The Experience of Going Through The Gate of India to Kartarpur in Pakistan

The India-Pakistan border that excites you to move from one country to another -A photo essay

1. India to Pakistan- Gates to be crossed

India and Pakistan are neighboring countries, but there are a lot of restrictions when we want to visit the country. It is easier to get a visa anywhere in the world rather than Pakistan.

I had gone to Lahore in 2000. It has beautiful historical buildings and I enjoyed visiting it.

For some time, I had been keen to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara as I believe in Guru Nanak and grew up upholding his principles of spreading love amongst people, and it is said that he had spent the last eighteen years of his life there.

It upholds the ideology of Guru Nanak Devji to preach universal love and harmony. He had three principles: Naam japna, remembering God through meditation. Vand chakko, selflessly serving others, sharing income and resources. Kirat karo, earning an honest living.

In February a group of 14 people decided to go to Amritsar and Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan. We decided our visit dates to be 6th to the 8th of March 2024.

The Kartarpur Corridor is considered to be a visa-free border crossing that connects the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to the border with India.

However, it is not visa-free because we are first charged a registration fee when we apply for entry to Pakistan and when the request is accepted and we actually enter Pakistan we have to pay a border fee of US 20 Dollars.

We started our journey at8.30AM from our hotel at Amritsar.

We took 2 and a half hours to reach the border from the city of Amritsar. As you can see the beautiful gates of India have been constructed to allow people to go across from these gates to the Pakistan Gates.

We were stopped at the gate and we were 13 people as 1 did not get a visa entry to Pakistan. Our car drivers had passes to drop us to the entry point where we would be checked.

At the gates, the security staff decided that we were not fit to go to Pakistan because we had not got our Covid clearance report that was to be taken 72 hrs before the entry. We gave them our international travel certificates that we show internationally but they were not acceptable here.

We were sent to the Municipal Corporation Office took our rapid test and cleared us all but it took more than one hour to get the results and reports.

Then we went for immigration. We were given polio drops by the Indian immigration center and our passports were checked. We were also instructed to carry only Rs11000 Indian money including 20 US Dollars as border fee to be given on the Pakistan side.

2. The open India Gate

Here, you can see one gate, which is Indian, and the other, which is Pakistan. We could reach here only after immigration, first on the Indian side and then on the Pakistan side.

3. Pakistan Gate

The gates were now open and it was a thrilling moment to enter Pakistan. With all the lines of immigration and checks, we finally reached Kartarpur Sahib.

The earth seemed the same, the weather too and the people were very welcoming. Even though they checked us they were courteous and spoke very politely.

4. Welcome to Pakistan

The Pakistani bus took us to Kartarpur. You can see the prominent board with the welcome sign to Pakistan. I managed to take a photo from the bus of our entry to our neighboring country.

5 On the bus to Pakistan

I took a picture of the bus that we were traveling to Jartarpur. There were people besides our group.

6. Kartarpur Sahib

Finally, we came to Kartarpur Sahib. It was a thrilling moment to move in the soil of the neighboring country. It was beautiful. The gurudwara was also serene and peaceful.

Kartarpur Sahib exudes a deeply spiritual atmosphere. I experienced a sense of tranquility and reverence as we approached the gurdwara. People around me also felt emotional. I saw some people with tears of happiness. I was in a state of happiness and contentment when I finally visited Kartarpur in Pakistan.

7. The Gurudwara Complex

The Gurdwara complex is sprawling and and has many buildings. There were many facilities for pilgrims.

we went to pay our respects at the shrine, participated in the prayers, and after that went to have langar which is a community kitchen where people cook and offer voluntary services and offer people to have a meal.

8 Side view of the Gurudwara complex

The Gurudwara was very big and we went around taking a look and offering our prayers before we sat for our community lunch.

9.The inner sanctum

The inner sanctum is where the Holy prayer is held and it is called the Guru Granth Sahib.

In reverence to God, we cover our heads always.

10. Inside the sanctum

It felt peaceful and some moments with ourselves inside the prayer room. Overjoyed to spend time inside with a little prayer.

11. The small market

One of our members was standing near the small market and I took a photo with Pakistan’s symbol.

We hardly had any time left. It was already 3,15PM and the last bus would leave at 4.00 PM. There were some Pakistani sweets and clothes that people bought just before leaving as memories of the place,

12 Return to India- Mission accomplished

We got off the bus on our return and again went through customs and immigration and said goodbye to Pakistan.

It was a spiritual, tourism, and exciting trip. Our mission was completely accomplished. We wish we could stay there longer but Alas all good things have a time limit and we were back and on our way to Amritsar.

To wrap up

The experience of traveling from Amritsar to Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan was one of reverence, spirituality, and cultural exchange, offering people to meet others from the neighboring country.

The people in Pakistan were very hospitable and respectful. It was a unique opportunity to connect with them across borders.

As we return from this transformative experience, we bring back with us not only memories of the sacred Gurudwara but also an appreciation for the interconnectedness of cultures and the enduring legacy of shared values.

It was a good cultural exchange in promoting peace, harmony, and mutual respect across borders.

©Dr. Preeti Singh, 2024.

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