Tirupati Balaji Temple

Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy Vaari Temple is considered the richest temple of India which is popularly known as Tirupati Balaji temple. It is one of the most famous temples of India situated in a small hill town called Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh. It is also the most visited place of worship in the world with more than 50,000-1,00,000 daily visitors and an average of 35 million visitors a year, while on Brahmotsavam, Vaikuntha ekadashi and other special occasions this number shoots up to more. Located on the seventh peak (Venkata hill) of the Sheshachalam Hills in Tirupati, the temple is dedicated to the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Venkateshwara and is also called as 'Temple of Seven Hills'. The town is well connected to other parts of country by road, air & rail networks. The complete day-to-day administration of the temple is controlled by the Tirumala Tirupati Devsthanam Trust (TTD).

Advance booking

Since millions of devotees come regularly to this small town, so i would recommend advance booking of accommodation as well as for darshan slot as i did in my trip to Tirupati. It was my first visit to this place so i had no idea about the hotels available there but I was well aware about the rush happening every day in Tirupati. Being a North Indian, I had no detailed information about Southern India as I'd never been there before. As the security comes first in my travel plan so i decided to book online the accommodation provided by TTD i.e. Tirumala Tirupati Devsthanam Trust. I opened the official website of TTD (https://www.tirumala.org), created my account & booked my 4days accommodation in advance along with the darshan slot. Here one thing is to be noted that identity proof is compulsory & only one account could be created with one i-card to do the online booking. Here comes another catch that you can book the room only for 24hrs from a single account associated with a single i-card & that identity card no. can not be repeated again. So I'd to create 4 different accounts by using 4 different identity cards of mine along with 4 different G-mail ids for registering myself for advance booking of the room for 5days. After this i got one room for 2days & another room for next 2days. I think it's due to the heavy rush usually occurs there, that's why this kind of restriction would have been made so that people could not occupy the rooms for long & rooms could be freed for others also. Also keep in mind that here rooms are not given to single person or unmarried couples. 

 

 History of the temple

The construction of the Tirupati temple was started by King Thondaiman of Tondaimandalam kingdom in 300 AD  and additions to the temple were made from time to time. One of the earliest recorded evidences state that Pallava queen Samavai had donated precious jewels and 23 acres of land for celebrating the major festivals of the temple. During the Chola dynasty, the temple was developed further. When the Vijayanagara Empire took over, diamonds and gold were donated to the temple. 

The larger than life statue of the main deity of the temple is said to have formed on its own, making it one of the eight ‘Swayambhu Kshetras’ (self-manifested image) of Lord Vishnu. Many ancient texts, including the Rig Veda mention the existence and prominence of this age-old temple. Many other texts and theories link the history of Tirupati Temple to Lord Varaha, one of the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu. According to a legend, Lord Varaha created the entire Sheshachalam Hills so that Adisesha, the seven-headed snake on which Lord Vishnu rests, could rest on earth. Interestingly, Sheshachalam Hills has seven peaks, which are said to be the representation of the heads of Adisesha. According to another legend, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of Sri Venkateswara to save mankind from the adversities of Kali Yuga. 

How to reach Tirumala

We checked-in the hotel in Tirupati at night & next day in the morning we headed towards the main temple. Tirupati is the name for the town at the foothills. Tirumala is the temple town on the hills. Accommodations for stay are available at both the place, but if you want to stay close to the nature, then Tirumala would be better to stay. The main temple is situated atop a beautiful hill at Tirumala. To reach the top to the temple, either you have to walk a stretch of 11 km or you can take a bus/taxi frequently available at the downtown. We paid at the ticket counter & got the tickets of 30Rs. per person for the bus of APSRTC(Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation). Now the bus was moving upwards on the paved road built over the green deep valley. The route was so serene & beautiful as we could see from the windows of our bus. We had a picuresque view of the Tirupati town.

 

 Special darshan booking

My strong suggestion for the temple visitors is always book a ‘special Darshan’ by paying 300/-  per head to avoid the long hours (7 to 8 hours) queue to shorter 2 hours queue. Be fresh to stay in queue, carry enough 2 bottles of water with you to avoid dehydration. Book the special darshan tickets at least a month in advance. Choose a weekday and non-festival day to expect a lower crowd. Choose a time slot for darshan and try to reach before that. The special darshan queue has a slot based system and you should follow your slot. Carry a printout of the darshan ticket as you would not have access to phones in the temple premise. Dress code for ladies is saree or decent Churidar. Men shall wear white dhoti and decent shirt.

Darshan in seconds

So after crossing several security checks, very soon we entered into the main temple with the help of our VIP tickets. The divine chants of Lord Sri balaji & the high frequency veda chants were blossoming divine feelings in every pilgrim. Alive with the chants of 'Govinda Hari Govinda Venkataramana Govinda, Govinda Hari Govinda Venkataramana Govinda'.. You get a total of about 5 seconds to see the main deity and that too while the temple staff rudely pull your hands to walk faster (even if you are separated from the person in front by 15 cms!), and again the temple staff push you from behind to make you walk faster, even if you are touching the person ahead of you! Horribly rude staff, I think they have become insensitive to humans because of the crowd. But at other similarly crowded temples like Vaishno devi or Shirdi Saibaba temple which i visit every year , the staff are not so rude. It is the specialty of only this place! 

It was really a divine experience when i got closer to the gopuram & had a glimpse of the black-stoned idol of the deity. There was no artificial light inside & his aura was so magnificent that i couldn't even blink my eyes off from the idol. That time i felt like the real god was sitting inside, it was something that can't be explained in words. 

Fascinating facts

There are so many interesting mystical facts are popular about the most well-known shrine in India. Like the fact that the idol of Lord Balaji wears real hair. Or, that the idol of the deity has a tendency to sweat & the back of the deity always remains moist. The locals believe that the sound of enormous sea waves can be heard if one puts his/her ear on the back of the deity’s image housed in the shrine. The idol of Lord Tirupati Balaji placed may appear to be standing in the centre of the sanctum sanctorum, but technically, it is not so. The idol is actually placed in the right hand corner of the shrine. 

