So continuing with my Vaishno Devi Yatra, as I had mentioned in my previous blog that I had already reached Katra, and by the end of my trip i was feeling a bit tired because of the continuous journey. But deep inside my inner voice kept knocking and inspiring me to that Yes Banjara you can do it. Took a deep breathe and took my luggage and set to check in to the hotel which was hardly 500 meters from the bus stand but in a strange city you are always a stranger.
Now those days we dint have Android phones or mobile internet where I could have Google it to find directions or used the apps, so i took the only available option, human google. Asked few people about the direction to my hotel and to my utter surprise every one gave their own customized route. Finally gave up the idea of asking and said to myself
"When you have no path to follow, better make a path of your own."
So i took the route via the main market of Katra, and as soon as I crossed the market voila, here comes my hotel. And man I was super excited, and in this excitement I failed to realize that the path which i had taken was the longest. Huh! I traveled almost a km walking with my strolley bag, which of course was not so heavy.
Finally I checked in my hotel and my room was assigned to me. Now in India you will always be escorted by a boy, to your room, be it any hotel, not as mark of hospitality, but as mark of earning a tip! So the boy who escorted me to my room was nothing different, he dint leave my room until I paid him some tip, however, this paying of tip helped me a lot. He was my one click encyclopedia for next half an hour or so. Will come to this part shortly.
Now the room that was assigned to me was too spacious and huge for a single person. Though it was not required, but still my room had an ac, so thought, when paying, then why not utilize it! Anyways all these while I dint have time to check my watch, and when checked it was 5.30. Wow! There were some tissue papers kept in my room which I carried along me, proved to be useful for me. How? Well u guys will come to know about it in later part of the blog.
Now all my plans of taking a power nap and a long shower got curtailed. Thought of taking a shower before leaving the for the temple. If the room was grand, the bathroom was grander. There was a huge bathtub sans toiletries. Since, i had no time there was no time for luxuries also. Got freshened up and took a quick shower. Changed to the clothing which i had decided earlier to wear for darshan and then called the boy. Time by my watch was now 5.50!
According to this guy, during that season, there is always a rush for darshan, so its better to have a darshan at night or early morning, which was my plan anyways. Now the temple doors gets closed between 3 in the morning to 4.30. There are lockers at the Bhawan (the main darshan area is called bhawan). Now thanks to terrorism, and J&K being prone to Terror attacks, so every person who comes to visit J&K is treated as a suspect. Only post paid numbers work in J&K, so if you use a prepaid sim, its as good as not owning a phone, and mine case was such. Now, at the bus terminus there is a parchi centre, i.e. they issue a paper permit, which is valid for 3hrs from the time of issue. This Parchi has to be issued at the dwar, it is the point zero before the steep climb to the temple. here the 1st screening is done. The following things are not allowed in: Bidi, ciggy, any inflammable item, any leather item and any metalic item. However u can carry a cam (but not a tripod) and cellphone, but at your own risk, because lockers are available at first come first serve basis only.
After listening to all these gyan, I chose better to stay safe than to be sorry, so kept all my samaan at my room, locked the room and informed at the reception that I would be returning late after the darshan is over. The room boy, my present gyan dev, accompanied me to the parchi centre, but this time via the short route. Now, it was the onset of Winter so by the time my parchi was issue, it was dusk and there was a nip in the air. From the parchi centre to the dwar, it was around 2.5kms, whch u can either travel by an auto or walk along. Being super charged for the darshan I chose to walk.
Leke Mata ka naam main chal pada darshan ke liye
After around 30-35mins of walk I reached the dwar. Enroute there are many shops selling daily requirement items to puja samagri. Now this dwar is situated at banks of River Ban Ganga. Once, my 1st round of checking was done and parchi was checked I set on my journey for peace. There are many ways of traveling to the top for darshan. You can either hire a horse/pony, or a doli (palanquin) being carried by 4 people or if u can burn your pocket deep, you can take a chopper ride. Now all these don't come for free. Though I was carrying some cash for emergency and some petpuja, I chose to take the option which comes for free and toughest - walking all the way to the top! However there are stairs to be climbed, but I couldn't find all the flights.
