World’s Largest Free Community Kitchen: Langar at the Awe-Inspiring Golden Temple

A Bucket List Moment

The Golden Temple in Amritsar had been on my bucket list for a very long time, just as it was on my Thamma’s. For me, it was always about its architecture and beauty; I had seen the Temple in movies like Rang De Basanti and wanted to see this glorious structure in real-time. For my grandmother though, the fascination was different, she was more keen on observing the people who went there, the devotees, travellers and pilgrims who sat within the temple complex for hours to attain spiritual bliss. She also wanted to see the iconic Guru Ram Das Langar which is the largest free community kitchen in the world.

I had heard that the lines to enter the temple are extremely long but the friendly volunteers were beyond kind; when they noticed that my aged grandmother was with me and had a tiny limp in her step, they immediately let us in from an emptier section so she would have to walk less. After they escorted us in, they touched her feet for blessings and I caught a glimpse of love in my grandma’s eyes. She told me how she had heard so much about humbleness and effortless display of humanity in this sacred space, but to witness it and experience it in person was a heartwarming experience. We spent a couple of hours, my grandmother observing everybody and me living my Bollywood dream (just for a little while). But the best was yet to come, the much-awaited langar.

The Golden Temple langar is nothing but a testimony to humanity, that we are all equals in more ways than one. My grandma and I sat side by side and were served a simple meal of rice, dal, roti, channa, sabzi and kheer. It was home-cooked food with extra sprinkles of love. The atmosphere in the langar hall was very peaceful. Once we were done eating, I took my grandmother back to our hotel but made a mental note to visit the kitchen where these innumerable meals were cooked, and that happened to be the next day.

I spent the night doing my research and the figures astonished me! Running the Golden Temple langar was no small feat, it took an army of people to prepare the meals with ingredients in massive numbers. The community kitchen operates round the clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It never closes and is always available to provide food to those in need. It feeds over 10,00,000 people every day, for free. 2,000 kgs of dal are prepared each day and about 17,000 rotis are made each hour. These numbers were so astonishing that I couldn’t wait to glance into the magical kitchen where it all happened.

The Story Behind the Immaculate Langar

Before making my way into the kitchen where it all happened, I read up about the origin of the Langar at the Golden Temple.

It is said that Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, started this humble effort over 500 years ago, back in 1577; he believed in equality and wanted to create a place where people could come together and share a meal as equals. It started small but the temple website mentioned that even Mughal King Akbar came and sat among the commoners to share this simple meal. With the number of visitors rising every year, the atmosphere at the Golden Temple becomes particularly bustling during festivals such as Gurupurab, Vaisakhi, and Diwali. Devotees and tourists make their way to this holy sight for beautiful views of the temple along with the heartwarming langar, making this simple meal a festive celebration for all.

Anyone can visit the Golden Temple and partake in the langar, experiencing the warmth and inclusivity that it embodies. Serving it is based on the principles of Sikhism, which include seva (selfless service) and equality. Every day at the Harmandir Sahib, thousands of people, regardless of their religion, caste, or social status are served the same simple meal. Volunteers work tirelessly to cook and serve the food and I was excited to watch all the action first-hand.

Through the Magical Kitchens

There was a distinct difference between the temple grounds and its community kitchen; while the former had heavy crowds quietly moving around in complete harmony with the melodious hymns, the kitchen was nothing but organised chaos. There was a clattering of machines and utensils, the swish of the dal being cooked in those massive vessels, the heat from the cooking fire, conveyor belts transporting uncooked as well as cooked rotis and a familiar smell of ghee, turmeric, garlic and onions—the one that made you feel warm and right at home, in an instant.

I tried not to get in anybody’s way but the sheer stream of people, of volunteers and devotees, was overwhelming. Every inch of the community kitchen had a purpose; there were some volunteers chopping and peeling vegetables, and a separate room for others making dal using ladles as big as paddles. There was a rush, a sense of urgency in the air, and a constant clanking of metal because lunchtime was fast approaching and the kitchen had to be ready. Even as I walked by the volunteers and staff, they would look up and smile at me, some would greet me but they were all immersed in their task, a task that was done out of nothing but goodwill.

I spent a little more time in and around the kitchen and then at the temple, only to realise that the world’s largest community kitchen, serving people from all over the world, runs on donations, compassion, dedication and pure love for humanity. This humanity is prevalent in Amritsar too.

I really did want to spend some time serving and being a part of this organised chaos that ran through the kitchens. They say that serving langar teaches one so much about Sikhism and its values of equality, selflessness, community, sharing, and humility. I have often thought of how this little act of humanity is so much more, it acts as a reminder to extend compassion and support to others, fostering a sense of unity and social responsibility.

A Beautiful Example of Humanity

For the rest of our days, we stayed in Amritsar, my grandmother and I visited all the sites, from the Partition Museum to shopping for juttis and drinking tall glasses of lassi. But we kept talking about the community kitchen at the Golden Temple. When I told her about my quick visit to the langar kitchen, her response was a heartfelt sigh; she truly did believe in the inherent goodness of people. I remember her exclaiming how this was a beautiful example of that very goodness. We made another visit to the temple at sunset and stayed till it gleamed in the moonlight; the Sarovar around the temple glimmered as the Sun went down and then was blissfully calm under the moonlight. It was a surreal experience.

My grandmother and I talked about our visit to the Golden Temple for many months. For two hardly spiritual people, this beautiful experience left a mark, enough for us to want to take a trip back, maybe on a cool winter afternoon, to enjoy the winter sun by the Sarovar, followed by multiple servings of the Khada Prashad.

I lost my grandmother a year ago and even in her last days, she did occasionally mention our trip to the gleaming Golden Temple in Amritsar and the kind people who ran that “big kitchen” and were wonderful human beings at heart. I think I will take a trip to the temple again, maybe even volunteer in the kitchen, in memory of my grandmother.