Thoughts about next yatra

Now that the snow has melted and spring is nearing, we are thinking of completing our Amarnath yatra. No travel group is willing to arrange just Amarnath. They want us to pay for the whole package, which is a waste of lot of money for us. Moreover. I have several medical checkups in April and on May 10th my Cardiologist has to give me permission to go to that altitude. Based on that only I cant even buy my ticket to India.
If there are any readers of my blog who had travelled on their own and made this yatra, please make a comment and let us know how to go about it. We can communicate with e-mail. The only information I have is that the darsan dates begin on June 29, 2011. I checked with Southern travels and they give discount only for accommodation. We have to pay for all transportation charges in the package even though we join them for only Amarnath. They were very prompt in replying which I appreciated very much.

Amarnath yatra - in the news

"Jammu, Jul 28: The Amarnath yatra was today suspended from Jammu due to inclement weather prevailing in the state.

A fresh batch of pilgrims was not allowed to proceed from the base camp of Bhagwati Nagar here for onward journey to Kashmir Valley as rains have been lashing the state, including on the Baltal and Pahalgam routes, official sources said here.

The yatra has already been suspended from camps at Nunwan in Pahalgam and Baltal yesterday due to heavy downpour resulting in slippery tracks, they said, adding the yatra was also stopped at the transit camps along the route due to the same reason.

Authorities did not allow pilgrims to proceed in order to avoid overcrowding at base camps, they said, noting that pilgrims usually reach these camps in the evening and after a night stay undertake the journey to the shrine."

So, we stayed in the tents for two days even when it was raining and the beds were wet.

Surprisingly, we did not even catch a cold during this trip!!!.

There were several Dhabas serving all three free meals. The only condition is -  be there on time and don't waste even a speck of food. Take only what you think you can eat. They will be watching you like hawks and will suggest that you eat all of it.

The bath rooms were far away, not comfortable to use either. We did not know that tents were available with attached bathrooms. Credit (?) goes to our Travel agent whom we paid 1000 rupees per night for A/C rooms etc (I know I said this in another post also).

I bought two shawls and two dress pieces from the local vendors.
We will have to make another trip to Amarnath to really call it a yatra. But during this trip, I learned a lot - what to do and what not to do.

Thanks giving

Today is Thanksgiving day in USA.
Having been in this Karma Bhoomi of mine for almost four decades, I want to follow the tradition and thank each of you who entered my life path and added beauty to it.

Happy Thanks giving.

Vaishnodevi trip adventure - Helicopter trip

Nirmala and I were very happy with our darsan of Mata Vaishnodevi, even though the walk was more than we anticipated. If we had taken a Helicopter, I was told, the fee was 2200 rupees. But you need to walk again extra kms or take a doley from that point to near the shrine and that would cost extra 2000 rupees or more. That is why we hired the doley. Even after the trip we felt the rate was very high compared to the doleys at kedarnath and Sabarimala. Those hills are steeper and those roads are less comfortable.
The other couple met us outside the shrine as we did not wait for them in the darsan line. The lady was diabetic like Nirmala and was exhausted. The return trip was faster, less than 3 hours. Climbing, it took us almost 4 hours. Rao said his trekking also took about the same time. On the way down, at one check point, we handed over the receipt of the palanquin to the Govt. agency. Once we reached the palkis (palanquins) parking area, we paid them the balance and then a tip. For some reason, the other lady paid them only the tip and refused to pay the balance of 2400 rupees. It took lot of convincing on our part to  make her pay the balance. It was dark since the Sun set and we now were ready to hire an Auto to go to the hotel. Suddenly, I was startled to realize that I did not know the name of our hotel. I checked with the other three and they also had no idea. Now, where do we go and who do we ask?. We did not see anyone from our group in the vicinity.

Now, it became my responsibility to think of a way out. I suggested we go to the place of booking in an Auto and since they were open all 24 hours, they may have record of our hotel address. We felt a big relief with that idea and after some enquiry, found the booking place.