Temple architecture

The temple in Tirupati Balaji has a lot of Dravidian architectural influences and the intricate designing and sculpting done over centuries. The temple has three entrances, which lead to the sanctum sanctorum. The first entrance is called as ‘Mahadwaram.’ A towering gateway (Gopuram), measuring 50 feet high, is placed right in front of the first entrance. One of the most captivating aspects of Tirupati Balaji is the 'Ananda Nilayam'. Ananda Nilayam, when translated, means “Abode of Happiness,”; a golden plated gopuram, absolutely stunning and one of a kind that houses the main deity. The temple also has 640 inscriptions in different languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Sanskrit. The temple compound also has a holy pond called Swami Pushkarni, located towards the northern side. Pushkarni, which covers a huge area of 1.5 acres, is one of the most sacred places of the temple. A legend states that the pond was carried to the hills all the way from Vaikuntham (Lord Vishnu's abode) by Garuda.

 

 Tirupati Laddus

Originally termed as ‘Manoharam,’ Tirupati Laddus are heavenly sweets made of gram flour dipped in ghee with delicious fillings of almonds, cashew and resins. TTD manages the preparation of the laddoos. It is said that Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams makes more than 7 lakh laddoos on a daily basis and makes sure that no devotee goes home without the prasadam after Tirupati Balaji Darshan. This Tirupati Laddu has received Geographical indication (GI) tag which entitles that only Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams can make and sell it & they actually worth it because these laddus are just super delicious. So don't forget to take the laddus.

Offering hair

Another fascinating thing about the temple is the hair cutting (Mundan). Most of the pilgrims offer their hair to Lord Balaji including ladies also. Although I was well aware about this but it was a little bit shocking for me to see a number of ladies bald-headed even young women also. According to a belief, the reason behind giving this donation is said to be that Lord Venkateswara repays the loan taken from Kubera. It is believed that the price of hair we give, Lord Venkateswara, gives you ten times more than that. The good thing is that devotees here donate hair of their own free will.

Mismanagement of footwears

Even in the last week of October, temperature was quite high. TTD clearly doesn’t care about what the devotees should do, when they have to leave the footwear near one gate (in our case it was ATC Circle) and exit from another gate after having Darshan and comeback searching for footwear in scorching heat of Sun. Absence of clear directions made us run bare foot in the wrong direction only to realize the correct direction later. Road surfaces are hot enough to cause blisters on your feet. TTD can lay walking mats and keep them cool by pouring water on it. But clearly they don’t bother about this (Typical argument could be – “Hardship is a must to receive God’s grace”).

After exiting, there are a couple of more temples and you can plan to visit them if you’ve time. You must try Anna Prasadam which is a food distribution service run by TTD.
All restaurants on the hill are managed by TTD and you can expect a good meal at extremely low prices. You can also do some street shopping from the local market available outside the temple premise.

Language & Food

After reaching back to the town, we had rest for some time in the room. Then in the evening we went outside in the hotel premise which was a quite big compound, where a plenty of people were walking around & talking in different languages. It was like a mini India where you can see devotees from every corner of India. Then I saw that there was a stage in the hotel campus on which a south-indian lady was performing the classical singing in Carnatic music. The audience sitting on the chairs in front of the stage were applauding her performance, although i couldn't understand a single word because she was singing in Telugu. Then we just roamed around the city to explore the market & obviously in search of some good & hygienic restaurant as it was the dinner time. Since we had eaten south indian food (Idli, Dosa, Vada etc) at last night dinner, today's morning breakfast as well as in lunch, so now i was wanting to eat some Chapati, but it was not available in any of the restaurants; then i realized that i am in South India. So again we had to order the same menu but this time with different flavor of Dosa. One thing i seriously didn't like here was the serving style. They were not serving Sambhar/Rasam & Coconut chutney in separate bowls as it's been served in North India rather they were just pouring all the Sambhar, Rasam & Chutney all together over the Dosa. It was looking so messy in the plate, that's the reason that most of the time during my trip i had to leave my food half-eaten. Another problem was the language, u can say that i could talk with them in English; i thought the same but it's the biggest misconception that all South-Indians could speak in English. It may be the case for the educated ones but what i found here in Tirupati that many of the shopkeepers, auto drivers & even restaurant owners were not comfortable with English either.

Rude behavior

Besides the food & language, there was another discomfort for the North-Indians & that was the behavior of the people especially the TTD staff of our hotel. I noticed that they were prejudiced towards North-Indians. Despite of the fact that I'd already booked the rooms in advance, each day on completing 24hrs from my check-in time i had to report to the reception & each day they used to check all of my identity cards which should be the same through which I'd booked the room. Then they start questioning that why we have planned to stay there for 4days if we have already availed darshan of the main temple. I was feeling like i was an illegal immigrant to America. I know that they were following the security protocols due to the heavy rush of public but in that case protocols should be the same for all. But i witnessed at the reception that they were providing the rooms to the South-Indians on the basis of their train tickets without checking any i-card, on the other hand they didn't allow a Hindi-spoken old-aged father & his son for stay there as they were unable to produce the same identity-card through which they have booked the room online whereas they have other identity proof with them but the staff rudely rejected it. I don't know where they got the shelter as it was already 11pm in the night but the TTD staff was simply not concerned about it. Another incident happened with me in the market when i went to a shop to purchase something then suddenly a puppy came from inside the shop & started jumping over me & tried to bite me and shockingly the shopkeeper-cum-owner of the dog was just laughing at me instead of pulling it away from me. Somehow I've managed to survive at my own & didn't buy anything from his shop. It's the fact that literacy rate of South-India is much higher than North-India but what i personally observed there is slightly different from the well-known fact.