Taking mata ka nam I started my trek to the top via the cemented meandering steep path to the top. Though I was alone I never felt loneliness grasping me in the entire route. The route was well lit with enough place at regular interval for resting. For the last few weeks I was going thorough a rough phase in my life which kept me grasping every now and then. But somehow since the time I had started the chadhai, all these thoughts which were haunting me seemed to be vanished. Instead what I could feel was the nip in the air which was increasing, a freshness in the air and mild sound from the speakers installed playing songs like "chalo bulawa aaya hai" etc.
As i was going higher and higher, the dusk became evening and gradually night. Ofcourse, there were food courts every now and then but initially i didn't have the urge of having anything. i was really overwhelmed to see people going for the darshan. They were overwhelmed, they were excited. Enroute I came around with many bhakts, some had come for mannats, some after their mannats were fulfilled. Ofcourse there were newly weds also, as in some parts of India, its a tradition to visit a temple for the longevity of the marriage (as if God will save from break-ups).
Now all of a sudden because of the chill in the air i planned to have a cup of hot coffee (never thought it would turn out be such a big blunder). Anyways, after coffee i again started for my journey, and things were going fine, and i was almost flying till the half way mark at 6kms into the trek, i.e. Himkoti. Now once you are here you can either take a detour, or visit Himkoti and then continue further. I planned to detour it and thought of taking a short rest, as my legs were starting to give up, thanks to the tiredness. Also i couldn't take a watch on the time as i had keep back my watch at my room itself. Luckily, the shops enroute, so just checked the bill from where i had the coffee, and roughly guessed it was around 9.30pm. Now, every pahari region in India has our ancestors (monkeys), and this place is nothing different from it. Met about 10-12 groups in all shapes and sizes, and there was one who gave me company while i was resting along with others pilgrims.
After about 20-25mins I again started off on my onwards journey, but things were not the same. One after the rest my legs were not ready to back me up, they had started aching and two, drowsiness was also engulfing me. The weather now started to change, and the air became cooler. I was wearing a full sleeved tee and a light jacket, which would have been more than enough in this time of the year, but I started to feel cold. Around a km into the journey a new and a major problem grasped me. Thanks to the hot coffee and all this while walking and not taking proper rest before the journey, my stomach started doing gurgur and it was becoming difficult for me to trek. I was desperately pleeding to myself, that please dont poop out, as then it become a very embarrassing thing ! Also, from this point it would be an act of foolishness to return back to the hotel. So my next mission was to either reach the main bhawan area which was around 4kms more or a washroom, which ever comes earlier!
But because of this my speed slowed down drastically and somehow I made up my mind, whatever it may be I will make it to the Bhawan. And i started with my onward journey. I was feeling really uncomfortable and could hardly walk just kept on praying "Bhawan, plz come fast". In this melee I also skipped my dinner. The after effects of skipping my dinner will be covered in the next part of my blog!
Ok now some more info regarding the darshan. As you ascend towards the Bhawan, you would come across several shops selling puja thalis. These shops are run by the vaishno devi shrine trust, who also maintain the entire area. These thalis come come at various rates, starting from Rs 20 to Rs. 500. There is no major difference in the thalis, other than the quantity of the thali/tokri. There's a coconut, which is the main chadhawa at the shrine, other than that, dry fruits, misri and chiwra, this is the main prasadi, and sindoor, few coins (other than the dakshina, which you can offer), and ofcourse, mata ki chunri. Now as I was nearing to the shrine (bhawan), I decided to buy a tokri, as later, after reaching the bhawan I wont be able to buy anymore. So I bought a tokri for 50 bucks.
By this time, I was somehow controlling myself. Sweat-beads were pouring out, even after the outside temperature of the area was around 14 degrees. After purchasing the tokri I somehow made it to the Bhawan area, with countless halts. Even in this melee I made it a point to take a look at the moon, which was never seen large before. It was looking beautiful. I was cursing myself for listening to that hotel boy's advice and not carrying anything with me, as everyone else was carrying a small backpack, which i could have carried. There were some real beauty which i just viewed, and couldn't click! Anyways finally i reached the Bhawan. This is a huge indoor area, where the trust provides dorms for pilgrims to stay, and also lockers for pilgrims like me keep their belongings and there were ample. I quickly took a locker from the small check-in counter, and sped as fast as a lightning to the locker room. Now searching for the assigned locker in the locker room was like searching for a needle in a haystack. When you are in hurry, every second wasted, seems like an hour! Anyways, sooner or later I did find my assigned locker. Opened the locker, and kept the tokri and my jacket in. Also this is the last area where u wear shoe, so I had to take it off also, but I wasn't going barefoot to the washroom, so wore the shoe to the washroom (which was strictly not allowed), but being a stubborn guy, I went in with my shoes on.
