.P.C.L. Outlet, B.M.C. Chowk, Opposite Raddison Hotel, Grand Trunk Road
- Places
  - Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan (D.J.J.S.)
  - Rainak Bazaar
  - New Book Company, Mai Hira Gate; Phone: 280-045
  - Sant Sipahi, monthly Punjabi journal, founded in 1945 by Tara Singh
- Restaurants
  - Haveli, a modern dhaba on the Jalandhar-Phagwara Road

Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
- Places
  - Dehra Sahib, gurdwara commemorating Guru Angad's martyrdom, built by Guru Hargobind, renovated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, located near the Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort
  - Nankana Sahib, gurdwara commemorating Guru Nanak's birthplace, in Sheikhupura district, about 75 kilometers west-southwest of Lahore
  - Ranjit Singh's Tomb, adjacent to the Badshahi Mosque's Roshani Gate, near Heera Mandi

Ludhiana, Punjab, Pakistan
- Internet Cafes
  - Cafe Coffee Day, 108 Surya Towers, Mall Road
- Places
  - Bhaini Sahib, 25 kilometers from Ludhiana city, the primary Namdhari Sikh center
  - Lahore Book Shop, 2, Lajpat Rai Market; Phone: 274-0738
  - Namdhari Shaheedi Samarak (Kuka Memorial Center), near the Field Gunj area of the old city, site of an over 150-year-old banyan tree, better known as the shaheedi-bohr, a mute witness to the 1871 hanging of two Namdhari freedom fighters from one of its branches
  - Sikh Missionary College

Nanded, Maharashtra, India
- Places
  - Gurdwara Banda Ghat
  - Hazoor Sahib, one of Sikhism's five takhts (seats of temporal power)

Patiala, Punjab, India
- Internet Cafes
  - Cafe Coffee Day, Wadaich Complex, Opposite Petrol Pump, Near Phatak Number 22, Bhupendra Road
- Places
  - Parmeshardwar, Ranjit Singh's organisation in village Dhadrian, near village Longowal and village Shekhpura in district Sangrur, about 50 kilometres from Patiala
  - Punjabi University, established in 1962, said to be the only university other than the Hebrew University in Israel to be named after a language

Peshawar, Pakistan
- Food
  - Sukki sevian (dry sweet noodles)
- Places
  - Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh

Roorkee, Uttar Pradesh, India
- Places
  - Indian Institute of Technology