The ISKCON Temple

For the next 2days we have planned to visit other nearby temples. We went outside where i bought a flower made Gajra for myself, fixed it into my hair like the South-Indian ladies do & moved towards the ISKCON temple. I've visited the ISKCON temples of Ujjain, Indore, Vrindavan & Delhi but i must say that the temple located in Tirupati is the most beautiful among all of them. The grand idols of the deities were situated there inside the temple which were as bright as the diamonds. A beautiful garden containing a variety of plants & flowers was stretched outside the temple in a big area in which I've clicked multiple pictures. I've bought the original Sandalwood powder from the temple's shop.

 

 Sightseeing

You can also take a trip to the old city after you are done with Tirupati Darshan and visit the historical temples constructed in this area. Apart from the highly revered Venkateshwara Temple, there are a lot of other temples also to visit in Tirupati like Govindaraja Swami Temple, Srivari mettu, Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple, Sri Agastheshwara Swamy temple Mukkoti, Sri Kapileswaraswami Temple & the Gudimallam Shiva temple etc. These temples are known for the beautiful architecture and designs just like Tirupati Temple. You will be mesmerized by the number of intricate designs that these temples contain. 

The most ancient Shiva-linga

Among all these temples, the least known Gudimallam is also one of the most fascinating. Gudimallam, located just 30 km from the temple town, is one of the most ancient Shiva temples in India. The lingam here is believed to the longest continuously worshipped lingam in the world and is said to be over 2200 years old. Archaeological studies suggest that Gudimallam Lingam, one of the oldest Shiva Linga in the world is in the Parasuramesvara temple, one of the temples in Gudimallam. The temple is picturesquely located on the banks of the Swarnamukhi River, and the deity here is unique, a 1.35 M, seven-sided monolithic lingam. The front plane has the figure of Parasurama standing on the crouching figure of a Yaksha. It rests on a base of seven concentric rings, only two of which are visible above the surface. The lingam is believed to be a manifestation of the trinity―Brahma at the bottom, Vishnu in the middle, and Shiva on top. It is said that the sage Parasurama, having killed his mother at the behest of his father, wanted to atone for his sin. A sage advised him to perform penance on the banks of the Swarnamukhi River, and he chose this sacred spot for the purpose. There is an atmosphere of spirituality which pervades this temple, even in the absence of priests or devotees. After the crowd at Tirumala, a visit to this temple can be an uplifting spiritual experience! 

 Agastheeswara Swami Temple

Another famous historical temple is Mukkoti Agastheeswara Swami Temple Tondavada. Here Lord Siva is known as Agastheeswara Swamy. The sacred shrine is famous for the god Shiva in linga rupam, which was installed by the great saint Agasthya, the son of Urvashi. The wise Agasthya here made a penace for Lord Shiva and caused the origin of the “Swarnamukhi” river from this place. Here a free community kitchen is run by the villagers in the open ground in front of the temple where Idli, Sambhar & Rasam were being cooked in the huge vessels. We had the delicious food served in the banana leaf. It was an amazing experience to have traditional South-Indian meal in an open area in the lap of nature.

 

 The divine experience

Sri Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala (Tirupati) is really significant to the Hindus from a religious point of view. Every year, the temple attracts tourists and devotees from all over the world.  To SUM-UP! in my personal experience,I experienced a state of bliss after visiting the temple. Darshan experience of barely a few seconds itself was very powerful experience. Tirupati is far better managed than many other Pilgrim Places in India. But there is still scope for improvement for TTD. 

Image source: Pinterest.com

  

Govinda, Govinda!!

 

A short halt in Delhi

While going to Haridwar, I've planned a short halt of 1day at Delhi. Although technically it was not so planned, the real reason behind that our train for Haridwar is going to be departed at midnight & we've reached Delhi in early morning at around 3am. So fortunately we got the whole day to roam around in Delhi. So we kept our baggage at the cloak rooms available at Nizamuddin Railway station & started searching nearby destinations on my phone. So found the nearest one & that was the India gate. We've crossed the over bridge & reached at the backside of Railway station which was full of crowd & beggars. From here we've hired a taxi but we badly stuck in the traffic jam. After 45min we were able to move ahead on the road.

India Gate

The India Gate located on Rajpath, built in 1931 and designed by the architect of New Delhi, Sir Luteyns who also designed the other points of interests nearby such as Parliament, President House and the planned New Delhi. The structure was built as a war memorial for the soldiers from british indian army who had fought in World War 1. It commemorates India's war dead and houses an eternal flame(Amar jawan jyoti). The names of all the soldiers who were martyred are inscribed on the outer walls of the Gate. Recently govt. has constructed a national war memorial spread over large area nearby in memory of all the soldiers from armed forces who martyred in their line of duty. This is a must visit place if you are in Delhi. It's a photogenic historic place.

 

Rashtrapati Bhavan (the President's house) is situated at the other end of the Raj path (with all important ministries housed nearby in North Block and South Block, with the parliament house of Sansad Bhawan not too far away). Surrounding the imposing structure is a large expanse of lush green lawns, which is a popular picnic spot. There is also a small pond nearby where one can enjoy boating as well. In the morning many locals come here for jogging as well. At nightfall India Gate is beautifully lit up, including the surrounding fountains. India Gate is also renowned for the grand Indian Republic Day Parade, hosted here every year on 26 January.

 

Rajghat

Then we went to Rajghat which is a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. It’s located not far from the river Yamuna and was originally the name of a historic ghat. There was the ‘Raj Ghat Gate’ of the walled city, opening at Raj Ghat on the Yamuna. Eventually, the memorial area was also called Raj Ghat. It was here where Mahatma Gandhi’s last rites were performed on January 31, 1948, a day after his death. A black marble platform marks the spot of Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation, attracting many tourists. His last words, ‘Hey Ram,’ are inscribed on the marble which is always adorned with flowers. 

 

Qutub Minar

After that we board in the metro for the Qutub minar. One interesting thing that happened during my Delhi tour was the funny falls of my co-travelers that occurred two times. First one occurred here after entering into the campus when my mother was clicking pictures of me & in the background all of a sudden a lady fell down on the ground & her fell was captured in my picture but she was not aware about it. LoL!

