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 The
shrine of Goddess Vaishnav Devi is located high in the hills about
80 km from Jammu near the town of Katra. One can take a State
Transport bus, a luxury tourist coach, a car or a tourist taxi from
Jammu to Katra. The drive through picturesque valleys and hills
takes less than two hours. Katra has a thriving bazaar, where puja
paraphernalia, coconuts and other offerings for the Goddess can be
bought, besides woollen garments and (for hire or purchase) canvas
shoes, raincoats, umbrellas etc. There is a fine tourist reception
office at Katra, a number of good hotels and lodging houses to suit
all budgets and even an amusement park. The shrine's administrative
board also runs hotels and guest-houses.
It is 14 km from Katra to the hill temple. Most
pilgrims trek the distance. You can also hire a pony or a horse or
engage a porter (pithu) to carry your luggage or your baby. The old,
weak or infirm may engage a 'doli' (sedan chair) carried by four
porters. The pilgrimage provides a lot of jobs for villagers of the
region. There are 8000 listed porters, 2000 listed 'ponywallas' and
about 1000 doli wallas. Most of them are Muslims, some coming from
places as far as Poonch, Badarwah and Rajouri.
We started from Jammu around 4.30 p.m. In Katra two
hours later, we had a wash at a shrine board guesthouse and then
went to hire canvas shoes from a shop across the road. We could also
buy offerings for the goddess at the shop. Traditionally, these
consist of a piece of red silk or any other material, laced with
zari and gotta, a coconut, sweetmeats, puffed rice etc., I was
accompanied by an aunt, uncle, a teenager niece and a two-year-old
nephew. To carry the child, we engaged a porter, Anwar, a charming
young Muslim of twenty, from Rajouri, who charged about Rs.200/- for
a trip. He said he usually made two trips per week. His income
supported his family in the village, where they worked on a small
land holding. Very agile, he almost ran up the hill and we had a
tough time keeping up.
Our first halt was at Gulshan Kumar's free food
service. The late Gulshan Kumar's music cassette company is rated
the country's leading audiocassette manufacturer. Ascribing his
success to the blessings of the Goddess, he started a 24- hour free
kitchen for pilgrims. In a simple long hall, people sit on the floor
and eat a meal of hot pooris, dal, vegetable curry and rice. When
they leave, they carry a packet of delicious wheat halwa, prepared
with pure ghee. The free food service costs Rs.1 lakh per day. The
company also has several large shops en route, which sell cassettes
of devotional songs in praise of the Goddess at subsidised prices.
The entire route is paved and walking is very
comfortable. The old steps are still there, well maintained and well
lit. The young and the adventurous and those in a hurry still run up
those steps. But others take the gradual climb of the paved pony
route, which imposes no stress or strain. And they walk both during
day and night. In fact, the night walks are very popular as the
route is well lit and a cool breeze is always blowing. All along the
route, gardens and plantations are coming up as in Tirupati. Anna
Rao, the former Executive Officer of the Tirupati Tirumala
Devasthanam, was consulted as adviser here. But the Vaishnav Devi
Shrine Board seems to have done better because I would say the
trekking route here has better amenities than Tirupati's.
There are modern clean toilets, STD booths, drinking
water and medical facilities all along the route, which is kept
spick and span. Apart from tea and food stalls, the Board has
constructed comfortable restaurants at every vantage point, where
one can relax and view the gorgeous valley below. The first holy
halt is a couple of kilometres on at 'Ban Thirth', where pilgrims
take a dip in a lovely river flowing there. A little later, is a
fascinating sculpture garden, set up by a 'Masterji', who teaches in
a neighbourhood Government school and pursues painting and sculpture
as a hobby. Since we were in a hurry, we made an appointment with 'Masterji'
for the next morning on our return journey.
There are display boards all along the route with
ecofriendly messages. Half way to the temple is the shrine of 'Ard
Kwari', where there is a narrow crack in the rock in a cave through
which devotees crawl on their bellies. This is equated to going
through a 'mothers womb' and is also known as 'garbzoon'. According
to legend, Vaishnav Devi hid in this cave for nine months from a
pursuing demon (as though in the 'garb' or womb of a mother)
(To be continued next week)
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