Jammu third time

Last time I was in Jammu was once in 1982 I think when as a final year medical student I came with my classmates for a week long stay in Srinagar ,that was,in blazing month of May when Delhi and Jammu were furnaces .

From Jammu where we reached by train from Delhi we went up to valley by a tortous 12 hour bus drive .

It was at night and I remember a town Batota where we had dinner of famus Rajma chawal .

I found some passengers adding rum to thier dinner too !

The next visit to Jammu was I think in early 2000s with Sruthi and Shyam as children .

This time we travelled in winter and it was truly cold .

The Delhi Jammu travel by train was a horror we cannot forget .

We had booked in Sleeper compartment from Delhi to Jammu due to lack of tickets we took unwise decision to book non ac sleeper between Delhi and Jammu ,we thought since it was winter we wont miss AC but never imagined non booked passengers filling a reserved compartment as in south this  never happened .

 it was filled with many who had no booking and most had no intention of leaving though respectful of our spaces .

The night we spent with people sleeping on floors aisles etc luckily they did not share our berths ,going to rest rooms were a torture as we had to step over many ,one time I stepped on someones fragile bag and something broke and the man punched me on face in anger though not hard ,it shook me a lot and decided never to travel in north india by train ,he later apologised as many shouted at him as it was my right to walk to rest room and he was the unauthorised person in compartment .

No TTR entered compartment even next day .

 Train stuck in thick fog reached Jammu hours late ,by Punjab the crowds had  melted away leaving us in relative peace .

Those days domestic flights were less and it was early days,of terrorism too .

many wondered at our risk of  taking young children to such cold forebading places .

Our plan was to reach Jammu and go to Vaishno devi shrine .

Premilas cousin Harish pankan an army brigadier had made all arrangements for our safe travel from Jammu on and the horror in Delhi Jammu was totally unexpected .

I even was woken up on our return by a burly huge sardar policeman as I had a hooded jerkin  covering my face and he wanted to find out if I was a terror suspect ,my Hindi illiteracy made it worse and Premila had to tick him off that  I was no terrorist but her Dr husband and he stop being rude ,the sardar mumbled apologies and left .

I wrote it as Janpath jerkin in my blog  then .

On reaching Jammu two military police awaited us ,they told us they would be with us for few,days,till we returned back ,one was from west Bengal other from UP they became friendly with Shyam and Sruthi and took care of them till our return .

They laughingly listened to our horror stories of train time and promised that  our return journey to Delhi  we would be VIPs ,they kept thier word as on our return to Delhi again in non AC sleeper they evicted all those withoutv booking from our compartment and gaurded both doors till departure that no one dared to enter ,on train they arranged military personell to check on off on our comfort telling them two army Drs are travelling in the compartment .

No one dared to enter it then not even the TTR ! 

From Jammu they took us to Udhampur army northern headqaurters where we were arranged to stay in Army officers mess .

It was truly a honour to be considered for staying there and we came to know of the army discipline neatness respect to guests and excellent food in mess .

Next day in an unmarked Ambassador as army jeeps were targetted we went to Katra .

Now trains ply between Jammu and Katra .

even a Vande bharath .

From katra we had to climb up almost for 4 to 5 hours but in a concrete sloping path built by famous music cassete and film producer of T series Gulshan  Kumar who was murdered by terrorists for his known piety and a well known Hindu who ignored thier demands for funding money .

It seems after a visit to a shiv temple in Mumbai a terrorist sidled upto him with a revolver and keeping it close to his head told him I will send you now to your Shiva ,we hear Gulshan calmly told him please do what your karma is I will go through mine ,

We dont know if it really happened as someone in front of a gun may have pleaded to be not shot but its possible too since for Hindus soul can never be destroyed 

The path of vaishno devi is trumy a testimony for the great man .

It was a tough climb with devotees chanting Jai mataaji ,both shyam and sruthi were taken by hand by Pandey and Bose and with fun and laughter they climbed .

we had darshan in VIP Army que rested in army area ( Army was king in those areas ) 

Later it took 8 hours of trudge to reach katra we then went by car to Patnitop a snow,laden hill station stayed in a CRPF officers area in a cottage 

we frolicked in snow next day and returned back to Jammu and Delhi in style .

This time Jammu is pleasant a bit warm in day .

we plan to go by road to Srinagar spend 4 days and return and have arranged a car .

Yesterday we went to beutiful Raghunath jee temple dedicated to Sree Ram and walked in busy market area around .

My views of chaotic traffic in Cochin took a beating when I saw the mess in Jammu !

 

ISKON Pandarpur

 

ISKON Pandarpur is situated on opposite bank of Chandrabagha river of the Pandarpur Vitobha temple .