So after witnessing this funny incident, we started roaming in that huge covered area. The Qutub Minar is a towering 73 meter high tower built by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak in 1193. The tower was built to celebrate Muslim dominance in Delhi after the defeat of Delhi’s last Hindu ruler. This tower is the highest tower in India, complete with five storeys and projecting balconies. The first three storeys of the Qutub Minar are made of red sandstone and the last two are made of marble and sandstone. The construction of the Qutub Minar was started by Qitub-ud-Din Aibak, but he only constructed the basement. The construction of the tower was later taken over by his successor Iltutmish who constructed three more stories. The last two storeys were completed Firoz Shah Tuglak. The different architectural styles from the time of Aibak to Tuglak are clearly visible in the Qutub Minar.

 

Apart from the tower, the Qutub Minar complex comprises of the Quwwat-us-Islam Mosque (the first mosque to be built in India), a 7 metre high iron pillar, the tomb of Iltutmish, Ala’i-Darwaza and the Ala’I Minar. The Qutub Minar makes some great photographs, especially when photographed from unique angles. If you remember the popular song of the veteran actress Waheeda Rehman from the movie Guide "Aaj fir jeene ki tamanna hai", a good portion of that song was shot here only in which you can see the actress running on the top of these monuments.

 

 

There were so many foreign tourists visiting the place. It is the apt place to witness global multiculturalism. Here too something very interesting incident happened with me when i was talking with my mom indicating to the big door situated there in one of the historical buildings & i said "it's so big Darwaza", then a foreigner man standing next to me turned to me, smiled & said "Yes, it's a big Darwaza". He amazed me so i asked him that whether he knows Hindi, then he replied that it's a Persian word & since he hails from Afghanistan so he knows Persian language. That moment i was stunned by knowing the fact that easy mixing of other languages into Hindi/Sanskrit/Urdu has made it so common now that many of us don’t know whether the we are using is originated from which language. So guyz! now keep in mind that "Darwaza (دروازه)" is not a Hindi word.

 

Lotus Temple 

In the evening, we reached to the Kalkaji metro station that falls on the Violet Line route of Delhi Metro, which is a short walk away from the Lotus Temple. The Lotus Temple is a beautiful structure established and dedicated to the Baha’i faith. The magnificent structure of the building is created in the form of a stunning white petal lotus flower. It also ranks amongst the most visited buildings in the entire world. The shrine, which was completed and ready to open for the public in 1986, was designed and conceptualised by Fariborz Sahba, an Iranian architect. One of the most attractive things about the Lotus Temple, other than its structure, is the fact that this temple propagates the oneness of God, the Almighty. Furthermore, it is open to all kinds of people, regardless of their religion, gender, race or even nationality. Additionally, it is one out of the seven Baha’i House of Worship present in the whole world. Since the temple closing timing is 5PM so unfortunately we could not enter into the temple campus but I've managed to click some pictures of it from across the boundary wall.

  

ISKCON Temple

A beautiful garden is located behind the Lotus temple & a narrow footpath crossing through the garden leads you to the famous ISKCON temple. A famous shrine dedicated to Lord Krishna, ISKCON Temple is known around the world for its exquisite architecture, boasting of classical stonework on the outside and amazing artworks in its interiors. 

 

Here you can spend some time amidst the spiritual ambience of the temple, chant prayers & dance. In the temple many of d foreigners along with other devotees were playing several musical instruments & doing Keertan. Here you can purchase the holy books of Hinduism like Bhagwad Geeta & others. On exit, u may have enjoy the mouth watering prasadam of Rabri. 

 

As I've mentioned earlier about the funny falls occurring during my Delhi trip, the 2nd one was happened in the garden when we were going to the ISKCON temple, when one of the fellow traveler walking ahead suddenly slipped & fell down in the muddy area. Seriously it was the hilarious fall. 

Red Fort

Then we took a city bus to reach at our last destination that was the Red fort. Here we were surprised when the bus conductor didn't charge any amount for our tickets, later we got to know that in Delhi city bus ride is free of cost for all the ladies, that's a good thing. So coming back to our next destination, the Red fort is the most iconic monument of Delhi located at Chandni chawk area in old Delhi. ‘At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom…’ This historic speech marked India’s independence from British rule and simultaneously made the Red Fort in Delhi a politically significant monument, which now acts as the setting for the independence day celebrations each year. However, the Red Fort has been a strategically important monument through the ages, due to Delhi being the capital city for a good part of the Mughal rule in India. Mughal emperor Shahjahan laid the foundations of this palace. This massive walled citadel with red sandstone walls took nearly a decade to complete. This fort was the seat of the Mughal empire for around 200 years, until it fell into British hands. The last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was coronated here in 1837, during which time it is said that his powers did not extend beyond the boundaries of this palace. 

Chandni Chowk

If you want to see delhi in its true sense, you must visit Chandni Chowk. Though the area is under renovation to give better experience to the visitor these days, but still you can visit many places. You can visit Red fort to see glory of India. If you want to do shopping for marriage, this could be your first landing place. you can find many varieties for both bride and groom. During shopping, you can enjoy variety of Paranthe in Paranthe wali gali and can enjoy Jalebi and Rabri from many shop keepers. There are places like Khari Baoli famous for dry fruits, Nayee Sadak for Books where you can do shopping.You can visit Sheesh Ganj Gurudwara which will give a divine peace. in short, you should add this place in your itinerary. 

Museums & Crematoriums 

Other than this, there are 25-30 museums in Delhi which you can visit if you want to know more details about India's political & social history. During my 1st visit to Delhi, I've visited many of them. Along with this, there are several Crematoriums & Samadhi sthals of some prominent politicians of India which include Jawaharlal Nehru(1st PM): Shanti Van (Garden of Peace) Lal Bahadur Shastri (2nd PM): Vijay Ghat (Victory Platform), Chaudhary Charan Singh (5th PM): Kisan Ghat(Farmer’s Platform), Rajiv Gandhi(6th PM): Veer Bhumi (Land of Brave),  Indira Gandhi(1st lady PM): Shakti Sthal(Place of Power) & Atal Bihari Vajpayee(10th PM): Sadaiv Atal. I've seen all of them during my first visit to Delhi except the last one as it's the most recent one after demise of Shri Vajpayee ji.

