Can-Cans and Conflict on the Border (Wagah Flag Lowering Ceremony (Amritsar, India))

Member Name: koshkha

Product:	Wagah Flag Lowering Ceremony (Amritsar, India)
Date:	10/01/09 (192 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's fair to say you won't see anything like this anywhere else

Disadvantages: If you want fantastic photos, you'll probably be disappointed

I'm taking a small diversion away from our recent holiday in Bhutan and Darjeeling to write about one of the highlights of the previous year's holiday in the Punjab; the famous flag lowering ceremony at Wagah.

** What is it? **

The daily flag lowering ceremony at the Wagah border crossing between India and Pakistan is one of the most bizarre displays of mutual dislike combined with pure theatre and a great example of nationalism and pride. Every day, come rain or shine, war or peace, the border guards of India and Pakistan go through the motions of closing the gates that join the two countries, under the watchful eyes and with the loud support of thousands of spectators. It also makes great television and has been publicised by Michael Palin in his Himalaya series and was included in Sanjeev Bhaskar's India series a couple of years ago.

** Where is it and how do you get there? **

The closest town to Wagah from the Indian side is Amritsar and from the Pakistan side is probably Lahore. We visited the border whilst staying in Amritsar and, since there's not really a great deal to do in the town, a trip to the flag lowering ceremony is considered by most visitors as one of the top 3 attractions in the area. We travelled to Amritsar with friends who were staying just the one night before returning to see relatives so we knew we had to get our Wagah experience in on that first day. We asked our hotel what they would charge to arrange a vehicle and their response was so ridiculous that we headed out on the streets to find a local taxi and a young guy with the world's smelliest minibus offered us a good price. My friend Kuljit managed the negotiation with the aggression that only a British Punjabi with a need to prove she's got the skills of her ancestors can manage. She was so convinced the driver wouldn't turn up to take us that she took his driving permit hostage to ensure he turned up. With amazing good humour, he went along with her game.

** Waiting for the Fun to Begin **

Wagah is about a 30-45 minute drive out of Amritsar depending of course on how much traffic there is and just how rubbish your vehicle is. We arrived about an hour and a half before the ceremony was due to begin and were swamped by post-card sellers, guys with DVDs of the ceremony for sale and over-zealous café and bar owners trying to get us to drink beer in their open air cafes. Beer's a bit deal at the border because the centre of Amritsar, out of respect for the Golden Temple, is both 100% vegetarian (which in Indian terms means no eggs as well as no meat) and totally alcohol free. And of course for anyone actually crossing the border, this is the last chance of getting anything alcoholic before entering Pakistan. Surely four European tourists would need a beer before the ceremony. But we resisted in order to make sure we were near the front of the huddle for getting through the gates to watch the ceremony. Whilst we waited we posed for photos with Indian families who all seemed to want to get shots of the strange tourists. I think we had almost as many photos taken of us as the border guards did.

Eventually, about 45 minutes before the ceremony was due to begin, the gates opened and we were allowed through to the seating area. Queuing in India is of course always a bit of a gamble but the 'foreign tourist' card was in our favour and as the guards directed men to one large concrete stand and women to another, all the tourist couples were sent to the VIP stand which seemed to be the only one where the sexes weren't segregated. We found a good place to sit at the top of the stands with a view over the crossing point towards the Pakistani stands and by sheer force and determination, we clung onto our position as everyone around us was moved on by the guards. If you can get to the top row it seems to fill up quite quickly so once the row is full, there's nowhere to get moved on to.

As the time for the display drew nearer, the crowd on the Pakistani side was still very thin. We were there at a time when Pakistan was in the middle of a state of national emergency and it really did look as if the attendees on their side of the border were being bussed in just to make up numbers. Large groups of identically dressed men were in one of the stands, looking as if the factory bus had taken every one to the ceremony to keep up appearances.

The crowd were getting increasingly excited as the stands filled up. On the Indian side loud music was playing interspersed with loud patriotic chanting which sadly we couldn't join in with we didn't know the words although I picked up the 'Hindustan zindabad' or 'Long live India' and joined in with that bit. Children were being given the large Indian flags to hold and running up and down the road to cheers and applause. Meanwhile on the Pakistan side the music was replaced with loud readings from the Koran (I think) and a guy with a long beard and a green outfit, looking like a Muslim Father Christmas, was striding around with a flag and trying to whip up some enthusiasm in the crowd.

The border guards are an amazing group of men. Indians are not on average very tall people and it would appear that the army travels the length and breadth of the country to find all the tallest and most athletic men to train as guards. The Pakistan guards have splendid moustaches and beards and are mostly intensely handsome in an 'Omar Sharif in Dr Zhivago' sort of way. Their dark green uniforms contrast with the Indian's lighter khaki. The Indian guys have the compulsory neat little military moustaches and both sides where fabulous crested hats that look like their mothers all took special courses in table napkin folding. The effect of these coxcomb like hats is to make the guards look even taller and thinner. On the Indian side, the uniform includes white spats on their shoes and trousers that look as if they are hanging at half mast. Ladies will know that any form of 'cropped' trousers are extremely difficult to carry off and only the fact that these guys are very tall and very fit will stop you having a giggle at their uniform. In the distance we could see groups of guards warming up for the ceremony - swinging their legs like frenzied can-can girls.

** Let's get this party started **

Eventually about half an hour before sundown the ceremony begins. Sadly, from any place more than a few feet back from the gates you'll struggle to see much in any detail. Repeatedly the teams of guards from each side march up to the gates, high stepping and swinging their legs like a set of chorus girls but with a lot of added stamping. Unless you have an amazingly good camera, abandon all hope of getting great photos as the ceremony takes place in the fading light.

Eventually the marching up and down phase is over and the lowering the flag phase begins. This takes an absurdly long time to play out and once the flag ropes are in the hands of the soldiers you can expect several more minutes of throwing the ropes around and shouting. I learned this to my cost after wasting most of my camera memory trying to video the lowering of the flags and just getting the rope throwing. Finally, when you think they really can't string it out any longer, the flags start their slow and measured descent, with each side anxious to not let their flag down before the other. Finally with the flags down and folded, one guard from each side steps forward, salutes and shakes hands with his counterpart and the gates are slammed shut for the night.

In another 10 to 15 minutes we were out of the border area and back looking for our driver. Our friends had already negotiated a good deal on postcards and DVDs, saving us lots of time, so we rode on the back of their price negotiation and picked up a set for ourselves. Then we got into our minibus and, in a massive convoy with all the other local and international tourists, we headed back to Amritsar for dinner and our first visit to the famous Golden Temple.

Summary: Not the sort of ceremony you'll want to join in with.