We had tried to get accomadation there but it was full hence we booked in a hotel 

After Vishnudham we went to Iskon 

It was a sprawling complex with huge prayer hall ,lot of shops selling puja matireals handicrafts books incense etc and Govinda the in house restaurant .

It was too early for Arathi so we went in prayed and sat for some time .

later walked upto river side which gave nice views but it was warm and humid .

There are boats to take one to temple opposite but big canoes good for groups and rare ,one had to walk a bit after one crosses too

So we had food in Govinda and later took an auto to Temple .

Pandarpur Vitoba temple

Pandarpur Vitoba temple 

Our main purpose of coming to Pandarpur was to pray in Vitobha temple .

This is one of the 108 vaishnavite shrines of Lord Krishna or Vishnu .

Its in Solapur dt in  Maharastra

Here Lord Krishna is with his consort Rakhumai or Rukmini bai ie Rukmini .

Temple was built by King Vishnuvardana ( Bittideva ) of Hoysala empire between 1108 and 1152 CE around 1000 years back .

Though only remnants exist from this period temple was rebuilt in 17 th century but records show its earlier construction 

Afzal khan tried to destroy idol but brahmin priests protected same 

its on banks of river Chandrabagha .

There are several pilgrimages to this temple called WARIS but most famous are those that reach on Ashadi ekadashi and Karthik ekadasi .

pilgrims from all over Maharastra and north Karnataka walk in groups singing Abangs or devotional songs with accompanients to Lord Vitobha walk days and nights to reach as huge congregrations of one to two lakhs to Warkari 5 km from Pandarpur and then to temple .

Some carry slippers of saints .

Many carry palkis or palanquins seperate for each groups 

The groups are called Dindis and the pilgrims Warkaris .

It can be compared to  a  similar pilgrimage like  Sabarimala in Kerala .

The legend of Pundalik ..

Pundalik was a devoted son to his old parents but after he gets married he changes and ill treats them ,so much that they decide to go off to Kashi or Varanasi ( those days older people would go to Kashi to await death as dying there gave them freedom from further births ) 

Hearing that his parents want to go to Kashi Pundalik and wife too says,they too will come ,they continue to ill treat the old parents on way by making them walk while they rode on horses and his,parents forced to groom the horses .

On way they take rest in an ashram of a saint Kukutswami and as Pundalik slept he dreams of a bevy of beautiful women wearing soiled clothes sweeping floor and cleaning ashram and returning with clean clothes ,he asks them about this they tell him they are rivers like Ganga ,Yamuna,Godavari,Kaveri and people undo thier sins onto them on bathing in the rivers and by cleaning ashram of venerable saint they unload their sins here and go back neat 

They also tell Pundalik that his sins of ill treating his parents will be difficult to be washed off .

Pundalik realises his mistake and from then again becomes a devout son dedicated to tending his parents .

Lord Vishnu hears of this devotee of his and decudzs to visit him .

Its first day of monsoon and place is muddy as lord Vishnu reaches Pundaliks house ,he is asked to wait by Pundalik as he is busy tending to his parents and though he knew its the lord at his steps he considers his duty to his parents more important

 so he throws a brick for Vishnu to stand in muddy ground and wait !

They say Lord Vishnu is still standing on brick for yugas as Pundalik never ever will finish his devoted tending of his parents .

This is Vitobha temple with lord in an akimbo pose hands inturned one blessing other with a conch and wearing fish earings 

Rukhabai too has a seperate idol standing on brick .

The temple does not allow mobile phones inside 

There are two types of darshans Mukha darshan is viewing lord from far and sparsa darshan touching lords feet with forehead .

In crowded times ques last for 8 to 13 hours or more .

premila had booked online it was free of cost and we were given 8pm slot .

The temple area was crowded bit dirty very busy 

Since it was pre holi lot of fires were lit on road .

We had to walk almost a km or more through buildings meant to house the que up down at times broad at times narrow corridors though with air coolers it was dehytrating tiring no place to sit and certain bottle necks potential for stampedes .

Its time temple commitees monitored such hot spots and solved them as in crowded days stampedes would defintely happen .

To me temples are fine as,long its less crowded less humid and places where I could exit if needed. 

 I never liked ques specially in India which does not know what it means ..

I prefer emptier quieter temples though I dont mind visiting temples am not very particular to visit God himself but prefered to write on him in comfort unlike premila who did not mind to go to some pains to get darshan .

Finally we reached the sanctum sanctorum and bowed our head to lords feet .

I asked for his forgiveness for my attitude , silently telling him 

After all you made me like this 

so you have no excuse but bear with me .

some images courtesy online only used for awareness