City of Mirza Ghalib

In the words of the famous Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib “I asked my soul what is Delhi? She replied the world is the body and Delhi its life”. That is exactly what Delhi is. This stature that the city has attained it attributed to quite a few things ranging from age-old monuments to some of the best shopping arcades. From typically Indian cuisine foods to some of the best continental food in the country; from being the party hub to having still retained its roots and culture; the place has it all.

Vaishno Devi Temple, Katra

The holy shrine Mata Vaishno devi temple dedicated to goddess Vaishnavi is located at Katra, a small town in the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir. Katra is situated in the foothills of Trikuta mountains, it is 42km away from the Jammu city. Jammu is well connected to all other parts of India by road, rail & air network. After you land in Jammu, you can either book a taxi or you can take a bus to reach Katra. It will take approx. 1hr to cover the distance & trust me, this 1hr ride is same as an adventurous roller-coaster ride that will surely bring your liver to your mouth when your bus will start taking sharp turns in the narrow hilly road in bad condition over the deep valley. Although it was the year2013 when i went Katra, maybe today after 8yrs things should have been changed. Now direct rains upto Katra from several cities of India is also available. There are several hotels available along with the accommodations provided by Vaishno devi shrine board. 

History

The cave of Mata Vaishno Devi is very ancient(a million year old) according to the study conducted by the geologists. It is believed that Mata Vaishno Devi, who was also known as Trikuta observed the ‘Navratra’, to pray for the victory of Lord Rama against Ravana. It is also said that Lord Rama also ensured her that the entire world would sing her praises and revere her as Mata Vaishno Devi. Bhairo Nath, who chased Mata Vaishno Devi and pestered her to marry him, was actually sent by Gorakh Nath, who was a Mahayogi. Gorakh Nath had a vision of the conversation between Lord Rama and Vaishnavi. Led by curiosity to know more about Vaishnavi, the Mahayogi sent his prime disciple to collect information about the Goddess. The Goddess after forgiving Bhairo Nath and allowing him to attain Moksha shed her human form and took the form of a rock in order to continue uninterrupted meditation. Mata Vaishno Devi, hence, gives her devotees darshan in the form of a five and half feet tall rock, with three pindies or heads on the top. The cave where she transformed herself is now the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi and the pindies form the sanctum sanctorum.

The Fresh Morning

We had checked in our hotal at midnight & next morning when i woke up & went outside to have some breakfast, i suddenly stopped for a while as i was so amazed to see the serene beauty of that place. It was my very first encounter with spectacular hills of the lower Himalayas which were clearly visible from that place. I was staring them without blinking my eyes as they were seeming so close to me. The cool breeze was blowing & the sky was shining with golden rays of the sun. The whole view was like a painting. Then i stepped in the restaurant of my hotel which was offering Rajma-Rice in the breakfast. 

  

Modes of transportation

Then we got ready for that much-awaited journey for which we had came so long, the journey to the famous Vaishno devi temple located at a height of 5300ft. from sea level. Since Vaishno devi temple is a cave temple nestled in the divine Himalayas so now it was the time to climb uphill towards the temple which is going to be a 15km long well-paved trek. From Katra to Vaishno Devi Bhawan (temple), you can use any of these modes of transportation, ponies, trekking, electric vehicles, ropeway and Palki. Regular Helicopter rides are also available from Katra to Sanjhhi Chhat, followed by a 2.5 km walk. This can be booked from the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board's official website. If you are booking helicopter then you get the vip ticket for Puja which otherwise you have to take separately. 

Starting point

Since it was our first visit to the temple so we decided to go with the trek so that we could closely witness the natural beauty of that place. Another reason to choose trekking was that we wanted to experience that divine feeling when you make yourself deserving enough to avail darshan labh of the deity after your labour & time invested in the climbing. So on a walking distance from our hotel, there was the big entrance gate to the trek which is called "Banganga gate". Here you can witness the beauty of white milky water of Ban Ganga river flowing through the stones. It is a sacred river where devotees like to take a dip before continuing the Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra.  

 

After some security checks done by CRPF soldiers, we were allowed to go ahead. You must take the Yatra prachi (entry pass) at the starting point of the climb which is free but mandatory without which you won’t be allowed to enter into the main temple.

The Trek

The yatra route is open 24 x7. It is paved and most of the part is covered with roofs. Here you can see the beautiful face of nature as the trek goes upward over the deep green valley surrounded by the Trikuta hills. You can have the stunning view of mountains. 

 

Cleanliness level is satisfactory here. There are CCTV cameras in-place. Loudspeakers are there all the way for public announcements. Public toilets are easily accessible, the only issue is with the cleanliness. After every 15-20 steps you will find shops. Shops are mostly of prasad, souvenirs, dry fruits, snacks and juices, and massage parlors; onion , garlic , liquor, cigarettes are not allowed on the trek. You will come across a number of idols and temples on the route. 

 

 

 

For those who are not regular walkers need not to worry. It is a fun trekking. You can take as many halts. You will see most of the people walking up. This becomes a motivation in itself. You can re-energize yourself with snacks and juices. You can sit down and watch the beautiful sights. 