Remember earlier in this blog I had mentioned about the tissue papers which i was carrying with me from the hotel room, came useful here, and reminded me of a hindi proverb "Dubte ko tinke ka sahara".
Once, i was through with chore, i washed myself and returned back to the locker room to keep my shoes, and take the tokri. Now i was feeling relieved and exited as before, however, now tiredness was grasping me. As earlier mention, this shrine is being protected from tip to toe by CRPF, so checking is very heavy. Once you reach Bhawan before going for the darshan, the parchi that was issued at Katra, has to checked here for a time-stamp, and only then your are allowed in for the darshan. However, in my case, the security guy did a goof up and allowed me in without even checking whether the parchi was stamped or not! Which wasn't stamped actually. Anyways once allowed in no one will call you back.
Now the shrine is nothing but a cave with a tunnel. There's no bell in the temple, however you will come across water droplets dripping and forming a thin stream. Its been said that earlier this place had a glacier, couldn't find any though! The tokri was taken here and the panditji offers the puja. A security man standing beside me whispered that I was lucky enough to be there at that time, as it was empty and I was allowed to have the darshan for 5mins. Normally they don't allow anyone more than a minute. As it was almost time for the shrine door to be closed, they allowed me to stay and have the darshan for around 5mins. After coming out of the shrine I was feeling much relaxed. Was feeling much light. All the tensions and thoughts seemed to have taken the back door. However I still was feeling a bit tired and hungry. Now, since the darshan was done, I decided to return back to Katra. After the darshan went to the locker room, took my shoes and returned the locker key at the counter. Checked the time on the clock at the counter, which showed 3am. As I came out of the Bhawan Complex I started feeling hungry and spotted a food court right outside the complex. This is the only food court which remains open 24*7. Hence I decided to enter.
So, finally did I have anything from the food court. Did my return journey had something interesting or things went out fine. How did everything turned out to be? To find out all this stay tuned till my next blog comes up. Till then take care and God Bless You all!
Now those days we dint have Android phones or mobile internet where I could have Google it to find directions or used the apps, so i took the only available option, human google. Asked few people about the direction to my hotel and to my utter surprise every one gave their own customized route. Finally gave up the idea of asking and said to myself
"When you have no path to follow, better make a path of your own."
So i took the route via the main market of Katra, and as soon as I crossed the market voila, here comes my hotel. And man I was super excited, and in this excitement I failed to realize that the path which i had taken was the longest. Huh! I traveled almost a km walking with my strolley bag, which of course was not so heavy.
Finally I checked in my hotel and my room was assigned to me. Now in India you will always be escorted by a boy, to your room, be it any hotel, not as mark of hospitality, but as mark of earning a tip! So the boy who escorted me to my room was nothing different, he dint leave my room until I paid him some tip, however, this paying of tip helped me a lot. He was my one click encyclopedia for next half an hour or so. Will come to this part shortly.
Now the room that was assigned to me was too spacious and huge for a single person. Though it was not required, but still my room had an ac, so thought, when paying, then why not utilize it! Anyways all these while I dint have time to check my watch, and when checked it was 5.30. Wow! There were some tissue papers kept in my room which I carried along me, proved to be useful for me. How? Well u guys will come to know about it in later part of the blog.
Now all my plans of taking a power nap and a long shower got curtailed. Thought of taking a shower before leaving the for the temple. If the room was grand, the bathroom was grander. There was a huge bathtub sans toiletries. Since, i had no time there was no time for luxuries also. Got freshened up and took a quick shower. Changed to the clothing which i had decided earlier to wear for darshan and then called the boy. Time by my watch was now 5.50!