Of course, the office was open. We were shocked to find that they never bother writing the name of the hotel. Now we are back to square one!! I had a vague memory of a police booth across from where we hired the Auto outside that hotel. Nirmala and I went to that police station, I looked around, but could not see a hotel. We walked around that area, the bus depot and talked to some people and finally tried to get information from the police. They were of least help. They were very brief and very unfriendly. So, we went back to the booking office. Nirmala did not bring her cell phone with her and she did not have the phone # of our guide in her memory. The other two were sitting in a small tea stall nearby and the man (I forgot his name) was showing his hotel room key to everyone that he met to read the small print on it and identify the name of the hotel. I tried to tell him that there was no name on the key and only the name of the manufacturer of the key was written. But, I could not convince him. He was a retired deputy collector from Anantapur. The rigidity of an Indian Govt. employee was obvious in him. His wife was getting restless. Nirmala and I hired an Auto and drove around to see whether we could recognize the hotel building. The Auto drivers were very much concerned for us. After a couple of rounds, I had no money left and we returned to the office. Then I reliazed that I did not have my footware. Since they don't allow in the Temple area, I did not bother wearing them at all. It was 8:30 in the night and I was the only sane, relatively physically fit. I started walking up and down the streets till 1 a.m. Amazingly, the roads were safe and the people were very helpful. Another auto fellow volunteered to take us around and he drove a lot even after I told him that we did not carry any more money with us. All he wanted was to find our hotel and to keep us safe. What a sacred place!!!!! Finally, we checked into a room in the attached hotel to the booking office (with minimal fecilities). Actually, the other gentleman decided to do that and he had enough money to pay, 250 Rs/room. By then, I owed him 500 rupees for the meals and the room.

Remember that we did not pay for the Auto nor did we take name or Id.

The saga continues................. This post became longer than I wanted it to be. More in the next.

I almost forgot that I did not complete posting the rest of the saga. Today is May 17th, 2011 and one of my readers (a new addition as a reader) asked me "how did you unite with others afterwards?"
Now I will write whatever I remember.
We woke up in the morning, had a bath in the attached tiny bathroom. The hotel waiter brought us a bucket of hot water. W came back and sat the front room of the booking office. All the autowalas started coming one by one. They were all looking at us. Each and everyone was whole heartedly sorry for us. Around 8 a.m., an auto arrived. We saw my husband Rao, our (useless) guide Anbu and another friend from the group Shankara narayana (who adopted me as his sister). I ran and hugged Rao. Shankara narayana and Rao hugged both of us. We never hugged anyone like that. I started sobbing. Anbu looked very compassionate at that time. He was equally worried for the two of us. He immediately went into my good books. They told us how they spent a sleepless night worrying about us and so on. Rao also had a small adventure. He trekked down all by himself in only his socks. Someone stole his brand new walking shoes. When he came down, he also forgot the name of our hotel. By 10 p.m. he somehow located it with a land mark.
All the autorickshaw drivers were watching us like they did a happy ending of a movie.
Suddenly I remembered the driver who drove us around the previous night. He was parked at a distane and when I asked them, they unanimously declared that he was the one. I walked over, gave him 500 rupees (that I took from the 'brother') and thanked him. We reached the hotel.

Our Vaishnodevi adventure - Jammu, Kashmir area

Vaishno Devi Temple of Mata Maha Kali, Mata Maha Lakshmi and Mata Maha Saraswati is one of the heavily visited Hindu shrines.  This is located in the Udhampur District in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a shakti peetham. Who and when it was built? -  there was no information on that.

The facilities and cleanliness throughout are very impressive.

Reaching Vaishno Devi by railway is a relatively economical way and you can easily get the super fast and express trains for the various destinations of India including Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. 

Road access to Vaishno Devi is very convenient also. The region has well-maintained network of state and national highways. We passed through destinations that connect Jammu (the nearest transit point of Vaishno Devi) namely Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Jallandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jwalaji and Srinagar - of which Jalandhar and Jwalaji, we did it on our own, not with the group even though they were supposed to take us to those places. 