 

You see a mini-India here as pilgrims from different States visit this place. Wear seasonal & loose clothes maintaining the decency and sanctity of the place. Avoid tight and fashionable clothes. It will only make your journey tougher. Women should avoid wearing heavy makeup (trek can sweat you profusely on a warm day) and expensive jewelry. Shoes with good grip are most important. Chappals and sandals will slow down your speed. For solo up to a group of three, minimum cash in hand should be Rs. 10,000/-. You will definitely not spend it all, but by any chance if a member gets medical issues say, an ankle twist or develops cramps, you will have to hire a pony or palkhi. Don’t rely on ATMs. For foot pilgrims, marching ponies are a big nuisance. They hurriedly cross your road or come from the opposite directions. Donkeys carry ration and supplies to the top. They do have separate lane marked for them, but neither pilgrims nor the pony men follow it. Monkeys, not present throughout the way, have an eye on eatables. You are at risk of getting your eatable robbed by the monkeys. There are steps as well as road is available on the trek. Steps will make your journey shorter, but it requires good amount of thigh strength. Paved roads have rush of pilgrims and ponies. You can alter between the paved roads and steps. If you are going in winters do carry winter clothing as it gets really cold on top. Road has proper lighting.  At night, you can have picturesque view of the Katra town from the top illuminated with lights. I think this town never sleeps because of non-stop movement of pilgrims in the town. 

 

The Bhawan

We had started climbing at approx. 12 o'clock in the noon. The restaurants en-route were providing delicious food so we had big kulchas in our lunch, big means literally those were too big in size. Usually it takes 6-8 hours to complete the trek depending upon your stamina. Since i travel with my mother & she was not able to walk speedly on the trek so we could reach at the Bhawan upto 10PM in the night. There comes a point 3-km before the Mata Mandir where they have locker facility (free of cost). You have to deposit footwear, bags, cellphones or any metallic thing in the locker. You can carry only prasad and cash after this point. This is the last check point. Soon after entering the arched marble tunnel you can feel the positive energy and your mouth utters "jai mata di" always in full spirit. Once you reached the place, you can see mata kali, mata saraswathi and mata lakshmi in pindi forms and the panditji was very kind enough to explain and allowed us to pray for sometime with our full satisfication of worshipping (they do not take any money except our offerings to god). After darshan you come out of caves and you start taking deep breaths. The ambience at the top is divine – a feeling that can’t be expressed in words!

Bhairavnath temple

Bhairavnath temple is a few more kilometers up from here. You can take a long break before you start for Bhairav Mandir. Quality food is available in number of outlets at this point. Outlets like Café Coffee Day have kiosks here. Best part is that they are all no-profit outlets. You get food at subsidized rates. After a 30 mins to an hour break, you should start for Bhairavnath Mandir. By then we were too tired & didn't that stamina left for further trekking. So we hired ponies to reach at Bhairavnath temple. If you are thinking that riding on the pony would be more comfortable then you are completely wrong because at the end your inner thighs and buttocks would hurt badly. It was so scary when suddenly the pony used to start walking on the edges of that steep road because at that time no fencing was there & there was a deep valley beneath the road. People with spine/back problems and pregnant women should avoid pony ride. As being an inexperienced rider while stepping down from the pony, i jumped on a single leg which started paining after a few minutes. While returning back to the Ardh kunwari cave by the ponies, my mother started shivering & she had high fever. Somehow we reached at Ardh kunwari where there was a long queue for entering into the cave. We had to wait there for about 2hrs (more than the waiting time at Vaishno devi bhawan). It's my suggestion that one must do Ardh kunwari darshan in return journey only as during peak season it needs 5 to 6 hrs,so you can relax there and wait for your turn while returning. 

Ardh kunwari cave

It was a chilled night of winter season & we were already suffering with pain & fever and we were sitting there in an open ground waiting for our turn to enter into the Ardh kunwari cave. It was a terrible experience which later on turned into a miraculous one after crossing that cave. At Ardhkuwari a separate cave is situated to which an interesting legend is attached. This separate cave is said to be the place where Vaishno Devi hid from Bhairo Nath for 9 months. It is said, the Goddess positioned herself in the same way as an unborn child is placed in his/her mother’s womb. This cave is also known as Garbhjun.The cave is around 5 to 7 Mt long and 2 to 2.5 ft wide. Any man can pass through it easily but people who are extremely claustrophobic may avoid this. Right after passing by the cave at 4am in the morning, we noticed that suddenly my mother's body temperature got down to normal & my leg pain just vanished. It was unbelievable, this was something I've never experienced before. It was a divine magic because as we came out of the cave, we were feeling so energetic & fresh that after that we again got our stamina back to go down the trek by walking only.

The local market

Shopping should be done on way back. Souvenirs, devi mata photos, prasad, dry fruits, etc. are decked up at thousands of shops on both the sides along the route. Most shops are open 24x7. On return journey you will be provided prasad and a small coin at the exit point. It's free of cost. We reached back to our hotel near about 8am in the morning & rushed to the bed. After having rest for the full day in the room, we went to the local market for some more shopping. Many shops line the road here and sell many things such as traditional Kashmiri handicrafts, Pashmina stoles and shawls, walnut, wood carvings and the world-famous Kashmiri chillies to carry with you back home. I've bought two Kashmiri kurtis along with a piece of dress material made of Kashmiri silk. Here you can find quality handloom products which include pashmina shawls, kani shawls, Basohli pashmina shawls, raffle shawls, cotton bed sheets, woollen blankets, cotton kurta-pajama, linen fabrics, coats, Kishtwari blankets, pattoos, loies and other handloom items. The best part is that here you don't need to worry about how will you manage this extra luggage in return journey because if you book heavy items like the blanket combo pack generally offered by the local shopkeepers, then all you have to do is just paying half of the bill & the purchased items will be delivered at your residence (anywhere in India) where you can pay the remaining amount. Isn't it amazing for the shopping lovers! 

Since Jammu & Katra are very sensitive areas and are security prone to terror attacks, so everywhere in both of the towns you will find soldiers of armed forces roaming there holding big riffles. Even while going to Katra from Jammu, I've noticed that there were several check posts situated along with the road on top of which an armed soldier was standing holding the gun point without moving.