According to this guy, during that season, there is always a rush for darshan, so its better to have a darshan at night or early morning, which was my plan anyways. Now the temple doors gets closed between 3 in the morning to 4.30. There are lockers at the Bhawan (the main darshan area is called bhawan). Now thanks to terrorism, and J&K being prone to Terror attacks, so every person who comes to visit J&K is treated as a suspect. Only post paid numbers work in J&K, so if you use a prepaid sim, its as good as not owning a phone, and mine case was such. Now, at the bus terminus there is a parchi centre, i.e. they issue a paper permit, which is valid for 3hrs from the time of issue. This Parchi has to be issued at the dwar, it is the point zero before the steep climb to the temple. here the 1st screening is done. The following things are not allowed in: Bidi, ciggy, any inflammable item, any leather item and any metalic item. However u can carry a cam (but not a tripod) and cellphone, but at your own risk, because lockers are available at first come first serve basis only.
After listening to all these gyan, I chose better to stay safe than to be sorry, so kept all my samaan at my room, locked the room and informed at the reception that I would be returning late after the darshan is over. The room boy, my present gyan dev, accompanied me to the parchi centre, but this time via the short route. Now, it was the onset of Winter so by the time my parchi was issue, it was dusk and there was a nip in the air. From the parchi centre to the dwar, it was around 2.5kms, whch u can either travel by an auto or walk along. Being super charged for the darshan I chose to walk.
Leke Mata ka naam main chal pada darshan ke liye
After around 30-35mins of walk I reached the dwar. Enroute there are many shops selling daily requirement items to puja samagri. Now this dwar is situated at banks of River Ban Ganga. Once, my 1st round of checking was done and parchi was checked I set on my journey for peace. There are many ways of traveling to the top for darshan. You can either hire a horse/pony, or a doli (palanquin) being carried by 4 people or if u can burn your pocket deep, you can take a chopper ride. Now all these don't come for free. Though I was carrying some cash for emergency and some petpuja, I chose to take the option which comes for free and toughest - walking all the way to the top! However there are stairs to be climbed, but I couldn't find all the flights.
Taking mata ka nam I started my trek to the top via the cemented meandering steep path to the top. Though I was alone I never felt loneliness grasping me in the entire route. The route was well lit with enough place at regular interval for resting. For the last few weeks I was going thorough a rough phase in my life which kept me grasping every now and then. But somehow since the time I had started the chadhai, all these thoughts which were haunting me seemed to be vanished. Instead what I could feel was the nip in the air which was increasing, a freshness in the air and mild sound from the speakers installed playing songs like "chalo bulawa aaya hai" etc.
As i was going higher and higher, the dusk became evening and gradually night. Ofcourse, there were food courts every now and then but initially i didn't have the urge of having anything. i was really overwhelmed to see people going for the darshan. They were overwhelmed, they were excited. Enroute I came around with many bhakts, some had come for mannats, some after their mannats were fulfilled. Ofcourse there were newly weds also, as in some parts of India, its a tradition to visit a temple for the longevity of the marriage (as if God will save from break-ups).
Now all of a sudden because of the chill in the air i planned to have a cup of hot coffee (never thought it would turn out be such a big blunder). Anyways, after coffee i again started for my journey, and things were going fine, and i was almost flying till the half way mark at 6kms into the trek, i.e. Himkoti. Now once you are here you can either take a detour, or visit Himkoti and then continue further. I planned to detour it and thought of taking a short rest, as my legs were starting to give up, thanks to the tiredness. Also i couldn't take a watch on the time as i had keep back my watch at my room itself. Luckily, the shops enroute, so just checked the bill from where i had the coffee, and roughly guessed it was around 9.30pm. Now, every pahari region in India has our ancestors (monkeys), and this place is nothing different from it. Met about 10-12 groups in all shapes and sizes, and there was one who gave me company while i was resting along with others pilgrims.
After about 20-25mins I again started off on my onwards journey, but things were not the same. One after the rest my legs were not ready to back me up, they had started aching and two, drowsiness was also engulfing me. The weather now started to change, and the air became cooler. I was wearing a full sleeved tee and a light jacket, which would have been more than enough in this time of the year, but I started to feel cold. Around a km into the journey a new and a major problem grasped me. Thanks to the hot coffee and all this while walking and not taking proper rest before the journey, my stomach started doing gurgur and it was becoming difficult for me to trek. I was desperately pleeding to myself, that please dont poop out, as then it become a very embarrassing thing ! Also, from this point it would be an act of foolishness to return back to the hotel. So my next mission was to either reach the main bhawan area which was around 4kms more or a washroom, which ever comes earlier!