The shrine is at an altitude of 5200 feet and visited by millions of devotees each year. One can trekk, take a doley or a helicopter. We had the option of the latter two. Rao opted for the trekking the 12 to 14 kilo meters. I heard that you can do one way trekking also. The helicopter would take you to only a certain point and then we walk another 5 kms. So, Nirmala and I decided to go by the doley all the way, to and fro. Trekkers can hire a porter to carry our baggage, if any. The whole climb is a paved path and very clean with all neccessary fecilities for food, bathroom and so on.

Let me go back to the beginning. From Delhi, one can take an overnight train to Jammu and it is additional 3 hours by bus to Katra (the base camp) where the hike begins. Since we were travelling by bus from Delhi anyway, we did not have to look for alternate arrangements. Thanks to the useless Travel agency we picked, we had a long overnight journey by a very uncomfortable bus from Delhi to Jammu anyway..

We took an auto rickshaw to the office where you book the doleys. The cost was 3200 rupees total, out of which we paid 800 rupees there and the balance to be given to the doley group after our return. They are all registered with the Govt. and so you are safe and secure.

After approx 7 km of hike you'll reach AdhKawari (Ardh-kawari). This is where Mother Goddess meditated for 9 months in a cave attaining spiritual wisdom and powers. The pilgrims wait in queue to enter the holy cave.

A token is issued - one per family/group. The typical wait time after the token number varies.
The doley carriers stop at this midpoint for tea and snacks. You pay extra for this.

Some take a dip in the cold water here. We did not.

I felt that we walked alot after getting off the doley to reach the line that walked through the maze. Finally, when you reach the marble cave where the actual manifestation of Vaishno Devi resides, you are allowed to worship just for a couple of seconds. The crowd is so much that they cannot allow you to stand for longer than 5 seconds. Perhaps it depends on the season!!

Also, I bought a package of kumkum (sindhoor) to offer to Mata and to bring it back as prasadam to family and friends. But the security did not allow it even though it was a sealed package.

The pilgrims keep reciting "Jai Mata Di" all through out the journey from Katra to the Mandir and back. People much older than me were trekking and I felt ashamed for being carried in a doley.

Watch out for aggressive monkeys who can snatch any small bags that you are carrying.

After worshipping at this Temple, you may go over to Bhairon Temple. This is at a  further higher altitude and steep. This is at an elevation of approx 6600 feet. It is very scenic, but I did not carry my camera to any Temple this trip.

We had great darsan and there was another couple from Anantapur who tagged along with us. We were the only ones that took doley ride.

So far, things ran smooth. I will write about our adventure in my next post.

Near the Golden Temple - Amritsar

This is a must see Temple. Soooo serene and calm!!!

More photos.......

Kheer Bhavani

Adi Shankara

I forgot where these were taken.

Kheer, Khir or Ksheer are all the same

The Kheer Bhavani temple is situated at Tullamula in the Srinagar district. The Kheer Bhavani temple is devoted to Ragnya Devi, a Hindu Goddess. Representing the goddess is a sacred hexagonal spring at Tullamula village, which houses a small marble temple. The legend goes that Lord Rama worshipped Ragnya Devi during his exile. After the exile period got over, Rama asked Lord Hanuman to shift the seat of the goddess.
It was the wish of Mother Ragnya that her seat be place at Khir Bhavani Mandir in Kashmir. And this wish was conveyed in a dream to a pandit, Raghunath Gadroo. The temple of Ragnya Devi is called "Kheer Bhawani" because numerous devotees offer milk and kheer to the sacred spring. It is believed that milk and kheer turn to black color to warn of any impending disaster. We were told that the spring water changes color frequently. Maharaja Pratap Singh got the temple constructed in 1912. Later, Maharaja Hari Singh undertook  restoration work on the temple.

The eighth day of the full moon in May( Jeshta ashtami - wow,  my birthday) holds great significance for the devotees of Ragnya Devi. They fast on this day and gather at the temple in huge numbers. It is believed that on this day, the goddess changes the color of the spring's waters. The Kheer Bhavani temple serves as the venue for an annual festival held in May-June, on the occasion of Jeshta Ashtami. During this festival, a large number of Hindus visit the temple to seek blessings of the goddess. Another occasion on which the Kheer Bhavani temple gains special importance is Shukla Paksha Ashtami. On this day, havans/yagnas are performed to please the goddess.