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Praise for the Book
'This book is a treasure trove of powerful imagery and compelling history. The Golden Temple becomes the focal point not just for Sikh life but also our view of the changing face of India. In turn moving and instructive, this work will never find itself on a shelf gathering dust.'
ANITA ANAND
'A stunning book that will bring a lifetime of illumination and pleasure. Something you will buy for your friends, and then your friends will buy for their friends in turn...It's the perfect gift'
SATHNAM SANGHERA
'a game changer... a joy to hold and behold'
SIKHCHIC
'a treasure-chest of a book!'
PROFESSOR ELEANOR NESBITT
'a splendid and evocative representation of a hundred and fifty years history of the Golden Temple and its environs… it undoubtedly deserves a place in the homes of all those who are continuously drawn to the centre of the Sikh faith'
PROFESSOR IAN TALBOT, Journal of Punjab Studies
About the Book
Across the centuries, the sublime splendour and timeless spirituality of Sri Harimandir Sahib has inspired pilgrims, travellers and artists alike. This monumental volume brings their preternatural visions together, offering an experience akin to time travel — a unique journey into the temple’s spiritual radiance and scarcely believable beauty, revealed through rare imagery and extraordinary eyewitness accounts that capture the Golden Temple’s breathtaking allure in a way no other work has achieved.
THE GOLDEN TEMPLE OF AMRITSAR: BEAUTY BEYOND COMPARE
This book features hundreds of the rarest, earliest and most beautiful images of the shrine, city and inhabitants of Amritsar combined with two centuries of eyewitness accounts penned by many remarkable characters including spies, intrepid women, missionaries and even a Hollywood movie star. Collectively, they provide revealing insights into one of the world’s most iconic buildings and its often tumultuous history, as well as vividly portraying the architectural magnificence and spiritual allure of the fabled temple and the city’s majestic palaces, luscious gardens and bustling streets.
FEAST OF A BOOK
This landmark publication includes nearly 500 artists’ and photographers’ impressions, including the earliest known painting (an Indian miniature dated c. 1825) and photograph (dated c. 1856) of the shrine. This vast collection of paintings, sketches, lithographs and photographs have been painstakingly sourced from archives around the world. The majority have never been published before.
These images are complemented by intriguing excerpts from 70 written accounts, ranging from the earliest discovered, from 1808 by a one-legged British spy, right up to that of an awestruck Hollywood heartthrob, Lew Ayres, in search of the exotic and esoteric in 1959.
The introductory essay and detailed timeline trace the temple’s history, including its pre-Sikh connections with earlier spiritual traditions beginning with its origins as a place where the Buddha is said to have once meditated, leaving the reader with the most comprehensive historical account of the site to be found in any single volume.
This exhaustive content is encased in a sumptuously designed volume that stands as a loving testament to a temple that inspires deep veneration and is one of the world’s most popular heritage sites: remarkably it receives more visitors than the Taj Mahal, with over five million pilgrims and tourists flocking to its open doors every year from all faiths and none.
SIKH ‘VATICAN CITY’
From its founding in 1588, the temple has come to symbolise the epitome of Sikh architecture as well as the undying love of its devotees. The complex that developed around it was as one eyewitness put it the Sikhs’ very own ‘Vatican City’. It represents the beating heart of Sikhism, the world’s fifth largest faith that is also the youngest.
In its heyday in the early 1800s, not only was it the finest example of the unique Sikh architectural style, it was also highly regarded as a centre of learning and a beacon for those in search of spiritual and educational enlightenment. Around it developed a bustling multicultural town that became a prominent stop on the Silk Route and a major commercial centre of north-western India.
RISE OF AN EMPIRE
The temple’s story is also inextricably linked to the rise of Sikh power and the turning of the tide on successive Mughal and Afghan incursions on the holy shrine. After incessant destructions and defilements the Sikhs conclusively subdued the turbulent Afghans in the 19th century, a feat not accomplished since Alexander the Great’s exploits some two thousand years earlier.
Although numerically few, the Sikhs pushed out from their base around the shrine, a key source of their inspiration, to form one of the most powerful nations in Asia at that time. Under their far-sighted and wilful maharaja, Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), and his leading general, Hari Singh Nalwa (1791-1836), they went on to construct a series of strategic forts stretching through what is now Abbottabad, in Pakistan all the way to the infamous Khyber Pass, the route of entry into the Indian sub-continent since time immemorial, thus putting an end to millennia of invasion.
SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
Eventually, the Sikhs clashed with the British in the Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845-6, 1848-9) for control of north India. With the assistance of European officers, including from the armies of Napoleon who had gone East to seek their fortunes, the Sikhs came within hours of defeating the British – a result that would have spelt disaster for the Raj.
UNDER THE HAMMER
Amongst many remarkable stories from its history, the book highlights the little-known and shocking story of an aborted attempt by the British to auction off the temple in 1877, just months after Queen Victoria was pronounced Empress of India.
Still attempting to subdue any resistance following the Anglo-Sikh Wars, the British recognised the potential the temple had as a source of intrigue and insurgency. They therefore sought to dispose of this focus of resistance to their rule. Only the appearance of a miraculously hovering ball of lightning just prior to the secret auction proceedings persuaded the British to abandon their scheme, although they did record the phenomenon and even had the presence of mind to claim its appearance was a good omen for the rule of Queen Victoria.
REFLECTIONS ON A GOLDEN ERA
This unique volume highlights the temple’s unparalleled beauty and changing fortunes during its golden era of peace, prosperity and patronage. Much more than yet another book on Sri Harimandir Sahib, this is a unique, never to be repeated, volume that has already become an instant collector’s item.
About the Authors
AMANDEEP SINGH MADRA and PARMJIT SINGH are independent historians and curators who co-founded the UK Punjab Heritage Association (ukpha.org), a charity dedicated to promoting Punjab's rich cultural heritage.
They have co-authored several highly acclaimed books on Sikh history and are leading global players in showcasing the culture, history, art and heritage of the Sikhs and Punjab. They have lectured extensively on the subject as well as having contributed to several television documentaries, radio programmes, exhibitions and publications. Most recently they curated two major exhibitions at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, London, covering the Golden Temple of Amritsar and Sikhs in World War One.
They continue to work as special consultants for various organisations including the BBC, The Discovery Channel, Victoria & Albert Museum, British Museum, British Library and Wallace Collection.
For author events, talks and interviews see our What's On page.
Design: Juga Singh
Publication Date: 8 August 2011
ISBN: 9780956016812