But because of this my speed slowed down drastically and somehow I made up my mind, whatever it may be I will make it to the Bhawan. And i started with my onward journey. I was feeling really uncomfortable and could hardly walk just kept on praying "Bhawan, plz come fast". In this melee I also skipped my dinner. The after effects of skipping my dinner will be covered in the next part of my blog!
Ok now some more info regarding the darshan. As you ascend towards the Bhawan, you would come across several shops selling puja thalis. These shops are run by the vaishno devi shrine trust, who also maintain the entire area. These thalis come come at various rates, starting from Rs 20 to Rs. 500. There is no major difference in the thalis, other than the quantity of the thali/tokri. There's a coconut, which is the main chadhawa at the shrine, other than that, dry fruits, misri and chiwra, this is the main prasadi, and sindoor, few coins (other than the dakshina, which you can offer), and ofcourse, mata ki chunri. Now as I was nearing to the shrine (bhawan), I decided to buy a tokri, as later, after reaching the bhawan I wont be able to buy anymore. So I bought a tokri for 50 bucks.
By this time, I was somehow controlling myself. Sweat-beads were pouring out, even after the outside temperature of the area was around 14 degrees. After purchasing the tokri I somehow made it to the Bhawan area, with countless halts. Even in this melee I made it a point to take a look at the moon, which was never seen large before. It was looking beautiful. I was cursing myself for listening to that hotel boy's advice and not carrying anything with me, as everyone else was carrying a small backpack, which i could have carried. There were some real beauty which i just viewed, and couldn't click! Anyways finally i reached the Bhawan. This is a huge indoor area, where the trust provides dorms for pilgrims to stay, and also lockers for pilgrims like me keep their belongings and there were ample. I quickly took a locker from the small check-in counter, and sped as fast as a lightning to the locker room. Now searching for the assigned locker in the locker room was like searching for a needle in a haystack. When you are in hurry, every second wasted, seems like an hour! Anyways, sooner or later I did find my assigned locker. Opened the locker, and kept the tokri and my jacket in. Also this is the last area where u wear shoe, so I had to take it off also, but I wasn't going barefoot to the washroom, so wore the shoe to the washroom (which was strictly not allowed), but being a stubborn guy, I went in with my shoes on.
Remember earlier in this blog I had mentioned about the tissue papers which i was carrying with me from the hotel room, came useful here, and reminded me of a hindi proverb "Dubte ko tinke ka sahara".
Once, i was through with chore, i washed myself and returned back to the locker room to keep my shoes, and take the tokri. Now i was feeling relieved and exited as before, however, now tiredness was grasping me. As earlier mention, this shrine is being protected from tip to toe by CRPF, so checking is very heavy. Once you reach Bhawan before going for the darshan, the parchi that was issued at Katra, has to checked here for a time-stamp, and only then your are allowed in for the darshan. However, in my case, the security guy did a goof up and allowed me in without even checking whether the parchi was stamped or not! Which wasn't stamped actually. Anyways once allowed in no one will call you back.
Now the shrine is nothing but a cave with a tunnel. There's no bell in the temple, however you will come across water droplets dripping and forming a thin stream. Its been said that earlier this place had a glacier, couldn't find any though! The tokri was taken here and the panditji offers the puja. A security man standing beside me whispered that I was lucky enough to be there at that time, as it was empty and I was allowed to have the darshan for 5mins. Normally they don't allow anyone more than a minute. As it was almost time for the shrine door to be closed, they allowed me to stay and have the darshan for around 5mins. After coming out of the shrine I was feeling much relaxed. Was feeling much light. All the tensions and thoughts seemed to have taken the back door. However I still was feeling a bit tired and hungry. Now, since the darshan was done, I decided to return back to Katra. After the darshan went to the locker room, took my shoes and returned the locker key at the counter. Checked the time on the clock at the counter, which showed 3am. As I came out of the Bhawan Complex I started feeling hungry and spotted a food court right outside the complex. This is the only food court which remains open 24*7. Hence I decided to enter.
So, finally did I have anything from the food court. Did my return journey had something interesting or things went out fine. How did everything turned out to be? To find out all this stay tuned till my next blog comes up. Till then take care and God Bless You all!
-----------
Banjara_the nomadic
