At the southeast end of the Golden Temple Complex is the Guru-Ka-Langar, an enormous dining room where an estimated 100,000 pilgrims come to eat every day after praying at the Golden Temple. There’s no charge to eat here, but a donation is appropriate, and voluntary help with the staggering pile of washing up is always appreciated. Catering equally to everyone from paupers to millionaires, it's a humbling demonstration of the Sikh principles of hospitality, community service and charity.
The meals themselves comprise simple but sumptuous servings of dhal, roti and rajma (kidney beans), handed out by temple workers to diners who sit cross-legged on the floor and eat off stainless steel plates. There are no seating categories, so you could be sharing dining space with anyone from beggars to corporate bosses. The dining room is open round the clock, and epitomises the popular Sikh saying that no one in Amritsar ever goes to bed on a hungry stomach.