Overall experience

This was my first planned trip outside Madhya Pradesh although 1year ago in Dec2012 I'd came to Delhi & Gurugram(then Gudgaon) to attend some family function but during that trip we could visit only Red fort & some museums located in Delhi because at that time continuous protests were going on everywhere in Delhi due to the heart-wrenching Nirbhaya rape case, so most of the monuments were closed that time.
As the popular saying, you can visit this place only if Mata calls you ... so we were lucky enough to get the chance ( mata ka bulava ). Overall this was a good trip. Actually I can’t express the feeling and the aura that I've experienced while visiting Vaishno devi. It was a lifetime divine experience. 

Photo from Google

 

JAI MATA DI..

India's independence & Astrology

 Today I came to know sm interesting correlation between India's independence date and astrology. Sounds interesting,dts y i m sharing. So in August 1947, the then Viceroy of India Mount betan proposed 2days i.e. 14th & 15th August to India and Pakistan for the independence. As usual Pakistan was in so hurry dt they first choose the former date without any delay. On the other hand, India's 1st president Dr. Rajendra Prasad who was keen interested in Astrology and also had a good knowledge of it, contacted d astrologer Pt. Suryanarayan Vyas from Ujjain and discussed abt the appropriate timing for the historic day. Then Pt. Vyas told about the midnight timing of 15th August when it was "Vrishabh(Taurus) lagna" wch is considered d most stable lagna in astrology. He predicted dt due to this lagna, India will be always ruled by democracy while the neighbouring country dt chose 14th August wch was the timing of "Mithun(Gemini) lagna" & dts considered d most unstable lagna😝 dts y he predicted dt Pakistan government would never b stable. India's birth chart is prepared as per the date of our Independence day, according to wch India's zodiac sign is Cancer wch is an aquatic zodiac. This also impacts India positively as India is a peninsula. Although India's exact origin date is not yet known bt d independence date is considered as a rebirth of the nation dts y all the predictions are done based on the planetary position on this date.

-Sonal"Hoshangabadi"

बलात्कार का राजनीतिकरण

 हैरानी की बात है कि सोशल मीडिया और सबसे तेज़ होने का दावा करते समाचार चैनलों के बीच मुझे आज 12दिनों बाद पता चला कि विगत 30अप्रैल को टीकरी बॉर्डर पर चल रहे किसान आंदोलन में 25वर्षीय एक युवती की मृत्यु हो गयी जिसके साथ सामूहिक दुष्कर्म हुआ था। ग़ौरतलब है कि पश्चिम बंगाल की ये युवती किसान आंदोलन में भाग लेने गत 11अप्रैल को टीकरी बॉर्डर आयी थी जो किसान सोशल आर्मी के टेंट में रुकी थी। युवती के पिता ने किसान सोशल आर्मी से जुड़े 4युवकों और 2युवतियों के विरुध्द प्राथमिकी दर्ज कराई है। इस सबके बीच अचंभित कर देने वाली बात ये सामने आ रही है कि आम आदमी पार्टी के पूर्व नेता और अवसरवादी राजनीति का लाभ उठाते हुए हाल ही में किसान बनकर सामने आए संयुक्त किसान मोर्चा के अध्यक्ष योगेंद्र यादव जिनके नेतृत्व में ये आंदोलन कई महीनों से चल रहा है, उन्हें 2मई को ही इस घटना की सूचना मिल चुकी थी लेकिन उन्होंने पुलिस को इसकी ख़बर देना ज़रूरी नहीं समझा। बहुत संभव है कि नेताजी योगेंद्र यादव को लगा होगा कि पुलिस को इस घटना की सूचना देना 2024के आम चुनाव तक चलने वाले उनके राजनीतिक किसान आंदोलन को नुकसान पहुंचा सकता है। लेकिन युवती ने मरने से पहले अपने साथ हुए यौन शोषण और आरोपियों की जानकारी फ़ोन पर अपने पिता को दे दी थी मगर हद तो तब हो गयी जब युवती के पिता के दिल्ली आने पर इन नेताजी ने उन्हें क़ानूनी मदद करने की बजाय ये कहकर हाथ खड़े कर लिए कि "आपको स्वयं ही एफआईआर कराना चाहिए"। उनके इस वक्तव्य का असली अर्थ हम सब समझ सकते हैं। आश्चर्यजनक ये भी है कि मैं रोज़ समाचार-पत्र पढ़ती हूँ और समाचार चैनल भी देखती हूँ लेकिन केवल अपना राजनीतिक एजेंडा फ़ैलाने और किसानों की आड़ लेकर सरकार के विरोध में चल रहे आंदोलन को सही साबित करने के लिए इतनी शर्मनाक घटना को उतने ही शर्मनाक तरीके से मीडिया रिपोर्टिंग से दरकिनार कर दिया गया है क्योंकि आजकल हमारे देश में बलात्कार जैसे घिनौने अपराध का भी राजनीतिकरण कर दिया गया है जिसके तहत केवल उत्तर प्रदेश में होने वाले बलात्कार को ही जघन्य समझा जाता है और बाकी जगहों पर होने वाली ऐसी घटनाओं को ढिठाई पूर्वक दबाया जाता है।

माँ नर्मदा और मैं

 

मेरे पैतृक निवास-स्थान पर बहने वाली मां रेवा और स्वयंभू बाणलिंग(नर्मदा नदी में मिलने वाले शिवलिंग) का अनुपम दृश्य।

जिस बड़े से पत्थर पर ये शिवलिंग स्थापित है, उसे स्थानीय भाषा में सत्ती कहा जाता है जो नदी के तट पर और नदी के बीच में भी मिलते हैं और मुझे अच्छे से याद है कि ये सत्ती पहले नदी के काफ़ी अंदर हुआ करती थी जो अब इस तस्वीर में पानी के बाहर दिखाई दे रही है। ये मुझे इसलिए याद है कि सभी बच्चों का सपना हुआ करता था इस सत्ती तक पहुंचना क्योंकि तब ये काफ़ी गहरे पानी में हुआ करती थी जहाँ तक सिर्फ़ कुशल तैराक ही पहुंच पाते थे इसीलिये मुझे इस सत्ती तक पहुंचने का सौभाग्य केवल गर्मियों में ही मिलता था, जब सहेलियों का हाथ पकड़कर कंधे तक के पानी के स्तर को पार करके मैं चलते-चलते ही यहाँ तक जाया करती थी क्योंकि मुझे तैरना बिल्कुल नहीं आता था। ऐसा 1-2बार करने से ही मुझे तैरने जैसे आनंद की अनुभूति होती थी।

