Jalandhar

The district is named after Jalandhar, a demon king, who finds a mention in the Puranas and Mahabharta. According to another legend, Jalandhar was the capital of the kingdom of lav, son of Rama. According to yet another version Jalandhar is said to have derived its name from the vernacular term 'Jalandhar’ means area inside the water, i.e. tract laying between the two rivers Satluj and Beas, still another name of Jalandhar had been Trigartta, as it was waters by three rivers, Satluj, Beas and Ravi.

Excursion

Devi Talab Mandir
It is situated in the heart of Jalandhar City. The old Devi Talab has been renovated and, in its centre, a new temple has been built. Recently a model of Amarnath Yatra has been built in the premises. An old temple of goddess Kali also stands by the side of the Devi Talab.

Tulsi Mandir
An ancient monument in the City is the temple of Vrinda, wife of Jalandhara, in the Kot Kishan Chand locality. It is now also known as Tulsi Mandir. On one side of the temple is a tank which is said to have been the bathing place of the demon Jalandhara.

At some distance is the temple of Gupha, with the image of Annapurna, the goddess of plenty, installed in it. Also nearby lies the Brahm Kund and some temples dedicated to Shiva.

Near the Balmiki gate is the Sheetla Mandir, said to be as old as the City of Jalandhar. Within its premises are also two small old temples of Hanuman and Shiva.

Shiv Mandir
Situated at Gur Mandi, Shiv Mandir is reputed to have been built by a Nawab of Sultanpur Lodhi near Masjid Imam Nasar.

Gurdwara Chhevin Padshahi
Guru Hargobind visited the city of Jalandhar during his tour of Doaba area. Gurdwara Chhevin Padshahi in Basti Shaikh, Jalandhar city, stands on the spot where Guruji granted interview to a Muslim holy saint popularly known as Shaikh Darvesh. The saint blindfolded his eyes so that he could swear before the Mughal authorities that he had not seen the Guru. The great Guru had in depth discussion with the Shaikh Darvesh about spiritual matters which created good impact on the holy man.

St Mary’s Cathedral Church (Jalandhar Cantt)
The old church dedicated to St. Patrick was built by Rev. Fr. John Macodnnel, Q.F.M.CAP of the Vicariate Apostolic of Agra, in 1947 at the same site of new church since 1886. It was looked after by various chaplains appointed to Jalandhar from the Diocese of Lahore. After the partition in 1955, the Catholic Mission of the Indian Punjab was raised to the status of Apostolic Prefecture with its headquarter at Jalandhar and the church at Jalandhar Cantonment became the Cathedral or the Mother Church of Punjab. The demolition of the old church was started on 15th February, 1987. The foundation stone for the new church was blessed by His Holiness Pope John Paul II in February, 1986 and laid by His Excellency Rt. Rev. Dr. Symbhorian Keeprath Bishop of Jalandhar Diocese on 19th April, 1987. The roofing of the basement, the balcony and the main church were done on 19th September, 19th November and 19th December, 1987 respectively. The church was designed in such a way as to highlight the secular character of our motherland. Te new church was blessed by His grace Archbishop Jose Sanchez, the special delegate of Pope John Paul II from Rome and inaugurated by His Grace Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan, the Vatican Ambassador and the Apostolic pronounced to India on 29th October, 1989, the day of the National Festival of Light, Diwali. On this occasion Archbishops and Bishops representing different regions of India were also present.

A few other places worth mentioning are a Sanyas Ashram (popularly known as Bahrian-da-Talab) on the Kapurthala road. Nathan-Di Bagichi, Darbar Muhammad Jamal Zahra (in Basti Sheikh), Baba Jhandianala (in Basti Nau), shrines of Baba Lakki Shah Pir and Dargah Pir Hazi Shah Qutab situated in the Jalandhar Cantonment.

Kartarpur Gurudwara
Kartarpur located 16km from Jalandhar is famous for its Gurudwara built by the Fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjun Devji in 1656 A.D. A fair is held every year on his birth anniversary. Large number of devotees attend the fair. There is a Smarak here for Swami Virjanad who was the teacher of Swami Dayanand Saraswathi; the founder of Arya Samaj. Kartarpur is also famous for its furniture industry.

Moorish Mosque
The mosque is situated in Kapurthala about 21 km from Jalandhar. The mosque was built in 1930 by a French architect Manteaux, during the reign of Jagatjit Singh, the last Maharaja of Kapurthala. The design resembles that of the great Qutbiya Mosque, at Marakesh in Morocco. The inner dome of the mosque have designs by the artists of the Mayo School of Arts, Lahore.

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Weather
The climate of this district is on the whole dry except during the brief south-west monsoon season. The year may be divided into four seasons. The cold season is from the middle of November to early part of March. The succeeding period upto the end of June in the summer season, July, August and first half of September constitute the South-West monsoon season. The period from middle September to the middle of November is the post monsoon or transition period. Although tehsil Phagwara is in the Kapurthala District, for the description of climate the same has been included in the Jalandhar district.

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