 

ये हमारा घाट है जो आज भी अपने पुरातन रूप में है जिसमें बहुत प्राचीन मज़बूत पत्थरों की बनी लगभग 100 सीढियां हैं। तस्वीर में बारिश के समय का दृश्य है, आम दिनों में पानी इससे काफ़ी नीचे रहता है और दूर तक फैला रेत का सुंदर तट भी दिखाई देता है। किनारे लगी ऊंची दीवारनुमा सीढियां जिन पर से ये बच्चे नदी में कूदते हुए दिखाई दे रहे हैं, इन्हें स्थानीय लोग हतनी कहते हैं। इन हतनियों पर पुरा-पाषाण काल की मूर्तियां अंकित हैं, लेकिन ज़्यादातर लोग उनके महत्व से अनजान हैं। बारिश के दिनों में ये हतनियाँ स्थानीय लोगों के लिए नदी के जल-स्तर को मापने का सबसे सटीक यंत्र बन जाती हैं। ऐसी कुल 10 हतनियाँ हैं जिनमें से ऊपर की तीन हतनियों के डूबने को ख़तरे की घंटी समझा जाता था जो सौभाग्य से मेरे सामने कभी नहीं हुआ। हमारे बुज़ुर्ग नदी के पानी का रंग देखकर बता दिया करते थे कि पानी अब नीचे उतरेगा या और ऊपर चढ़ेगा?

मेरा पैतृक घर नदी के सबसे नज़दीक होने की वजह से हमें सौभाग्यवश रोज़ सुबह घर की छत से ही माँ पुण्य सलिला और नदी के दूसरे छोर पर स्थित सिद्धनाथ महादेव मंदिर के दर्शन सुलभ थे। दैनिक पूजा के लिए नर्मदा नदी का जल लाना और शाम को नदी के तट पर दीपक लगाने जाना मेरी रोज़मर्रा की दिनचर्या का हिस्सा था। उस समय रेत पर बैठकर क्षितिज में डूबते सूरज को देखना दिन भर की सारी थकान दूर कर देता था। शायद नदी किनारे गुज़ारी शाम के उन्हीं पलों ने मेरे अंदर रचनात्मकता का संचार किया।

कहते हैं नदी किनारे ही सभ्यता का विकास होता है। वहाँ रहने वाली हमारे कुनबे की तब तक सात पीढियां हो चुकी थीं और अब तो लगभग 10पीढियां हो चुकी हैं। तीन भाई जो यूपी में सरयू पार से आकर नर्मदा किनारे बसे और खेती करने लगे जिनका आगे चलकर इतना विशाल परिवार बना। हम सभी परिवारों के घर लगभग 100साल पुराने थे, जिनमें कई कमरे, आगे एक बड़ा सा आंगन और पीछे एक बगीचा होता था। इसी बगीचे के बीच से एक दीवार बनाकर उस तरफ़ के हिस्से में घर के बाहर बाथरूम, शौचालय और बर्तन धोने की जगह बनाई गई थी। मेरे घर का आधा हिस्सा तब तक आधुनिक युग की भवन निर्माण शैली में तब्दील हो चुका था लेकिन पूजा का कमरा, रसोई और मेरी दादी के कमरे सहित घर का दूसरा हिस्सा तब भी अपने मूल स्वरूप में सुरक्षित था। आजकल ऐसे घरों को कॉटेज का नाम देकर पर्यटन उद्योग वाले सैलानियों से हज़ारों-लाखों का किराया ले लेते हैं लेकिन उस समय हर चीज़ से पैसा बनाने की प्रवृति लोगों में नहीं थी। दुर्भाग्यवश आज उन सुंदर प्राकृतिक वातानुकूलित घरों की जगह गगनचुंबी इमारतों ने ले ली है।

हमारे इतने बड़े परिवार में लगभग हर दूसरे महीने सूतक होता था क्योंकि ख़ानदान में 80साल से ऊपर बुज़ुर्गो की संख्या काफ़ी अधिक थी😛 हर दिवाली और नवरात्रि में सब भगवान से प्रार्थना करते थे कि कम से कम इस दौरान कोई सूतक न हो ताकि हम अच्छे से ये पर्व मना सकें। इस 13दिन के सूतक के दौरान परिवार के सभी घरों में काफ़ी नियमों का पालन करना होता था जिसमें प्रमुख था ख़ानदान के सभी औरतों और आदमियों का पूरे 13दिनों तक रोज़ नर्मदा नदी में जाकर स्नान करना। इसी तरह नवरात्रि में नवमीं की पूजा के पहले सभी पुरुष नर्मदाजी में स्नान करके बिना किसी अन्य वस्तु/व्यक्ति को स्पर्श किये सीधे पूजाघर में प्रवेश करते थे।

नवंबर माह की कड़कड़ाती सर्दी में सुबह 4बजे उठकर नर्मदा नदी में पूरे 1माह तक कार्तिक स्नान करना हो, नदी किनारे सबसे ऊंची चट्टान पर स्थित "पागल बाबा" के आश्रम में जाकर कन्या-भोजन करना हो जहां सभी जाति-धर्म की कन्याओं को बुलाकर उनका पूजन किया जाता था या लोकपर्व भुजरिया विसर्जन के समय नदी के तट पर बिखरी पीले रंग की छटा को निहारना, माँ नर्मदा से जुड़ी ये यादें मेरे जीवन की सबसे अनमोल स्मृतियां हैं।

हर हर नर्मदे।